The Better Mother
Still recovering from a devastating breakup, 34-year-old Savannah Mitchell has finally managed to put her life back together when she gets the shock of her life–after a brief fling with a man named Max, whom she hasn’t seen since, she is pregnant.
When she gets in touch and tells him, he reveals that he’s just gotten back together with his ex, Madison, and he will need time to break it to her. A week later, he’s back with surprising news: Madison isn’t upset—in fact, she’s excited, and wants to help.
Max insists Madison has the best of intentions, but Savannah finds her efforts—constant judgment, demands for lifestyle changes, and pretty much trying to take over the pregnancy—anything but helpful. (Not to mention, how Madison constantly refers to it as “our baby.”) When Savannah finally stands up for herself and says she doesn’t want Madison at her doctor appointments, Madison’s treatment of her goes from casually cruel, to downright dangerous.
A “miscommunication” loses Savannah the promotion she was up for at work, and almost her job completely. Mysterious, fraudulent charges ruin her finances. And harassing, anonymous messages prove she’s being followed, and her phone has been hacked. Max still insists his girlfriend couldn’t possibly be responsible for any of it—and Savannah is finding it difficult to prove she’s the one behind it all.
The final straw comes when Savannah discovers a baby shower is being thrown in honor of “mother-to-be” Madison, suggesting that Savannah is her surrogate. When Savannah confronts her, Madison is seriously injured, and Savannah is framed for assault.
Arrested, police reveal that she is also under investigation for the seemingly deadly disappearance of a good friend, and shocking discoveries lead her to look at everything that has happened to her over the past year in a sinister new light.
As Savannah races against her own biological clock to find answers, she soon finds herself fighting for not only her life, but the life of her child as well.
Trigger Warning: Miscarriage/Infertility
Additional information
| Genre | Thriller/Suspense |
|---|---|
| Age | Adult |
| Publisher | Independent |
| Imprint | Crooked Lane Books |
| Language(s) | English |
| Format(s) | eBook, Hardcover, Trade paperback |
| Author | Jennifer van der Kleut |
| Release Date | 10-Feb-26 |
| Release Month | February Releases |
About the Author
Jennifer van der Kleut (née McBride) is an award-winning former journalist of both print and digital publications, including the D.C. affiliate of ABC7 News. A graduate of San Jose State University, she spent most of her life in the San Francisco Bay Area before moving to the Northern Virginia suburbs of D.C., where she currently lives with her husband and two sons. For nearly a decade, she was the lead singer of the Bay Area-based band SweetDuration, and performed with artists like Jason Mraz, Big Country, Chantal Kreviazuk, and Stabbing Westward. When she’s not writing, she loves going to the beach with her family, going to concerts with her girlfriends, and getting lost in the pages of a book.
