title: The Bad Mother's Handbook: A Novel
author:  Kate Long 
description: Advance praise for The Bad Mothers Handbook<br /><br />The Bad Mothers Handbook reminds us that there is neither the perfect time nor the perfect way to be a mother, and that life, in fact, is what happens when youre busy making other plans. For the sheer laughter and love and crankiness of the entire parenting endeavor, spend some time with the three generations of Cooper women. This is a book for anyone whos ever been part of a family (and you know who you are).<br />Whitney Otto, author of<i> </i>How to Make an American Quilt and A Collection of Beauties at the Height of Their Popularity<br /><br />Precious few are ever truly ready to become a mother. For the rest of us, thank God, there is The Bad Mothers Handbook. In a juggling act as impressive as motherhood itself, Kate Long manages to brilliantly balance equal parts heartbreak and hilarity in a novel that you will love unconditionally.<br />Sarah Bird, author of The Yokota Officers Club<br /><br />The Bad Mothers Handbook<i> </i>is a bittersweet comedy, a glimpse into the lives of three generations of women that gives the reader a poignant reminder of the highs, the lows, and the sheer bewilderment we all experience in love, life and growing up. A must read for mothers and daughters everywhere.<br />Gemma Townley, author of When in Rome . . .<br /><br />This is a book to press tearfully on all your friends saying how much it will make them laugh. Kudos to Kate Long! <br />Sarah Salway, author of The ABCs of Love<br /><br /><br /><i>From the Hardcover edition.</i>
zlib_text: **The greatest bond. The darkest betrayal.**
  
  Susan wakes up alone in a room she doesn’t recognise, with no memory of how
  she got there. She only knows that she is trapped, and her daughter is
  missing.
  
  The relief that engulfs her when she hears her daughter’s voice through the
  wall is quickly replaced by fear.
  
  Because the person who has imprisoned her has her daughter, too.
  
  Devising a plan to keep her daughter safe, Susan begins to get closer to her
  unknown captor. And suddenly, she realises that she has met him before.
  
   **The Good Mother**
  
  A.L. Bird
  
  [www.CarinaUK.com](http://www.CarinaUK.com)
  
   **A.L. BIRD**
  
  lives in London, where she divides her time between writing and working as a
  lawyer. _The Good Mother_ is her major psychological thriller for Carina UK,
  the fourth novel she’s written for the imprint. She has an MA in Creative
  Writing from Birkbeck, University of London, and is also an alumna of the
  Faber Academy ‘Writing a Novel’ course, which she studied under Richard
  Sk