Single Mother by Samantha Hayes

Published: January 5th, 2021
Publisher: Bookouture
Format: Kindle, Audio
Genre: Psychological Thriller

Welcome to me stop on the blog tour for this compelling thriller. Thank you to Bookouture for the invitation to take part and the eBook ARC.

SYNOPSIS:

I will do anything to protect my daughter. She’s all I’ve ever wanted and all I really have, but the moment I opened that letter and accepted the inheritance, I walked us right into a dangerous trap.

I know I should have got her to tell me who she’s been talking to on the phone late at night, and where she was the day I went to pick her up from school and couldn’t find her, but she’s not spoken a word since she found that little pile of bones buried in the garden.

And now she’s missing…

A jaw-dropping, addictive and totally twisty psychological thriller that will have you sleeping with the light on! Perfect for anyone who loved The Girl on the Train, Friend Request or The Wife Between Us.

MY REVIEW:

Single Mother is another first-rate thriller from Ms. Hayes. The intriguing prologue immediately draws you in and compels you to keep reading as you need to make sense of what you just read. Who was the woman? What – or who – was in the bag?

Single mum Mel will do anything to protect her daughter. Particularly from her abusive father Billy. She will sacrifice anything to make sure she’s safe. So when she loses her job, finds out Billy might have been released from prison and discovers she’s inherited a hotel from a mysterious benefactor all in the space of one day, she does the only thing she can do: move to the hotel where her ex can’t find them.

But once at Moreton Inn she finds it isn’t quite the sanctuary she’d hoped it would be. The hotel holds dark secrets and not everyone is pleased with her windfall. Once again Mel finds herself fighting to protect her daughter. But this time, the odds are life and death.

Samatha Hayes is one of those authors who I jump at the chance to take part in blog tours for as I know I am getting great quality writing, fascinating characters and a supercharged plot. She just keeps getting better and I think this could be her best book yet. Jaw-dropping, twisty and emotionally charged, it had me on the edge of my seat. And even though I guessed a lot of the twists, it didn’t dampen my enjoyment or mean this wasn’t still full of surprises.

Mel is a great character. As someone who was a single mother for many years and left an abusive ex, I saw a lot of myself in her and thought the author portrayed her as the perfect mix of feisty and determined yet vulnerable and afraid. She’s still dealing with the trauma from her abusive relationship and for me it was the small details that made it so realistic and resonate with me so much; things like finding joy in putting on body spray because her ex wouldn’t have allowed it. Even over a decade later, I will still find myself getting a kick from the fact I can do something my ex wouldn’t have allowed.

Another character I enjoyed was Miss Sarah. She was eerie, ghostlike and very gothic and I loved the mystery surrounding her. She has so much presence and impact every time she’s on the page despite the fact she never says a word. I got literal goosebumps on my arms a few times and didn’t want to turn out the light for fear of imagining her standing there in the dark!

If you enjoy psychological thrillers with a dash of spine-tingling fear, then this is the book for you. Just be prepared to get sucked in because once I started, I didn’t want to put this one down.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Samantha Hayes grew up in a creative family where her love of writing began as a child. Samantha has written eight thrillers in total, including the bestselling Until You’re Mine. The Independent said “fantastically written and very tense” while Good Housekeeping said “Her believable psychological thrillers are completely gripping.” Samantha’s books are published in 22 languages at the last count.

When not writing, Samantha loves to cook, go to the gym, see friends and drink nice wine. She is also studying for a degree in psychotherapy. She has three grown-up children and lives in Warwickshire.

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