What Kind of Mother

A Novel

By: Clay McLeod Chapman

Narrated by: Megan Tusing, Joe Hempel

Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Nicholas Sparks meets The Empty Man in this modern Southern Gothic horror about a palm reader swept up in a disturbing missing-child case with a twist you won’t see coming.

After striking out on her own as a teen mom, Madi Price is forced to return to her hometown of Brandywine, Virginia, with her seventeen-year-old daughter. With nothing to her name, she scrapes together a living as a palm reader at the local farmers market.

It’s there that she connects with old high school flame Henry McCabe, now a reclusive local fisherman whose infant son, Skyler, went missing five years ago. Everyone in town is sure Skyler is dead, but when Madi reads Henry’s palm, she’s haunted by strange and disturbing visions that suggest otherwise. As she follows the thread of these visions, Madi discovers a terrifying nightmare waiting at the center of the labyrinth—and it’s coming for everyone she holds dear.

Combining supernatural horror with domestic suspense into a visceral exploration of parental grief, What Kind of Mother cements Clay McLeod Chapman’s reputation as a “star” (Vulture) and “the twenty-first century’s Richard Matheson” (Richard Chizmar, Chasing the Boogeyman).

©2023 Clay McLeod Chapman (P)2023 Blackstone Publishing

Critic reviews

BookRiot Pick

CrimeReads Pick

Indie Next Recommendation

SO WEIRD

Started off ok. kept my interest about a missing child, a palm reader and the search for the child. Then half way through, the bizarre twist ruined the story for me completely! From mystery to sci-fi! not for me!

Couldn’t get into it

I know there is supposed to be a twist, but halfway through I just wasn’t into this at all. Very slow and I felt no connection to the characters.

so farfetched and gross

I felt like I wasted my time the synopsis of the story is not what the story is about.

Not what you expect, no matter what you expect

This story did not go where I thought it would and I was whole heartedly along for the ride.

Both narrators hit emotional notes that catch you by surprise. There was a moment where the pain in Joe’s voice was palpable and where Megan’s fierce love made it all believable.

If you are not a fan of horror some of the descriptions of violence may be too much for you. For me, they brought the kind of physical discomfort I expect from well written horror.

A Fresh Voice and 2 Amazing Narrators

Clay McLeod Chapman's What Kind of Mother is a horror tour de force. It has the psychological cadence of Joyce Carol Oates, the earthy characters of Stephen King, and a deep Lovecraftian understanding of terror of things in the water. Megan Tusing and Joe Hempel gave authentic and nuanced performances that kept the whole thing grounded in verisimilitude. Super impressed with this offering from Blackstone Publishing (the audio production was flawless!) What Kind of Mother has been getting lots of buzz on the social sites, and for good reason. If you're a fan of creepy, under-the-skin, in-the-brain horror, definitely give this a listen!

Worth the wild ride.

Don’t get me wrong, you’ll be confused through a lot of this book. But you’ll absolutely love it. I almost thought I’d have to sleep on it to figure out what I just listened to. But it’s really a story of the lengths a parent will go to for their child, the power of manifestation, and what you put into the world (mother earth/the universe) will give back.

BORING

It was SO boring. I regret purchasing this book. The first 14,000 chapters are about their dumb relationship.

Would Not Read Again

Struggled to finish. First half was great, but the second half just got weird, confusing and downright gross. Definitely not my favorite from this author.

Addictive, yet oddly mind numbing

It is easy to find yourself lost within not only the writing of this novel but by the voice of the female narrator. I'm from VA so this story really peeked my interest. I was obsessed and wanted to keep getting more until the end when it became mind bending and a tad strange but overall I truly enjoyed this!

Might be my new favorite from Chapman.

My skin was crawling on two separate occasions, in the best way. This was dark, weird and strangely heartfelt. Loved it.