Happy Release Day!
Congrats Zoje
on the release today of
Mothered!
Mothered by Zoje Stage
Mystery Thriller, 317 pages
Published March 1, 2023 by Thomas & Mercer
From the USA Today bestselling author of the international sensation Baby Teeth comes a claustrophobic psychological thriller about one woman’s nightmarish spiral while quarantined with her mother.
Grace isn’t exactly thrilled when her newly widowed mother, Jackie, asks to move in with her. They’ve never had a great relationship, and Grace likes her space—especially now that she’s stuck at home during a pandemic. Then again, she needs help with the mortgage after losing her job. And maybe it’ll be a chance for them to bond—or at least give each other a hand.
But living with Mother isn’t for everyone. Good intentions turn bad soon after Jackie moves in. Old wounds fester; new ones open. Grace starts having nightmares about her disabled twin sister, who died when they were kids. And Jackie discovers that Grace secretly catfishes people online—a hobby Jackie thinks is unforgivable.
When Jackie makes an earth-shattering accusation against her, Grace sees it as an act of revenge, and it sends her spiraling into a sleep-deprived madness. As the walls close in, the ghosts of Grace’s past collide with a new but familiar threat: Mom.
My thoughts about Mothered ~~
(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)
First line—"Silas loved a good puzzle, especially if it involved pieces of science and soul, the known and the unknown. What made a human turn monstrous?"
I was blown away by this author's debut novel, Baby Teeth. So intense, and yes, a bit creepy. Mothered was just as intense and creepy, maybe even just a little bit more so. And so disturbing! I loved every single bit of it! What does that say about me?
Grace has taken in her mother Jackie as they are both struggling and hoping that by being together, things will be easier for both of them. What they didn't factor in was the fact that there were a lot of issues between them that had never been resolved, as well as the fact that the world was in crazy-time mode with the pandemic out there.
Grace's struggles and dreams turn into nightmares, literally, and honestly, they had me sitting on the edge of my seat, cringing. I had to stop every once in a while to catch my breathe. But again, like I said before, I loved every minute of this story!
And then the ending had me sitting back in my seat wondering what the heck I just read. And where the characters and the story could go from there. Mind-boggling!
I highly recommend Mothered—even with it's somewhat disturbing cover—if you like edge-of-your-seat, troubling, twist-and-turn types of stories. Mothered is that kind of story for sure and you will not be disappointed.
I received a copy of Mothered from the author and this is my honest opinion.
About the author
Zoje Stage's debut novel, Baby Teeth, was a USA Today and international bestseller. It was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award and named one of the best books of the year by Forbes Magazine, Library Journal, PopSugar, Barnes & Noble, Bloody Disgusting, and BookBub. Her follow-up novel, Wonderland, was described in a starred review from Booklist as a "beautifully choreographed and astonishing second novel." And with her third book, Getaway, the New York Times declared her "a writer with a gift for the lyrical and the frightening." She lives in Pittsburgh with her cats. ~ Goodreads
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