[REVIEW] Mother May I

title: Mother May I

author: Joshilyn Jackson
genre: adult, suspense
published: April 6th 2021 by William Morrow
my copy: eGalley, 336
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 3 / 5 stars
goodreads

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. 

Bree will do whatever it takes to protect her family—but what if the cost tears their world apart?

lacks on certain aspect but I do like the overall point of it.

When I requested this, I didn't really read through the plot. Then reading the first chapter or two, I found out that it involves a kidnapping of a child (so there's that for ❗❗ trigger warning). But unlike See How They Run and The Couple Next Door, Mother May I is a revenge plot.

Mother May I follows Bree Cabbat whose child was kidnapped and was then blackmailed by an old woman to do a simple task. From there, Bree together with her long time friend, Marshall, went through things and found out things about her husband that she did not expect. She asks him about this and he may or may not be telling the entire story or he may simply be telling the story based on his own bias perspective. Either way, she may need to reassess her relationship with her husband at the end of the day.

The story didn't exactly grab me from the get go. I didn't care about Bree nor about Marshall. And Bree's trust to the old woman blackmailing her is quite interesting although it doesn't seem like a smart choice but I do get it because of her fear/worry about her child. The fear aspect for the safety of her child didn't really feel as strong as how it was in any of the books I mentioned or maybe because of how I feel right from the beginning or maybe how it is written or narrated that there really isn't a threat to the child.

It did get better for me when part three of the book rolled in. I don't want to say anything since that would be ruining your experience with the book (unless you've read it elsewhere already. lol) but it tackles a somewhat sensitive topic although it's not really graphic, in my opinion, but it was mentioned and it's a pivotal part of the ending which I am not exactly happy about (because where is justice there?). None! None at all!

OVERALL, Mother May I is a suspenseful novel that deals with an important topic. It feels that it didn't really deliver much on the suspense side though although that could just be me expecting it to really put me on the edge all the time and being too nervous for the situation. I think that the story was generally okay though but the ending/resolution for the tragedy that went on just didn't feel enough or right for me (we can talk about the ending I guess, if I'm missing details in my head. Chat me up on Twitter/Insta 😅 )

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