Love, Mom: A fast-paced psychological thriller with several twists

Mackenzie Casper, daughter of a famous thriller writer, begins to suspect her mother’s so-called accidental death may not be what it seems. After the funeral, Mackenzie starts receiving cryptic letters signed “Love, Mom,” which turn out to be diary entries that unearth a hidden history of secrets. As Mackenzie digs into the past, she uncovers a chilling truth. The revelation upends everything she believed about her family and herself as she races to reclaim the truth and justice. I tried to read Love, Mom a few months ago and got one page in and thought “nah” and considered it a DNF. Fast forward to now… the book is being republished, and I spotted an ARC on NetGalley, hit request without really knowing why, anddddd I was approved. At that point, I knew I had no choice but to dive back in and see what this book is about. And let me tell you…I am SO glad I did. This book turned out to be a dark, twisty, edge-of-your-seat ride that kept me guessingggg. I cannot for the life of me guess the twist- ever, but literally this one, WOW lol The blend of family secrets and betrayal that goes deep is what made this book really good. Super glad I gave this one a second chance! If you love psychological thrillers with family drama and secrets, this one deserves a spot on your never-ending TBR. I received an advanced copy of the book and am leaving this review voluntarily. Trigger warnings: death of a parent, grief, identity theft, gaslighting, emotional manipulation, murder, violence, child loss

What a page turner! Kept my eyes glued to its pages. So many twists and turns, by far, the best thriller I’ve read. This one trumps them all!

I flew through Love, Mom. The premise pulled me in right away a bestselling thriller author dies under suspicious circumstances and her daughter starts receiving eerie letters from a “#1 fan” along with pages from her mother’s diary. It had all the ingredients I love in a domestic mystery: secrets, family drama, and the question of how well we really know the people closest to us. Even though I did find parts of the plot predictable, I still genuinely enjoyed the reading experience. The pacing was quick, the tension was there, and the diary entries were a fun device that kept me turning pages to see what would be revealed next. My biggest critique is the ending. Lately I’ve noticed a trend in thrillers where everything gets wrapped up a little too neatly, and this one fell into that category for me. I tend to prefer messier, more unsettling conclusions that linger after the final page, and this one tied things up a bit too cleanly. Overall, this was an engaging and easy binge read that I finished quickly. If you like family-secret thrillers with a meta publishing-world angle and don’t mind a more polished ending, this is definitely worth picking up.

Easy to read, definitely had me sitting on the edge of my seat wondering if she was killed or not

It was good and then the ending was weird.