The Mother-in-Law
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4.2 • 111 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Good Sister and The Family Next Door with new novel Darling Girls out now.
"Hepworth turns up the tension in her latest Australian-set domestic suspense novel. A masterful depiction... makes this a winner for fans of Liane Moriarty and Megan Abbott" Booklist (starred review)
Everyone in this family is hiding something.
You may get to choose your partner, but you don't get to choose your mother-in-law.
From the moment Lucy met Diana, she was kept at arm's length. Even after marrying Oliver, Lucy knew they'd never be close.
But who could fault Diana? A pillar of the community, an advocate for social justice, the matriarch of a loving family.
That was ten years ago. Now, Diana has been found dead. There is a suicide note, but the autopsy reveals foul play. And everyone in this family is hiding something . . .
A thrilling page-turner about that trickiest of relationships.
PRAISE FOR THE MOTHER-IN-LAW
"Readers will race to the end of this clever novel to find the truth." Publishers Weekly
"We devoured it in just one sitting. Bet you will too!" Women's Day
"The Mother-in-Law is indeed twisty and suspenseful, but even more than that, it's clever and nuanced." Kelly Rimmer, bestselling author of Me Without You
"Absolutely stunning. The Mother-in-Law has so many layers - I'll be thinking about it for a long time." Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Weight Without Silence
'Will keep you guessing until the very end' - Us Weekly
'Deliciously entertaining, packed with wit and suspense and also delivers sharp insights about family dynamics and love' - People Magazine
"Sally Hepworth writes compelling, compassionate novels with characters you come to know and love. She is one of my favourite Australian writers." Liane Moriarty, bestselling author of The Husband's Secret, Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers
"Hepworth's novels are perfect for lovers of Big Little Lies." Library journal (starred review)
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Sally Hepworth’s excellent thriller begins with the death of Diana, mother of two and mother-in-law to Lucy, her son’s wife with whom she shared a strained relationship. The Australian author switches narration between the two women, taking us from present to past and back again, as the book’s complex family drama unfolds with constant surprises. The Mother-in-Law stands out as a fantastically engaging novel with a completely unpredictable ending.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hepworth (The Family Next Door) takes readers on a suspenseful ride as a family copes with the suspicious suicide of its matriarch. Lucy has never thought her mother-in-law, Diana Goodwin, liked her since they first met a decade earlier. Chapters in the first person from both Diana's and Lucy's perspectives reveal their deepest feelings and desires, highlighting past events such as the day Lucy married Diana's son, Ollie, and Diana's problems with depression after the death of her husband, Tom, moving forward to the time of Diana's apparent suicide. The investigation of the suicide changes dramatically when police learn that Diana didn't have breast cancer, as she had told her family she did. Furthermore, evidence emerges indicating she may have been murdered. Police question Lucy, Ollie, Ollie's sister, Nettie, and her husband, Patrick, about their involvement in the possible murder, and each of them have motives, especially Lucy, given her contentious history with Diana. Hepworth's short, punchy chapters keep the pages quickly turning while effortlessly deepening her characters. Readers will race to the end of this clever novel to find the truth.
Customer Reviews
Loved the story!
I’m an amateur book reader at the moment but enjoyed this a lot! Told from POV of mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of past and present. More and more revealed throughout the novel of their true thoughts and feelings that shaped their then and now relationship and made it hard to put this one down. I wanted to know more and more after every chapter, I couldn’t resist reading on and on. Interesting plot as well!