'MOTHER MAY I'....ONCE AGAIN, A PERFECT FAMILY UNDONE BY THE PAST

 Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson (2021)    Let us now return to the land of the domestic thriller, where a wealthy family stocked full of perfect parents and adorable kids is ripped asunder by a revenge-fueled psychotic nursing a serious grudge from years gone by.......

             The pitfalls of thrillers like this happen when the author indulges in too much psychological blah-blah-blah internal thoughts and monologues. 

              Some authors know how to successfully balance the thrills, chills, and twists with the woe-is-me, pearl-clutching, handwringing of the victimized characters.

              Other authors fall down the rabbit hole of their characters endless, anxious musings and never crawl out again. The result slows their books down to an almost dead stop and encourages thriller readers to flip through the pages to get to the good stuff.

                Joshilyn Jackson comes dangerously close to this rabbit-hole territory, which tends to make you aware that her key player, Bree Cabbat makes a whole lot dumb, foolhardy decisions.

                Bree's got the standard thriller perfect family unit. Rich handsome lawyer husband, two cute teen and pre-teen daughters, and a brand new bouncing baby boy. 

               Enter a decrepit, witch-like crone who kidnaps the baby boy while the lawyer hubby's out of town. The cancer-stricken crone, with a heavy revenge agenda, demands Bree attend a posh party held by the husband's law firm......and secretly drug one of her husband's friends who's a fellow partner in the firm. 

               But drug him with what?  And why?

               Of course, we'll say no more, since all manner of nasty twists and turns ensue, all of it related to a terrible event from the husband's past. 

                As you might imagine, much angst and emotional agony permeate the story, which has the higher aspirations of becoming a profound examination of family bonds.....or lack thereof.

                Overall, we bound it a decent read, with a shocking last act surprise that brings everything to a blood-soaked full circle. And to Jackson's credit, she knows when to stop the internal yakkity-yak and move the story along. 3 stars (***).