Mike and Lisa have been best friends with their neighbors Victoria and Russell since they first moved to town, so when Lisa is arrested for the murder of Russell one night, Mike and Victoria are both shocked and assume it must be a mistake. Lisa knew this day was coming, but she’ll do anything she can to get back to her kids and husband.

THE GUILTY MOTHER by Sam Vickery alternates POVs between Lisa and Victoria, which I found engaging until the two characters’ traits seemed to dissolve into one character.

One of my biggest issues with this book was being in the heads of Lisa and Vic, who were both devoted housewives who just wanted to make their husbands happy - I’m all for a suburban drama, but these characters made me cringe and their placid behavior had me yearning for it all to be over.

And *trigger warning* there was also a use of rape as a plot device, which was both cringe-worthy and felt unnecessary in moving the story forward.

There were some intriguing moments sprinkled throughout, hence the 2.5 stars, but this one was overall a miss for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: April 28, 2023