What Kind of Mother

A Novel

By: Clay McLeod Chapman

Narrated by: Megan Tusing, Joe Hempel

Nicholas Sparks meets The Empty Man in this modern Southern Gothic horror about a palm reader swept up in a disturbing missing-child case with a twist you won’t see coming.

After striking out on her own as a teen mom, Madi Price is forced to return to her hometown of Brandywine, Virginia, with her seventeen-year-old daughter. With nothing to her name, she scrapes together a living as a palm reader at the local farmers market.

It’s there that she connects with old high school flame Henry McCabe, now a reclusive local fisherman whose infant son, Skyler, went missing five years ago. Everyone in town is sure Skyler is dead, but when Madi reads Henry’s palm, she’s haunted by strange and disturbing visions that suggest otherwise. As she follows the thread of these visions, Madi discovers a terrifying nightmare waiting at the center of the labyrinth—and it’s coming for everyone she holds dear.

Combining supernatural horror with domestic suspense into a visceral exploration of parental grief, What Kind of Mother cements Clay McLeod Chapman’s reputation as a “star” (Vulture) and “the twenty-first century’s Richard Matheson” (Richard Chizmar, Chasing the Boogeyman).

©2023 Clay McLeod Chapman (P)2023 Blackstone Publishing

Critic reviews

BookRiot Pick

CrimeReads Pick

Indie Next Recommendation

great start

I loved the first half, and the voice actors did an amazing job. The story twisted a lot, and the ending felt unfinished, but the story did keep me intrigued and I kept wanting to listen to discover what was next.

SO WEIRD

Started off ok. kept my interest about a missing child, a palm reader and the search for the child. Then half way through, the bizarre twist ruined the story for me completely! From mystery to sci-fi! not for me!

I can’t un-listen to this book.

I have read a decent amount of books containing body horror in my time but this may have put me off the genre entirely. This was horrifying. The dialogue was well written though, and the narrators did a great job. I just don’t have words to describe how deeply unsettling this book is.

The second reader made me shelf it

I really liked the first reader and she made the story feel very immersive. Once the second reader started I dropped the book not even a full chapter after he started. Boring, monotone and the worst southern accent I’ve ever heard. Pretty disappointed because I had really liked the book so far.

Couldn’t get into it

I know there is supposed to be a twist, but halfway through I just wasn’t into this at all. Very slow and I felt no connection to the characters.