Just What Kind of Mother Are You?

by Paula Daly

In Paula Daly's pulse-pounding and gut-wrenching debut novel, motherhood, marriage, and friendship are tested when a small-town community is unsettled by a string of shocking events.

Lisa Kallisto is doing her best to juggle the demands of an overburdened life: she holds down a busy job running an animal shelter, cares for three demanding children, and worries that her husband isn't getting enough TLC. During an incredibly hectic week, Lisa takes her eye off the ball for just a moment, and her whole world descends into a nightmare. Her best friend's thirteen-year-old daughter goes missing, and it's all Lisa's fault. Wracked with guilt over her mistake, and having been publicly blamed, Lisa sets out to right her wrong. But as she begins digging beneath the surface, Lisa learns that everything is not quite what it first appears to be.

Gripping and fast-paced, Just What Kind of Mother Are You? introduces an outstanding new thriller writer with a sharp eye and terrifying imagination for the horrors that lurk in our everyday lives.

• ISBN13: 9780802122810
• Publish Date: 9 September 2014 (first published 25 April 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Leah]

A little while ago I read - and absolutely loved - Paula Daly's second novel Keep Your Friends Close. It was ridiculously good, with a twist at the end that shocked the living daylights out of me. It genuinely left me open-mouthed in shock, surprise, awe, and amazement. So when I spotted Just What Kind of Mother Are You? at the library, it was MINE. According to Amazon, I do actually have a copy of the book, but I forgot! So I got it from the library and it was just as amazing as Keep Your Friends Close.

First up, let me get this off my chest: I did not, for a long, long time whilst reading this book, understand why a) Lisa blamed herself for Lucinda going missing or b) anyone else blamed Lisa for Lucinda going missing. For so long, it baffled and confused me - because where was Kate, Lucinda's mother, in all of this? If Kate was such a helicopter parent, why hadn't she tried to get in touch with Lucinda? It made me actually angry, because I felt it was unfair to Lisa. I just didn't get it. But, thankfully, this did eventually make sense. But it irritated me. Boy, did it irritate me.

Just What Kind of Mother Are You? was such an intriguing read. I was gripped throughout, and I liked that Lisa was determined to find Lucinda, despite being blamed, and the switch between Lisa's point of view and the third-person point of view of Joanne was amazing (although, thinking back as I type this, what happened to Joanne's surgery, Paula?!?!?! DID SHE GET IT, OR WHAT?!?) and I actually really liked Joanne. I'd even love to see her brought back, because she's the kind of detective you really like, who just does their job, and gets on with it. Lisa was also kind of amazing, she had the guilt because Lucinda had disappeared, she was juggling her kids, her job, her husband, all that stuff, and still managed to keep her head. Although for the longest time I had so many suspicions about her and Joe. You know when you just get a bad feeling? I had a bad feeling - and I was hoping I was wrong, actually, because it's lovely to see a married couple in a crime novel actually be in love with each other - what a novelty that is. I think that's why I was so paranoid - because it was all going so swimmingly.

I really, really enjoyed Just What Kind of Mother Are You? It was a fascinating insight into small-town life, and kinda-toxic friendships, and whether you can trust literally anybody? The right answer is no, you can't. Just do not trust people, it's so not worth it. Paula Daly is a cracking author, I've read two of her books now and she'll be on my must-buy list for the foreseeable. I already have The Mistake I Made, and I see she has a new book out next year, so yay. I am a happy reader and if you've never read Paula Daly, I suggest you do, because she writes immense crime fiction.