The Mother Fault

The breakout novel called ‘a triumph’ by Jane Harper, The Mother Fault is the riveting tale of one woman taking on the world to save her own.

‘A triumph of a novel. Five stars. I loved it. Thrilling, confronting, page-turning and heartbreakingly poignant, The Mother Fault is a remarkable story.' Jane Harper, bestselling author of The Dry

Mim’s husband is missing. No one knows where Ben is, but everyone wants to find him – especially the Department. And they should know, the all-seeing government body has fitted the entire population with a universal tracking chip to keep them ‘safe’.

But suddenly Ben can’t be tracked. And Mim is questioned, made to surrender her passport and threatened with the unthinkable – her two children being taken into care at the notorious BestLife.

From the stark backroads of the Australian outback to a terrifying sea voyage, Mim is forced to shuck off who she was – mother, daughter, wife, sister – and become the woman she needs to be to save her family and herself.

Longlisted for the 2021 ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year

‘Sublime . . . a timely, riveting, warning bell of a book.’ Books+Publishing

‘Brilliant. A raw, urgent, white-knuckle ride through a world only a heartbeat away’ James Bradley, author of Ghost Species

‘Clever, political, pacy and exciting. Pure diamond-edged propulsive power.’ Chris Flynn, author of Mammoth

‘Shook me to my core. I could not put it down’ Alice Robinson, author of The Glad Shout

‘A clarion call, wrapped in vivid prose, inside a truly thrilling read’ Angela Savage, author of Behind the Night Bazaar

‘An unvarnished, beautifully written, totally authentic tribute to the everyday badassery and b******t of motherhood, to the ordinary extraordinariness of women. It’s also a fast-paced edge-of-your-seat, heart-in-your-mouth adventure with an ending worthy of a Homeland season finale.’ Anna Downes, author of The Safe Place

'A literary thriller that speaks precisely, devastatingly, to its time.' The Monthly

'Kate Mildenhall has imagined a world as terrifying and visionary as Margaret Atwood’s Gilead, with the pace of the best thrillers – and characters I’ll never forget. This is a novel of rare insight from a rising literary star.' J.P. Pomare, author of Call Me Evie

'The true power of this novel is in its appalling plausibility. That, and the fact that it is impossible to put down.’ Readings Monthly