Mothers' Instinct by Barbara Abel on May 16, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Media Tie-In, Fiction / Thrillers / Domestic, Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological
Pages: 304
Format: ARC
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Disturbing!!! WTH did I just read?!?! This is one that will have you side-eying your neighbors! I mean…if I had a physical copy this would have gone in the freezer! (Joey, I’m with you on that)
David and Laetitia Brunelle and Sylvain and Tiphaine Geniot are inseparable friends and next-door neighbors in a pretty, tranquil suburb. Their sons Milo and Maxime, born in the same year, grow up together as close as brothers. But when Maxime is killed in an accident, their idyllic world shatters. Maxime’s parents, Sylvain and Tiphaine, are consumed by grief and bitterness, while David and Laetitia are wracked with guilt for their role in the tragedy. Soon the couples are barely speaking, although they maintain a polite facade.
Then things get strange. The first half of the book is the set up. After Maxine dies, strange things start happening. At first, I thought, ok, people grieve in their own way. But as “accidents” start happening to Milo, I wondered if I was more worried than Laetitia and David. But Laetitia goes from trusting her BFF to paranoid pretty quickly. Thing escalate very fast and then the book comes to a “hit by a Mack truck” ending. I almost felt like I should re-read the last few chapters to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I literally felt like I was hit by a truck with this ending. Is that what the author intended? I think so! So…BRAVO Barbara Abel, you succeeded and what you set out to do. You totally floored me on this.
Mothers’ Instinct by Barbara Abel is soon to be a major US motion picture starring Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain. I think this would be a great movie and now I am anxious to see it played out on the big screen. These characters are twisted and monstrous. I feel like I was warned, but I ignored it and kept thinking something else was coming. Now I only wonder if there is a sequel in the works?!?! I will be thinking about this one for a while.
