Wow! Great mystery/thriller. It sucked me in right away and the hidden twists of the "mother-in-law" were great. Loved the development of the characters and the way the book was sectioned into "past" and "present". Definitely recommend.

I love being surprised by a book. The Mother-in-Law surprised me by being good at telling deep truths about family relationships. We tend to think our family is different, not like the ones we read about or see on television. In all honesty, most of us are searching for the feelings of love and acceptance. When others are not what we expect, our feelings can overwhelm us with thoughts and actions that come without warning.

The character development is quite good in this story told by Lucy and Diana. The relationships are complex and feel real. This is a story that hints about what is to come rather than laying it out there for all to see. I like having think about what may happen and The Mother-in-Law gave me a lot to think about.

Did Diana commit suicide, or was she murdered? At first, it seems obvious but as the book goes on, you realize there is a lot more to the story than it appears at first glance.

This is a fabulous story about family, as well as a (potential?) mystery. Diana is an unlikeable character at the beginning, but as the story moves on, more about her internal world becomes known.

This was a solid five-star read for me. Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the ARC! .
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You guys. This book was SO FREAKING GOOD. It’s exactly what I want in a suspense novel, and I was absorbed from the very beginning. The characters felt realistically flawed while still being likable. The ending was surprising but didn’t feel out of the blue and I highly recommend that you buy this book as soon as it’s published in April! 4.5/5⭐️’s

I enjoyed this book, but did not love it. When a book really grabs my attention , I struggle to put the book down. This one took me about a week to complete as I was not totally pulled into the story from the very first page. Once You get past the first part of the book, then it starts to grab your attention. Usually I can predict the thrillers but the twist at the end I did not see coming. This was the first book by this author and although I struggled a little bit with this one, it will not be my last read from this author. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

This was a solid domestic suspense. I appreciated how it showed each character's take on the same events and kept me guessing up until the end. It wasn't perfect, but an enjoyable read. My first book from this author, but not my last! Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

I'm a sucker for books that have multiple points of view. This book makes you think about how your raising your kids and the relationships you have with your close family members. I loved the ending for Lucy and Ollie. Just wish Diana had figured things out sooner. #thankyounetgalley

This story based around a mother in law and her children and children in law is poignant and touching in unexpected ways.
When Lucys mother in law Diana turns up dead everyone is confused and as the investigation unfolds the confusion only grows deeper.
While Lucy, like many women, did not have the best relationship with Diana the questioning develops, was she involved? What secrets did Diana hold that could have led to her death?
I truly enjoyed this novel and was sad yet satisfied in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sally Hepworth and St. Martin’s Press for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

From the moment Lucy met her mother-in-law Diana, she realized that her dreams of a close relationship with her was never going to happen. Lucy wants to please her mother in law but it’s hard when Diana is such a pillar of community and advocate of social justice. Now ten years later, Diana has been found dead with a suicide note, but the autopsy showed she died of suffocation. Everyone in the family is hiding something, but who would murder Diana?

This was my first novel by Hepworth and I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I have always heard great things. I wasn’t disappointed at all! I loved the characters in this novel, even the ones that were hard to like. I loved how Lucy wanted to have a mother and daughter relationship with her mother-in-law, but Diana has other plans. I also loved the way that Diana was handling the family even though it is a bit hard to understand at first, but as you get to know her, it is much easier to understand. I loved how the chapters went back and forth from past to present and let us see what was going on in their lives to see how they ended up where they are today. I really loved the pace of this novel and the twist in the end that I didn’t see coming until much further into the novel. I will definitely be picking up more novels by Hepworth!

Out April 23rd!

A very compelling story. I got the novel, thinking that it was a mystery/thriller. While there was a mystery, the central theme of the book was familial relationships between women. I think that all women will be able to see aspects of their relationships with their mothers or mothers-in-law while reading this story.

“The Mother in Law” was my first read by Sally Hepworth but you can guarantee, it won’t be my last. Let’s face it, mother-in-laws typically get a bad rep. In this mystery, all Lucy wants is her mother-in-law, Diana’s, acceptance and love….but that will only happen over Diana’s dead body. In this novel, everyone has a secret and almost nothing is how it seems.
I won't go into detail because the last thing I want to do is spoil anything. I can say that this book was fantastic. I loved the characters, the mystery ( that twist!) , the pacing. I can’t wait to read more from this author soon. Definitely a psychological thriller you do not want to miss!

* I received an eArc of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

This is a suburban domestic mystery centered upon relational dynamics between in-laws, particularly mother and daughter. When Diana is found dead, her daughter-in-law becomes a suspect.

Sprinkled with thriller-like scenes, the storylines, presented in crisp chapters from two points of view, falls in line like a recipe for a murderous disaster. As the ingredients for any family disaster begin to appear, each member has secrets, which rise with the tension expressed in the author's witty prose.

As a reader of urban fiction, I am familiar with the portrayal of horrendous mother/daughter-in-law relationships. But, this is the first time I have seen it in mainstream mystery fiction.

The Mother-in-Law is sure to be a hit as a cross-over text, as it presents a glorious array of family drama, contemporary issues, and possesses a criminal element.

Highly recommended to all mystery readers. I especially recommend this book to fans of women's fiction who may be seeking a more mysterious tale.

Dies ist eine wahrhaft vielschichtige Geschichte, die weit mehr als einfach nur ein Thriller ist. Das Buch lebt von der Geschichte und den Beziehungen der Hauptpersonen. Spannend und emotional.

I enjoyed this book from page one. It begins with a visit from the police to inform Lucy that her mother in law is dead and it looks like suicide. Of course, now we all know that cant be the end of it. the book explores the relationships within a family, mother, husband, wife, sister and brother in law. Each chapter is a voice of one of the family members either in the present or past and that is the clever way this story unfolds. Sally Hepworth has long been a favorite of mine...but I believe this book is one of her best... I read the entire book in one day and needless to say neglected everything else I was planning to do ....I think you will enjoy the story and the clever way it is written. Add it to your library.....

This novel has me a little torn. I liked it. I did. But it just seemed a little familiar. The ol' daughter-in-law and mother-in-law conflict mixed with the feeling that perhaps the mother-in-law is a little bit evil, perhaps a bit two-faced. There was even the mention of the mother-in-law claiming cancer. Have you read The Other Woman? This happened with that evil mother-in-law too. But in this case, is the claim true or false? Is the mother-in-law truly against the daughter-in-law or is she just misunderstood? This is the real question of this Hepworth novel. And one I wanted the answer to enough to keep reading. The pages turned quickly with the easy-reading style of writing and I felt pleased upon the conclusion, even if I didn't have that 'please don't end' feeling.

Outstanding domestic suspense story-line; family relationships, parenting, success all factor in to this highly readable book,

Four-and-a-half stars.

The Mother-in-Law by Aussie author Sally Hepworth is an intense, gritty psychological thriller which I thoroughly enjoyed. Told by Diana and Lucy, and in the “past” and “present day”, it melded well and felt seamless. Plenty of twists, lots of red herrings and the trauma of relationships fed this book well.
I recommend this book

The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth is a solid domestic drama with a heaping helping of suspense. When Lucy’s mother-in-law, Diana, is found dead in her home, the evidence initially points to suicide. Of course, an open and shut investigation does not a quality suspense novel make; a closer look by law enforcement increases suspicion that Diana was murdered, along with the belief that the murder was committed by someone close to her.

Hepworth is masterful in her slow reveal of Diana’s character, and the mere title of the book, with the negative connotations surrounding mothers-in-law, may even be a bit unfair to Diana. In the opening of the book, Diana is cold and unlikeable to the point of being cruel. Yet as the novel progresses, more of Diana’s past is learned and her benevolence is shown.

The Mother-in-Law is certainly in the same vein as the novels of Liane Moriarty (I guess well-written Australian domestic suspense is trending?), and highly recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and the author for providing an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this. I thought it was a very good character study of mothers and daughters. I really liked Lucy and hearing Diana' side was very interesting. I thought the actual mystery part had a few twists but was a bit predictable.

This book is twisty, complicated mystery. Told from different perspectives, the plot slowly unwinds and you learn how everyone ended up in the situation they found themselves in. I found myself thinking I had figured everything out until the next chapter. There are so many twists in this story....you may think you know what’s happened but you are in for a surprise! I cannot wait to read more from this author. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.