The Better Mother by Jennifer van der Kleut review: The BEST worst villain
I dare you to despise a character quite as much as Madison Clark.
The Better Mother by Jennifer van der Kleut: Key details
- Publish date: 10 February 2026
- Genre: Thriller
- Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
- Available formats: Paperback and ebook
- Series/standalone: Standalone
- Length: 336 pages
Blurb: 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, she is pregnant. When she gets in touch to tell him, he reveals that he’s just gotten back together with his ex, Madison, and he will need time to break it to her.
Surprisingly, 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 – popping by uninvited, demanding lifestyle changes, and pretty much trying to take over the pregnancy – anything but helpful.
When Savannah finally stands up for herself, Madison’s treatment of her goes from casually cruel to downright dangerous. All Savannah wanted to do was form a friendly co-parenting relationship with the father of her child – but his new girlfriend obviously has much more sinister plans in mind. She has no plans to co-parent at all.
The Better Mother by Jennifer van der Kleut: The review
It’s been a while since I’ve read a book in a day, but I just could not put The Better Mother down. Twisty, pacy, and with characters so abhorrent you’ll constantly be shocked by their actions, Jennifer van der Kleut’s debut is one I won’t hesitate to recommend.
After a short relationship with a man named Max, our main character Savannah finds out she’s pregnant. Not having had her own father in her life, she decides to tell Max her news – she wants him to be involved in her baby’s life. Unsurprisingly, Max seems shocked. But to Savannah’s delight, he tells her he’ll be there for whatever she needs. Just one problem: he’s recently got back with his ex.
Max’s ex, Madison, is surprisingly OK with the news too. She’s instantly keen to get to know Savannah and be part of her baby’s life. But what seems at first like excitement soon becomes something else. Madison begins referring to the baby as “our” baby. She turns up at Savannah’s house uninvited with groceries and a lecture about what Savannah should and shouldn’t be eating and drinking. Is it simply kindness, or is Madison trying to take over control of Savannah’s unborn baby?
Worse still, Savannah keeps experiencing strange and stressful situations: she misses an important work event, her bank card gets cloned, her car gets vandalised. Is there more to these events, or is Madison somehow involved?
It was only a few chapters into The Better Mother that Madison gave me the ‘ick’. With every page turn, my hatred for this character grew. She’s twisted in the best way possible, and at times I wanted to scream at the pages over some of the ridiculous and nasty things she does. Her unhinged nature has been brilliantly written, and I can’t think of another character I’ve hated quite as much.
The Better Mother is a great thriller, and van der Kleut nails the concept of building tension. With every new chapter, there’s a new cause of tension introduced, and by the time the last act comes around, your heart will be in your mouth. Is it a little far fetched at times? Maybe, but it doesn’t matter one jot, because once you start on this roller coaster of a read, you aren’t going to want to stop.
With thanks to Jennifer van der Kleut and Netgalley for providing a digital copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.
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