The Wrong Mother: the heart-pounding, twisty thriller with a chilling end

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The premise of the book is unique, the book is split between the past and present. The start is confusing because you're trying to make sense of the situation unfolding for Faye, its unclear on whats happening and you're glued reading it. But as you read, little breadcrumbs of information is revealed and you start to get the bigger picture of things. As thats happening the harder it is for me to get into the book. I think the actual premise of the book is stupid - its not really a realistic thing. I'm not aware if something like it exists and if so its illegal??, but I found it hard to wrap my brain around the concept of a 'Mating' app. Lily finally goes to Maddie’s house for about 5 mins and then finds photos of her family and a therapist card on a desk. Lily goes to the office of the therapist, who lets her come in and talk without an appointment. The therapist is trying to diagnose Lily with anxiety? Lily keeps trying to clarify that she doesn’t need therapy, she is trying to see if a patient is dangerous. When the therapist hears Maddie’s name, she is like… oh her? She is VERY dangerous. (The therapist should know, she gets murdered in the next scene.) There are so many questions to this thriller that will keep you guessing right up to the end. It was an engaging tale with some surprising twists (and some not so surprising) but an entertaining read all the same. I loved the village setting and along with the giant bonfire and Guy being constructed on the village green gave an air of Midsomer about it, making it very atmospheric.

I HATE movies that burn houses down. It's usually COMPLETELY unnecessary, (as it is here), and adds NOTHING to the plot. I know, I know, this is a visual metaphor for Vanessa's mental state, but it's not believable. Women tend not to destroy, or even make a mess when they kill themselves. Even with murder/suicides, women tend to use poison/water/etc., means that don't destroy the body. Sally Thorning, part-time environment rescuer and full-time mother, struggles to maintain her sanity and juggle the overwhelming demands of work and home in this superior psychological mystery from British author Hannah ( Little Face Mykel Shannon Jenkins gives a first rate portrayal of Detective Dawkins, the hard nosed cop, who can smell something is not right. The BMW Samantha drives would have a built in alarm system, it's completely unbelievable Vanessa would be able to access it. This book falls into the latter category. I was so creeped out at one point that I was frozen for a minute, fighting with myself about skipping to the end for that reassurance (I resisted, but only after a stern mental talking-to).

Maddie spends the middle half of this movie peaking over door frames and reviewing nanny cam footage. She is pretty stalkery. I'd like to think she wouldn't have done these things if she hadn't been injured and traumatized, but like I said it's consistent with her reasoning from the very beginning of the story. Even at her most sympathetic, this character bothers me, because what happened *didn't just happen to her*. There's a murder investigation and in many ways she's obstructing it, and all because she values secrecy even over her own life, let alone anyone else's. Then there are the kids. I'm sorry, but if you're a close and loving family then the kids will want to see their mother at the earliest opportunity. However, Toby and Zoey, are only all too happy to not bother her. If it had been me, I would have been sneaking in to see her. You don't even see them at the hospital with her. If the writer and director had added a couple of extra scenes with the kids it would have made the story a little more believable and relatable. The disappointment of a living legend is enough to get Lily to confront Maddie in front of Michael. Lily accuses Maddie of rewriting AND sending her a college essay for her. Maddie admits to making edits, and for some reason, Michel sympathizes with Maddie AGAIN? A disturbed woman, Vanessa Renzi, ( Brooke Nevin) hunts down the family who received her egg donation. She plans on reclaiming 'her family', the twins she believes belong to her, and the man who fathered them. If the woman who gave birth to them, Kaylene ( Vanessa Marcil), gets in her way, Vanessa will do whatever it takes to keep 'her' family together. Whatever it takes....

Sophie Hannah's story is so brilliantly complex that I could not read it too late at night, for fear of nodding off and missing some key elements. The way all the sub stories that had been carefully planted in the readers mind came together to make a powerful conclusion A murder mystery, a psychological study—these elements are set against an almost comedic exploration of the police detectives assigned to the case to form a multilayered drama. Zoey ( Arden Richardson) and Toby ( Cooper Dodson). There's family chemistry between these actors, and this makes the story so much more believable. Nothing here seems forced, and these people seem to really care for one another.

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The usual comically unrealistic LMN plot. Let us go through all the things that were wrong with this. The film was a by-the-numbers psycho-on-the-loose film and excessively unpleasant. In the course of the film, we learn a great deal about in vitro pregnancy and related issues such as "cankles," the swelling that occurs in the feet, ankles, and hands in the final trimester.

Is Sophie Hannah a literary genius? Nah. But hey, all you haters — I invite you to try constructing a plot like this one: twisty, intricate, and relentlessly leave-'em-guessing. I was engrossed, and I admired this thriller all the way through. This story also hangs on some deliciously nerdy hinges: idioms, the way in which a native versus a non-native English speaker writes, and — be still my heart! — the perils of find/replace in MS Word. But a year later, Faye's dream has turned into a nightmare. She's on the run from Louis with baby Jake in tow, ditching her damp pokey flat and her beloved piano, in search of somewhere safe to hide. And then she sees an advertisement for a room to rent... I have books 5, 6, 7, and 9 and I think I will read them in the future but might not bother to buy the books in between that I don't have. Don’t forget to listen to the Lifetime Uncorked Podcastavailable on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts! The setting of a lot of the book in Helston in Norfolk, and how the village was preparing for its annual Bonfire Night celebrations that were known County wideFaye is 39 and single. She's terrified she may never have the one thing she always wanted: a child of her own. But for fans of these made for TV movies "The Wrong Mother" is still watch-able as many of the others are with a nice cast delivering their characters in, well thankfully not an awkward manner which certainly helps. And much of what makes "The Wrong Mother" watch-able is that Brooke Nevin does a nice job of bringing out Vanessa's spiteful side with that mix of those classic evil stares and her character's controlling nature. Emboldened, Maddie starts to boss around Nicole and takes away her phone. She also tells Nicole that “Life’s not fair/” (Which was my least favorite response when I was a kid.) IF you can understand the art form that is melodrama, and you like that type of entertainment, you'll like this. If you are looking for lots of believable characters and motives in your TV movies, then give this a pass. She is surprisingly inundated with messages from men (and one woman) who wish to have a baby with her. But one stands out from them all. Louis. They arrange to meet and after a few dates it isn't long before Faye feels that the stars have aligned to bring them together. Faye is falling in love with the smooth-talking Louis and she feels sure from the signals she is getting from him that he feels the same. Maybe they will be one of the couples that make it real.