The Perfect Mother

February 5, 2018
In this promising first novel from nonfiction bestseller Molloy (However Long the Night), the May Mothers, a parenting group, gather at a Brooklyn bar for an adults-only Fourth of July celebration. The outing’s organizers—Nell Mackey, Colette Yates, and Francie Givens—are intent on showing harried single mom Winnie Ross a good time, so they arrange for Nell’s nanny, Alma, to watch Winnie’s son, Midas, and delete the baby monitor app from Winnie’s phone. Drinking commences and Winnie wanders off, leaving her phone and house key with Nell, who misplaces them. Shortly thereafter, Alma calls Nell to report that Midas is missing. When the NYPD fails to find him, the media turns its attention to Winnie and the other May Mothers, prompting Nell, Colette, and Francie to launch their own increasingly reckless investigation. The mystery of Midas’s disappearance may be the skeleton on which Molloy’s plot hangs, but it’s her characters’ anxieties that give the story life and substance. Molloy doesn’t fully earn her book’s big twist, but her clever narrative structure heightens tension and creates uncertainty while spotlighting the solitary struggles of motherhood. Agent: Elisabeth Weed, Weed Literary.

Starred review from February 1, 2018

Becoming a new mom can be terrifying. The not-knowing and the second-guessing. The guilt of not being perfect. How do I make the baby stop crying? How will I know if something's really wrong? Winnie Ross never thought she'd have to ask who's taken my baby, and why? But that's just the question she and other members of the May Mothers' mommy group have been trying to answer since taking a baby-break for a rare night of fun at a trendy bar. What was supposed to be a well-deserved respite from their exhaustion turns into a nightmare when Winnie's son is abducted from his crib. With few clues to lead investigators to the baby, the women are plagued with fear and suspicion. Secrets ripple beneath the surface of these friends' lives until one ignites a firestorm in their tenuous new-mother sisterhood. VERDICT For lovers of cunning narrative suspense in the vein of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, this debut novel, which is being adapted for the screen by actress Kerry Washington, will keep readers turning the pages, sending chills to mothers everywhere. [See Prepub Alert, 11/21/17.]--K.L. Romo, Duncanville, TX

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 1, 2018
A mommy group attempts to get to the bottom of a baby's disappearance in Molloy's debut."Bad things happen in heat like this." The May Mothers is a group of Brooklyn women whose children share May birthdates and who enjoy bonding over the trials and tribulations of new motherhood. There's gorgeous and brash Brit Nell Mackey, ghostwriter Colette Yates, sweet-natured Southerner Francie Givens, and Token, which is the nickname they've given the sole stay-at-home dad in the group, whom they assume is gay. Then there's single mom Winnie Ross, an otherworldly beauty who sets herself apart but seems devoted to her little boy, Midas. When Nell suggests a moms' night out without the babies, Winnie is reluctant to go, but Nell won't take no for an answer, even offering to provide a babysitter. They drink the night away at a local bar, and before they leave, Nell receives a phone call from the babysitter with the news that Midas is missing, taken from his crib while she slept. Against the sweltering Brooklyn summer, the ladies, horrified at the mounting sensationalism of the case, use their various skills to dig into Winnie's secretive past, hoping to bring little Midas home. The narrative rotates among the moms, offering insight into their varied lives, and readers will think they've got this one figured out, but the surprises, and revelations, come fast and often. A bonus: Emails sent to the May Mothers by a website called The Village--where they all registered--precede each chapter, doling out smug, one-size-fits-all advice on babies' milestones.Molloy, a master of clever misdirection, deftly explores the expectations, insecurities, and endless judgement that accompany motherhood in this fast-paced thriller featuring a bevy of strong, smart, and realistically flawed women who, refreshingly, have each other's backs when it counts the most. Mesmerizing.

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