A Good Enough Mother, Bev Thomas
A Good Enough Mother, Bev Thomas
4 Rating(s)
List: $22.50 | Sale: $15.75
Club: $11.25

A Good Enough Mother

Author: Bev Thomas

Narrator: Rebecca Lacey

Unabridged: 10 hr 10 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 04/30/2019


Synopsis

"Taut, absorbing and psychologically astute, in A Good Enough Mother Bev Thomas combines all the tension of a thriller with the emotional resonance of a powerful family drama."
--Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train

"Perfect for fans of The Silent Patient." --Booklist

A riveting page-turner that lets us inside the secret world of therapist and patient, where boundaries get crossed, and events spiral out of control. . .

Ruth Hartland is a psychotherapist with years of experience. But professional skill is no guard against private grief. The mother of grown twins, she is haunted by the fact that her beautiful, difficult, fragile son Tom, a boy who never "fit in," disappeared a year and a half earlier. She cannot give up hope of finding him, but feels she is living a kind of half-life, waiting for him to return.

Enter a new patient, Dan--unstable and traumatized--who looks exactly like her missing son. She is determined to help him, but soon, her own complicated feelings, about how she has failed her own boy, cloud her professional judgement. And before long, the unthinkable becomes a shattering reality....

An utterly compelling drama with a timebomb at its core, A Good Enough Mother is a brilliant, beautiful story of mothering, and how to let go of the ones we love when we must.

About The Author

Bev Thomas was a clinical psychologist in the NHS for many years. She currently works as an organizational consultant in mental health and other services. She lives in London with her family.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Lindsay L on October 29, 2020

5 stars! Ruth is a successful psychotherapist who specializes in trauma patients. She is the director of a well known and highly respected therapy centre. This story provides an intimate look into her work life with her patients and staff as well as her personal life with the tragic loss of her son w......more

Goodreads review by Janel on July 30, 2021

Sometimes novels are categorised as psychological thrillers but the psychological element is weak; that is not the case with A Good Enough Mother! The psychological pull of this novel was so intense, I flew through it in no time at all. Not only did it thrill my mind, but the psychology on display w......more

Goodreads review by Gemma on March 30, 2019

I struggled to finish this. I found there was alot of time hopping and didn't really feel it got going till past the 70% mark. The ending felt obvious from alot earlier in the book. Unfortunately I didn't find the characters particularly likeable or relatable either. Overall rather disappointing. I volu......more

Goodreads review by 8stitches 9lives on April 04, 2019

A Good Enough Mother is described by one retailer as a psychological thriller and another as general fiction, but I think the most accurate genre for it to be placed in is that of domestic drama. It broaches many prevalent issues and due to that would make a fitting book club read fuelling many deba......more

Goodreads review by Patricija || book.duo on September 18, 2020

4/5 Kad ir kas nutiktų, motina neturi išsirinkti favorito. Ar ne tokios žaidimo taisyklės, ne tokia mantra? Galime rinktis favoritus visur ir visada, tačiau tėvų numylėtiniai – griežčiausias tabu. Nes mylėti reikia vienodai. Džiaugtis pasiekimais vienodai. Linkėti geriausio vienodai. Stengtis. Stumte......more


Quotes

Praise for A Good Enough Mother:

“A taut, intelligent psychological thriller. . . Thomas plots her twists and turns so ingeniously that even veteran suspense readers will be floored. . . Thomas joins the ranks of first-rate masters of misdirection who delight in artfully distracting us readers from the terrible truths planted right before our eyes.”
—The Washington Post

“A compelling, ingenious novel about grief, love, the healing process, and what it means to mother. . .  Perfect for fans of psychological fiction, in particular Alex Michaelides' The Silent Patient.”
—Booklist

“A Good Enough Mother is both a heartbreaking story of love and loss and a hopeful meditation on the winding path to healing.””
—BookPage

“[An] exceptional debut. . . Thomas melds astute psychological insight with powerful storytelling in this moving thriller.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Riveting. . .  a gripping debut. . . Thomas knows how to fashion a story.”
—The Sunday Times (London)

“An intelligent novel on the dilemmas of the therapist-client relationship and good parenting.”
—The Guardian (UK)

“Compelling.” 
—Stylist (UK)
 
“A brilliant, genre-defying exploration of the complexities of motherhood, and of the constant conflict between reason and emotion. . . So eclectic that it won’t be pigeon-holed in a genre, it’s simply a great work of taut, engaging fiction.”
—Thriller Books Journal (UK)

“A Good Enough Mother is not just everything a great thriller should be—haunting, emotional, charged with depth and power—it is also a gorgeous and devastating examination of motherhood that cuts right to the heart.” 
—Aimee Molloy,
 New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Mother

“Taut, absorbing and psychologically astute, in A Good Enough Mother Bev Thomas combines all the tension of a thriller with the emotional resonance of a powerful family drama.”
—Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train

“This powerful story of love, loss--and ultimately, healing--will resonate with anyone who has ever loved a child.”
Kim Edwards, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Memory Keeper’s Daughter

“The suspense is raw and enthralling, with a strong emotional ache at its center.”
Hilma Wolitzer, author of An Available Man

“Both a riveting account of what goes on behind the scenes at your therapist's office and a dark meditation on motherhood, marriage and grief. I couldn't put it down.” 
Lisa Gabriele, author of The Winters

“Packs an emotional punch and is a gripping, original read. It is a novel full of loss and longing and the complexities of human relationships.” 
Kate Hamer, author of The Girl in the Red Coat

“A beautiful, compelling book about the hopes and terrors of motherhood. You’ll stay up reading way too late, desperate to find out what happens next . . . and even when you manage to put the book down, Ruth’s story will haunt you.” 
Gin Phillips, author of Fierce Kingdom