The Better Mother

A Thriller

De: Jennifer van der Kleut

Narrado por: Xe Sands

A woman ends up pregnant after a casual fling, but the father's girlfriend has much more sinister intentions in this plot-driven suspense debut.

A modern spin on Fatal Attraction meets The Hand that Rocks the Cradle, perfect for fans of The Last Mrs. Parrish.

Still recovering from a devastating breakup, 34-year-old Savannah Mitchell has finally managed to put her life back together when she gets the shock of her life—after a brief fling with a man named Max, she is pregnant.

When she gets in touch to tell him, he reveals that he’s just gotten back together with his ex, Madison, and he will need time to break it to her. Surprisingly, Madison isn’t upset—in fact, she’s excited, and wants to help.

Max insists Madison has the best of intentions, but Savannah finds her efforts—popping by uninvited, demanding lifestyle changes, and pretty much trying to take over the pregnancy—anything but helpful. When Savannah finally stands up for herself, Madison’s treatment of her goes from casually cruel to downright dangerous.

All Savannah wanted to do was form a friendly co–parenting relationship with the father of her child—but his new girlfriend obviously has much more sinister plans in mind.

She has no plans to co-parent at all.

©2025 Jennifer van der Kleut (P)2025 Jennifer van der Kleut

Wow! So stressful.

Great book right out the gate. Twisty to the end and kept me on the edge of my seat.

Good book but.,,

The narrator’s voice was too weak and trembling for me. That was ok for parts of the book but didn’t work overall.

No Spoilers…

I think this is good and worth the credit. That being said, the last 1/4 of the book goes off the rails and becomes less and less plausible. If you can get past that, it’s a great book.

Predictable but Still Addictive

3.5⭐ rounded up

This one was wild and kept me on edge of my seat the whole time. It was predictable, and unrealistic but still engaging enough that I didn’t want to stop listening.

I love unhinged characters, but these characters felt a little flat. Still, the story moved fast and kept my attention. It was a bit too long imo and filled with fluff in spots .

Xe Sands wasn’t my favorite narrator for this one. I usually like her, but her style didn’t quite fit this book.

⚠️⚠️Definitely check trigger warnings before starting⚠️⚠️

Still better than a Freida McFadden book 😂😆🤷‍♀️

meh

I wouldn't say the booknwas a thriller or suspenseful. It was anxiety inducing, but in a cringe way. I was hoping for Hand That Rocks the Cradle, but got the Jerry Springer show.