Good Reads / Community Library Notes
The Perfect Mother
Aimee Molloy
Review by Priscilla Comen
The Perfect Mother
Aimee Molloy
Review by Priscilla Comen
The Perfect Mother, by Aimee Molloy, is the story of a group of moms who get together after their babies are born. They usually meet at a park in New York City, but one night go to a bar without their babes or husbands for a girls’ night out. It turns into a disaster when one of the mom’s babies is abducted from his crib while the baby sitter, Alma, is asleep on the couch. Even though the baby’s mom, Winnie, is a wealthy former actress, no leads can be found. Author Molloy introduces all the other moms and shows us their reactions to this tragedy. They realize this could happen to any one of them, no matter how good a mother they may be.
Winnie wonders why she can’t be a “perfect mother” like the other moms. Nell returns to work in two days; Francie envies the big apartment Colette lives in. They complain about the usual things their babies do or don’t do. Colette is a ghost writer for the mayor’s memoirs. Her husband, Charlie, has a novel coming out with rave reviews. Colette wants to be a full-time mother, but her own mother had a full-time career and she always admired her.
Token, a full-time dad whose wife works, comes to the mom meetings with his baby in a sling. Nell returns to the bar they went to trying to remember what happened there. She was very drunk and turned off Winnie’s phone. Did this contribute to the crime? Detectives interview all the moms asking about their personal lives. Nell, back at her job, steals a video about the moms and a folder, which she copies that might give them clues. As they e mail each other daily, tension increases as baby Midas is still missing after a long while. They all think he might be dead, but they dare not say this.
Nell puts her baby in a child care center, pumps her milk in an office closet, and feels guilty. Francie goes to the detectives to ask for an update on Midas. All the moms are trying to solve the case. Will they succeed? As the normal days and chores swamp these mothers, the story proceeds to a shocking conclusion.
Find this on the new fiction shelf of your Mendocino Community Library.
Winnie wonders why she can’t be a “perfect mother” like the other moms. Nell returns to work in two days; Francie envies the big apartment Colette lives in. They complain about the usual things their babies do or don’t do. Colette is a ghost writer for the mayor’s memoirs. Her husband, Charlie, has a novel coming out with rave reviews. Colette wants to be a full-time mother, but her own mother had a full-time career and she always admired her.
Token, a full-time dad whose wife works, comes to the mom meetings with his baby in a sling. Nell returns to the bar they went to trying to remember what happened there. She was very drunk and turned off Winnie’s phone. Did this contribute to the crime? Detectives interview all the moms asking about their personal lives. Nell, back at her job, steals a video about the moms and a folder, which she copies that might give them clues. As they e mail each other daily, tension increases as baby Midas is still missing after a long while. They all think he might be dead, but they dare not say this.
Nell puts her baby in a child care center, pumps her milk in an office closet, and feels guilty. Francie goes to the detectives to ask for an update on Midas. All the moms are trying to solve the case. Will they succeed? As the normal days and chores swamp these mothers, the story proceeds to a shocking conclusion.
Find this on the new fiction shelf of your Mendocino Community Library.