Just What Kind of Mother are You?

By: Paula Daly

Narrated by: Laura Brattan

Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's Summary

Lisa Kallisto is the not-so-perfect model of the modern woman. During an impossibly hectic week, Lisa takes her eye off the ball for a moment and her world descends into a living nightmare. Not only is her best friend's thirteen-year-old daughter missing, but it's Lisa's fault. To make matters worse, Lucinda is the second teenage girl to disappear within the past two weeks. The first one turned up stripped bare and abandoned on the main street after a horrible ordeal. Wracked with guilt over her mistake, and after having been publicly blamed by Lucinda's family, Lisa sets out to right the wrong. As she begins digging under the surface, Lisa learns that everything is not quite what it first appears to be.

©2013 Paula Daly (P)2013 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Critic Reviews

Starred review. "...this intriguing blend of suspense tale and domestic drama, which has a number of delicious plot twists, will keep readers riveted." ( Booklist)

Starred review. "A distinctive voice, masterful plotting, and pitch-perfect characterizations mark British author Daly's superb debut." ( Publishers Weekly)

Could this have been me?

If you could sum up Just What Kind of Mother are You? in three words, what would they be?

The three words I would use to describe this book are;
1. -thought provoking ( counting this as one :-)
2. -interesting
3. -drawn out ( in the beginning)

If you could rename Just What Kind of Mother are You?, what would you call it?

The title is perfect! It's eye catching, true to the story. Over all just a great name that reflects every parent that self evaluates and observes others, at one time or another, in whIch I think most of us do.

Any additional comments?

This was a good book and worth the credit. The english accent was not too pronounced and did not interfere with comprehension. It's about a few families and the ups and downs we all experience. One mothers, that is really hard on herself, realizes that some peoples/family go through a great deal to hide their secrets and how deceptive appearances can be.
Most of those "perfect" people/families by appearance are a facade. Sometime their issues use others that are not so savvy in the game to keep it all glued to together. In some cases that glue doesn't stick as well as expected and may expose deep, hidden, embarrassing, ugly information that would turn their families inside out. While it opens the eyes of naïve family's/people that try to "keep up with the Jones's" in a financial organizational and domestic way. I found it difficult to put down.

The Villain was a surprise but there weren't many characters to choose from to keep you guessing. I think, if it it were a little more suspenseful, and didn't drag on in the beginning, I would have given it 5 stars.

Excellent performance

What did you love best about Just What Kind of Mother are You??

I liked the performance the best. The narrator was absolutely amazing.

What other book might you compare Just What Kind of Mother are You? to and why?

I don't really know. It was something of a thriller, a little predictable but still a really good story. Funny in places, touching in others.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. It was really engaging and because of the narrator I felt like I was listening to a movie. Very good job.

TwistyTurny!

Read the books out of order but no biggie. Totally enjoyed the detective and her aunt in both books. The dynamics between the husband and wife was honest and raw. I laughed in several spots and pegged the wrong criminal. Hated it to end!

Really Really Good

This author didn't over do it by overwriting. This book was just right. Narration could not be better. This is in the category of psychological suspense, my favorite. I highly recommend.

So Good! But, Could That Have Been Any of Us?

How I loved this book! First, the narration is so precisely wonderful! What a great voice Laura Brattan provides, and couples it with skilled performance reading! Then, the story. . . I don't want to give it up, but when busy parents get busier and busier and things fountain out of control, what is the first to give? Top that with the idea of keeping up with the Joneses, coveting the lifestyle of "the perfect" people in the neighborhood and community and it's no wonder that things can run amok. This is an "it could happen to you" story. . . which the author says was encouraged by an Oprah show when, because of her non-thinking action, a woman sobbingly confessed that she was the most hated mother in the world. This story doesn't copy the Oprah show at all, only the concept that busy parents can overlook the most mundane things with tragic consequences.
A GREAT read. Don't hesitate. It is not a dreary, gloomy book. Just real life. Realistic characters. A REAL good listen.

Excellent read!!!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book in its entirety. It takes a really suspenseful fast paced book to keep me listening otherwise I'm quick to get bored and not finish. I recommend this book WHOLEHEARTEDLY! The author reminds me a bit of Lisa Jewell but I think she outshines Ms. Jewell with this book. I did enjoy Lisa Jewell's book, Then She Was Gone and this book was similar but I thought it was more of a thrill ride. I always read the negative reviews first because I do think some people are paid to give EXCELLENT reviews or they may be compensated in some way. This book has few negative reviews and that's why I chose to read it. I got it yesterday and finished it by mid day today. That's how good it was that it kept me listening through to the end, Read it! I bet you will like it also!

Loved it!

I still can’t remember who recommended this to me, but I had it in my wish list for a long time. I am so glad I listen to this book! It was so engaging, the characters were awesome. I didn’t want to stop running errands in my car so I could listen to it longer! Give it a try!

Awesome.

So realistic. I can’t say anything but good about this book. I loved it, and it went way too fast.

Solid mystery

Any additional comments?

My first read by this author was Keep Your Friends Close, a later work of hers that was so sharp and clever that I took it out for a second listen years afterwards. What a nice surprise it was to find that DC Joann Aspinall and her eccentric Aunt Jackie had their origins in this book. As before, I really enjoyed listening in on the thought processes of characters I could wholly relate to while attempting to put the puzzle pieces of the crafty plot together. Not quite as sharp as Keep Your Friends Close, but certainly an entertaining read. Worth the credit, looking forward to more of her stuff.

Excellent and original with fantastic narration!!

This is my first book by this author, and I've heard it is different from her norm. Although some of the subject matter is hard to hear, the book is so good and so well done, and the narrator is brilliant.
I'm going to listen to one of her others next, and hope it's as good. I highly recommend this one!