You think you know your kids best, right? They wouldn't do any harm, they know right from wrong, and they certainly wouldn't kill another person. Or would they? Anne Marie and her son Dave are thrust into a bad situation that keeps on getting worse. Dave has always been a handful, but suddenly, after the death of their neighbor, Dave has become kinder and has even started helping Anne Marie around the house. As welcomed as this behavior is, Anne Marie fears it is connected to something darker. When Dave begins receiving notes from a blackmailer, Anne Marie fears the worst and is becoming more involved than she'd like to be. They need to find out who the blackmailer is and what they really want. Did they see Dave make that fatal mistake? Do they have something against Dave and/or Anne Marie? No matter who it is or what they want, Anne Marie and Dave are set on ending this - in whatever manner that takes.

I had been striking out lately with some of Emily Shiner's books, but this one was SO good. Some of the twists were easy to figure out if you were paying attention, but I absolutely could not put it down. I really connected with Anne Marie and her struggles with Dave; I felt for her and how hard it is to parent a child who just does not care about the world around them (until it directly affects them). The dynamic between the two kept the story moving and really brought the story together in the end. If you want a quick read that will keep your attention all the way through, give The Waitress a read! It's the perfect combination of twists and drama that will keep you coming back for more.

I loved this, quite a quick read and keeps you engaged throughout - which you would expect from an Emily Shiner book. Just loved it and for me it was a definite one session read as I wanted to see what happened in the relationship with the son and mother. I am not sure what I would have done if that had been my son and I know that sounds harsh. The author just gets you thinking.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

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✨️✨️ Arc Review ✨️ ✨️
The Waitress
Emily Shiner
Incubator Books


Anne Marie, a single mother, works long shifts at a local diner to support herself and her teenage son. Despite her son's rebellious behavior, Anne Marie remains fiercely loyal and will do whatever it takes to safeguard him.

The concept of parental love and commitment was interesting, but I found the story was a bit over the top.
We're all devoted to our children, but not to the extent of breaking the law.

Growing up, I knew a few kids whose parents viewed them through rose colored glasses - basically, they could do no wrong and never had consequences for their actions.
This raises the question of whether these parents failed in their responsibilities or if they were caught in an endless cycle. 

That being said, the book was a fast read with short chapters and was, in fact, a page turner despite how many times I may have rolled my eyes or wanted to shake the protagonist. I absolutely think it would be an excellent book club selection.

How far will you go to protect your child?

Releases Dec. 3rd, 2023

A psyhological thriller about a mother protecting her son despite the stupidity he has done. Does he deserve her fierce protection, the answe is no but all mothers know that we are willing to do whatever it thakes to protect our progeny and this mother is not different. The plot itself is intirguing but I find it difficult to bond with the main character beceause I find her acts unacceptable and think both she and her son need professional help. My dislike for the characters and predictable outcome are the main reason for three star review.

This is the story of Anne Marie, a hard-working waitress and single mom, and her bad seed and extremely ungrateful teenage son Dave. Dave finally does something truly awful and someone starts blackmailing him and his mother goes to great lengths to protect her son.

This is a difficult book to review because while the book was fast paced and I found that I couldn't stop reading until I got to the end, I also was angry throughout the entire book with both Dave and Ann Marie because neither of them had any redeeming qualities. Dave was a total psychopath and Ann Marie was a complete doormat and somewhat of a psychopath herself. Even the lesser characters were pretty unlikeable. I felt like the story had potential but it's just difficult to really love a book where you can't really root for anyone because everyone is so terrible. I also guessed the "twists" which I very rarely do with a truly well written thriller.

Since I did like the author's writing style, I would definitely like to read another book by Emily Shiner.

Thank you to Inkubator Books and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publication date is December 3, 2023.

A quick read to get your blood pumping. Fast paced and the action starts in the first few pages.
How far would you go to protect your child? The Waitress is more than a waitress, but a mom and bad ass!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Coming December 2023.

Book Title: The Waitress
Author: Emily Shiner
Publisher: Inkubator Books
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: December 3, 2023
My Rating: 3.4 Stars
Pages:

Anne Marie Kerns describes herself as having a terrible little house, a terrible little job and a terrible Camry. However, she is doing everything she can to make sure her sixteen year old son Dave turns out like her and not his father.
Anne Marie’s ‘terrible little job’ is working long hours as a waitress at a diner When she is not at work she has her hands full with her Dave. He won’t listen to her plea to stop making bad choices. He is guilty of drinking, fighting, and cheating on tests and now threatens a teacher.
. When an accident happened on her street the evening her son took her ‘terrible Camry’ out, Police Office Waddell stops her ‘terrible little house’ to question if she’s knows anything about the accident. He notices and makes a comment about all the dents on her Camry. Anne Marie thinks to herself that although she is aware of the dents she is not sure if there is or isn’t a new one

Dave confesses to his mother than he is guilty of the accident and is fearful of being found out as someone is blackmailing him claiming they saw what he did.
Anne Marie helps him with the blackmailer’s demand however not all that long after there is another demand.
Dave knows the blackmailer isn’t going to back down and will continue perhaps stop and then come back and at a later time with an ever higher demand.
Dave tells his mother he has a plan. Anne Marie is not willing to help with his plan.
Anne Marie knows she has to protect her son.

Soon Dave is the 'model son', ~ cooking, helping around the house even doing laundry; of course, all of this is a scheme to get his mom to do what he wants.
Anne Marie knows he is being a model son for a reason and Blackmailer is doing what she has been trying to do for years.

The rest of the story is more than crazy!.

At first I am quietly telling Anne Marie that she and her son need professional help for son as well as herself! I continue to roll my eyes as well as shake my head at Anne Marie and decided this is supposed to be a fictional story to enjoy.

(However I fear that one day in the near future Dave will enters the diner with an assault weapon and kill his mother and injury innocent people. I only hope Officer Waddell is nearby to take him down.)

This is my third Emily Shiner. I read and enjoyed "The Secret Wife". I also read "he Wife in the Photo" and like Anne Marie I kept yelling at Ariel one of the main characters as she just wasn't making a lot of sense to me.

Want to thank NetGalley and Inkubator Books for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for December 3, 2023.

This book offered a lot of promise and hooked me early on. A mum who will do anything for her son. Sadly it didn’t live up to the promise and I just started to really dislike the characters along with a predictable outcome at the end. Sorry to say I couldn’t wait to get this one finished.

In "The Waitress" by Emily Shiner, the promise of a thrilling narrative is marred by glaring shortcomings. The characters, unfortunately, remain one-dimensional and underdeveloped, failing to evoke empathy or interest. The storyline, rather than delivering suspense, veers into the realm of implausibility, making it challenging to fully engage with the plot. Shiner's writing style, characterized by its amateurish quality, further detracts from the overall experience. While the premise hints at suspense, the lack of nuanced characters and the unrealistic narrative diminish the impact of what could have been a compelling thriller. Unfortunately, "The Waitress" falls short of its potential.

Special thanks to Net Gallery for giving me the opportunity to read and review a pre-released copy of this book.

This book is about a single mom and her son and the lengths she will go to protect him. This is a very fast paced book. Very suspenseful. The mother about drove me insane at what all she’d do for him. This was a 5 star read for me all the way through but I had to give it a 4 star because I didn’t much care for how it ended. I can’t really explain without spoilers but this is still a twisty and fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC (Advance Reader Copy) for The Waitress by Emily Shiner. Well Ms. Shiner has done it again. Another good book by her. The main character, Anne Marie had me shaking my head! I understand a mother's love for her child, but... I won't say anything more about that! Read to see what I mean. This book was very fast paced and it kept me intrigued to see what would happen. I would definitely recommend this book to others and I am eager to read my next Emily Shiner book. I gave this book a 4 star rating.

A mother's love knows no boundaries. Anne Marie will do anything for her son but how far will she go when she learns what he's done? A quick read with plenty of suspense and action.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I would give it 2.5 stars. It was a very quick read and there was a twist at the end, which accounted for the extra half point. However, I had a very hard time with the two main characters, one of whom was, for lack of a better word, a sociopath, and the other who was the one who enabled him and was a doormat. While the underlying question which could have served as a wonderful anchor to a book was how far would a parent go to protect their child, I don't think that a psychological thriller is the kind of genre to tackle something that deep. The events ended up not really being able to explore that and were predictable (and I am not that good at that but I knew what was going to happen each time except for the twist at the end).

Thank you to NetGalley, the Publishers, and Emily Shiner for an ARC of The Waitress. This is about a single mom and her son and the lengths she will go to protect him. This book really put her lengths to a test! I don’t fault the writer at all, but the characters were completely insufferable (I.e. there has to be stopping point to your spoiled son), but I couldn’t put the book down. I wouldn’t call them so much as “twists”, but all the events that happened were apparent. It did still make the story fun seeing everything play out, but I wished there was a jaw dropping end. This was my first book of Emily’s and I will for sure give another one a chance!

This is a story about a single mother and the lengths she will go in order to protect her son, from himself and others.

As a single mother to two boys myself, gosh this made me uncomfortable because I can truthfully relate to the protagonist in this story so much, as I’m sure many parents will be able to. This book has everything you could want in a psychological thriller; it’s incredibly thought provoking, shocking and painfully relatable.

What wouldn’t you do to protect your babies?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and definitely look forward to reading more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this ARC.

This book highlights the lengths that a mother will go to protect her children regardless of the high stakes involved. This book was an interesting read but a bit of a predictable ending which not this authors usual style. Regardless, still highly recommend reading.

This story is about a mother who goes to any lengths to protect her son despite his deeds. I enjoyed the beginning but the rest of the story was predictable and dragged on. Thank you to Netgalley and Inkubater books for the arc read in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoy this authors books, The Waitress is a quick read but the plot just seemed to fall flat. The mother,, Anne Marie will do anything for her troubled son Dave. She seems to be a very weak character and her son Dave controls her. She drove me nuts but I did like the book. Kinda have mixed feelings on this one. Great for a quick entertaining read.. Thank you to NetGalley, Emily Shiner and Inkubator Books for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Try his was quick paced thriller that I finished in a day. Anne Marie would do anything to protect her teenage son. How far will she go to protect him? This is the premise of this book. Loved it!

You can’t help but read this quickly to find out what Anne Marie does next. You find yourself questioning what decisions she might make in order to protect her son. It’s a novel that will promote a lot of discussion in a book group I think! How far would you go to protect your family?

I guessed some of the twists but it was still a brilliant read and a page turner and I found myself reading on to find out what would happen next.