The Secret Mother by Shalini Boland

I pre-ordered The Secret Mother after I saw an early review that an advance copy reader had posted online. The blurb did its job and intrigued me.

‘Are you my mummy?’

Tessa Markham returns home to find a child in her kitchen. He thinks she’s his mother. But Tessa doesn’t have any children.

Not anymore.

She doesn’t know who the little boy is or how he got there.

After contacting the police, Tessa is suspected of taking the mystery child. Her whole life is turned upside down. And then her husband reveals a secret of his own…

Tessa isn’t sure what to believe or who to trust. Because someone is lying. To find out who, she must confront her painful past. But is the truth more dangerous than Tessa realises?

Suffice to say this story gripped to the extent that, after deciding to read a few chapters before bed, I found I had to carry on until I had finished the book in one sitting. I am therefore a little bleary-eyed today!

I am not usually a fan of first-person narrative (just a personal thing), but it worked well here, to the extent that I forgot I disliked the style. All I could focus on was the story.

A damaged woman with her life in ruins stumbles through each day, seemingly betrayed at every turn. A tragic past, an achingly miserable present and an uncertain future make you feel for Tessa, whose once happy life has been destroyed.

Then a child turns up. Has Tessa done the unthinkable? The police and media certainly think so. Tessa is forced to take action to try and discover the truth.

No spoilers here but the rest of the book was a roller-coaster of emotion until the very end.

The Secret Mother is the first book I have read by Shalini Boland, but it won’t be the last.

Rating 8 stars

Learn more about The Secret Mother by Shalini Boland HERE