Review: Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson
Mother May I
by Joshilyn Jackson
Thanks so much to Thriller Book Lover for this review copy.
Publisher: William Morrow
Publish Date: April 6, 2021
Hardcover
324 Pages
Standalone
Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense
Revenge doesn’t wait for permission.
Growing up poor in rural Georgia, Bree Cabbat was warned by her single mother that the world was a dark and scary place. Bree rejected her mother’s fearful outlook, and life has proved her right. Having married into a family with wealth, power, and connections, Bree now has all a woman could ever dream of: a loving lawyer husband, two talented teenage daughters, a new baby boy, a gorgeous home, and every opportunity in the world.
Until the day she awakens and sees a witch peering into her bedroom window—an old gray-haired woman dressed all in black who vanishes as quickly as she appears. It must be a play of the early morning light or the remnant of a waking dream, Bree tells herself, shaking off the bad feeling that overcomes her.
Later that day though, she spies the old woman again, in the parking lot of her daughters’ private school . . . just minutes before Bree’s infant son, asleep in his car seat only a few feet away, vanishes. It happened so quickly—Bree looked away only for a second. There is a note left in his place, warning her that she is being is being watched; if she wants her baby back, she must not call the police or deviate in any way from the instructions that will follow.
The mysterious woman makes contact, and Bree learns she, too, is a mother. Why would another mother do this? What does she want? And why has she targeted Bree? Of course Bree will pay anything, do anything. It’s her child.
To get her baby back, Bree must complete one small—but critical—task. It seems harmless enough, but her action comes with a devastating price, making her complicit in a tangled web of tragedy and shocking secrets that could destroy everything she loves. It is the beginning of an odyssey that will lead Bree to dangerous places, explosive confrontations, and chilling truths.
Bree will do whatever it takes to protect her family—but what if the cost tears their world apart?
My Review:
My first book by Jackson was Never Have I Ever that I read almost exactly two years ago. I had so much fun with the thrillery drama of it all and was SO excited to get my hands on MOTHER MAY I. PHEW! Jackson solidifies a spot in my fave thriller author list! Mother May I has a more serious tone to it but it is just as compulsive and a page turner that catches your attention from the very first page.
Never ever EVER test a mother's love for her child. And here we have a cat and mouse game between two mothers that surprisingly find some common ground, but that doesn't change either of their trajectories. Hooo-eeeeeeee, I just love Jackson's writing style. Here she brings us into the world of rich lawyers, entitled frat boys, women who are in pain... and where Never Have I Ever brought us all the drama, Mother May I brings us such tension and suspense! How far would you go to get your baby back? How many secrets could you learn about before you broke? I feel like I earned a few new gray hairs along with Bree!
There are so many layers to this story and all of them are great. Jackson doesn't leave any threads dangling. I'm not 100% sure on how I feel about the very end end of it, but I'm definitely satisfied overall with the storyline. The author holds nothing back and puts us inside Bree and Marshall's head with ease. Outside of one particular character, you even feel for the antagonist and I certainly wasn't expecting to find out certain things about a couple of others. 10/10 would recommend!
★★★★
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