Mom Knows Best: A Gripping Psychological Thriller with a Chilling Twist

by Zina Becker

She was never meant to leave.

They kept her inside.
Protected. Controlled. Watched.

She doesn’t go out.
She doesn’t ask questions.
She doesn’t disobey.

Because good daughters don’t.

But something is wrong.

The house feels smaller.
The silence feels louder.
And the truth… is getting closer.

She has only one

to leave this house.

Be careful what you wish for.

Because once she steps outside…
there’s no going back.


A gripping psychological thriller with a shocking twist that will keep you awake at night.

283 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 15, 2026

Reviews

[Christine Cazeneuve · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me

I am in the minority with my review on this one. I struggled getting through it. It started out interesting and then became so monotonous. As much as I should have wanted to empathize with the main character, I just couldn't. There's a second book entitled Dad Knows Best, but I will be skipping it. This story just didn't work for me.

[Kristal Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn’t see that coming!

Great twists & turns, very unexpected! I will say, however, that there were moments where I was a little confused by the dialogue; who exactly was speaking, saying “him” when I’m pretty sure it should have been “her”, etc, & other grammatical/editorial errors. But the overall story was really good!

[Eva Witmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was written oddly. The story is about a girl named Alice, who grows up in a dingy house in the forest with her mom, Lillian, and her dad. But Alice isn’t and hasn’t ever been allowed to leave the house. Ever. She can read, as that’s about all she’s allowed to do. She fantasizes about killing them and escaping. When Alice turns 18, she is out in the forest within a close perimeter to the house, and comes in contact with the young good-looking guy, not too much older than herself. They become friends, and soon Mateo helps. Alice put together the fact that she must’ve been kidnapped. Fast forward, her real name is Olivia.. sometimes in the book her nickname Livi, is spelled Livy. There are other times in the book where I didn’t know whose point of view was being spoken. Sometimes I thought when a woman was speaking, they would say “he”.

What I never understood was if Lillian really didn’t want to be a mother, why did she have Alice kidnapped from her adoptive mom and brought back to her to live in the dingy house in the forest? Why did Elizabeth wait 18 years to get her back? Why was Elizabeth’s husband killed?

Not very well written, in my opinion.

[Stefan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Characters were so believable that I felt like I lived in this world. I really enjoyed the story. The plot twist shocked me. I directly preorder the second book.

[Burma Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twisty

I loved this book. There were so many twists. If you like psychological thrillers, read this book. It's amazing! Can't wait to read more from this author!

[Jeanette Bainbridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh what a fantastic read. Never read any books by this author but im definitely going to read more. The next in this series is Dad knows best 👌

[Lys · Rating 0.25 out of 5]

AI COVER

[Dixie Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mom knew best