The Perfect Mother: A Novel

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER An addictive psychological thriller about a group of women whose lives become unexpectedly connected when one of their newborns goes missing.A night out. A few hours of fun. That’s all it was meant to be.They call themselves the May Mothers—a group of new moms whose babies were born in the same month. Twice a week, they get together in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park for some much-needed adult time.When the women go out for drinks at the hip neighborhood bar, they are looking for a fun break from their daily routine. But on this hot Fourth of July night, something goes terrifyingly wrong: one of the babies is taken from his crib. Winnie, a single mom, was reluctant to leave six-week-old Midas with a babysitter, but her fellow May Mothers insisted everything would be fine. Now he is missing. What follows is a heart-pounding race to find Midas, during which secrets are exposed, marriages are tested, and friendships are destroyed.Thirteen days. An unexpected twist. The Perfect Mother is a "true page turner." —B.A. Paris, author of Behind Closed Doors

“Book You Won’t  Want to Miss”| An Indie Next Pick | A Library Reads Pick | A Kirkus Best Book of 2018 | A New York Public Library Best Book of 2018 | A Bustle Gift Guide Pick | A Kirkus Best Thriller of 2018 | A Bookish Best Gift Pick

New York Times Book Review

“I was hooked ... and stayed up late to finish. What do you call a book like that? Oh yeah: a page turner. And it’s a rare and wonderful thing.”

and a subtle, savvy skewering of the endless expectations of modern motherhood.”

“An electrifying thriller

from within and without

“Whip-smart.... Very much in the mold of recent best-sellers like The Girl on the Train and The Woman in the Window, but it’s also a sharply drawn take on the cult of modern parenting and the particular pressure women face

Kerry Washington

“A gripping page turner that explores the pressures of modern motherhood, as well as a mother’s absolute worst nightmare. I could not be prouder to be bringing this thriller to the big screen.”

Marie Claire

“A desperate, thrilling mystery that you’ll think you have all figured out – until you realize you don’t.”

I loved it!”

“A riveting psychological thriller that takes a sharp, insightful look at motherhood, The Perfect Mother explores the pressures, the hopes, the fears, and the secrets between a group of friends who realize how little they know one another when a crisis strikes. A fast-paced, twisty, engrossing read

Washington Post,

“A fresh addition to the psycho-thriller shelf.”

Parade

“Utterly page-turning.”

Kirkus Reviews (starred)

“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.”

Los Angeles Review of Books

“A novel about internalized sexism, specifically as it relates to motherhood.... Each protagonist has a demon of her own to fight, and with it a new angled on the fundamental question of how a woman can reject the world’s beliefs about who she should be.”

Liv Constantine, author of The Last Mrs. Parrish

“For a charmed group of new moms, a girls’ night out ends in one mother’s worst nightmare. In twist after masterful twist, secrets and lies begin to unravel; The Perfect Mother is a tense and riveting page turner with an ending you won’t see coming.”

Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Keeps readers guessing... bound to press familiar hot buttons and unnerve many readers.”

a true page turner!”

“I raced through The Perfect Mother, desperate to find out what would happen. Both the writing and the characterization are excellent, and it was so easy to identify with these women and the pressure they are under.  I absolutely loved it

Kimberly McCreight, author of Reconstructing Amelia and Where They Found Her

“A captivating and deeply insightful page-turner, The Perfect Mother is both a riveting mystery and a satisfyingly sharp social commentary about what it means to be a good mother.”

Booklist

“Readers who can’t get enough of suburban suspense along the lines of Liane Moriarty B. A. Paris will want to give this a try.”

Library Journal, starred review[A] promising first novel.... 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.... Her clever narrative structure heightens tension while spotlighting the solitary struggles of motherhood.”

“For lovers of cunning narrative suspense in the vein of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, this debut novel.... Will keep readers turning the pages.”

BookPage

“Impressive and satisfying.... This gripping and fresh novel will provoke as much thought as it does excitement.”

Working Mother

“Perfect for fans of Gone Girl. If you’re looking for a dose of suspense combined with wry observations about modern motherhood, this is it.”

From the Back Cover

They call themselves the May Mothers—a group of new moms whose babies were born in the same month. Twice a week, they get together in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park for some much-needed adult time.When the women go out for drinks at a hip neighborhood bar, they’re looking for a fun break from their daily routine. But on this hot Fourth of July night, something goes terrifyingly wrong: one of the babies is taken from his crib. Winnie, a single mom, was reluctant to leave six-week-old Midas with a babysitter, but her fellow May  Mothers insisted everything would be fine. Now he is missing. What follows is a heart-pounding race to find Midas, during which secrets are exposed, marriages are tested, and friendships are destroyed. Thirteen days. An unexpected twist.

About the Author

Aimee Molloy’s debut novel, The Perfect Mother, was a New York Times bestseller, and has been translated into more than twenty languages. She lives in Western Massachusetts with her family.

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