Release date: February 10, 2026
Publisher: Crooked Lane
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Synopsis:
Still recovering from a devastating breakup, 34-year-old Savannah Mitchell has finally managed to put her life back together when she gets the shock of her life—after a brief fling with a man named Max, she is pregnant.
When she gets in touch to tell him, he reveals that he’s just gotten back together with his ex, Madison, and he will need time to break it to her. Surprisingly, Madison isn’t upset—in fact, she’s excited, and wants to help.
Max insists Madison has the best of intentions, but Savannah finds her efforts—popping by uninvited, demanding lifestyle changes, and pretty much trying to take over the pregnancy—anything but helpful. When Savannah finally stands up for herself, Madison’s treatment of her goes from casually cruel to downright dangerous.
All Savannah wanted to do was form a friendly co-parenting relationship with the father of her child—but his new girlfriend obviously has much more sinister plans in mind.
She has no plans to co-parent at all.
Review:
The Better Mother by Jennifer Van Der Kleut was exactly the kind of wildly entertaining, can’t look away domestic thriller I love most, the kind where you keep muttering “what the actual hell am I reading” while immediately turning the page. From the jump, the premise hooks you, but it’s the execution that really shines: fast paced, sharply written, and dripping with unease. I tore through this in just a couple sittings because the tension never lets up and the story constantly escalates in ways that feel both inevitable and completely bananas.
Savannah’s situation—unexpected pregnancy, messy emotional fallout, and an overly involved girlfriend who insists she “just wants to help”quickly slides from uncomfortable to deeply sinister. Madison is the kind of character you know is bad news but can’t stop watching, and the mounting sense of suspicion and dread is deliciously effective. The author does an excellent job of turning everyday interactions into something chilling, making even seemingly small moments feel loaded with threat.
This is a pure popcorn thriller in the best way: dark, sharp, and wildly fun, filled with awful characters you’ll absolutely despise, and that’s half the joy. If you love plot driven suspense, morally questionable people, and stories that feel like a modern mashup of Fatal Attraction and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, this one delivers. Easily one of the more entertaining and compulsively readable thrillers I’ve picked up lately.
Overall rating: 5/5
Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.
Novelgossip 