My thanks to Net Galley and Bookouture Audio for allowing me to review this audio book.

Roz and Lottie meet on vacation and have a drunken girls night out where Roz reveals a deep dark secret. Next thing we see, Lottie moves near Roz, gets hired at her husband s office and sets out on revenge against Roz s husband. Why? We don't find out till much later in the book. Another twist at the end will provide another surprise.

I like this book. A bit slow coming to the really good parts but do recommend.

"Revenge is sweet and not fattening."
Alfred Hitchcock

"The Mother at Number 5" is a book about revenge, revenge, and more revenge.

Unfortunately, even though I adore revenge books, this book failed to satisfy my sweet tooth.

WHY?
* SLOW START. The book's real action didn't begin until the 50% mark.
* PREDICTABLE. The author chose a familiar storyline and failed to give it her own spin.
* TOO LONG. I listened to the audiobook that easily could have been two hours shorter.
* AUDIOBOOK NARRATION ISSUES. The book unfolded from two POVs and, therefore, two narrators would have been preferred.

Narrator Charlie Norfolk's narration was uneven and, at times, her intonations were difficult to understand.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars rounded up.

This one was really shocking!
Ros meets a stranger on vacation, who she befriends. Things get strange, however, when this new friend suddenly moves into Ros’ town and winds her way into all aspects of her life.
Bad things start happening to Ros’ family, and Lotte seems to be the culprit.
With a past of her own, Lotte has a plan for revenge. But on who? Read this twisty, turny book to find out what happens to whom and why!
So glad I got to listen to and ARC of this audiobook to review from NetGalley!

The Mother at Number 5 is a mystery thriller where two women meet on vacation and share secrets that later will come back to haunt them.

This was a fun listen and I greatly enjoyed it. I thought I had it figured out halfway through, only for the story to take a turn, then another, and another. I love stories that do that, and do it well. I was left guessing the entire time.

Towards the end, I had so many questions that I needed answered and I was getting nervous that I would be left wondering. Not to worry, the story delivered. I loved the entirety of The Mother at Number 5.

Thank you for the audio ARC of this book.

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This was so shockingly good. It’s dark it’s edgy it’s u predictable. It’ll be a trigger for some people, I don’t know how but I genuinely didn’t guess what was going on. Read it it’s fantastic, one of the best domestic thrillers I’ve read in a long time.

The only thing I picked up on, and it’s not necessarily a complaint, just odd that the setting is Bradford England, yet their “vacation” is mentioned repeatedly, as is the sidewalk and the fall weather, Clearly a pitch for the American market, but I think it’d bother some.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookature Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in return for an honest review.

I am giving this book 2.5 stars because I enjoyed the ending but struggled to get there.

Ros and Lotte meet on holidays and end up going on a night out together before heading back to their separate life's, until Lotte moves to the same village as Ros, becomes, her neighbour, enrolls her daughter into the local school with Ros' 2 daughters and gets a job with Ros' husband. Ros suspects Lotte is stalking her but her husband repeatedly gaslights her and eludes to her paranoia causing problems before. Then there's the best friend who seems to just float around a bit.

The best bit of this book was definitely the last 10-15% but I just can't recommend it. I'm sorry. There is a potentially false rape allegation involved in this book that is borderline pointless in my opinion. The topic of child molestation is also skirted around. This book just wasn't for me.

Thank you for the ARC and I wish the author the very best of luck.

This book had me hooked from the first chapter! I loved the suspense and the shocking twists that unfolded👌🏽👏🏽👏🏽

While on vacation in Portuguese with her husband Adam Rose met a woman named Lottie. On the last night of Lotties vacation she guilts rose into going out with her. Something rose regrets soon after arriving and her new “friend“ wants to tell each other secrets. On first glance Rose thinks she really has no dirty secrets but when she wakes up the next morning she ponders over what happened. Lottie paid for all the cocktails and kept them coming. Her only consolation is that she’ll never see this woman again so when she arrives on the first day of school at the parents tea she is so surprised to see Lottie but when the woman leans over and says no worries, you had a lot to drink that night “Rose starts to worry. Little does Rose know this woman will infiltrate her life but ultimately she is the least of ROZES problems. When I say this podcast twist I do mean major life altering ground shaking twist. Ever since I read The First Wife by Jill Childs I knew I wanted to read more and have yet to be disappointed by any of her books but this one is a definite wow OMG read! I read the kindle book and listen to the audio in both are definite five star reads. Jill Childs is definitely going to be an author I follow because her books especially this one is an awesome great read! I love a book that even when you think you have figured out the ending the author has a surprise waiting in the wings and boy did she two of them that knocked my socks off… So good! I received this book from NetGalley and Bookoucher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Ok, this was a wild journey! When the book was finished took me a good 5 minutes to stand up and say "Ok, I need to write a review!"
I must say this was a different experience for me! Almost 35% of the book I could not really connect to the story. It felt over the place, I could not connect with any of the characters... And then it kicked in! OMG! It really kicked in!
Never stopping action, never stopping suspicion, never stopping questions... revenge, guilt, discovery... Some of the wists, I not just didn't expect but I gasped loud! No! No! NO!
Now when fully finished I would say - this book is full of surprises! This book will take you unprepared!
The Mother at Number 5 by Jill Childs and narrated by Charlie Norfolk is a book about Ros, a mother of two who meets Lotty by the pool on their holiday to Majorca. Inesent meet-up ends with stocking, accusing events that lead to tragedies! Never-stopping action and twists are just the essences of the book! Some of the twists made me gasp, and made my blood boil!
I can't believe that at the beginning I thought it will be an average 3 to 4-star read! I would give it 6 stars if would be possible! Perfect Thriller, perfect jaw-dropping twists!
Narrator Charlie Norfolk has done her job just perfectly creating the story as enjoyment and time to time "I need to pose this" to catch a breath story!
#TheMotheratNumber5 #NetGalley #BookoutureAudio
will add an Amazone review when will be possible

This book started a bit slow and it seemed that it was gonna be very predictable until something happens that I didn't see coming.

The two female characters, Ros and Lottie, were rather well written and I thought Lottie was a quite intriguing character.

Overall, the story is interesting and a quick read.

Thank you netgally for the copy of the audiobook.

Roz is on a family holiday. Whilst the kids play in the pool she is befriended by Lottie a single mum. Lottie persuades Ros to go out with her on her last night for drinks. Waking up the next morning with the world's worst hangover, she realises she probably told her new friend too much. But it wont matter as their paths will never cross again.
Roz is then mortified when on the first day of the new school year she meets a new mum. Lottie......
Why would she have moved half way across the country and ended up in the same place. Let alone on the next street and same school. As terrible things start happening to Roz and her family we are left to wonder if the newcomer is responsible.
This book was fantastic. I loved the way the narrator held my attention in the audiobook. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to see an ARC

Jill childs, I salute you 🫡 this book blew my mind and I don’t mean that lightly!

I always preface my audiobook reviews by saying I struggle to connect with audio books as my concentration isn’t the best 😅 but I did not have any issues with this one! I absorbed every single word and raced through it, desperately finding any spare moment I could to listen!

It was the perfect pace, never felt slow paced or boring and also didn’t feel drawn out, it flowed perfectly! The characters were so well written, you felt like you knew them all! The characters I liked and disliked changed toward the end in the most spectacular way! I loved all the twists (and there are PLENTY!) and I didn’t see any of them coming, even the ones I thought I’d guessed turned out to be wrong!

This book was an easy 5 star based on the final chapter! The chapters leading up to that epilogue were intense, and I was dying to find out all the details that had been left out and MY GOD did that epilogue DELIVER. I’m not lying when I tell you my face was like this: 😳 for pretty much the whole epilogue, just as one twist was delivered, so was the next and it made what was already an incredible book even better! Possibly one of the easiest 5 stars I have ever given!

What would you do if you made a friend on vacation who took you out and you can’t remember anything? And what if that friend ends up moving to your neighborhood and in fact on the same street? Would you think coincidence or something darker? This book was great to get me back into mystery after a brief hiatus.

The narrator was great at sounding distinguished between the two alternating perspectives. The changes in voice fit the mood and situation being read. The narrator even included the interpretation of sounds being described that added extra emotion and suspense.

The story was a hook from the start and the end of each chapter kept you wanting to listen to the rest. It was truly a mystery throughout and when you thought you figured it out it turns out you were wrong and it happens again and again. It truly keeps you guessing.

I downloaded this audioARC from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Three stars from me means that I believe the author has achieved their aims, and it's a good book that I would recommend to people, but that I personally didn't fall in love with it.

In this case, I just didn't feel invested in either of the protagonists. Lottie experienced a terrible thing when she was little and so her motivation for revenge is understandable, but her character comes across as obsessive and sinister, so instead of finding her a nemesis, I found her off-putting and cruel. Meanwhile, I found Ros's repeated decisions to spend time with people who fundamentally don't like her quite sad. Right to the end of the novel, she keeps selecting awful people to be her husband / best friend.

That said, the plotting is extremely clever, and I'm sure that many people will really enjoy the final twist. I would definitely recommend this one to people who like the puzzle-solving aspect of crime fiction and are, perhaps, a little wary of domestic noir. This *is* a book in which terrible people do terrible things, but it is as clever as any classic whodunnit.

This was a tale of two halfs. The first, I wasn't really into; I love a good revenge story, but I couldn't see what would drive someone to destroy someone's family, their career and even go after their children. The second half picked up drastically and I was very much engaged and wanted to find out all the secrets. The ending felt very rushed, albeit twisty and satisfying, I wished there was more time to deal with the revelations at the end. It is a great story, however the pacing and execution felt off.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for an early access to this book.

On a summer vacation, Ros had a wild night with her new friend, Lottie, where one drink turned into too many, and she may have spilled some terrible secrets. When Lottie moves in next door, in number 5, Ros is terrified at the idea that she might have underestimated Lottie when she comes after her husband, accusing him of horrible things. But the thing is, Lottie might have underestimated her as well...
This is a domestic/psychological thriller with an amazing premise, but it fell kind of flat. It had a sloooow start, and as I listened to the audio book, it took me a while to figure out who's who and when (the story is told in dual POVs and dual timelines, but I found the distinctions between the two to be minimal). Maybe that's why I didn't fully enjoy it. I never really could sink my teeth into it, it was super predictable, and I couldn't relate to any of the characters, so I didn't really care. It a book doesn't grab me from very early on, I have a lot of trouble to focus on it. And this one started to move at a bit of a faster pace only in the second half. I don't think this one was for me. I liked that the author tied up all the loose ends by the end. If you like your thrillers with a slower pace, filled to the brim with secrets and lies, this one is for you!
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A very entertaining and gripping thriller. So many twists and turns and a fabulous ending. The narration of the audiobook was skillfully executed adding to the enjoyment factor.
This was my first Jill Child's read but it certainly won't be my last! I couldn't put this one down!
I am grateful to the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC of this audiobook.

Okay wow, I am stunned! This book will shock and rattle you to the core!

On a much needed vacation with her family, Ros meets a single mom named Lotte who seems like she has a lot going for her. She's there alone sharing her fancy fruit with Ros, while her kid is at the daycare.

They cross paths a few more times at the resort and Lotte finally invites Ros out for drinks, a vacation girl's night. Ros's husband Adam will be pleased for her.

With the drinks flowing, they begin oversharing. At least Ros does.. she thinks?? She can't even remember! What happens on vacay stays on vacay!

Until it didn't. As Ros got home and settled back into real life getting the kids back to school, she's finally over the holiday embarrassment. In walks Lotte! She just had to check this place out because her lease was up anyway! Ros can't help but feel like something more sinister is going on.

We know they both have secrets and as they become more entangled in each other's lives, they start to butt heads and the secrets are begging to come to the surface.. and it's WAY worse than what you're thinking.

This was good the whole way through but the final 10% was nuts! I was putting it the pieces together, my mind scrambling, my jaw on the floor! This is my first of this author but won't be the last.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read, listen, and review! The narration was fantastic.

Wow! Just wow!

I feel so lucky to have received this ARC. I listened to the entire audiobook today and enjoyed every single minute.

The story is told from the viewpoints of Ros and Lottie, who meet on vacation and strike up a friendship. Things get a wee bit uncomfortable for Ros and she's glad to leave for home and never see Lottie again.

The first day of her daughter's new school year, who should show up but Lottie. Ros is understandably suspicious of Lottie's motives for enrolling her daughter in Ros' daughter's class and moving in on the next street over.

The things I loved:

Interesting and complex character relationships.
The narrator was awesome!
Enough is revealed over time to keep the reader/listener engrossed, but enough is held back to keep it mysterious.
The ending! Oh my gosh! The ending! <3

Things I didn't love:

Ums...nothing. I really, really liked this book!

I'll be checking out more from this author!

Thank you Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for this Audio Arc.

I enjoyed the arc. Charlie Norfolk did a great job narrating the audiobook, and it was easy to follow along as you switch between POVs.

The story was a bit slow in the beginning and the story was pretty predictable, at least for seasoned crime/thriller readers. But it was an enjoyable book that didn't take much effort to understand and follow along.