Really enjoyed the writing and the character development but the forward progression was a bit slow for me. This was billed as suspense/thriller but it was more contemporary fiction with a mystery thrown in. I enjoyed having both Diana and Lucy's perspective and the characterization was spot on.

Well, here's the first book you're going to want to put in your beach bag! Thanks to #netgalley I got to read this #soontobereleased novel by @sallyhepworth and you are going to want to read it, too.

Told from both the MILs and DILs perspective before and after the MIL had committed suicide (or did she?). This is not a spoiler because it takes place in the very beginning of the novel when Lucy finds out her mother-in-law is dead and the cops are investing the possibility that it was not suicide.

Lucy and her MIL, Diana, have a pretty typical relationship. They both want to be closer to one another but neither finds the right way to communicate this so they end up on opposite ends. In fact, Lucy has even imagined what life would be like without her MIL - and now she's dead.

Plot and character-driven, this novel kept me engaged the whole time - and up way past my bedtime! This book was a fun read because the author does a fantastic job of making it that way. For instance, Lucy has been without a mom for years and is desperate for a maternal relationship. Diana is viewed as this saintly perfect woman in their town, but she has plenty of secrets. Her past has made it difficult for her to open up to others, which makes Lucy feel unwelcomed. I wanted to keep reading as the secrets from both the past and present are revealed.

Plus, I appreciated that the author showed how often we form judgments without knowing the whole story and how often a simple misunderstanding leads to bad relationships by showing the good and bad in all the characters.

Overall, this is a book that makes for a great escape. You'll read it and be happy for the family you have when you finish it. Thanks to the author and Netgalley for providing me with a copy to read and review.

What a great mystery! This book went in no direction that I expected it to go in and kept me guessing throughout the entire story. But it is more than that; it is also an in-depth character study about the relationships between women, specifically mothers- and daughters-in-law. I thought that Diana was an incredibly complex person, and I loved the way the reader was allowed to figure that out through Diana’s actions (rather than just being told). Without giving away plot points, the situation that materializes with Tom and Diana hit very close to home as I recently went through something similar with my parents (not to the same extent, but close enough that I teared up reading through particular sections). Thank you to the author for addressing that issue with frankness, but understanding. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes contemporary mysteries and non-nonsense writing. This review was voluntarily written based on a pre-release copy provided by NetGalley.

The Mother in Law is a study in how people talk around each other and often don't try to understand each other. Most of the story is told going back and forth in time between the present, the last few years, and then back to 1970. We are reading, for most of the novel, through either Lucy's or Diana's POV. Viewing the same events through different eyes and with different background completely changes how you may feel about what is happening.

I was looking for a murder mystery. By the time it was over it was not about that so much as about the journey of the two women from whose eyes we are seeing things. It was touching and unexpected. Thank you to Sally Hepworth, Netgalley, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

I always enjoy reading the latest Sally Hepworth book! She combines realistic characters with suspense and a dose of reality. Just enough mystery to keep you guessing and turning the pages to the very end. Always entertaining!

I'm a sucker for a good thriller and was really excited for this one as I've been seeing SO MUCH buzz for it.

For me - I just wasn't "thrilled" the way I like to be. It was more of a dysfunctional family, spoiled kids, too many issues murder mystery for me and I just didn't get that thriller rush I crave - and found myself kind not caring 'who-dun-it' by time they revealed who actually did it!

Lucy was REALLY hoping that her mother-in-law Diana would be the one to fill the void in her life as her mother died when she was young. She yearns for that relationship and looks forward to getting close to Diana. But Diana is just having none of it and when she ends up dead five years later, suspicions arise. Fingers slowly point a bit towards Lucy, but also her own children - Ollie, Lucy's husband and Nettie, his sister, as there is also a substantial amount of inheritance at play.

We go back and forth during the beginnings of Lucy and Ollie's relationship and when her and Diana first meet, and learn of a significant amount of instances where tension has overflowed between the two women... but also in the present, when Diana's body is found and an investigation ensues.

I found some of the swapping between characters and timelines a bit jumpy and hard to follow and I had a really hard time believing the ending - it just wrapped up too sweetly and some of the changes in character demeanor was a bit abrupt and forced and kind of unbelievable.

A good mystery story - chock full of family drama for sure, but not the thriller I was hoping for.

Wow! I really enjoyed this book and didn't see the twist at the end coming. Loved how it was told in the POV of Lucy, the daughter-in-law, and Diana, the mother-in-law, in past and present timelines. This one had me guessing as any of the main characters could have been responsible for Diana's death. Exceptional novel that will blow you away!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

Don't go into this one thinking it's going to be edge of your seat thrills throughout. Know that you will have to think and observe the tiniest of details so you can peek at a family - not a perfect family, but one who has real struggles. Sure there's an investigation, but that is not at the forefront of this one. Sally Hepworth nails the dynamics between mother and child, father to child, and, of course, mother in law to daughter in law. If you like intense, psychological, and insightful books, this one is for you!

Sally Hepworth's latest is a domestic drama that will keep you guessing, and is one of her best yet. Lucy's mother-in-law, Diana, isn't the worst mother-in-law you've read about in fiction- she isn't warm and she doesn't show up in the ways Lucy would like, but she's not as outright evil seeming as sometimes happens (in real life and fiction!). But when she is found dead in her home of an apparent suicide, Lucy starts questioning all their past encounters. Diana's story and background are different than Lucy or her own children know, and as her past is revealed in flashbacks, readers will come to see that whether you marry into a family or are born into it, there might be secrets and wounds that you'll never know. I wasn't sure what was coming in this story, and found the entirity to be an interesting tale.

This was a fast read and I was somewhat enjoying it for a little more then halfway through. The relationships in this book are just so far off then what I can comprehend, but this may be the case when it comes to the filthy rich and and their family’s (kids) expectations.
So, for the part I did enjoy...3 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and St.Martins Press for the ARC

*** 3.5 Stars ***
Expected Publication: April 23rd, 2019

Lucy's mother-in-law Diana, is far from perfect and had always treated Lucy as if she were not good enough for her son. then Diana is found dead with a suicide note however cause of death appears to be from asphyxiation. Could Lucy be a suspect?
This was just okay for me.... I didn't feel the character development was that strong to where I invested in the characters. I honestly didn't think at the beginning the mother in law was that terrible and instead the others were overly sensitive and whiny. This definitely grew on me as it went and I did enjoy the ending which is why I raised my rating. I wouldn't call this jaw dropping but the interpersonal relationships were complex and interesting.

Special Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

The Mother-in-Law is the second book I’ve read by Sally Hepworth (the first one being last year’s The Family Next Door) and just like with that book, I found this one to be a quick, entertaining read that kept my attention well enough, though I honestly would categorize this more as a domestic suspense than a thriller, as it didn’t have the “edge-of-your-seat” twisted thrill ride feel to it. The story does start out gripping enough, with the death of Lucy’s mother-in-law Diana from an apparent suicide, though under circumstances mysterious enough to warrant an investigation into other factors possibly at play. The subsequent chapters then go back and forth in time from past to present, with the narrative alternating primarily between the voices of Lucy and Diana, revealing bit by bit the backstory of the various members of the family, eventually leading up to the truth about Diana’s death. As the details of the family’s struggles began to emerge and we (as readers) started to get caught up in all the drama and conflicts between the characters, this was where I felt the story started to veer a bit off course in that it became easy to forget that there was an actual mystery to be solved (Diana’s death and the circumstances surrounding it). With that said though, we do learn quite a bit about Diana and Lucy and we also get a good understanding of the dynamics of their relationship – seeing how the same situations could be viewed so differently from the mother-in-law versus the daughter-in-law’s perspective, I actually felt this exploration of family relationships was the most interesting aspect of the story. The ending I actually didn’t see coming in that I wasn’t able to figure it out early on (definitely a good thing, as it meant the plot wasn’t too predictable), but unfortunately, I felt the buildup wasn’t as strong as it could have been, which made the truth of Diana’s death when it was finally revealed in the end a bit anti-climactic for me.

I don’t want to say too much else about the plot so as not to spoil the story for those who haven’t read this one yet. For me, this book worked well as a domestic drama, a story exploring contemporary family dynamics and relationships. Even though my family background is very different from the family in the book, I was able to appreciate some of the relationship elements that were explored and though the story didn’t go too deep, it still gave me some interesting insight and food for thought. The part that didn’t work for me was the suspense/thriller element, as despite the “cliffhangers” at the end of practically each chapter, I felt like it wasn’t enough to establish the suspenseful mood that I’ve come to expect from stories classified under this genre. I would definitely still recommend this one, just be mindful of the expectations going into it.

Received ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley

When I first finished this book I rated it 4 stars. It was really 3.5 stars and I rounded up. After putting thought into this review, I have decided to round down. I actually really enjoyed this story. It's a great concept. It's a fascinating story. And crazy enough, it's so relevant with the issue of entitled kids this generation is dealing with. Mommy and Daddy are rich beyond their means so the kids think everything should be handed to them on a silver platter. But that's not the kind of mom Diana is!!! I may not have agreed with all the decisions she made, but I respect the ethics she tried to instill in her kids. Here is my biggest issue with this book that caused me to round down - this book is tagged as a mystery or thriller and I just didn't get it. There wasn't really any big mystery or thrill to it. I think it has the potential to be a huge thriller and I kept waiting and waiting for a thrill that never came. There is a tiny twist at the very end of the story but it's not enough to constitute the genre this book is being labeled as. I do feel it's a really good fiction story. It's a pretty quick read and the story will suck you in. I wasn't disappointed in the author's character development. Some you will like and some you will want to strangle, which keeps the book interesting. I wanted to be able to give this a higher rating. Again the story is enjoyable and well written, I just feel it's being labeled wrong for the content which is a little misleading for the reader.

My thanks to Sally Hepworth, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Though The Mother-in-Law at first appears to be domestic thriller, I’d say it’s more of a book about relationships.

Lucy is a colorful, warm-hearted mother. Diana, her mother-in-law, is cold, disapproving, aloof. Through their alternating points of view, we see the miscommunications that keep their relationship from going further.

Hepworth is great at illustrating these relationship dynamics. It’s easy to go full-tilt-evil in creating a mother-in-law or antagonist. But Hepworth’s characters are more realistic. They all have flaws and they all have saving graces. They all (at least for the most part) have good intentions at heart, but don’t always carry them out successfully. I loved Lucy. And I loved Diana.

The one part I’m still conflicted on is the crazy-making female hormones. Woman tries to conceive, can’t, and goes on an insane rampage, chalking it all up to her hormones and crazy obsession with babies. I’m not thrilled with books that criminalize women based on their biology.

At the same time, sometimes a woman is indeed a prisoner to her own biology. Hepworth showed this perfectly with her depiction of postpartum psychosis in The Family Next Door. Hence my conflicted feelings.

Overall, though, The Mother-in-Law is an excellent book. I mourned Diana. Her loss is the true heartbreak here, plus the relationship Lucy should have been able to have with her.

Families - there is the one you are born into, the one you marry into and the one you choose.

When Lucy marries Ollie, she desperately wants to be accepted into his family, especially by his Mother Diana, as Lucy lost her mother at an early age. But from day one, Diana appears reserved and distant. The rest of Ollie's family embraces Lucy but Lucy feels that she just can't do anything right in Diana's eyes. Lucy is a lively woman who chooses to stay home with her children and is doing the best she can to be a good mother, wife and daughter in law.

Diana was basically disowned by her parents during her later teenage years for choices she made and was taken in by her Aunt. She eventually meets her husband Tom and her life changes for the better. With Tom, Diana raised two children: Ollie and Nettie. Diana often must play the bad cop in her family yet has a generous and giving nature with the refugees she helps.

I don't want to say any more about the plot and encourage fellow readers to go in knowing as little as you can about the plot. This book pleasantly surprised me. I have been a fan of Hepworth since reading her first book and this book lived up to my expectations of her writing. I loved how she gave us the inner thoughts of each of the two main women - Lucy and Diana. I also appreciated how she showed each's intentions and how often intentions can be misread, or someone might have difficulty fully articulating his/her motives/thoughts/emotions to another person effectively, thus causing others to make inaccurate assumptions about that individual. It's what you say, how you say it and sometimes the things you don't get the chance to say, choose not to say or don't say. Relationships are tricky things. In fact, relationships can be messy. Worry about overstepping, worry about not being liked, worry about not teaching your children the skills to live, worry about being over bearing, worry about not being involved...ah...all the worries.

Diana and Lucy are not the only characters with relationship issues in this book. There are quite a few things going on in the relationships of others in this book as well. These subplots with are a part of the larger plot are just as important and show issues which can occur in marriages, with co-workers and with people we interact with in our personal lives.

I found this book to be a fast read which did not disappoint. I enjoyed how the Mother in law/daughter in law complicated relationship unfolded. How each tired with the other in her own way. It was refreshing to read both of their POV sections to see how they interpreted situations and often misinterpret each other intentions.

But this book is also not all about relationships, it is also about what happened to Diana. There is a mystery here. Was her death a suicide? Was she murdered? Who knows? One must read to find out!

I found this book to be thought provoking and captivating. It was a fast read which did not disappoint this reader.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Sally Hepworth and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Having loved another book by Sally Hepworth I knew that I just needed to read The Mother-in-Law and that I was going to love it. I’ll admit I’ve had this thriller for awhile and while you would think I would have been rushing to pick it up I actually saved this one for a pick me up when I got in a mediocre rut and thankfully it worked.

The story in The Mother-in-Law starts in the present time with Lucy as she and her husband are at home enjoying the day when police show up with some horrible news. Diana, Lucy’s mother-in-law, has been found in her home in what at first glance seems to be a suicide.

As readers are getting to know Lucy, her husband and the rest of the family as they deal with the news Sally Hepworth begins to sneak in chapters from Diana’s point of view which of course are taking place in the years since Lucy married into the family. The story flows really well from the past and present as we discover Diana’s death was not what it seemed to be and someone wanted her dead.

As one might guess I absolutely loved this story and had a great time trying to figure out what happened. One of those books that just immediately drags you into the story and doesn’t let go as the battle between they all seem innocent to everyone is a sketchy lowlife and she’s lucky she lived this long wages war in your head. Would definitely recommend checking this one out but be prepared it’s one you won’t want to put down.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Really enjoyed this book! It was a good mystery with a few unexpected turns. The characters were enjoyable and the book had an easy flow. So many twists and turns but the book came together perfectly!

Sally Hepworth is constantly being compared to Liane Moriarty and not just because they’re both Australian, female writers. I get the comparison, they both write lighter style suspense, no blood and guts, just good old fashioned who dunnits with a modern twist that focus on domestic secrets and betrayals. As much as I love LM dare I say I love SH more?! Yep, I just did, her books are the true definition of unputdownable and there is always more than meets the eye with everything from the plot itself to the characters and their motivations, histories and secrets.

Mother and daughter in law relationships are endlessly fascinating to me, maybe it’s because I truly have such a fantastic relationship with my own MIL (seriously, she is THE BEST) but there are always highly complex dynamics between a mom and her sons wife no matter how great the two women get along, there is always something tricky about them and Diana and Lucy’s is no different. You hear from both women, Diana in the past and Lucy in both the past and present and at first glance you assume many things about them both. I’m beginning to understand that making assumptions while reading a SH book is just not smart, she’s a clever writer and has so many tricks up her sleeve. That’s all I’m saying about that.

This was pure entertainment, the best kind of read because you get totally sucked in and before you know it, half the book is over. There’s a steadily building style of suspense, the chapters get shorter as you get closer to the end and the tension is raised as well. The ending was super solid and the whole thing was unique, this really felt like something new in the world of domestic suspense and made me a firm fan of the author.

The Mother In Law in three words: Fresh, Fascinating and Complicated

When Lucy married Ollie, there were times when she liked her mother-in-law and there were times that she despised her. Ollie and his sister, Nellie, grew up in a wealthy family. Their dad, Tom, was very giving to his children and grandchildren. Their mom, Lucy, was not. She grew up having to work hard for everything and she had a heart for refugees that did not have much at all. She did not believe in giving money to people-not even her own family when they needed it. This caused a lot of hardship with Lucy. Ollie’s business was going under and Nellie was obsessed with getting money for IVF.
When Diana was found dead, the police said that it was a suicide or possible homicide. But who would kill Diana? Diana was so depressed after Tom’s death. Would she have committed suicide?
I loved this book and all of the characters! It is a page turner from beginning to end!
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This was my first Hepworth and it did not disappoint. I really liked that it bounced around from Lucy (the main character) and Diana (the mother-in-law), as well as between the past and the present. In so doing, the story came together in an engaging way. (I totally fell asleep trying to finish it last night!) The Mother-in-Law was detailed enough to make me care about the characters, but quick enough that I read it in < 24 hours. (I tend to like thrillers I can tear through better than those that take me a week.)

Maybe I'm just picking better mysteries these days, but this is another in a recent stretch that has some depth. Yes, there's a dead body, and an investigation into how that came to be. But this book also explores what it means to be a daughter/mother/mother-in-law, infertility, what's considered a good life, and how two people can see the same interaction or relationship quite differently. All this would give a book club much to discuss.

The Mother-in-Law was a bit predictable at times, and some of the characters could have been better fleshed out, but I really enjoyed this one and do recommend it.

(Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an uncorrected digital galley!)