Such a Good Mother by Helen Monks Takhar

When push comes to shove, a mother’s love for her child is endless. Their happiness is your happiness, their pain, your pain. No one should ever take what a mother won’t do for their child for granted.

Rose O’Connell has lived a rather rough life. Her father was a con man who scammed people, even his friends for his entire life. Rose, who had no mother was endlessly bullied as a child as many knew of her father’s schemes. But when her dear friend Jacq introduced her to her brother Pete and they fell in love she was sure her luck would change. And when their son Charlie was born, he became the light of her life.

Money has always been a bit of a struggle, but they have been making ends meet with Rose working for a bank and Pete being a plumber. But when Rose sees a new elite school right across the street from them where her own old school sat which is called Woolf Academy, she gets it in her mind that Charlie should go there no matter what. At the interview she meets Amala Kaur, the wealthy leader of a group of women known as The Circle who seem to be able to exert great power at the institute. Rose knows her chances of Charlie being accepted are slim, but he is accepted! And when one of The Circle women tragically dies, Amala asks her to take her place, although the other Circle women don’t believe Rose meets their standards.

Amala assures Rose that tuition would not be a problem as there are many ways she would be able to work within The Circle to make the money. At first, Rose becomes giddy with power. As the other mother’s look at her differently, as she begins to dress differently when not in her bank uniform, as she and Pete are able to eat at a fancy restaurant and are invited to powerful fundraisers, she is blinded by the materialism.

But when things begin to take a different turn and Amala begins to ask her to perhaps not be as honest as she should, it begins to affect her relationship Amala, with Pete and even Charlie who at first seemed to be having a difficult time adjusting to the school. She feels over her head and is unable to find a way out of the situations she is being put in. As she begins to discover the hidden Circle secrets, she feels the price she has to pay is not worth what she has been given. But it could be too late for her to leave. It seems she has been conned. And now her family is paying the price.

The more Rose goes against Amala, the more terrifying the stakes become for her family. But nothing will stop her from protecting those she loves, no matter what. Especially a mother who has been scorned and their child who is now being manipulated.

Such a Good Mother is an incredible psychological thriller which takes the reader along Rose’s ride of sadness for never being accepted, to Rose’s newfound strength as she fights for those she loves and will not stop until her family is whole again. With a satisfyingly twisty ending you don’t see coming!

Thank you #NetGalley #RandomHouse #SuchaGoodMother #HelenMonksTakhar for the advanced copy.