The Perfect Mother

Ready for an adult mystery? Aimee Malloy's The Perfect Mother blends a captivating narrative with spot on social commentary.
They're the May Mothers, a cadre of new moms who gave birth in the same month, brought together by a questionnaire. Meeting at first on line and then in person, they share their hopes and fears in the new, unpredictable worlds of pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood.
Many members come and go. But there's a regular core group. Collette is an author not writing under her own name. She's ghosting the sequel to the memoir of an egotistical politician. Although the original was hot, the sequel isn't getting off the ground. Nell is returning from maternity leave to her high pressure career in publishing. She's intent on keeping a secret from her past hidden. Francine is married to an architect who left his established firm in Tennessee to start a private practice in New York. When a big contract falls through they aren't sure how they'll manage.
When the moms plan a Fourth of July bar trip that trio, concerned about Winnie, a single mom who seems depressed, make sure that she can go. Nell even provides a babysitter.
Unfortunately Winnie comes home to an empty crib and a sleeping babysitter. So who took baby Midas? Will Winnie ever see him alive again? When the police seem to be nothing but ineptitude the trio takes matters into their own hands.
In addition to delivering a real page turner of a plot The Perfect Mother takes a hard look at the dimensions along which mothers condemn and are encouraged to condemn each other. Breast milk vs formula. Working outside vs staying home. You know—the mommy wars.
On a purrrsonal note, I wore a gold sequined dress today even though the winds were fierce. I'm wearing dresses more because I get so many compliments when I do. Now some of the undergrads are copying me and I'm lovin' it.
A great big shout out goes out to my fellow thrift shop and yard sale fashionistas.
Jules Hathaway