My rating: 5 of 5 stars


What an extraordinary book this turned out to be. I was a little hesitant to start reading this coz of the subject of missing child. But The Perfect Mother is much more than just the story of a child kidnapped. It is the story of the hardships faced by first time mothers, the friendships that can be formed in unexpected circumstances, the emotional stress of not doing something wrong for that precious bundle in your hands and of course the book really captures the overwhelming feeling of achieving the holy grail that of being the ‘perfect mother’.
It was only for a few hours of fun but the unthinkable happens and Winnie’s son Midas is abducted. Francie, Nell and Colette are part of the May Mother’s group who bandies together to find the truth of the matter as it effects each of them in different ways. Each of them are from different backgrounds, different financial circumstances, different class of life but they form a tight bond of being a new mom which only another new mom would understand.
This is solid tale of women’s friendships and the mystery of missing Midas glues the whole book till the end. A very absorbing and entertaining read and I loved the unexpected ending.



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They call themselves the May Mothers—a collection of new moms who gave birth in the same month. Twice a week, with strollers in tow, they get together in Prospect Park, seeking refuge from the isolation of new motherhood; sharing the fears, joys, and anxieties of their new child-centered lives.

When the group’s members agree to meet for drinks at a hip local bar, they have in mind a casual evening of fun, a brief break from their daily routine. But on this sultry Fourth of July night during the hottest summer in Brooklyn’s history, something goes terrifyingly wrong: one of the babies is abducted from his crib. Winnie, a single mom, was reluctant to leave six-week-old Midas with a babysitter, but the May Mothers insisted that everything would be fine. Now Midas is missing, the police are asking disturbing questions, and Winnie’s very private life has become fodder for a ravenous media.

Though none of the other members in the group are close to the reserved Winnie, three of them will go to increasingly risky lengths to help her find her son. And as the police bungle the investigation and the media begin to scrutinize the mothers in the days that follow, damaging secrets are exposed, marriages are tested, and friendships are formed and fractured.