Mother Dearest - by Clare Bird (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A pulse-pounding, "you have to read it to believe it" domestic suspense novel featuring a young woman writing letters to her estranged mother about the man she'll marry...except he already has a wife and family.

Imogene always wanted her freedom from her mother, and now she has it.

Mother Dearest,

I am still trying to sift through the events of last night. It all feels very surreal. When I woke up this morning, I hoped it was a dream. I'd even accept it as a nightmare. But it's not. I'm not with you and that alone feels catastrophic. I can't believe we had our first fight!

But the tendrils connecting a mother to her daughter will always run deep.

Freedom is a funny thing. It's something I wanted so badly, but now I'm wondering if what I had with you was better? Is the price of all of this going to be worth it? Do you miss me yet?
What you said was hurtful, but I know I deserved it. I'm still processing my departure, it was rather sudden. I hope you know I haven't been planning this. It just happened.

Imogene doesn't know how to handle her mother's estrangement. But then she meets the perfect man, the one even her mother would approve of. She just knows that once they get married, her mother will welcome her back with open arms. Except he has a wife and daughter.

As mother always said, a problem is only a problem until you solve it.

A claustrophobic and can't-look-away thriller, MOTHER DEAREST will have you on the edge of your seat with this sharp story you won't ever forget.

"Unhinged." - Kelsey Cox

"Chilling." - Alex Finlay

"So addictive it should come with a warning." - #1 New York Times bestselling author Alice Feeney

Review Quotes

"I devoured this deliciously dark novel in one day. Clever, original, and so addictive it should come with a warning. Unique and unforgettable, I loved this book." --New York Times bestselling author Alice Feeney

"It's hard to believe this is Clare Bird's first novel--she writes with such confidence and makes striking use of an inventive structure. Mother Dearest is a bold, chilling debut that breathes new life into the psychological thriller." --Alex Finlay, bestselling author of Parents Weekend

"Unhinged and addictive! I tore through Mother Dearest, completely consumed by its unnerving voice and suffocating emotional grip. Clare Bird delivers a razor-tight psychological thriller that is as disturbing as it is impossible to stop reading." --USA Today bestselling author Kelsey Cox

"Imogene Billings wants one thing: the perfect man to bring home to Mother. He just happens to belong to someone else. Told entirely in letters from a narrator so convinced she's the heroine of this story that you'll almost believe her, Mother Dearest is Clare Bird's wickedly funny, deeply unsettling debut, and one of the most compulsively readable books you'll pick up this year. Move this one to the top of your TBR--Imogene will not be taking no for an answer." --Kimberly Belle, internationally bestselling author of The Expat Affair

"Laughed out loud. Disclaimer - my sense of humour is as dark as pitch. Oh, Imogene. How I was rooting for you. No greater love hath a daughter for a mother. Or her aunty. Or her perfect man (sadly already married, but hey). Children, not so much. A wickedly funny page turner with Hansel and Gretel vibes." --Tina Baker, author of Call Me Mummy

"You won't believe how darkly clever and chilling this book is. You also won't be able to stop reading." --Holly Craig, bestselling author of The Shallows

About the Author

CLARE BIRD has a Bachelor's degree in Communication Studies from Utah State University, with a minor in Family Human Development and a certificate in Women's and Gender Studies. She has published two short stories. Hiding Behind Pretty is published in Arizona's Emerging Writers. The Shooter's Sister, also a short story, in America's Emerging YA Writers: West Edition. She co-authored two research papers focusing on teens and technology in the Marriage & Family Review and Emerging Adulthood. Mother Dearest is her debut novel.