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A Proper Mother
She closed her eyes, knowing that the moment he had a name, she would be unable to pretend any longer that this child was not her son. Ever since an ominous palm-reading on her honeymoon, Frankie has suspected that her youngest son, Michael, is different. From an early age he sees things no one else can. As he grows up – academically gifted, a musical prodigy and with an unshakeable religious faith – his mother can no longer deny there is something strange about him, or that it frightens her. It is only when Frankie learns Michael is sliding into drugs and violence that she realises she can no longer ignore the past. But by confronting her destructive marriage and her own responsibility for all that has gone wrong, she begins to see there is something darker at play.
300 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 20, 2024
11 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 3, 2024
I absolutely love psychological thrillers that involve relationships between mothers and their children - so was instantly drawn to this from the cover and title.
When I read the blurb I knew I had to give this one a read!
As a mum of 3, I honestly cannot contemplate how I would feel if I didn't have a close bond to all my children.
In this story, Frankie knew from the minute Michael was born, that he would be different.
More than just being different though, she was afraid of him!
This storyline actually creeped me out more than a standard thriller purely because it was her own son.
Having had the fortune teller foresee that they would have a difficult relationship, I found it really jntereating to work through the storyline and needed to know how much of Frankie's feelings were due to this premonition that she'd believed in and how much was actually real.
We follow the storyline over different timelines, present and the last running up to the present - which shows us how the relationship between mother and son develops over the years.
This really was quite dark and as the story unfolds, the tension builds and the atmosphere becomes quite creepy, keeping me on edge from start to finish.
This was brilliantly written and I believe a debut novel - I hated loving it, if that makes sense (*shivers*) - but already can't wait to see what comes next from this author.
When I read the blurb I knew I had to give this one a read!
As a mum of 3, I honestly cannot contemplate how I would feel if I didn't have a close bond to all my children.
In this story, Frankie knew from the minute Michael was born, that he would be different.
More than just being different though, she was afraid of him!
This storyline actually creeped me out more than a standard thriller purely because it was her own son.
Having had the fortune teller foresee that they would have a difficult relationship, I found it really jntereating to work through the storyline and needed to know how much of Frankie's feelings were due to this premonition that she'd believed in and how much was actually real.
We follow the storyline over different timelines, present and the last running up to the present - which shows us how the relationship between mother and son develops over the years.
This really was quite dark and as the story unfolds, the tension builds and the atmosphere becomes quite creepy, keeping me on edge from start to finish.
This was brilliantly written and I believe a debut novel - I hated loving it, if that makes sense (*shivers*) - but already can't wait to see what comes next from this author.
May 31, 2024
A third of the way through this book, and I feel that all the going back and forth with the dates and years, is totally confusing me. I feel that I’m only engaging with these two characters completely so far, that is Michael and Frankie his mother. I know that Michael is a gifted musician who hears a male voice at night and suffers with bad dreams sometimes at night. And then there’s his mother, separated from the children’s father because, she no longer wanted to be on the farm. She too has bad nightmares sometimes, mainly about Michael. Apart from that, I know that John is her other older son who eventually is going to marry Olivia, his childhood sweetheart, and that’s about it. Being a third of the way through, I ought to know more than that about the characters involved as there are more, but I just don’t.
So as I read on, the second third starts off with Michael having a fit over seeing some cows being burnt, following the BSE crisis in 1997, while staying with his father. I have now learned that his father, Callum, told him that Frankie, his mother, hated him, which is total rubbish, and he has now gone away to to travel for a few months, following the end of his exams. Not corresponding with anyone from his family i.e. his mother or John his brother, who has now gotten engaged to Olivia. Then a mother‘s worst nightmare, the police at her door accusing her son of assaulting, sexually, a woman with a gun, which he stole from his father who, reported it missing to the police!What a bastard. The story is still skipping forwards and back in the timelines, I’m still confused. Apart from the one part, in 1978, where she has a miscarriage only to realise she’s still pregnant! So it turns out that Michael was a twin but nobody realised and Frankie thought he was evil!
But it is getting more interesting I suppose as the characters start to take shape. So although Michael has lost a lot of weight and looks very pale (there’s no suggestion that he’s actually taking drugs) he asks Frankie if he can move back in, or have some money, she says no, so he burns the house down with her inside. She’s peering out the window screaming for help, sees him and he just waves at her and walks on, what a fucked up family! I’m still fed up of being flung backwards and forwards through the years the mother is in Hospital and I just want to know how she’s doing and what happens next.
Anyway, I think the book is too long and they all die in the end there I said it! I don’t really recommend this book. It was a bit all over the place and it took awhile to figure out what was going on but the ending was good I suppose.
So as I read on, the second third starts off with Michael having a fit over seeing some cows being burnt, following the BSE crisis in 1997, while staying with his father. I have now learned that his father, Callum, told him that Frankie, his mother, hated him, which is total rubbish, and he has now gone away to to travel for a few months, following the end of his exams. Not corresponding with anyone from his family i.e. his mother or John his brother, who has now gotten engaged to Olivia. Then a mother‘s worst nightmare, the police at her door accusing her son of assaulting, sexually, a woman with a gun, which he stole from his father who, reported it missing to the police!What a bastard. The story is still skipping forwards and back in the timelines, I’m still confused. Apart from the one part, in 1978, where she has a miscarriage only to realise she’s still pregnant! So it turns out that Michael was a twin but nobody realised and Frankie thought he was evil!
But it is getting more interesting I suppose as the characters start to take shape. So although Michael has lost a lot of weight and looks very pale (there’s no suggestion that he’s actually taking drugs) he asks Frankie if he can move back in, or have some money, she says no, so he burns the house down with her inside. She’s peering out the window screaming for help, sees him and he just waves at her and walks on, what a fucked up family! I’m still fed up of being flung backwards and forwards through the years the mother is in Hospital and I just want to know how she’s doing and what happens next.
Anyway, I think the book is too long and they all die in the end there I said it! I don’t really recommend this book. It was a bit all over the place and it took awhile to figure out what was going on but the ending was good I suppose.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 4, 2025
I don’t know what I expected when I picked up this book, but it certainly wasn’t what I got. Tense, unnerving and eerie, this extraordinary debut captivated me from the opening pages where we meet Frankie, a young woman on honeymoon in Greece. She’s having the time of her life, until an ominous palm reading shakes her to the core. When years later she is sure there is something not quite right about her youngest son, Michael, Frankie can’t help but think back to that reading. And, as he gets older, the strangeness and darkness in him becomes undeniable.
Isabel Shirlaw has proven herself as an author to watch with this brilliant debut. Heartbreakingly raw, moving, powerful and thought-provoking, this is a book that will stay with me long after reading. Moving between timelines, we follow Frankie and Michael’s relationship through the years, examining the complexities of the bond between a mother and her children, and forces us to consider what happens when you not only struggle to love and like one of your children, but also fear them. Shirlaw skillfully writes in shades of grey so that we are never quite sure if the problem lies with Michael or Frankie’s belief in the reading all those years ago. Atmospheric and unsettling, a strong sense of foreboding lingers over the pages and keeps you on the edge of your seat. But I was still unprepared for what was to come and won’t be over that finale for a very long time.
Reminiscent of We Need To Talk About Kevin, this is a layered and intricate thriller that demands to be read.
Isabel Shirlaw has proven herself as an author to watch with this brilliant debut. Heartbreakingly raw, moving, powerful and thought-provoking, this is a book that will stay with me long after reading. Moving between timelines, we follow Frankie and Michael’s relationship through the years, examining the complexities of the bond between a mother and her children, and forces us to consider what happens when you not only struggle to love and like one of your children, but also fear them. Shirlaw skillfully writes in shades of grey so that we are never quite sure if the problem lies with Michael or Frankie’s belief in the reading all those years ago. Atmospheric and unsettling, a strong sense of foreboding lingers over the pages and keeps you on the edge of your seat. But I was still unprepared for what was to come and won’t be over that finale for a very long time.
Reminiscent of We Need To Talk About Kevin, this is a layered and intricate thriller that demands to be read.
March 18, 2025
Frankie has always known there was something different about her second son, Michael. Gifted with musical and academic prowess he seemed marked for success, but there is a darkness to him that sets him apart, showing itself in an eerie ability to see things that are not there, and sending him down the path of religious obsession.
Caught up in her own personal trials, Frankie has done her best to gloss over Michael's issues, but there is no doubt that his spiral into drugs and violence can no longer be ignored. She is afraid of her own son, and the time has come for her to confront the part she, and her destructive marriage to his father, may have played in the person he has become...
I came to this incredible debut novel expecting a psychological thriller about a woman who is forced to recognise darkness in her own son. In may ways this is exactly what this is, but it is also a compelling examination of parenthood, marriage and family dysfunction, delving into love-hate relationships, trauma, responsibility, and guilt, which was a pleasant surprise.
The story unfurls in a number of weaving timelines that flip between an unsettling scene during Frankie and her husband Callum's honeymoon in 1974; hard hitting moments from their marriage, and the childhood of Michael and his older brother John; and the years 1997 and 1998, when the weight of all the difficult episodes that have come before bear fruit in the most disturbing ways.
The timelines are slickly constructed to tip you head first into a complex tale of an unhappy marriage, disappointments, parental struggles and estrangement through the eyes of Frankie. It is a little overwhelming at first, but Shirlaw's writing is superb, revealing just enough to draw you gradually into the messy relationships in this family, before disclosing exactly how and why they come to be in this unhealthy predicament. She gradually ups the tension stakes notch by excruciating notch, as poor decisions, misunderstandings, and deliberately ignored red flags result in behaviour careering out of control.
There is plenty of darkness in this story. Sadness, adversity and the constant threat of violence seep from the page, and yet Shirlaw is way too clever to paint her characters in black and white. There are achingly poignant golden moments, and lashings of shades of grey to be waded through on the way to the powerful finale, which force you to look beyond their behaviour to the experiences that have shaped them too. Love, hate, hope, fear, dreams, nightmares, small wins and bitter regrets are all touched on in the most thought provoking of ways, which I really enjoyed (if that is the right word for the perturbing feelings this novel evokes).
This is an exciting debut, pitched firmly on the literary side of the thriller genre, and it is compulsive reading from the first page to the last. I look forward to following Isobel Shirlaw's writing journey, because this is an impressive beginning.
Caught up in her own personal trials, Frankie has done her best to gloss over Michael's issues, but there is no doubt that his spiral into drugs and violence can no longer be ignored. She is afraid of her own son, and the time has come for her to confront the part she, and her destructive marriage to his father, may have played in the person he has become...
I came to this incredible debut novel expecting a psychological thriller about a woman who is forced to recognise darkness in her own son. In may ways this is exactly what this is, but it is also a compelling examination of parenthood, marriage and family dysfunction, delving into love-hate relationships, trauma, responsibility, and guilt, which was a pleasant surprise.
The story unfurls in a number of weaving timelines that flip between an unsettling scene during Frankie and her husband Callum's honeymoon in 1974; hard hitting moments from their marriage, and the childhood of Michael and his older brother John; and the years 1997 and 1998, when the weight of all the difficult episodes that have come before bear fruit in the most disturbing ways.
The timelines are slickly constructed to tip you head first into a complex tale of an unhappy marriage, disappointments, parental struggles and estrangement through the eyes of Frankie. It is a little overwhelming at first, but Shirlaw's writing is superb, revealing just enough to draw you gradually into the messy relationships in this family, before disclosing exactly how and why they come to be in this unhealthy predicament. She gradually ups the tension stakes notch by excruciating notch, as poor decisions, misunderstandings, and deliberately ignored red flags result in behaviour careering out of control.
There is plenty of darkness in this story. Sadness, adversity and the constant threat of violence seep from the page, and yet Shirlaw is way too clever to paint her characters in black and white. There are achingly poignant golden moments, and lashings of shades of grey to be waded through on the way to the powerful finale, which force you to look beyond their behaviour to the experiences that have shaped them too. Love, hate, hope, fear, dreams, nightmares, small wins and bitter regrets are all touched on in the most thought provoking of ways, which I really enjoyed (if that is the right word for the perturbing feelings this novel evokes).
This is an exciting debut, pitched firmly on the literary side of the thriller genre, and it is compulsive reading from the first page to the last. I look forward to following Isobel Shirlaw's writing journey, because this is an impressive beginning.
June 12, 2024
A Proper Mother is a dark, emotive debut novel from Isobel Shirlaw focusing on the relationship between Frankie and her son, Michael, who, from the moment of his birth, Frankie has felt is different and there has always been a strain in their relationship, and she is frightened of him. Michael is incredibly gifted at music but also has strong religious views. Even before Michael was born, Frankie was warned by a fortune teller that they would have a difficult relationship during her honeymoon with her husband, Callum, in Greece.
The darkness really does seep into every page of this book. We flick back and forth between different time periods, and we see Frankie’s relationship with Michael evolve over time. The scene when she is talking to the fortune teller was really tense and I was eager to know if the fortune teller’s predictions would come true and how much of an impact this prediction would have on Frankie. I was particularly interested in Michael’s relationship with his father, who is Frankie’s ex; Frankie no longer has anything to do with him, but Callum soon begins to get more involved in Michael’s life. It was fascinating seeing Frankie’s relationship with Michael unfold, right from her early years of motherhood, through to Michael’s adult years.
The tension keeps ticking up a notch and the darkness begins to grow throughout the book which really kept me hooked. Isobel Shirlaw does a brilliant job of creating a creepy atmosphere and she brings Frankie’s emotions to life well in her writing and I really invested in her story.
A Proper Mother is an intriguing, unsettling and a unique literary thriller with characters who will get under your skin. I really enjoyed reading it. Isobel is an exciting new voice in fiction and I’ll definitely be looking out to see what Isobel Shirlaw writes next.
The darkness really does seep into every page of this book. We flick back and forth between different time periods, and we see Frankie’s relationship with Michael evolve over time. The scene when she is talking to the fortune teller was really tense and I was eager to know if the fortune teller’s predictions would come true and how much of an impact this prediction would have on Frankie. I was particularly interested in Michael’s relationship with his father, who is Frankie’s ex; Frankie no longer has anything to do with him, but Callum soon begins to get more involved in Michael’s life. It was fascinating seeing Frankie’s relationship with Michael unfold, right from her early years of motherhood, through to Michael’s adult years.
The tension keeps ticking up a notch and the darkness begins to grow throughout the book which really kept me hooked. Isobel Shirlaw does a brilliant job of creating a creepy atmosphere and she brings Frankie’s emotions to life well in her writing and I really invested in her story.
A Proper Mother is an intriguing, unsettling and a unique literary thriller with characters who will get under your skin. I really enjoyed reading it. Isobel is an exciting new voice in fiction and I’ll definitely be looking out to see what Isobel Shirlaw writes next.
April 8, 2025
A Proper Mother is a dark and gripping thriller, an intriguing exploration of family dynamics and a complex mother-son relationship.
The story moves between different timelines, beginning in 1974 on Frankie and Callum’s honeymoon when a fortune teller predicts a difficult relationship between Frankie and one of her future children. And her relationship with her second son Michael proves to be a difficult one - despite being academically and musically gifted, there is a darkness about him that provokes fear in Frankie as he grows up. But how much has what she was told by the fortune teller influenced her?
Keeping up with the constantly switching timelines does require some concentration, but the way in which we are drip-fed the story of this dysfunctional family ensures the tension builds throughout as things spiral and the sense of dread grows as events become increasingly dramatic.
There is much to unpick about this book - in amongst the darkness there are decidedly poignant moments, reminding us nothing in life is entirely black and white, and Shirlaw does an excellent job of characterisation, and particularly of bringing Frankie and her complex gamut of emotions to life.
It is one of those books that is unsettling throughout - the sense of dread is real and yet you can’t put it down. It is an impressive debut, an intriguing and decidedly thought-provoking read.
The story moves between different timelines, beginning in 1974 on Frankie and Callum’s honeymoon when a fortune teller predicts a difficult relationship between Frankie and one of her future children. And her relationship with her second son Michael proves to be a difficult one - despite being academically and musically gifted, there is a darkness about him that provokes fear in Frankie as he grows up. But how much has what she was told by the fortune teller influenced her?
Keeping up with the constantly switching timelines does require some concentration, but the way in which we are drip-fed the story of this dysfunctional family ensures the tension builds throughout as things spiral and the sense of dread grows as events become increasingly dramatic.
There is much to unpick about this book - in amongst the darkness there are decidedly poignant moments, reminding us nothing in life is entirely black and white, and Shirlaw does an excellent job of characterisation, and particularly of bringing Frankie and her complex gamut of emotions to life.
It is one of those books that is unsettling throughout - the sense of dread is real and yet you can’t put it down. It is an impressive debut, an intriguing and decidedly thought-provoking read.
June 25, 2024
I love a good psychological thriller, especially one that plays on family dynamics and how that can change the course of a life, for the good or the bad. This book really goes for the jugular with pitching someone into the bad. We are given two main characters, both of whom suffer from nightmares and possibly mental health issues. On top of that we have an addictive personality in the son and an ex/father who seems to want to do anything he can to tear down the mother. With all that together, things start to go a bit wobbly for these two, as everything tumbles down and really takes their lives with them.
The author created an emotive and gripping tale, which jumps between time frames to tell the perspectives and it really grabs at your attention. At times the jumps make it hard to focus on th depth of the story, but mostly you are completely gripped by the tale. The ending definitely takes you.
The author created an emotive and gripping tale, which jumps between time frames to tell the perspectives and it really grabs at your attention. At times the jumps make it hard to focus on th depth of the story, but mostly you are completely gripped by the tale. The ending definitely takes you.
July 13, 2024
𝔸 ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕣 𝕄𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣
By Isobel Shirlaw
Blurb
Ever since an ominous palm-reading on her honeymoon, Frankie has suspected that her younger son, Michael, is different. From an early age, he sees things no one else can. As he grows up - academically gifted, a musical prodigy and with an unshakeable religious faith - his mother can't deny that there is something strange about him or that it frightens her.
Don't Look Now meets We Need to Talk about Kevin in a chilling tale of mother-son relationship.
🌫 Eerie
🧠 Psychological novel
👨👩👧 Themes of marriage& motherhood
⚠️ Domedtic violence, drugs
This book is very well writen and it does capture the reader but I found it a little confusing at the end and I don't really want to say why because I don't want to give anything away! 🤔
If you like books with dark twists, this one may be right up your street!
So it's a ⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me! 🤓
By Isobel Shirlaw
Blurb
Ever since an ominous palm-reading on her honeymoon, Frankie has suspected that her younger son, Michael, is different. From an early age, he sees things no one else can. As he grows up - academically gifted, a musical prodigy and with an unshakeable religious faith - his mother can't deny that there is something strange about him or that it frightens her.
Don't Look Now meets We Need to Talk about Kevin in a chilling tale of mother-son relationship.
🌫 Eerie
🧠 Psychological novel
👨👩👧 Themes of marriage& motherhood
⚠️ Domedtic violence, drugs
This book is very well writen and it does capture the reader but I found it a little confusing at the end and I don't really want to say why because I don't want to give anything away! 🤔
If you like books with dark twists, this one may be right up your street!
So it's a ⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me! 🤓
June 17, 2024
We begin with Frankie & her husband Callum on honeymoon, where a chance meeting with a palm reader gives Frankie an ominous warning. Her second child will be different, special. This warning doesn't leave Frankie and when she goes onto have both her boys, it causes a strain on her relationship with Micheal, her second born.
This is told through different time jumps but once you get into it it's easy enough to follow. It does get dark at times, and the characters are so well written that I felt hated and sympathy towards them. The family dynamics were portrayed so well and I struggled to put it down until I knew the whole story.
This is told through different time jumps but once you get into it it's easy enough to follow. It does get dark at times, and the characters are so well written that I felt hated and sympathy towards them. The family dynamics were portrayed so well and I struggled to put it down until I knew the whole story.
May 31, 2024
Very much a mixed bag for me, there were too many times when I had far more questions than answers.
At other times I could not put the book down.
There's an uncomfortable feeling for a lot of it, a slight air of things not being right.
It flits back and forth in time , and this adds to an unsettled air.
It had some very interesting parts.
At other times I could not put the book down.
There's an uncomfortable feeling for a lot of it, a slight air of things not being right.
It flits back and forth in time , and this adds to an unsettled air.
It had some very interesting parts.
August 29, 2025
Bij nader inzien maar 2 sterren. Ik ging af op een blurb vd Guardian, of de Observer, maar vind het verhaal tegenvallen. Het plot gaat een beetje alle kanten op, de reacties vd hoofdpersoon vond ik ook niet realistisch en er overkomt haar doorlopend iets.
June 18, 2024
Wow! By far and away the best book I've read this year. Gripping from start to finish.
September 23, 2024
A good and solid thriller, tense and disturbing at times
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews