Just Like Mother

February 28, 2022
Heltzel’s adult debut (after YA novel Charlie, Presumed Dead) offers an eerie, fast-paced critique of society’s obsession with motherhood. Heroine Maeve’s early life was shaped by a matriarchal cult where she and her cousin, Andrea, were raised by a radical feminist group called the Mothers. Her escape brought the cult down and the fallout saw her separated from Andrea by the foster system. Decades later, a struggling Maeve finally manages to reconnect with Andrea, only to discover that she has grown rich off the success of her company, which supplies hyperrealistic baby dolls to women to either assist them in preparing for motherhood or help them grieve a lost child. As the two grow closer again, Andrea’s company and her network of baby-minded women unsettle Maeve, forcing her to confront what she and Andrea really mean to one another and the grip the cult still has on them both. Heltzel builds an incredibly ominous atmosphere through the first two acts, but the payoff disappoints, delivering a series of repetitive and predictable twists. Still, Maeve’s tenacity and realistically depicted trauma will keep readers invested in her story to the end. Heltzel’s probing exploration of women’s bodily autonomy—or lack thereof—makes this a solid choice for those who like their horror close to home.

September 1, 2022

Maeve and her cousin Andrea were raised in a cult called The Motherhood Collective, though they lost touch when the group's criminal activities came to light and the girls were taken into foster care. Now living in New York City and working in publishing, Maeve reconnects with Andrea, now a wealthy lifestyle guru, through a DNA website. A series of unfortunate events (among them, she loses her job and the man she's about to move in with dies in a building fire) leads to her living with Andrea and her husband in their enormous Hudson Valley estate. The more time she spends there, however, the more Maeve comes to realize that there's something deeply strange and possibly sinister going on with Andrea. Heltzel's (Charlie, Presumed Dead) latest revolves around a cult of motherhood that puts women's own needs and desires far below their ability to reproduce. Though some of the plot details require a pretty hefty suspension of disbelief, listeners who buy in will have a creepy good time. Elizabeth Evans does a solid job narrating, though secondary characters are minimally differentiated. VERDICT A good choice for fans of cult stories and horror about motherhood.--Stephanie Klose

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