Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller

Published: April 23. 2019

Pages: 352

My Thoughts:

I’ve just finished this highly satisfying new title by Sally Hepworth. She’s been on my radar for some time but this was the first book of hers I’ve read.

What a roller coaster! Not what I was expecting at all. The domestic suspense genre is so popular right now and there is no shortage of crazy flight attendant girlfriends or psychopathic wives who commit heinous acts…

…Which is why this book really stands out!

Lucy and her mother in law Diana have a tense relationship. She’s always wanted a mother figure but Diana has always been guarded and distant. Even having grandchildren hasn’t warmed her up.

Diana has a comfortable life thanks to her dear husband Tom (probably my favorite character) but she has a past that she can’t forget. Despite her aloofness, she is quite devoted to her charities and her children Ollie and Nettie.

Lucy: “Other generations had had it harder. Ollie and I did have the ability to get a house within our means. Which means I can’t even hate her for what she’d said.”

The chapters alternate from past to present and from Diana and Lucy’s perspectives. When something tragic happens, we begin to piece together a darker story.

Many of the shock and awe, hyped books in this genre are so over the top and convoluted that the main goal seems to confuse and mislead. This book was exciting and kept me guessing. The characters were realistic and complex. The pacing and build up was just perfect. When the secrets are revealed, it was not at all what I was thinking. But it was believable and intelligent and savvy.

Bravo!

Goodreads | Amazon

About the Book:

A twisty, compelling new novel about one woman’s complicated relationship with her mother-in-law that ends in death…

From the moment Lucy met her husband’s mother, she knew she wasn’t the wife Diana had envisioned for her perfect son. Exquisitely polite, friendly, and always generous, Diana nonetheless kept Lucy at arm’s length despite her desperate attempts to win her over. And as a pillar in the community, an advocate for female refugees, and a woman happily married for decades, no one had a bad word to say about Diana…except Lucy.

About the Author:

SALLY HEPWORTH is a human resource professional. A graduate of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, Sally started writing novels after the birth of her first child. Sally has lived around the world, spending extended periods in Singapore, the UK, and Canada, and she now writes full-time from her home in Melbourne, where she lives with her husband and three young children. She is the author of several novels, including The Family Next Door and The Mother’s Promise.

QOTD: What do you think of the “monster mother in law” cliche? What’s your MIL like?

Want more reviews? Click here!

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive compensation if you make a purchase using this link. Thank you for supporting this blog and the books I recommend! I may have received a book for free in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

---

Follow OrangeCountyReaders on Goodreads, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Support Us on Ko-Fi and Amazon. And please, feel free to leave a comment!