
The Secret Mother
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Narrated by:
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Katie Villa
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By:
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Shalini Boland
About this listen
"Are you my mummy?"
Tessa Markham returns home to find a child in her kitchen. He thinks she’s his mother. But Tessa doesn’t have any children.
Not anymore.
She doesn’t know who the little boy is or how he got there.
After contacting the police, Tessa is suspected of taking the mystery child. Her whole life is turned upside down. And then her husband reveals a secret of his own….
Tessa isn’t sure what to believe or who to trust. Because someone is lying. To find out who, she must confront her painful past. But is the truth more dangerous than Tessa realises?
An absolutely pause-resisting psychological thriller with a twist that will make you wonder if you can ever trust anyone again. If you loved Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train, and The Sister this book will have you hooked.
©2017 Shalini Boland (P)2017 BookoutureListeners also enjoyed...
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By: Greer Hendricks, and others
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Critic reviews
‘Absolutely addictive and brilliant with an end I didn't see coming. This is one book you have to read and it gets 5 huge stars from me!!!!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘Wow, wow, wow! What a fantastic book! The book starts with a bang… from page one and believe me, it doesn’t let up throughout the book and keeps you gripped until the very end!’ Stardust Book Reviews, 5 stars
‘Oh yes, yes, yes, yes this was my kind of read, I really have taken this and added it to my top 10 this year, it’s a screaming from the rooftops fantastic read, if you love a good thriller… if you love to stay up all night reading because you simply can't switch your mind off from a book, this is it, you found it, don't look any further… so fast paced it leaves your breathless. One of the best psychological thrillers that I have read that has shocked me, left me dribbling for me and wanting more from this author.’ Read Along With Sue, 5 stars
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TWIST I NEVER SAW COMING
- By Lisa Willett on 10-20-19
By: Shalini Boland
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The Family Holiday
- By: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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The white-washed Italian villa is perfect. I thought it might feel odd, living in a stranger’s house for the summer, but as my husband and children swim in the infinity pool, I start to relax. And then, in the back of a wardrobe, I find something that shatters everything.... Sparkling green eyes, square jaw, lopsided smile. A young man with his arm around a beautiful woman. The picture is old and faded, but I’d recognize him anywhere. The man is my husband.
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Remarkably Terrible
- By Bitten and Seven Forever on 04-02-22
By: Shalini Boland
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The Daughter-in-Law
- By: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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From the moment I meet my new mother-in-law in her beautiful country house, she makes it clear I’m not welcome. Lilian Fletcher hates me for marrying her precious boy on a golden beach far away from her. Starting our marriage living in the Fletchers’ family home is a nightmare. Then I discover Seb was married before and his first wife is dead. I wonder why the man I love didn’t tell me the truth. And I wonder what happened to her: the woman who came before me. How did she die?
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Most disappointing "twist" ever written!
- By Sheila S on 11-12-22
By: Shalini Boland
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A Perfect Stranger
- By: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Alison Campbell, Tamsin Kennard, Ciaran Saward
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Emily dreams of one day owning a house where her son, Josh, and the little one on the way can grow up, but when her husband, Aidan, insists on leaving his lucrative job as a luxury car salesman, she senses something more is afoot - even while she harbours a secret of her own. What is Aidan hiding, and will it jeopardize their young family’s future?
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Engaging
- By Fran, RN on 11-24-21
By: Shalini Boland
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The Marriage Betrayal: A totally gripping and heart-stopping psychological thriller full of twists
- By: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Faye Townsend has planned the perfect summer trip for her family. But returning to the small seaside town her husband grew up in does not go to plan - the rain pours, and the long days become stifling. And then the unthinkable happens.... Her husband, Jake, and her six-year-old son, Dylan, go for an early morning walk along the beautiful, windswept clifftops. They don’t come back.
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Holding onto hope
- By Amazon Customer on 01-14-20
By: Shalini Boland
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The Child Next Door: An unputdownable psychological thriller with a brilliant twist
- By: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Kirstie Rawlings is jolted awake by a child crying. Racing upstairs to check on her newborn, she is plunged into every parents’ worst nightmare. She hears an unknown voice in the baby monitor, saying: "Let’s take the child - and go." Is someone trying to steal her little girl? In the bedroom, her daughter is safe asleep in her cot. Is the voice coming from a nearby house? But there aren’t any other children living on her quiet country road....
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No action till the end
- By mtm on 04-21-18
By: Shalini Boland
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One of Us Is Lying
- A Totally Gripping Psychological Thriller with a Brilliant Twist
- By: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Tia never harmed anyone. So why does someone want to destroy her? Tia is walking home with her children, along the lakeside of their quiet, safe town, when she realizes something is wrong with her five-year-old daughter, Rosie. She seems troubled, not at all her usual happy self. But when Tia finally coaxes Rosie to open up, she wishes she hadn’t. Because her sweet daughter asks a question Tia never thought she’d hear. "Mummy, why did you kill someone?"
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Eh
- By Anonymous User on 04-15-20
By: Shalini Boland
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The Wife
- An Unputdownable Psychological Thriller with a Breathtaking Twist
- By: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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It was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. Zoe was sitting in her hotel room, in her perfect white dress, looking forward to the moment when she would make kind, handsome Toby her husband. Then, there was a blank. They said she must have fainted, overcome with emotion. But nothing felt quite right afterward. Did something happen in that missing time?
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A Quiet Yet Intriguing Read
- By littlesimone on 09-10-20
By: Shalini Boland
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My Little Girl
- A Totally Gripping Psychological Thriller Full of Shocking Twists
- By: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Seven-year-old Beatrice has gone missing. Her mother Claire’s whole world has been turned upside down in just one moment, and she can’t stop shaking. She’s desperate to find her precious daughter, but nothing about the day she disappeared makes sense.
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Ok I guess
- By Victoria on 06-24-21
By: Shalini Boland
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The Silent Bride
- By: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Alice and Seth are a perfect love story: the handsome doctor and his beautiful fiancée. They’re wealthy, well liked and made for each other—the envy of all their friends. Alice can’t wait for the day of their dream wedding. But when she arrives at the altar, she doesn’t recognise the man waiting to marry her. When this stranger insists he’s Seth, her husband-to-be, the entire congregation seems to agree. Even her parents try to persuade Alice to go through with the wedding.
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Too Slow
- By Aiyisha Adams on 06-09-23
By: Shalini Boland
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Silent Child
- Silent Child, Book 1
- By: Sarah A. Denzil
- Narrated by: Joanne Froggatt
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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In the summer of 2006, Emma Price watched helplessly as her six-year-old son's red coat was fished out of the River Ouse. It was the tragic story of the year - a little boy, Aiden, wandered away from school during a terrible flood, fell into the river, and drowned. His body was never recovered. Ten years later Emma has finally rediscovered the joy in life...until Aiden returns.
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Joanne Froggatt 💕
- By Anonymous User on 09-06-17
By: Sarah A. Denzil
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Outside
- Outside Series, Book 1
- By: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Henrietta Meire
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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The future is divided by Perimeters: high-security gated communities where life goes on as normal. If you're inside, you're lucky. If you're outside, life expectancy takes a nose dive. Riley is fortunate to have been born on the right side of the fence. But her life of privilege comes crashing down when someone breaks through and murders her sister. She forsakes her own safety to go in search of the killer. Luc decides to go with her; otherwise she'll be dead before she's past the security gate. But what awaits her outside is more unbelievable than she ever imagined.
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Disappointed
- By BritRuth on 04-12-21
By: Shalini Boland
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The Honeymoon
- By: Shalini Boland
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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It was supposed to be the happiest time of their lives. But for newlywed Stella, the dream honeymoon has turned into a nightmare overnight. Her perfect husband, Austin, has vanished without a trace. Alone in Venice, Stella frantically searches for him. But as fear turns into confusion, she finds herself questioning everything she knows about the man she married. Has Austin really abandoned her, or has someone from his past finally caught up with him—the business partner he threatened to sue? The obsessive ex-girlfriend who refuses to let go?
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Great epilogue, didn’t expect it!
- By Amazon Customer on 12-05-24
By: Shalini Boland
What listeners say about The Secret Mother
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- JenniferLOVESThrillers
- 05-04-18
Mystery Loves Do Not Like Loose Ends
This story had potential BUT there were parts of the plot that were never addressed. I found this to be quite lazy and amateur style writing.
Also the main plot was WAY too easy to figure out. So overall, this book wasn’t much of a mystery and the main character was pretty clueless. I figured things out way earlier than the actual main character did and that is why I’m giving this one a low score.
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11 people found this helpful
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- Karen B. Jinks
- 04-05-20
What a bargain!
I bought this book because it was the audible book of the day. I usually do not use my credits on books that are six hours or seven hours because that drives me crazy. LOL But since this one was only $2.95 I decided I would try it. It would have been well worth a credit! I really enjoyed the book.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Rayan
- 04-05-20
Not as great as a lot other Reviews claim
The story is nothing new. You must have heard the story and watched so many movies on the concept. Even the suspense isn't so great. As soon as you hear DOCTOR you will guess the plot. In my guess I thought the protagonist's husband would be an accomplice. But anyway not as great as the other reviews would have you believe. I guess those reviewers don't watch movies as much as I do. After the 1st hour it's just drag until the suspense is revealed which I guarantee you will guess. It would have been a lot better if it was fast paced. Also I felt all the characters are portrayed as idiots which doesn't bode well in this age. The protagonist is calling her ex husband and asking what to do when someone throws a brick thru her window. She doesn't know to call the police, seriously!!! Perhaps its just me but I didn't like the way she was portrayed a needy, clingy, idiot, and incapable person in this age where women are so independent and competent. And if you are in some stranger's house, when he gets angry, you think to run away because he could be dangerous but when you find he has someone captive in the attic, instead of calling the police, you continue to talk to/confront him and ask him for the keys, seriously!!! Anyway what I mean is all of the main characters have unstable behavior. Only the portrayal of media vultures is perfectly true. The performance is good. She has a good voice and delivers the emotions perfectly.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Anonymous
- 04-17-20
More Than the Title
This is a good build toward a known conclusion. Getting inside the head of a mother and father whose children died, or so they thought. Just enough characters for it to be interesting. Narration is excellent.
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1 person found this helpful
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- GCS18
- 07-01-19
Meh...not great not bad
Kind of sappy, silly and unbelievable but well performed and reasonably entertaining. Good, just good.
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- D. Coello
- 04-07-20
Superb — and to think I almost passed it by!
I’m not a parent. And I much prefer being with pets instead of kids. I therefore almost decided against listening to this title...and am I ever happy I gave it a chance!
The story drew me in from the start, to a world — no, worlds, plural — that I didn’t know. What an entertaining and informative voyage it has been. Many thanks to the author, to the excellent narrator, and to all the staff involved!
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- jstep
- 06-16-20
That ending...wow!
The Secret Mother by Shalini Boland was really, really entertaining. I'll admit that it took me a little bit to get into the story, but once I did, I couldn't stop listening. I think Ms. Boland did an excellent job crafting a real psychological roller coaster with an ending that you'd never expect! Poor Tessa...I don't want to say more because I don't want any spoilers, but read the publishers summary and then be ready for all sorts of crazy! I'm going to be looking at listening to more of her novels and would definitely recommend this one to anyone.
Katie Villa did a great job narrating this story. She brought life to the characters and though she has an English accent, I, as an American, had no problem at all understanding her, as I occasionally do with some heavier English accents. I'd definitely listen to more of her performances in the future.
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- Ienjoyagoodbook
- 05-01-20
Like a Hallmark mystery
This one is more like a Hallmark channel mystery. You’d expect the main character to pick up on a bit more than she does. However, it was still a fine listen. IMHO, this author has better books out there.
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- Jordan
- 04-17-20
Very good!
It held my attention through the whole book and, although there weren't crazy plot twists, I thought it was very well written and narrated.
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-08-19
Easy yet thrilling listen
Easy story to follow. Thrilling and exciting listen. Mystery, suspense, emotional, and a dab of romance.
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