Mother May I
Bree lives a privileged life after growing up poor. With three beautiful children and a successful lawyer husband, she has a life she couldn't have even dreamed. Then one morning she spies a witch at her window and thinks she is dreaming, but she can't shake the bad feeling her vision brings.
When her baby son disappears, Bree is now at the mercy of another mother, one who is holding Bree's son hostage until Bree completes a task for her. But completing the task opens the door to an ugly past--one that Bree and her family may have to pay for.
With a newborn baby in peril, the premise of this book is absolutely terrifying, and the backstory is also filled with horror. It's no wonder that it seemed to lack Jackson's signature sly wit, though her writing is as excellent as always. Compelling, but sensitive readers may want to steer clear--it's full of triggers.
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Publisher’s Description
The New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Never Have I Ever builds on her success with this addictive novel of domestic suspense in which a mother must decide how far she is willing to go to protect her child and the life she loves–a chilling and thoughtful tale of power, privilege, lies, revenge, and the choices we make, ones that transform our lives in unforeseen ways. Revenge doesn’t wait for permission. Growing up poor in rural Georgia, Bree Cabbat was warned by her single mother that the world was a dark and scary place. Bree rejected her mother’s fearful outlook, and life has proved her right.
Having married into a family with wealth, power, and connections, Bree now has all a woman could ever dream of: a loving lawyer husband, two talented teenage daughters, a new baby boy, a gorgeous home, and every opportunity in the world. Until the day she awakens and sees a witch peering into her bedroom window–an old gray-haired woman dressed all in black who vanishes as quickly as she appears. It must be a play of the early morning light or the remnant of a waking dream, Bree tells herself, shaking off the bad feeling that overcomes her. Later that day though, she spies the old woman again, in the parking lot of her daughters’ private school . . . just minutes before Bree’s infant son, asleep in his car seat only a few feet away, vanishes. It happened so quickly–Bree looked away only for a second.
There is a note left in his place, warning her that she is being is being watched; if she wants her baby back, she must not call the police or deviate in any way from the instructions that will follow. The mysterious woman makes contact, and Bree learns she, too, is a mother. Why would another mother do this? What does she want? And why has she targeted Bree? Of course Bree will pay anything, do anything. It’s her child. To get her baby back, Bree must complete one small–but critical–task. It seems harmless enough, but her action comes with a devastating price, making her complicit in a tangled web of tragedy and shocking secrets that could destroy everything she loves. It is the beginning of an odyssey that will lead Bree to dangerous places, explosive confrontations, and chilling truths.
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