The Perfect Mother by Caroline Mitchell

Title: The Perfect Mother by Caroline Mitchell
Publisher: Amazon Publishing UK
Release Date: January 14, 2020

Rosalind "Roz" Foley is a 24 year old housekeeper in Ireland. After a drunken night with a partner that was definitely a mistake, she turns up pregnant. The father of the baby is affiliated with her best friend Dympna, and to keep the baby would cause chaos in both their lives. Roz turns to the internet for help.

She registers on a website where she can be matched with prospective families for her child. Her father abandoned her as a child and her mother was an alcoholic so Roz becomes obsessed with finding the perfect mother. She's soon inundated with responses but the one that really catches her eye is a "diamond" couple. This means that the couple is very wealthy. Surely this means that they can provide her baby a perfect life?

After she initiates contact with "Julie", Roz is whisked away to New York City to meet the prospective parents. She soon learns that the people that want her baby are Sheridan Sinclair and Daniel Watson, an "It celebrity couple" looking to expand their family. Sheridan doesn't let any grass grow under her feet and manipulates the desperate and star struck Roz into signing away the rights to her baby immediately.

The glitter soon starts to wear off as Roz is given glimpses into Sheridan's true nature. Sheridan's whole household and staff fears her and now Roz fears her as well. She starts to regret her decisions and also starts bonding with her baby. As her baby grows, Roz starts to grow into her inner strength, which is good because in the beginning I was wondering how she could be so stupid and naive.

The story is complex with very well written characters. The police presence is enough to keep the story moving but at the same time you aren't bogged down with procedural details. The underlying theme is that what you may view from the outside as being perfect may very well not be when you are face to face with it.

One of my favorite parts of the book was the strength of the friendship between Roz and Dympna. Despite the suspicion that her boyfriend is the baby's father and the fact that people think she's silly for worrying about Roz, she swears something is wrong and doesn't stop trying to find her. She never wavers in the love for her friend and it was beautiful to read.

I'm definitely going to seek out more of Ms. Mitchell's work, because if this book is an example I will surely enjoy the others as well.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review. It was a genuine pleasure.