The Mother - T.M. Logan

Reading Challenge Category: Free ARC from NetGalley

Official Blurb:

Framed for murder. Now she's free . . .
A woman attends a funeral, standing in the shadows and watching in agony as her sons grieve. But she is unable to comfort them - or reveal her secret.
A decade earlier, Heather gets her children ready for bed and awaits the return of her husband Liam, little realising that this is the last night they will spend together as a family. Because tomorrow she will be accused of Liam's murder.
Ten years ago Heather lost everything. Now she will stop at nothing to clear her name - and to get her children back . . .

My Thoughts:

I was up and down with how I felt about this book. One minute I was loving it and wrapped up in the fast-paced drama. Other times I felt like I was slugging my way through it to find out why Heather had been framed. It was both slow and fast; it was both exciting and boring. I am still determining how I feel about it overall.
I think the ending made up my mind, however, as I found that to be a major disappointment. Yes, it was a shocker when it was revealed, but that was all it was. It didn’t make sense; the perpetrator behind the crime just made no sense. I was left with a lot of questions unanswered, such as how did they know Heather went to Musgrove’s house? Yes, everyone knew when she was at Owens, but Musgrove’s was the one place no one knew that she would be there at that moment.
I have read other books recently where someone has been wrongfully imprisoned and gotten out trying to prove their innocence, and they have been a much better read than this one. I was glad that the timescale that had lapsed was only ten years, as anything longer always makes these types of stories harder to swallow. What does wind me up about these kinds of premises, though, is why wasn’t all of this investigated by the lawyers and the accused before the trial? Surely the trial wasn’t the day after she was charged, but there was a period of time when the lawyers would gather their defence. Why wasn’t all of this looked into, then? Even if Heather were on remand, she would have had a team of people helping her.
So, yes, after writing this, I have decided that I didn’t really enjoy this. I have read other books by this author that were far superior, so if this is the first you pick up of his, don’t let it deter you from some of his other work.