Wednesday, August 18, 2010

The Wrong Mother by Sophie Hannah



This book is a thriller all about the choices that we make and the consequences of those decisions. Sally Thorning is a working wife and mother of two children who made a decision a year ago that is now coming back to haunt her. Because Sally lied to her husband and went on what was supposed to be a "business trip", but was in fact a vacation away from her everyday life. On her weekend away Sally met a man named Mark Bretherick...the name of a man who is now on television because his wife and daughter have been murdered. But the Mark Bretherick on television isn't the Mark that Sally met and spent time with while she was away.

How seriously creepy is that?? Sally goes on a trip alone, meets and has an affair with a man, and then goes back to her every day life. Except that the man she an affair with isn't the man he claimed to be and now Sally doesn't know who she spent the weekend with. Plus, there are creepy things happening to her and Sally is starting to realize that someone is out to get her. This book was a definite page turner for me. On one hand, I had a bit of a hard time relating to Sally. Not that I don't understand the need for alone time but the decisions she made on her weekend away weren't the smartest ones. But the dislike for her affair was immediately set aside as different things began happening to her that showed Sally to be in danger. The mystery aspect of the book was very compelling and I didn't figure out who the "bad" guy was until the end. And trust me, I was turning pages and reading as fast as possible trying to see what was going to happen next. My only complaint was the ending was a bit bleh and by that I mean that I wasn't very impressed with it. It was an okay ending but nothing amazing. It was still a really good, suspenseful read though. This book definitely made me think about the every day decisions that we make and how it can affect our lives.

Bottom Line: A good thriller and an author that I plan to read more of!

Disclosure- I got this book from the library :)
*I read this book for the following challenges:
New Author Challenge
Suspense/Thriller Reading Challenge
100+ Reading Challenge
Support Your Library Reading Challenge

9 comments:

  1. This sounds like a cautionary story for those who think the grass is greener on the other side; danger may really be there instead. Great review, Sam.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yeah this sounds like one I would want to finish only because I wanted to find out who the bad guy is. The premise isn't too bad though.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great review.

    I didn't enjoy it but I do remember parts of the story.

    It was my first book by her and I wasn't impressed, the story wasn't believable to me.

    My review, if interested.
    http://teawithmarce.blogspot.com/2009/12/review-wrong-mother.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. I saw this book a while ago when I was browsing Amazon and thought it sounded great. I'm glad you liked it. I think I'll have to pick it up after all.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Whoa, that is seriously creepy! I love thrillers, and this one sounds absolutely nail-biting. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  6. wow, this does sound really good...and creepy. too bad the ending fell a bit flat.
    http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  7. I don't read a ton of thrillers but I read and loved this one too. It had more of a literary feel to it than most thrillers which was a nice touch. I definitely plan to read more of Sophie Hannah's work!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I SO want to read this book --- thanks for reminding me Sam; have a great week.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Suko- I thought the same thing myself....

    Ladytink- I was definitely curious as to who the bad guy was and what was going on. And it was a good premise...just a bit iffy on the ending.

    Marce- I agree that you had to suspend believability a bit but I still felt that it was a page turner.

    Darlene- I have a feeling that this would be a book that you enjoy.

    Bellezza and Naida- It was creepy!

    Heather- I'm 99.9% sure that I picked this book up based on your review :) And I'm glad that I did!

    Bibliophile by the Sea- Anytime! LOL!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate each and every one of them :)