Book Review: A Good Enough Mother – Bev Thomas

Just a quick heads up that this book is not for everyone. It deals with themes that some people may find distressing.

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Synopsis

Dr Ruth Hartland rises to difficult tasks. She is the director of a highly respected trauma therapy unit. She is confident, capable and excellent at her job.

Today she is preoccupied by her son Tom’s disappearance.
So when a new patient arrives at the unit – a young man who looks shockingly like Tom – she is floored.

As a therapist, Ruth knows exactly what she should do in the best interests of her client, but as a mother she makes a very different choice – a decision that will have profound consequences.

Taken from the Faber & Faber website

Review

This was a book that made quite an entrance into my life. A large box appeared on the doorstep. Carefully unboxing it, I found the book snuggled in with some wine, bath bombs and a vanilla-scented candle. We were off to a good start.

And then I read the book. I devoured it. I swear there was not a moment where I was not totally absorbed in this book. I read it in two sittings in a 24 hour period and have no regrets.

A Good Enough Mother is a prime example of a psychological thriller. It burns quietly, and you know everything is going to turn to ash but you don’t know when or how.

Ruth, our protagonist, is somewhat of an unreliable narrator. Her judgment leaves much to be desired and I swung between frustration, pity, and anger. She accurately reflects the hidden lives of therapists; there is a myth that therapists have perfect lives and are infallible, but typically the opposite is true.

This book is perfect for one of those Saturday evenings when you can curl up with a glass of wine (or a cup of tea!), switch your phone off and lose yourself in Ruth’s life as this book asks the question of “Just what is a good enough mother?”.

Sinister, scandalous, and disconcerting; Bev Thomas brings to life some of our worst nightmares.

Many thanks to Faber & Faber for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Order now

You can support your local bookshop by buying A Good Enough Mother through them directly, or via Hive.

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Comment below

What do you think of A Good Enough Mother? Will you be reading it? Let me know in the comments below.