A little tricky to get into, placing everyone in their various relationships but once you have that straight then wow! what a twisted bunch of untrustworthy people they are...I didn't know who to believe in for the majority of the book!
Plenty of intrigue, several twists and a great ending!

The Son by Elena Wilkes was a slooow burn. It took me more than half way through the book to truly become invested, but I did. Beth could represent a lot of women these days… only caring about other people, and putting her needs on the back burner. Her deep need to help makes her come across as very naive and easily manipulated, but no one in this book is who they seem. You never know who to trust. In the end, Beth finds her own strength. She saves others and herself. I was not expecting the final twist, but damn it was a good one!

I did not enjoy this book. I did not like the characters, the plot was fragmented, the relationships between the characters unclear . The narrator is naive and seems to be making decisions on very little evidence and didn't seem to know those close to her very well (or at all) .
The plot /crimes should have been reserched better.
So not really the book for me . I wanted to know what happened so did finish though I am still scratching my head wondering about the plot. Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC

Unfortunately, this thriller didn't meet my expectations. The plot was worked out well, but I found the entire book too slow for my liking. The second half was better so I did finish the book because i wanted to know how the story would unfold. It wasn't really a page turner and the characters could have been worked out better. The idea of the book is good though!

After it being just Beth and her son Joe, now seventeen, her marriage to Drew, a police detective, felt wonderful. They were happy - weren't they? But Joe was now surly and uncommunicative with his mother, while he and Drew seemed to get on well. Beth worked at the local jail, helping prisoners who needed someone to listen. But the jail was filled with criminals who lied, bribed and coerced. Beth's good friend Robyn was the chaplain at the jail, and she always had Beth's back.

When Joe went missing, Beth was beside herself. And Drew's actions suddenly became suspicious. What was she missing? As Beth went back to jail again, hoping for Robyn's help and kindness, Beth suddenly realised she'd done the wrong thing with one of the prisoners. Could she correct her mistake? Or was it far too late for that?

The Son by Elena Wilkes is a slow burning rumble until around half way, when the pace picked up and things began to happen. Beth wasn't an easy person to like, but I think that's the way her character was meant to be. To me, Drew was sleazy, and Joe, well he seemed like a typical angst-filled teenager. I quite enjoyed the plot, which had plenty of twists and turns, some of which I definitely didn't see coming! Recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! What a nail-biting, tantalising, twisted roller-coaster ride this book was! It racked up the tension effortlessly, messing with my head, leaving me wondering who was telling the truth, and who was lying! So many times I thought I’d sussed it out, only to be outwitted every time! It’s really well plotted, full of characters that left me continually questioning their motives, and leaving me totally confused! It really made me think, and I love that. In Beth’s situation, what would I do? Would I do what she did? I found myself really drawn into this story, constantly questioning and wondering. If a thrilling, absorbing, twisted story is what you want, then read this! Recommended.

A slow to start thriller that had me gripped and addicted at the end.

The Son is full of twists (some realistic, some not) that center around the protagonist, Beth. Beth seems to finally have what she’s always wanted, a good husband and even better teenage son. But these two men in her life are harboring secrets that threaten to destroy their family and Beth’s false sense of security.

The characters are very interesting and they all seem to have their agenda. When you think you have the plot figured out, a new twist appears that upends all of that. For me, I was guessing all the way to the very end; an end that had me at the edge of my seat.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishign for my arc in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

A little bit unbelievable at parts but still a good read I would still recommend this book to others

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for offering this book in exchange for an honest review. If I had known the book was about child trafficking, I would have declined it. I found the story distasteful, the characters all irredeemable and Beth a neurotic, obsessive and paranoid character. At first, she refers to Joe as her boy, her child, her baby. I thought he was a young child and then to find out he as 17 made her look creepy. Only Sarah and Nate had any good in them - I didn't like the story at all. It got good reviews, so I hope it does well. It should have a disclaimer about the sex trafficking tho - not a story for everyone. I generously give it 3 stars.

Perfect psychological thriller! Great read and page Turner. Great author and I look forward to the next one!

This woman is raising a son alone when she meets a cop and falls in love. Now her life should be easier, but it isn't because her kid is ut doing crimes and she's catching her new husband in lies.
Her kid is an absolute terror.
I didn't love the protagonist either. Like a young woman calls you for help but you're so convinced your husband is cheating that you hang up? And then when she comes to the house and you see that she's a child you still shut her out? I would not be friends with this protagonist.
At least not how she is in the first part of this book.
Anyway I liked the story but I didn't get attached to anyone.

The plot seemed promising, especially with lies and questioning who you trust. Slower paced than I thought it would be but enjoyed reading it at points.

This book promised a fresh and exciting premise. It starts out a bit on the slow side, but quickly turned into something I couldn't put down. While a lot of this was somewhat predictable (if you read a lot in this genre), it still kept me turning pages until I got to the end. So many unlikeable characters, I was second-guessing what would happen at every turn. Quick, fun read!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

This book was ok. The plot was good but pretty easy to figure out. The writing seemed "chaotic" to me. At times it was hard to follow, it was almost like we were in the main character's brain and seeing every thought she had, which was too much.

I found this book started slowly, but once the plot got going, there were so many twists I didn't know who to suspect. I would NEVER have guessed *&* (not giving spoilers) to be involved. Completely threw me! I finished it in the early hours of the morning as I was so involved in the plot.

Chilling read. Who do you trust? Who do you really know? Through this novel you will discover not all is as it seems. Your husband and son aren’t who they want you to think they are. I loved this book, it wasn’t predictable in any way, it was full of twists and turns that had me on the edge of my seat thinking OMG I didn’t see that coming. There are trigger warnings of human/sex trafficking and hints of sexual violence.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley and Elena Wilkes for hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm publishing for the ARC. All opinions are solely my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ of 5

Every boy is someone’s son. In this suspense thriller (trigger warning for trafficking) Beth is a Samaritan volunteer at a male prison who endeavors rehabilitation and the blending back into society of those incarcerated.

Beth is newly married to Drew a detective. It seems Drew and her teenage son, joe have bonded, so well, Beth begins to feel excluded from her sons life. She’s his mother, doesn’t she know best?

When her son disappears she is in for the battle of her life to keep him alive, but who can she trust?

The story is written in first person from Beth’s POV. In reading the story, I often found myself asking “how can this woman be so obtuse “.? Running around between the prison and derelict houses putting her trust in almost everyone she encounters. The resolution seemed a bit extreme in my opinion. However, I did want to keep going to figure out who was trustworthy and who wasn’t. Motivation appeared apparent pretty early on.

This had me gripped from the beginning. The story moved at a good pace.It has twists and turns that were enticing and I was surprised by the ending. Overall, I would recommend it. Special Thank You to Elena Wilkes, Storm Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy prior to publication in exchange for an honest review.

i was hooked from the beginning of the book, but it had a slow start and i was confused with the characters. But as we were following the story i was interested to know who was the liar. The characters seemed kinda fake and surface level and Beth honestly seemed kinda annoying lol. All she kept doing was complin about how she failed as a mother. Some parts of the book made no sense or were unrealistic, but i get it since its a fiction book but still some stuff could've been more believable. Over all an easy thriller read and i enjoyed it, wish it would've been executed better.

overall rating 3.25/5

This book was incredibly slow, I put it down and went back to it later. I found Beth very annoying and frustrating. Slow burns are just not my kind of book, I prefer more fast paced.