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A review by obsidian_blue
Such a Good Mom: A Novel by Julia Spiro
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
<b> Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review. </b>
Honestly, not a bad thriller, but the whole book just falls apart at one point and never gets itself back on track. I liked the idea of looking at a woman's post-partum depression, but the whole murder to solve thing just felt like a weird combination since there was a lot happening and you didn't have a lot of time to focus.
"Such a Good Mom" focuses on Brynn Nelson who is still reeling after the birth of her son. She's not really able to put into words what is wrong with her, but taking a shower and even sleep seem beyond her. She knows she used to love her husband, but now she feels frustrated by everything he does. When a murder takes place though, Brynn is left investigating because she does not think the person accused could have done it.
It was a bit exhausting being in Brynn's head so much, and honestly that's just because Spiro just writes her repetitively after a while. I thought that Brynn was not very developed and neither were a lot of the other characters after a while.
The book takes place on Martha's Vineyard, but we get a different side to it in this book because Brynn and her husband are "natives". They grew up there and she doesn't want to ever leave even though it's hard to make a living there year round. Brynn's husband is in construction and she's fighting to get back to writing.
The why behind the murder didn't make sense and then who did it and why was so obvious I kept waiting for Brynn to catch up. I think that Spiro just should have stuck with one theme. If she wanted to write about how hard motherhood is, that would have been fine. That honestly were the best parts of the book. The tossing in of the murder and cast of characters did not work really. It felt like an afterthought after a while. And I have never been pregnant, but even I knew that she was dealing with post partum depression and her refusing to acknowledge it was weird after a while. It just felt like there were so many different things happening in this one it took a while to sort through.
Honestly, not a bad thriller, but the whole book just falls apart at one point and never gets itself back on track. I liked the idea of looking at a woman's post-partum depression, but the whole murder to solve thing just felt like a weird combination since there was a lot happening and you didn't have a lot of time to focus.
"Such a Good Mom" focuses on Brynn Nelson who is still reeling after the birth of her son. She's not really able to put into words what is wrong with her, but taking a shower and even sleep seem beyond her. She knows she used to love her husband, but now she feels frustrated by everything he does. When a murder takes place though, Brynn is left investigating because she does not think the person accused could have done it.
It was a bit exhausting being in Brynn's head so much, and honestly that's just because Spiro just writes her repetitively after a while. I thought that Brynn was not very developed and neither were a lot of the other characters after a while.
The book takes place on Martha's Vineyard, but we get a different side to it in this book because Brynn and her husband are "natives". They grew up there and she doesn't want to ever leave even though it's hard to make a living there year round. Brynn's husband is in construction and she's fighting to get back to writing.
The why behind the murder didn't make sense and then who did it and why was so obvious I kept waiting for Brynn to catch up. I think that Spiro just should have stuck with one theme. If she wanted to write about how hard motherhood is, that would have been fine. That honestly were the best parts of the book. The tossing in of the murder and cast of characters did not work really. It felt like an afterthought after a while. And I have never been pregnant, but even I knew that she was dealing with post partum depression and her refusing to acknowledge it was weird after a while. It just felt like there were so many different things happening in this one it took a while to sort through.