The Perfect Mother by Desiree Moodie
A book blog tour from iRead Book Tours.
Thank you to the author, publisher, & Lauren at iRead for providing me with the information for this tour. 
Quick Summary:
“When the past moves in next door, all bets are off. The Perfect Mother is a gripping, twist-filled thriller you won’t forget.”
Giveaway:
Win a Book Club in a Box:
- 2 signed paperback copies (one to keep, one to share)
- A paperback of a comp title (e.g. Gone Girl, The Push, Little Fires Everywhere)
- A tote bag that says “Rooting for the Antihero.”
- A list of book club questions
- A box of treats or tea
Enter THE PERFECT MOTHER Book Tour Giveaway at the bottom of this post!
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The Perfect Mother by Desiree Moodie ~ 💙📚 #Win a Book Club in a Box ~ 4✨~ #BookReview #AmReading #PsychologicalThriller #TwistyReads #AlternateEndings @iReadBookTours @DesireeFromBK
Book Details
The Perfect Mother
By Desiree Moodie
Published by Independently Published on May 15, 2025
Genres: Adult Fiction 18+, Thrillers
Formats: eBook, Hardcover, Paperback
Pages: 437
The perfect neighborhood. The perfect family. The perfect crime. When Dawn Harrington moves to the quiet, picturesque town of Meadowbrook, she’s hoping for a fresh start. A place where no one knows her name. Where she can leave behind the whispers, the heartbreak, the gaping hole left by the son who vanished from a park nearly twenty years ago. But secrets have a way of following you.
A few blocks over, Evelyn Harper has spent years crafting the perfect life—an adoring husband, beautiful children, a home straight out of a magazine. But when she sees Dawn standing in her driveway, Evelyn feels the first stirrings of something she hasn’t felt in years.
Fear.
Because Dawn isn’t just any new neighbor. She’s a woman with a past. A past that collides violently with Evelyn’s own.
At first, Dawn and Evelyn circle each other warily—neighborly smiles masking something far more sinister. But as Dawn starts asking questions and Evelyn begins watching her every move, the game between them becomes something far more treacherous.
As their carefully built lives begin to crumble, one of them will stop at nothing to uncover the truth.
The other will stop at nothing to keep it buried.
Because some lies can be forgiven. Others demand blood.
The Perfect Mother is a spellbinding psychological thriller about deception, obsession, and how far a mother will go for the truth. Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Gillian Flynn, and Shari Lapena, this is one twisted suburban nightmare you won't soon forget.
Source: iRead Book Tours
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Book Trailer
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Purchase Links for The Perfect Mother
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My thoughts on The Perfect Mother
The Perfect Mother by Desiree Moodie is a tightly wound psychological thriller that grabs you early and keeps you flipping pages long past bedtime. I love a good domestic suspense, and this one hit all the right notes—secrets, shifting perspectives, and that creeping sense of “something’s not quite right.”
The story follows two women: Dawn, who moves to a new town carrying the weight of a traumatic past, and Evelyn, the seemingly perfect neighbor with a life most would envy. But perfection is often a mask, and Moodie peels it back layer by layer. Every interaction between these women is charged, and as the story unfolds, I couldn’t help but question who was hiding what—and why.
The writing is sharp, the pacing steady, and the twists? Let’s just say I didn’t see all of them coming. But what really made this one stand out was the alternate ending included at the end of the book. I thought that was such a fun touch! It gave readers the chance to imagine another “what if” without undoing the original impact.
If you enjoy thrillers with emotional depth and well-drawn female leads, The Perfect Mother should definitely be on your TBR.
I received a copy of the book for the tour. This review is my honest, unbiased opinion.
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I love to read books through my Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscription.
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Desiree Moodie has been writing since before she could talk — seriously. As a kid, she spent weekends scribbling on notebook paper and stapling the pages together into makeshift books. Now, she crafts dark, twisty stories featuring morally complex characters and impossible-to-put-down plots. Her writing is influenced by her travels, old-school noir films, and pro-wrestling (yes, still). She loves difficult women, villains who might just have a point, and snappy dialogue. When she's not writing, Desiree is watching reruns of Perry Mason, working on her Lauren Bacall impression, or pulling Tarot cards. She’s got a soft spot for readers who love clever, gritty stories with a little bite — so don’t be shy. Drop her a line (just not in all caps).About Desiree Moodie
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Guest Post from Desiree Moodie, author of The Perfect Mother
Why We Love Villains Who Believe They’re the Hero
Some of the best villains in fiction don’t see themselves as villains at all. They’re not mustache-twirling masterminds or chaotic destroyers. No, the most unsettling, compelling villains are the ones who truly believe they are doing the right thing, the ones who wake up every morning and convince themselves that their actions are justified, even necessary.
That’s what makes characters like Amy Dunne (Gone Girl), Livia Cutler (The Push), or Joe Goldberg (You) so chilling. They don’t just manipulate others; they manipulate themselves. And in The Perfect Mother, Evelyn Harper is no different.
A villain who knows they’re evil is predictable. You know what they want. You know what they’ll do to get it. But a villain who sees themselves as the hero? That’s a different story. That’s a character who bends reality to fit their narrative, who warps morality until their choices seem inevitable.
Evelyn Harper doesn’t think of herself as a kidnapper. She thinks of herself as a savior.
She took Daniel because she believed he was meant to be hers. She raised him with love, care, and devotion, so in her mind, how could she possibly be the villain? She tells herself, over and over, that she saved him. That he was better off with her. That his real mother, Dawn, was never capable of giving him the life he deserved. And once you tell yourself a lie like that for long enough, it stops feeling like a lie.
What makes Evelyn so dangerous isn’t just what she’s done. It’s that she genuinely believes she was right to do it.
The best psychological thrillers don’t just make us fear the villain. They make us understand them just a little. They force us to sit with an unsettling truth:
If we had lived their life, if we had faced their struggles, would we have done the same?
Evelyn’s justifications are horrifying, but they’re also deeply human. She experienced loss, longing, and desperation. She convinced herself that she had the power to fix it, to rewrite her story. And isn’t that, in some way, what we all wish we could do?
That’s why villains like Evelyn stay with us. They hold up a mirror and ask: What would you be willing to do for the life you think you deserve?
Villains like Evelyn believe they are motivated by love. But the most terrifying thing about them? Their love has no boundaries.
In their minds, love justifies everything.
- Love means stealing a child because they’ll be “better off.”
- Love means lying for decades to maintain a stolen life.
- Love means fighting to keep a truth from coming to light—no matter the cost.
That’s what makes characters like Evelyn so unsettling. We recognize their passion, their devotion, even their pain. But we also see what happens when love becomes a justification for control, possession, and manipulation.
The tragic flaw of any villain who believes they’re the hero is this:
They think they’re untouchable.
They believe that their love, their lies, and their carefully constructed reality will hold together forever. But in the end, reality always wins. The truth always catches up. And that’s why watching their downfall is so satisfying.
Evelyn spends years controlling the narrative, shaping the world to fit the version she needs to believe. But when the cracks form, when Daniel starts asking questions, when Dawn refuses to disappear, Evelyn is faced with the one thing she never prepared for.
A world where she isn’t the hero.
A world where she was never the hero.
And that’s what makes her story so haunting.
Characters like Evelyn captivate us because they force us to wrestle with an uncomfortable truth:
Most villains don’t think they’re villains. Most villains think they’re just doing what needs to be done.
And if they believe it hard enough, sometimes, for just a second, we almost believe it too.
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Giveaway!
Please visit more stops on the tour for extra chances to win!
Official Tour Page for The Perfect Mother
Full Tour Schedule:
May 12 - @bookreviewsbytaylor * - book spotlight
May 16 - @bearyintobooks * - book review / giveaway
May 16 - fundinmental - book spotlight / giveaway
May 16 - Locks, Hooks and Books - book review / giveaway
May 16 - Cover Lover Book Review - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
May 16 - Liese's Blog - book spotlight
May 19 - Sharing Life's Moments - book review / giveaway
May 20 - Gina Rae Mitchell - book review / guest post / giveaway
May 20 - Deal Sharing Aunt - book review / giveaway
May 20 - Ilovebooksandstuffblog - book spotlight / giveaway
May 21 - 411 ON BOOKS, AUTHORS, AND PUBLISHING NEWS - book spotlight / giveaway
May 21 - GetUrBook - book review / author interview / giveaway
May 21 - Novels Alive - book review / giveaway
May 22 - Deborah-Z Adams - book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
May 22 - Frugal Freelancer - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
May 22 - @x_miss_mcrae_x * - book review / giveaway
May 23 - FUONLYKNEW - book review / guest post / giveaway
May 23 - @this.human.reads * - book review / giveaway
May 27 - Kim's Book Reviews and Writing Aha's - book review / giveaway
May 28 - @reader_ceygo * - book review / giveaway
May 28 - @michellegodardricher/ * - book review / giveaway
May 29 - Book Corner News and Reviews - book review / giveaway
June 2 - China Sorrows - book review
June 2 - @readsandmusic * - book review
June 2 - @sheilasenchantedbookshelf - book review
June 2 - @bookreviewsbytaylor * - book review / giveaway
June 3 - Books R Us - book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
June 3 - @Leannebookstagram - book review
June 3 - @chloeltaylor__ * - book review / giveaway
June 3 - @nissa_the.bookworm * - book review / giveaway
June 4 - Happily Managing a Household of Boys - book review
June 4 - My Reading Getaway - book review / giveaway
June 4 - Paws.Read.Repeat - book review / giveaway
June 5 - Adventurous Jessy - book review / giveaway
June 5 - Jody's Bookish Haven - book review
June 5 - @onemorechap * - book review / giveaway
June 5 - @acourtofspinesnpages * - book review / giveaway
*Designates Social Media Post Only
The Perfect Mother by Desiree Moodie Book Tour Giveaway
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Book Title: THE PERFECT MOTHER by Desiree Moodie
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +),
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Twisted Thoughts Publishing
Release date: May 2025
Content Rating: PG-13 + M: My book has a few "f" words, one or two religious profanities and a few crude terms. There is no sex, but there is violence. Mature themes include pregnancy loss.
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This looks like a great read. Thanks for sharing.