The Book Diva's Reads

Michelle Mason used to have it all, a great job, a loving husband and two wonderful children. Everything changed after she has a horrific car crash that seriously injures her and kills her passenger. Michelle is finally able to return home after dealing with major surgeries, a medically induced coma that lasted months, and one year in rehabilitation. The home she returns to isn't the home she remembers. Her husband is now residing in New York, her son is in a boarding school, and her daughter has disappeared. The first brick in Michelle's carefully constructed "memories" is destroyed when she's told her daughter isn't studying internationally but has run away from home and it might be related to the car accident. Michelle's husband, Drew, tells her that a police report has been filed, a detective hired, and people are searching for Nikki. Michelle seems to instinctively know that there is more to the story than she is being told, so she launches her own investigation. As she uncovers details over the course of months, she is made to feel as if she's unreliable due to her tragic injuries. Can she trust the people that have repeatedly lied to her, or does she trust her instincts?

What A Mother Knows is an intriguing story that pulled me in from the very beginning. Michelle seems to be on a roller coaster ride in her attempts to search for her daughter. Just when she thinks she's found out something useful, there's an unexpected dip or turn that reveals more and more lies from those closest to her. Michelle is forced to face her overbearing but loving mother, Elyse Deveraux, as well as her strained marriage with her husband Drew, and her son Tyler. She doesn't seem to have anyone to support her in her quest for the truth, but she is fervent in her belief that a mother simply knows. This is more than a contemporary story about family, it is also about self-discovery as Michelle learns to adjust to her new lifestyle and limitations, and ultimately a mystery as she searches for her missing daughter. Ms. Lehr has provided a story filled with people that aren't wholly good or bad, but rather residents of the grey areas. Michelle is likeable and a realistic portrayal of just how far a mother is willing to go for the sake of her children. If you enjoy reading family dramas or mystery-suspense, then you definitely want to add What A Mother Knows to your reading list.