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Thursday, September 5, 2019

#ATBR2019 Review: Mother Knows Best by Kira Peikoff @crookedlanebks @jessmapreviews

Mother Knows Best
by Kira Peikoff

Thank you Crooked Lane Books for these copies!


Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Publish Date: September 10, 2019
Hardcover
288 Pages
Standalone
Genres: Medical Thriller, Psychological Thriller


A mother’s worst nightmare, a chance at redemption, and a deadly secret that haunts a family across the generations.

There’s only room for one mother in this family.

Claire Abrams’s dreams became a nightmare when she passed on a genetic mutation that killed her little boy. Now she wants a second chance to be a mother, and finds it in Robert Nash, a maverick fertility doctor who works under the radar with Jillian Hendricks, a cunning young scientist bent on making her mark—and seducing her boss.

Claire, Robert, and Jillian work together to create the world’s first baby with three genetic parents—an unprecedented feat that could eliminate inherited disease. But when word of their illegal experiment leaks to the wrong person, Robert escapes into hiding with the now-pregnant Claire, leaving Jillian to serve out a prison sentence that destroys her future.

Ten years later, a spunky girl named Abigail begins to understand that all is not right with the reclusive man and woman she knows as her parents. But the family’s problems are only beginning. Jillian, hardened by a decade of jealousy and loss, has returned—and nothing will stop her from reuniting with the man and daughter who should have been hers. Past, present—and future converge in a mesmerizing psychological thriller from acclaimed bestselling author Kira Peikoff.

My Review:




This psychological/medical thriller is such a surprise for me and this is why.  As an avid thriller reader, I realize that a lot of books can seem predictable or suspension of reality will be needed and sometimes I don't care and other times it grates on me.  Maybe it depends on mood? Maybe it depends on just how far that shark jumped or if there's absolutely no originality after a certain point.  Who really knows?  

With Mother Knows Best - Peikoff gives us something pretty original... and while I DO think it was absolutely predictable AND you had to suspend reality a bit (or do you really?? hmmm...), I thoroughly enjoyed the ride and fairly unique... even if it still runs on the story line we see a lot - mom does whatever she can to conceive and then to protect said child, past comes to bite her in the ass... yada yada.  How far would YOU go for that perfectly healthy child?  These days, with science/advances in medicine it seems you can practically special order your child to your exact specifications. But how moral is this?

This is still a very binge worthy and fun read.  The concept is quite interesting and medically, I'd be curious to know if this was actually possible and/or what laws, etc would interfere. How far is too far? I'm so intrigued!  

I'll surely be picking up more Peikoff in the future and have already looked at some past releases.  Enjoy, readers!

★★★☆

Jessica's Review:



With the amount of thrillers coming out this year it's always nice when you find one that has an original concept. Kira Peikoff's MOTHER KNOWS BEST had an incredibly unique premise and I was so ready to dive in. This was a very predictable read, but I enjoyed it nonetheless! Another binge read but make sure to suspend some reality when going into it.


How far would you go to make sure you had a healthy baby? Well, after the devastating loss of Claire's son, due to a genetic abnormality, she is determined to have another baby but is terrified of passing this gene on again. That's where the magic of medical science comes into play. The baby would have three genetic parents, and due to the illegal nature of the procedure, she must keep it secret. Fast forward to the submission of a DNA test and questions arise that could risk Claire's secret coming out.

Despite being predictable this was a fun read! If you're looking for something original, fast paced, and more of a light read, then I would highly recommend picking this one up. I loved the writing and the way she was able to develop the characters and suck us into the moral and ethical struggles they were experiencing. I will be keeping an eye out for more from Peikoff in the future!

3.5 stars

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