Not My Mother: A completely gripping psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist

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Published Mar 30, 2021

286 pages

Average rating: 7.2

5 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

ThrillerRach
Mar 03, 2026
8/10 stars
It is Marion’s daughter Ava’s first birthday and shockingly police turn up and arrests her mother, Eileen, claiming she is actually called Sarah and she is wanted for the kidnap of baby Caroline and the murder of her father thirty years ago.
Everyone had heard about the kidnapping of baby Caroline, it was notorious at the time and no one was ever found. But is Marion really Caroline? She starts to think that it is highly possible, the way her mother shielded her and she wants to talk to Amelia who is claiming to be her mother. Going to visit her in secret.
As the story progresses we find out more about what happened thirty years ago from Eileen’s point of view. It is quite sad what Eileen went through.
This is really fast-paced, with secrets from all sides, betrayals and twists and turns but the suspense of who, what, when and why was so utterly gripping I could not read it quick enough.
I was pleased with how this ended and it tied up any loose ends.
Miranda Smith writes in a way that will grip you from the first page and it doesn’t let you go. She is such a great author.


Merged review:

It is Marion’s daughter Ava’s first birthday and shockingly police turn up and arrests her mother, Eileen, claiming she is actually called Sarah and she is wanted for the kidnap of baby Caroline and the murder of her father thirty years ago.
Everyone had heard about the kidnapping of baby Caroline, it was notorious at the time and no one was ever found. But is Marion really Caroline? She starts to think that it is highly possible, the way her mother shielded her and she wants to talk to Amelia who is claiming to be her mother. Going to visit her in secret.
As the story progresses we find out more about what happened thirty years ago from Eileen’s point of view. It is quite sad what Eileen went through.
This is really fast-paced, with secrets from all sides, betrayals and twists and turns but the suspense of who, what, when and why was so utterly gripping I could not read it quick enough.
I was pleased with how this ended and it tied up any loose ends.
Miranda Smith writes in a way that will grip you from the first page and it doesn’t let you go. She is such a great author.

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