Such a Good Mother

Some women would do anything for their children. This provocative novel goes straight for the jugular of modern motherhood (Lindsay Cameron, author of Just One Look) from the author of the addictive (People) thriller Precious You.

Mothers and hustlers can be a lethal combination and the perfect recipe to keep you up all night. Amanda Eyre Ward, New York Times bestselling author of The Jetsetters

Rose O Connell is barely surviving. Her marriage is rocky; her son isn t fitting in at his new school, the prestigious Woolf Academy; and their tiny apartment in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood can barely contain her family. As she struggles to make ends meet on her junior bank teller wages, Rose finds that life as the only mom in a name tag and uniform at the Woolf s shiny school gates isn t easy.

Not so for those in the elite and secretive Circle a tight-knit group of wealthy mothers, led by the charismatic and glamorous Amala Kaur who rule the school. When the mysterious death of one of the Circle s members creates a vacancy, Rose dares to hope she could fill it and transform her life.

Amala s shocking decision to invite Rose into her clique provokes resentment among the Circle, especially when her fortunes, self-esteem, and status start to soar. But Rose soon realizes the true price of being on the inside. Far from being a dream come true, the Circle proves her worst nightmare. Unlike the woman she replaced, can Rose escape with her life?

Taut, complex, and compulsively readable, Such a Good Mother is a razor-sharp take on the myth of having it all.

“I picked up Such a Good Mother and was absolutely transfixed. What mother hasn’t considered doing absolutely anything to get into a circle of friends who can make her life more bearable and give her children access to the best things in life? I completely identified with Monks Takhar’s heroine, Rose . . . until I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Mothers and hustlers can be a lethal combination—and the perfect recipe for a novel to keep you up all night.”—Amanda Eyre Ward, New York Times bestselling author of The Jetsetters

“Everyone wants to join The Circle. But is it all that it’s cracked up to be? Who is conning who? And can one woman outplay them all? If you’re looking for smart, suspenseful prose, look no further. Helen Monks Takhar is now on my favorite list of authors. . . . Exceptional, taut, and emotional storytelling in Such a Good Mother.”—Georgina Cross, author of Nanny Needed

Autorentext
Helen Monks Takhar is the author of the novel Precious You. She is also joint managing director of the production company Second Generation with her husband, screenwriter and executive producer Danny Takhar. Helen worked as a journalist, copywriter, and magazine editor after graduating from Cambridge University. She began her career writing for financial trade newspapers before contributing to UK national newspapers including The Times and The Observer. She lives in North London with her husband and two daughters.

Klappentext

Includes book club guide with discussion questions.

Zusammenfassung
Some women would do anything for their children. This provocative novel “goes straight for the jugular of modern motherhood” (Lindsay Cameron, author of Just One Look)—from the author of the “addictive” (People) thriller Precious You.

“Mothers and hustlers can be a lethal combination—and the perfect recipe to keep you up all night.”—Amanda Eyre Ward, New York Times bestselling author of The Jetsetters

Rose O’Connell is barely surviving. Her marriage is rocky; her son isn’t fitting in at his new school, the prestigious Woolf Academy; and their tiny apartment in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood can barely contain her family. As she struggles to make ends meet on her junior bank teller wages, Rose finds that life as the only mom in a name tag and uniform at the Woolf’s shiny school gates isn’t easy. 

Not so for those in the elite and secretive Circle—a tight-knit group of wealthy mothers, led by the charismatic and glamorous Amala Kaur—who rule the school. When the mysterious death of one of the Circle’s members creates a vacancy, Rose dares to hope she could fill it and transform her life. 

Amala’s shocking decision to invite Rose into her clique provokes resentment among the Circle, especially when her fortunes, self-esteem, and status start to soar. But Rose soon realizes the true price of being on the inside. Far from being a dream come true, the Circle proves her worst nightmare. Unlike the woman she replaced, can Rose escape with her life? 

Taut, complex, and compulsively readable, Such a Good Mother is a razor-sharp take on the myth of having it all.

Leseprobe
**1

December
**
The boy’s gold-­and-­maroon cap disappears around the corner. Jacq and I follow it and the squeak­squeak of his brogues as he turns down yet another dark, wood-­paneled corridor. I’m trying my best to be more sure-­footed, anticipate the turns ahead, ones I should know are coming. This was once my old high school and I must have been this way hundreds of times before, but either I’ve blocked my memories in the near twenty years since I last set foot inside this building, or everything about the place is as different as they say it is. I begin to wonder, if I was left alone here right now, whether I’d know how to get back out again.

My sister-­in-­law tracks the fast-­walking boy, oblivious to my queasy disorientation. “You’ll be walking miles tonight!” Jacq calls behind him, but the boy doesn’t seem to register her attempt at light­heartedness as he comes to an abrupt stop in front of a set of double doors.

“This is the registration zone. Welcome again to The Woolf Academy. We hope tonight helps you find the most appropriate setting to educate your child.” The boy can’t be more than ten, but he sounds like a gentleman from the 1940s. He has what people say is the Woolf polish. The boys and girls who go here emerge with the combination of manners and confidence, not to mention grades, they’d normally achieve only from attending some ancient public school, not a free school that’s been open only a few years. He shakes my hand, then Jacq’s.

“Cheers, little man. You like it here, then?” Jacq asks, causing the boy to blink and look about him nervously.

“The Woolf is the top-­performing school in the region. It strives to instill confidence and aspiration in every pupil.” The boy pauses, then nods at the ceiling with his eyes wide open, before snapping them shut, as if he’s trapping the words he needs to remember from somewhere above him. “Attending this school is a privilege.”

“Is that so?” Jacq sends raised eyebrows my way, the kind that say, Well, la-­de-­dah!, then goes to peer through one of the door’s small rectangular windows. “Better get ourselves in there, then.”

I go to peek through the other window and fail to still the gasp in my throat.

Now, at least, I know exactly where I am.

It’s the old school hall: double-­height ceiling and more wood paneling, a large open space with nowhere to hide. My insides twist, my body now unable to deny that the worst years of my life happened within these walls.

But that was then, this is the here and now, I tell myself. I’m not the same person the girls bullied here. I’m a mum, married to the man I love, with a respectable job at the bank.…