A 5-star, shocking read which is expertly done – Call Me Mummy by Tina Baker is a must-read for thriller fans.

The plot:

Glamorous, beautiful Mummy has everything a woman could want. Except for a daughter of her very own. So when she sees Kim – heavily pregnant, glued to her phone and ignoring her eldest child in a busy shop – she does what anyone would do. She takes her. But foul-mouthed little Tonya is not the daughter that Mummy was hoping for.

As Tonya fiercely resists Mummy’s attempts to make her into the perfect child, Kim is demonised by the media as a ‘scummy mummy’, who deserves to have her other children taken too. Haunted by memories of her own childhood and refusing to play by the media’s rules, Kim begins to spiral, turning on those who love her.

Though they are worlds apart, Mummy and Kim have more in common than they could possibly imagine. But it is five-year-old Tonya who is caught in the middle.

If I had a ‘thriller 5-star checklist’ (I do), this would tick all the boxes

Sooooo many rounds of applauses for Call Me Mummy. It’s one you won’t be able to put down, no matter how much you want to – a very addictive read.

When I say you might want to put it down – it’s not an easy read. I’ve included some trigger warnings at the end, but the whole plot is, obviously, around child abduction. It escalates quite quickly at times, and had me cringing and grinding my teeth, but I still couldn’t pull my eyes away from the pages.

Chapters flick between ‘mummy’ and Kim, with the odd one from social media/ news excerpts and Tonya. Normally, I’m not a fan of this structure, but here – LOVED IT. It’s incredibly well done (rare, in my opinion), with each character having a very distinct voice – it’s impossible to say “one more chapter”, because each chapter is usually 1-2/3 pages – so basically you’ll devour this book in one go. It also has short sentences, which is my vibe, so I highly rate this.

I wouldn’t say it has a *huge* plot twist, as the whole book itself is just a plot twist, but you do have lots of smaller ones which still manage to make your jaw drop. The ending is sinister, and if I had a ‘thriller 5-star checklist’ (I do), this would tick all the boxes.

The plot has been done before, but Baker has made it a lot more raw than usual – I found the ‘past’ element really added that extra wow factor here, and without giving away spoilers, you’re spood-fed information until BOOM, hits you in the face – I’m here for it.

I didn’t find this particularly emotional, which I’m not sure if it’s intended to be, but it really freaked me out and is extremely thought-provoking.

A stunning debut – I’ve got allllllll my fingers and toes crossed that there will be another book by Baker, because sign me up.

Call Me Mummy, Tina Baker, RRP £12.99 (hardback); Book Depository 

Pages: 375

Publisher: Viper Books

Genre: Thriller

[MINOR SPOILERS] Trigger warnings: child abduction, racist comments, mentions of suicide, abortion and abuse.