Review: What a Mother Knows – Leslie Lehr

An unsettling, emotional and suspenseful novel of the unshakable bonds of motherhood, in which Michelle Mason not only loses her memory after a deadly car crash, but can’t find her 16-year-old daughter, the one person who may know what happened that day. But the deeper Michelle digs, the more she questions the innocence of everyone, even herself. A dramatic portrayal of the fragile skin of memory, What a Mother Knows is about finding the truth that can set love free

Series:
Release Date:  May 1, 2013
Publisher:  Sourcebooks
Source:  Provided by Publisher
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Reviewer’s Thoughts

I have never read a book that had such an engaging story but so many characters that I disliked so much.

Michelle Mason comes home after spending eighteen months healing from a horrific car accident she was in.  She’s excited to move forward with her life with her family, especially her eighteen year old daughter she hasn’t seen in over a year.  But her excitement soon turns to dread when she discovers nothing is as she was told it was.

Michelle was an awe inspiring character.  She had determination and strength that got her through some pretty horrific moments.  But she also had a strong belief in her kids, despite what others (including her own husband) might think.  When she discovers that Nikki is missing, she’s hell bent on finding her.  Positive that Nikki just didn’t run away.  It was amazing that having spent eighteen months dealing with her own health issues that she knew there was more to Nikki’s story than what others were saying.  It gave meaning to the book title, because no matter what a mother knows her own children.

But Michelle’s story isn’t just about her finding her daughter, it’s about finding herself.  She’s definitely changed from before her accident.  She has to come to grips with who she is now.  Most of her friends and family try to handle her with kid gloves, when all she wants is to move on with her new normal.  She has to learn to let go of that high powered movie producer and become the person she’s become.  It’s not an easy transition for her, but with her family and those that have stuck by her, she makes the transition.

On to those other characters.  The list of people I disliked it long and I almost feel like the author made them the way they were to show just how strong Michelle was.  But eventually I got to a point where I just wanted to scream at Michelle to run and leave all these people behind.  The husband who’s upset because she doesn’t “need” him any more (and let me tell you, I was seriously ready to punch this man in the face.  If he were a real person, I’d have no qualms about walking up to him and doing just that!!!).  Her lawyer and wife, who liked to remind her of just what they were giving up for her (when she never asked them to do what they were doing since she had no idea any of the legal stuff was going on).  Her good friend Becca and her old boss Victor profitting off her story, even if they claimed it was to get her story out there.  The lies some told and the half-truths the others told drove me crazy.  They blamed Michelle for things she couldn’t remember and practically called her a liar when she remembered something that contradicted what they thought.  I could have done without the whole lot of them, but I have to believe the served a purpose to the story (other than irritating me to no end).

This was a great read.  The journey Michelle takes to not only find out the truth about her accident but told find her daughter was emotional and suspenseful.  Leslie Lehr weaved a tale that felt like I was right next to Michelle Mason through every twist and turn this story took.  The story will stay with you, as will the strength and determination of Michelle.  Kudos to Leslie for crafting a book that evokes such strong emotional responses in a reader.

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