A careful blend of plausible science fiction and domestic thriller
A careful blend of plausible science fiction and domestic thriller, Mother Knows Best is designed to draw you in and propel you right to the end. With three rotating perspectives on both past and present, Mother Knows Best follows Claire Abrams' journey from recovering from the death of her son who was born with a deadly disease to raising a daughter more than a decade later. What happens between will shock you - or not.
Personally, I found the twists predictable. I have, however, read a lot of thrillers (domestic and otherwise) so even some of the more outlandish twists (looking at you Behind Her Eyes) fail to catch me by surprise these days. In this case, each move by the characters (especially antagonist Jillian) was too clearly telegraphed in advance, cutting the suspense. Claire and Jillian (especially Julian) both felt too stereotypical for me, leaving Claire's daughter Abby as the only stand out in the cast - namely because an 11 year old protagonist is so rare in this genre.
One thing this book does very well is pacing. The beginning establishes Claire's character and situation without feeling like an info dump. Some might call it slow, but the build up was important and the information we get is brought back up throughout. As the stakes increased, it was so easy to tear through this book, just to see how it would all end. The end was a little rushed, but that's almost inevitable in this genre (and personally I'd rather have a slapdash ending than one that drags on forever).
Personally, I found the twists predictable. I have, however, read a lot of thrillers (domestic and otherwise) so even some of the more outlandish twists (looking at you Behind Her Eyes) fail to catch me by surprise these days. In this case, each move by the characters (especially antagonist Jillian) was too clearly telegraphed in advance, cutting the suspense. Claire and Jillian (especially Julian) both felt too stereotypical for me, leaving Claire's daughter Abby as the only stand out in the cast - namely because an 11 year old protagonist is so rare in this genre.
One thing this book does very well is pacing. The beginning establishes Claire's character and situation without feeling like an info dump. Some might call it slow, but the build up was important and the information we get is brought back up throughout. As the stakes increased, it was so easy to tear through this book, just to see how it would all end. The end was a little rushed, but that's almost inevitable in this genre (and personally I'd rather have a slapdash ending than one that drags on forever).