Call Me Mummy by Tina Baker

 

Call Me Mummy by Tina Baker.

Published 25th February 2021 by Viper Books.

From the cover of the book:

THIS MOTHER'S DAY YOU WILL CALL HER MUMMY.

Glamorous, beautiful Mummy has everything a woman could want. Except for a daughter of her very own. So when she sees Kim - heavily pregnant, glued to her phone and ignoring her eldest child in a busy shop - she does what anyone would do. She takes her. But foul-mouthed little Tonya is not the daughter that Mummy was hoping for.

As Tonya fiercely resists Mummy's attempts to make her into the perfect child, Kim is demonised by the media as a 'scummy mummy', who deserves to have her other children taken too. Haunted by memories of her own childhood and refusing to play by the media's rules, Kim begins to spiral, turning on those who love her.

Though they are worlds apart, Mummy and Kim have more in common than they could possibly imagine. But it is five-year-old Tonya who is caught in the middle...

CALL ME MUMMY. IT'LL BE BETTER IF YOU DO.

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Mummy longs for a child, but it has not been her lot in life to be blessed with the patter of tiny human feet. So when she sees a little girl she is sure is being neglected by her 'slattern' of a mother, she has no compunction about stealing her away to live in her beautiful home, where she plans to give her a wonderful childhood.

But Tonya is not quite the little princess Mummy thought she would be, and despite her efforts to mould her into her idea of the perfect child, Tonya remains stubbornly foul mouthed, feisty and frantic. What is a mother to do? Well, unfortunately Mummy has no idea how to even begin to deal with a real child - the parenting skills she has learned from her own ma and pa are far from ideal, and, dear reader, you should be prepared for some very difficult scenes to play out in this little corner of suburbia before the tale is done.

Meanwhile, the woman Mummy has branded a 'slattern' is going through hell. Although Kim may not be anyone's idea of the perfect mother either, she loves her daughter fiercely and is distraught that the police are unable to find out what has happened to her. Kim has demons of her own that she is battling from her traumatic childhood too, and her angry response to the situation does little to garner sympathy from the media, or the public. Her torment causes her to spiral downwards into a pit of despair that she is not sure she can ever rise from again.

As the story flows back and forth between the increasingly horrifying scenes in Mummy's home, and Kim's disintegrating household, it seems unlikely that there can ever be a happy ending to this story - and caught in the middle is the bewildered Tonya. 

I really enjoyed the way the story plays out between the two 'mothers' of the piece as they both fall prey to the legacy of their distressing childhoods. Tina Baker gradually ekes out the traumatic details of the past, dropping in hints and flashbacks from them both as the story progresses, until the horrific truth of both their stories hits you like a punch to the gut. The discomfort is ramped up to the max in the clever way she periodically interjects with the outpouring of vitriol on social media directed at Kim the so called 'Scummy Mummy'; the views of some of the bit players and bystanders; some of the 'witness' calls to the police hotline; and heartbreakingly, sometimes from Tonya herself. And if this wasn't enough, there are a couple of shocking little twists and a very unsettling ending...

I was struck with how similar the stories of our two 'mothers' actually are, although neither would be willing to admit to this truth, and the awareness that despite their similarities, you can bet that they would be judged very differently by the media and public opinion. Tina Baker also rather brilliantly throws a lot of meaty themes at you in the telling of the tale - infertility, motherhood, abusive childhoods, unresolved trauma, addiction, the discomfort of being under the public spotlight, and the hateful side of social media are all brought to the fore here.

Call Me Mummy is one of those books that grabs you right at the start and ties you up in the kind of twisty tale that does not let you go for a single heart-pounding second. I suggest setting aside a chunk of time for this one, because I promise you will unable to look away until the whole disturbing tale is done. I should warn you that there are many upsetting moments in this book, but there are also surprising flashes of the darkest humour. It's an exhilarating, visceral ride and one which will have you holding your babies very close after reading it - should you be lucky to have them. Mummy is watching...

Call Me Mummy is available to but now from your favourite book retailer in hardback, e-book and audio formats.

Thank you to Sahina Bibi at Viper Books for sending me an e-copy of this book in return for an honest review and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the author:

Tina Baker, the daughter of a window cleaner and fairground traveller, worked as a journalist and broadcaster for thirty years and is probably best known as a television critic for the BBC and GMTV. 

After so many hours watching soaps gave her a widescreen bum, she got off it and won Celebrity Fit Club. She now avoids writing-induced DVT by working as a Fitness Instructor.

Call Me Mummy is Tina’s first novel, inspired by her own unsuccessful attempts to become a mother. Despite the grief of that, she’s not stolen a child – so far. But she does rescue cats, whether they want to be rescued or not.