Just What Kind of Mother Are You? book review

Just What Kind of Mother Are You? by Paula Daly
Published by Corgi on March 13, 2014
Pages: 365
Goodreads

Lisa Kallisto is the not-so-perfect model of the modern woman. During an impossibly hectic week, Lisa takes her eye off the ball for a moment and her world descends into a living nightmare. Not only is her best friend's thirteen-year-old daughter missing, but it's Lisa's fault. To make matters worse, Lucinda is the second teenage girl to disappear within the past two weeks. The first one turned up stripped bare and abandoned on the main street after a horrible ordeal. Wracked with guilt over her mistake, and after having been publicly blamed by Lucinda's family, Lisa sets out to right the wrong. As she begins digging under the surface, Lisa learns that everything is not quite what it first appears to be.

I borrowed Just What Kind of Mother Are You? from my best friend at work after reading and being intrigued by the blurb. I have been on a really big crime kick at the moment and I have read some really great books this month. I also really enjoy the idea of an unreliable character and not being quite sure what is happening and who to believe. I think this book is a great example of the true horror that happens when a child goes missing, I really connected with the characters and enjoyed reading about their stories and seeing the relationships develop. Plus there was the added bonus of rescue dogs which is always a winner in my book!

I think the characters are some really great enigmas in this book and you can definitely tell that they all live in a small village type environment where everyone know everybody else’s business. That was definitely a high point of Just What Kind of Mother Are You? only because I live in the same sort of place. I also enjoyed Lisa’s story line and the way that she was represented throughout the plot and the scatterbrainess of it all. I think I have a soft spot for those kind of books especially after reading The Missing Wife.

The best bit for me was the ending. I think Just What Kind of Mother Are You? packs a real punch and without giving too much away the ending was a great twist but that makes perfect sense. I really loved the split narration, and having the insight of the kidnapper and seeing his story progress alongside the innocent people. I really enjoy learning more about people who do bad things, especially what motivates them to do such horrible things. Plus I love the inclusion of Lisa’s job, working with the rescue pups, it made for a nice break in the story line.

I don’t have many worst bits of this book if I’m completely honest, I do think that the ending was a little rushed and there were a few story lines that were left unfinished and I still had a couple of questions by the end of the book that weren’t answered. I would have loved for everything to have been wrapped up neatly but this definitely didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the story at all.

I would definitely recommend Just What Kind of Mother Are You? it was a great book and I really enjoyed reading it. It was a really fast read with a great plot and characters. I didn’t see the ending coming which is one of the benefits of this book.

Have you read Just What Kind of Mother Are You? Did you think it was a good read? Let me know what you thought in the comments.