“The street lamp flickers, illuminating the grey pavement mottled by patches of dirty snow and slick black ice.”

From Shalini Boland’s The Secret Mother.

Tessa’s life is falling apart.  She lost her twins; her daughter Lily minutes after she was born and her son Sam two years ago after his fight with cancer.  While Tessa struggled with the loss of both children, her marriage fell apart so she is now separated from her husband (Scott).  She no longer has her cushy, high paying job, and she works at a local greenhouse/cafe center.  On a rainy Sunday, when she comes home from her weekly visit to her children’s graves, she walks into her kitchen to find a small boy sitting at the table.  Stunned and confused, Tessa tries to find out who the boy is and where he came from, but all she is able to learn from him is that his name is Harry and that the angel brought him here and told him that Tessa would be his new mother.  Left with no other options, she calls the police to report the arrival of Harry.  Through the help of her nosy reporter neighbor Carly, a twisted versions of the truth is released to the press that Tessa is a kidnapper.  Tessa is thrown into a media frenzy, while trying to navigate the mystery surrounding Harry with the moved-on Scott.  However, with the help of her caring boss, Ben, Tessa begins to investigate on her own the truth behind the little boy that appeared in her kitchen and the truth she finds may just change her life forever.

This thriller begins almost instantly with the arrival of the mysterious young boy, but it does a few dozen pages to fully grasp what is happening; at the completion of the book, the reader can see that this helps mimic the theme of the book overall, but it is a bit rough while reading through it.  The character development of the main character can also come off a bit whiny at first, but balances out quickly.  The progression of the story was different from expected, but watching the mystery unfold while simultaneously watching Tessa’s character struggle with her sanity is captivating.  The Secret Mother is a quick read that will keep readers glued until the twist at the end.