Single Mother - Samantha Hayes

Reading Challenge Category: Free ARC from NetGalley

Official Blurb:

‘She’s nowhere,’ Mel cries frantically down the line. ‘She’s completely disappeared. At first I thought she’d run away, but there’s no stuff missing – not her phone, or her purse.’ Mel can hardly breathe her chest is so tight. She lets out the sob she’s been holding in. ‘It’s all my fault…’ Moving to this quiet seaside town was supposed to be a fresh start. Away from the school bullies making my daughter Kate’s life a misery, and out of the clutches of my dangerous ex.
But in this new place where nobody knows our names, why do I hear locals whispering behind my back and have the uneasy feeling that my daughter is hiding something from me? Am I reading too much into the threatening messages left around our new home? Are the glimpses of my ex’s battered red truck real, or imagined?
I will do anything to protect my daughter, she’s all I’ve ever wanted and all I really have, but something about this second chance at a new life feels like a trap. With no idea who to trust or where to turn, I know I need to get Kate to open up about the secret she’s keeping, but she’s not spoken a word since she found that little pile of bones buried in the garden.
Days later, she goes missing…

My Thoughts:

This is a good old fashioned Psychological Thriller. You have no idea what is going on, what is going to happen, nor who to trust!
There is a lot thrown at you in this as there are quite a few characters that have a lot of depth. This really intensified the mystery surrounding everyone as any could have been doing things for any reason!
The protagonist, Mel, was written superbly. So often, women who don’t have anyone to turn to can end up being relatively weak and pathetic. However, no matter what was thrown at Mel, she stayed strong and determined. There was an odd occasion where her actions were questionable, but not enough to ruin the story. Kate, on the other hand, was quite frustrating, but then again, I don’t have any dealings with teenagers to know if this is normal behaviour. I wanted to give her a good shake, though to stop her from keeping secrets.
There are lots of shocks and twists at the end, and even when you think the story has been concluded, there are more to come. I didn’t see any of the outcomes coming and was shocked at every turn.
The storyline itself was refreshing as I’ve not read anything like this before. I was even getting quite excited at the thought of renovating the hotel and was coming up with all sorts of ideas. I wanted to jump into the pages ad help!
Overall, a really gripping and exciting book that I devoured way too quickly!

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