Just Like Mother by Anne Heltzel

Two decades after escaping a terrifying motherhood cult as a child, an NYC editor takes a commercial DNA test and reunites with her estranged cousin—only to step into a polished new nightmare of modern maternal obsession.

Having spent twenty years building a quiet, solitary life in New York City, Maeve keeps her traumatic past buried deep. But when a DNA match reconnects her with her cousin Andrea, Maeve is overjoyed to regain the only childhood friend who truly understands what they survived. Andrea is now the wildly successful CEO of a fertility lifestyle empire, living on an opulent estate in the Catskills. Retreating to Andrea's mansion away from the city, Maeve finds herself surrounded by an affluent inner circle obsessed with biological motherhood and deeply hostile toward her choice to remain childless. As memories of the Mother Collective begin to resurface, Maeve realizes Andrea's sanitized wellness empire harbors sinister echoes of their past, turning her sanctuary into a fight for survival. A chilling work in psychological horror and cult thrillers, Anne Heltzel’s Just Like Mother explores dark family secrets, the societal pressure of maternal expectation, and the terrifying cost of biological destiny.

Why You’ll Love This Book

Heltzel masterfully transforms modern wellness retreats and fertility expectations into a subtle, creeping nightmare. The tension builds steadily as Maeve's relief at finding family gives way to claustrophobic dread and chilling psychological manipulation. An unsettling, thought-provoking reading experience for anyone fascinated by cult survival, complex female relationships, and dark psychological horror.