REVIEW: THE MOTHER-IN-LAW, BY SALLY HEPWORTH

 

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 en-visioned 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.

That was five years ago.

Now, Diana is dead, a suicide note found near her body claiming that she no longer wanted to live because of the cancer wreaking havoc inside her body.

But the autopsy finds no cancer.

It does find traces of poison, and evidence of suffocation.

Who could possibly want Diana dead? Why was her will changed at the eleventh hour to disinherit both of her children, and their spouses? And what does it mean that Lucy isn’t exactly sad she’s gone?

Fractured relationships and deep family secrets grow more compelling with every page in this twisty, captivating new novel from Sally Hepworth.

 

My Thoughts: The Mother-in-Law grabs us from the beginning with a stunning death.

Lucy and Ollie’s marriage has numerous complications, but Diana was an unexpected one. Our multiple narrators take us through the years, from the past and to the present lives of the characters.

My favorite insight into Diana came during her girlhood with the defining moments that created her persona. We start out disliking her behavior, but as time passes, we come to understand her.

The obsessions of Nettie, Ollie’s sister, add an interesting layer to the tale.

Just when I thought that I had figured out who killed Diana, I realized how much intrigue each character brought to the mystery. This glued-to-the-pages story that held me hostage throughout earned 5 stars.

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