Thank you to Inkubator books for allowing me access to this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was one that I had not heard much about and I really did not know what to expect. I am really glad I went in with very little understanding of the narrative as it totally and utterly blew me away!

From the moment we met Anne-Marie, I was drawn to her very multi-dimensional personality and this is what really steered the novel for me. The way in which the narrative unravelled at such a chaotic speed left me wanting more every time I put it down!

I love books that leave me questioning everyones intentions and integrity and the novel did this to me right until the very end!

I really enjoyed this book! It kept me guessing, and I couldn't put it down! I did get annoyed with the mom at times, sometimes I thought she was portrayed as too much of a pushover and it was frustrating! I loved the ending though and that made it all worth it! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Told from rhe pov of Anne Marie a singke mum to Dave. This is fast pact and deals with complex questions how far should you go to protect your child and what effect can you child doing really bad things have on the relationship and how do you reconcile the son you have now nearly a man with the well behaved littlw boy.
I found ot fast paced. Im places i was like surely there would be visable evidence. The actual crimes were ott its only when you strip it back and focus on the relationship told by pov that you appreciate how good this really is. There is never a line for anne marie she wants her little boy back and the final reveal shows she will do anything to get it. Much as i was deeply shocked by the lack of justice for the crimes commited i understood this was an important part of the story. I rightly gueesed the identitybof the blackmailer early on . I would like to have seen more about the side characters they seemed to be put on to progress the story. The length was fairly short and this gocus on the mother son relationship the crimes were just part of that. I throughly enjoyed this and would recommended it to anyone who likes a good relationship pov story with the odd crime .look beyond the crime to this is character driven story. It a solid 4. 5 star read gor me.
Thank you netgallery and publisher and author.

I was on the wall about this book. It was more or less believable and the normalcy of the setting added to the desperation of the storyline but I wasn’t really into the characters.
The pace was fast and the writing style easy to read, the plot fairly well written but nothing to really stand out and grab my attention.
I really disliked Dave and few hoping he would turn more likeable but instead grew more hateful.

Another fantastic book by Emily Shiner, The Waitress had me completely gripped all the way through, loved the little twist at the end!!

The Waitress by Emily Shiner was so good I ended up reading it all day especially as it was an easy read that will have you gripped from the beginning till the very last page.

Secrets can be kept. If you’re willing to pay the price.

But we all know that, secrets have a way of coming out and when they do they will always destroy things that are always in its way!

Anne Marie’s life isn’t easy. She’s a single mom in a dead-end waitressing job with a beater car and bills to pay. Adding to the pressure, her teenage son, Dave, is out of control, and no matter what she does, Anne Marie can’t seem to get through to him. Scream!!!!

Then, out of the blue, Dave completely changes. EH!
He’s kind, he’s thoughtful, he helps out around the house and looks after his mom. Anne Marie can’t believe her luck.

Has he had a bang on his head??

She then discovers the real reason for her son’s sudden transformation, he’s done something really awful and he’s terrified he’ll be caught. What could be so bad for him to change so much!!
But, someone out there knows what he has done and they are blackmailing him.

What has he done thats So bad?

As a mother, Anne Marie is desperate to protect her son and knows she has to somehow stop the blackmailer. But how?

As she considers her choices, But, Anne Marie realises she may be taking the first steps on a path that will lead her straight to the gates of hell.

But, How far is she willing to go to save her only child?

WoW this book was excellent and a great holiday read. I loved it. But don't start reading it if you are about to go to bed! It will be hard to put down once you start reading it!

Big Thank you to Netgalley and Inkubator Books for access to this arc in exchange for my honest review.

The Waitress was a fun quick read. The story was different than thrillers I've read before which kept it fresh, and the ending definitely had a surprise twist! Would recommend for thriller readers looking for a something a bit different without being overly complicated.

Pretty good story and excellent writing! I was hooked from start to finish. I loved the story but I felt like it could have been so much more. There were some small twists but there wasn't a huge one though it felt like there should have been. This book still kept me on my toes!

Anne Marie is a waitress with a troubled, delinquent son, Dave. She defends, protects and lies for Dave, hoping he will change and be a good person. Dave, is 100%, a sociopath and will never be a decent human being. Nonetheless, Anne Marie does not give up on him and helps him harbor his crimes….

This is a very quick read, however, I was quite disappointed. It was difficult to keep my interest. I have LOVED all of Emily Shiner’s books, but this one left me feeling blah.

The Waitress was a bit of a surprise to me as far as thrillers go. I figured out fairly soon who our culprit was but the story bringing about the proof and realization was disturbing - and for me, at least, not in a good way. After awhile the self-pity, excuses and blind refusal to acknowledge reality started to wear on me. I did finish the book and it's written well enough to hold the story together. It can be a quick entertaining read for an afternoon.

Thank you NetGalley and Emily Shiner for the ARC.

I loved this book! From the beginning I was on my toes. I love how the mother would protect her son at all costs but doing so kept me in edge with what would happen next. This is a great thriller for anyone!

Emily Shiner writes unputdownable books! This is a story of how far a mother will go to protect her son. I read it in under two hours because it’s a quick and satisfying read. If you’ve loved other Emily Shiner books you won’t want to miss this one!

i received this as an ARC and OH MY GOD it did not disappoint! the twist at the end of this book, i could never have picked that. this was a book that had me needing more, every time i tried to put it down i could not. i read 60% of this in one sitting.

the amount of times i thought i had it figured out and then was proven so wrong was crazy!

please do yourself a favour and read this amazing thriller! another amazing book by emily

4/5 stars

Another cute cover. I loved this thriller book. The different twists and how it ended, I just didn't see it coming. She's now one of my new favorite thriller authors. I highly recommend that everyone just runs to KU and reads it immediately. I don't want to ruin it for anyone, so this review is just me telling you to run and read it. I binged it all in one day.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

This book made me so mad, LOL. As a mother my heart broke for Anne Marie, and all her son Dave put her through. I was also angry that she allowed him to keep making “mistakes” and getting them further in trouble. This book was a fast read and kept me engaged.

Anne Marie is a waitress and has a horrible teenage son who she can't control. He gets into more trouble and she tries to help him with disastrous results. It seemed a bit implausible to me. None of the characters are particularly engaging.

A mother would do anything to protect her child right? I was reading this and it made me wonder at what stage I would stop protecting my child and start protecting other people - namely the people who need protecting from him!! It's frustrating at times because you think that in that position you wouldn't do it but then you think about being a mother and you really cannot say you wouldn't do the same thing she does. A frustrating read at times and a bit far fetched but an ok read.

Thank you Netgalley, Emily Shiner, and Inkubator books for the ebook!! This was a quick and crazy read! I loved the twists and turns and it really had me thinking how far I would go to protect my child! I couldn’t believe the ending!

Thank you to Inkubator Books and Net Galley for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All Opinions are my own. Mother's will do anything for their children, but even I would draw the line at some of the things this mom did for her son. You name it he's done it. He is hateful and only treats his mom right when he was being blackmailed. I enjoyed this book, but I do think it went a bit too far.