I loved, loved, loved this book! It seems that all Lucy ever wanted from her Mother-in-Law, Diana, was to be accepted and loved. Lucy misses the feeling of having her own mother in her life and sought to have a loving relationship with her husband Ollie's mom.
But Diana was never a "warm and fuzzy" kind of mom. She was tough as nails and successful despite of having to work hard her entire life to build an empire from the ground up. Diana is immersed in her charity work and she feels strongly that giving her children hand-outs will leave them short of knowing what "working hard for your money" feels like.
But... I think Diana got a bad wrap. Being told from multiple perspectives, the reader got to know Diana and her hearts desires. Yes, she was hell-bent on tough love. Yes, she was rich. Yes, she didn't freely give wads of money to her grown children whenever they had a business idea or desired another opportunity in life. She loved her family, her husband, and her work.
Did she go too far though? After her husband Tom died, she began to rethink things. Here's where it got real hairy. This story just got better and better!
I loved the plot twists, the flawed characters, and the drama of it all!!! A fast paced and twisty story, it will have you reading through all hours of the night!

I love it when I read a book that makes me want to read more from that author. I haven’t been reading mysteries or suspense novels for a while but I’m so glad I was in the mood and had THE MOTHER-IN-LAW by Sally Hepworth all queued up. Set in Australia, this book follows Lucy as the daughter-in-law who loves Ollie and her family more than anything. But with Ollie comes his mother, Diana. From the beginning, you know that Lucy has lost her own mom and really expected that Diana and her would hit it off and she’d have both an amazing husband and a wonderful mom. But Diana is not warm and fuzzy. Hepworth captures the importance of what we say, don’t say, and forget to say perfectly in this novel. The relationships she develops and the writing she uses are fantastic. I really couldn’t put it down – both from a desire to know who the “bad guy” was and to see what happened to the relationships with everyone in the book. It was just awesome and I’m grateful to have read it early. I’m even more grateful that my mother-in-law is amazing and that we have such open communication. I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

“I could have written more, but in the end, there’s really only two pieces of wisdom worth leaving behind. I worked hard for everything I ever cared about. And nothing I ever cared about cost a single cent.”

Truly sucked me in! This book was outstanding, I was hooked from the first paragraph. I’ve never read Sally Hepworth before, but I will be adding her books to my to be read pile for sure!

We all either have a cringe worthy mother in law or we know someone who has that kind of relationship so, why should Lucy’s be any different? This book explores those relationships and how time, patience and understanding can maybe change things for the better.

However, this is a thriller/mystery/suspense filled story so, it isn’t all roses and pony’s right?

So, the remaining question is, how far will you go to get what you want?

Five stars all the way! Thank you so much to St Martins Press and NetGalley for the galley of this intense, family drama. Thoroughly enjoyed it, this would be a great beach read!

An suspenseful and intriguing family drama about asking parents for financial help.

SUMMARY
Diana Goodwin is found dead in her home shortly after her husband’s death, and suicide seems the logical conclusion. There was a suicide note, and she had just recently told her family she had breast cancer. But the police are investigating, and it’s seems everyone in the family might have a motive.

When Lucy first met Diana, 10 years ago, she was overwhelmed by the grandeur of their palatial home. Since her own mother had passed away when she was thirteen, Lucy had hoped to find a warm, loving future mother-in-law, but that is not what she found. Lucy’s fiancé, Ollie, adores his mother, but his sister, Nettie, and her husband, Patrick, warn Lucy that Diana “could alway be worse”.

Diana is aloof with her children and spends most of her time and her wealth on a charity she established to help refugees. Whenever her own children ask for financial assistance they are repeatedly refused. She wants her children to go it “on their own”, just like she had to do, when she was young. When Diana’s husband Tom was alive, he would occasional help the kids, but now then he is gone, both Nettie and Ollie are desperate for help.

REVIEW
The Mother-in-Law is a intriguing family drama. Diana was quite the character that you’ll love to hate. How dare she not help her kids. I found myself holding my breath just waiting for the next horrible or rude thing she would do. But as the past and the present unfold, we find there is so much more to the story.

I loved reading both Lucy and Diana perspectives. It all blends effortlessly to form a surprising and grabbing story. I couldn’t stop inhaling the pages to find out what happen to Diana. It’s a story that makes you think about the perceptions of your interactions and relationships with others. Why do people turn out they way they do?

Sally Hepworth’s writing was mesmerizing. Her story could be plucked from the headlines of today. She is from Melbourne, Australia and is the bestselling author of The Secrets of Midwives (2015), The Things We Keep (2016) and The Mother's Promise (2017), and The Family Next Door (Feb 2018). 

Thanks to Netgalley, Sally Hepworth and St. Martin’s Press for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher St. Martin’s Press
Published April 23, 2019
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

You must read this book! The characters are so life like. I love the way the author explains what Lucy and Diana are thinking during their conversations. It makes them more relatable. Diana portrays herself as a hardcore mother in law, but you also see a sensitive side. Lucy is a typical daughter in law who tends to be defensive. The relationships in this family are easy to identify with throughout the story. Can’t wait to read more by this author.

Addictive, thrilling, and full of shocking twists and turns. The Mother-in-Law is the first book by Sally Hepworth that I have read and it will definitely not be my last. This book had me flipping through the shocking pages to see what would happen next. What is better than a family drama that is full of lies, deceit and betrayal? Full of secrets, it seems no one is being honest with themselves, let alone the rest of the family. When everyone is hiding their fair share of secrets, who do you believe? Is anyone innocent or are they all to blame?

I enjoyed reading about the dynamics of the friendship, or lack thereof, between Lucy and her mother-in-law. I mean, who doesn’t want to get along with their mother-in-law and be accepted fully by her? And that is all Lucky wanted – to be accepted by Diana and feel that she was considered good enough to be married to Diana’s son Ollie and feel a part of their family. It should be easy enough, right?

Well this is not the case. Lucy has a hard time connecting with her mother-in-law Diana, and Diana is not making it easy on Lucy. Diana seems aloof, cold an indifferent. Is it just Diana’s nature and the way her personality is, or does she simply dislike Lucy for no apparent reason?

We are introduced to a wide variety of complex and dynamic characters in the book. We have Diana and Tom, who are married, and have two children Ollie and Nettie. Ollie is married to Lucy and Nettie is married to Patrick. With so many characters in this book who had their own reasons for disliking or even hating Diana at times, is one of them responsible for Diana’s death? After all, each of them have their own share of reasons for possibly wanting to murder her.

Well job Sally. I look forward to reading your other novels.

WOW! What a fantastic book. I suspected all at one time or another but only learned who the murderer is at the very end. Loved it and highly recommend. Will look for more books by this author for sure. Thank you publisher and netgalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I found myself hoping for the best throughout, and wishing the daughter-in-law would open her eyes to the situations a little more. I guess maybe we never really know anyone, or their intentions. This book was so heartfelt that I found myself appreciating my own mother-in-law by the end — that’s when you know it’s a good book, if it makes you reflect on yourself. I highly recommend this read to anyone who likes books with alternating perspectives. This has been one of the best books I’ve read in that style. I loved it! Thank you, Netgalley, for giving me the opportunity to read and review this gem. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Clever, impactful & irresistible!

This book was nothing like I imagined it to be…..it was so much more than your typical “evil” mother-in-law tale!! Loved it!!


THE MOTHER-IN-LAW by SALLY HEPWORTH is a gripping, captivating, thought-provoking, and fabulous mystery/thriller that I was immediately drawn into and devoured quickly. The story was so darn entertaining and absolutely un-put-down-able!!!!

SALLY HEPWORTH delivers quite the unexpected, clever, engaging, complex and well-written story here told in alternating chapters between the past and the present in both Diana (mother-in-law) and Lucy’s perspectives. The storyline was brilliantly plotted, flowed seamlessly and the characterizations were absolutely spot-on. The dynamics between these characters totally fascinated and entertained me. And it was so interesting to hear from both sides as each of them had their own interpretations of what they actually meant or how they felt or thought about certain scenarios.

The mystery itself here was done so well and not rushed at all. It was another one of those books where the fantastic storytelling guides and entertains you without any shocking unrealistic scenes. The storyline is full of twists and turns and so subtlety interspersed that totally snuck up on me in the end. I love it when an author is so talented to shock you with her writing style alone which just makes that pivotal moment much more shocking in its own right. Brilliant!!

Norma’s Stats:
Cover: That cover is absolutely striking with its bright & welcoming design which definitely caught my eye and definitely enticed me into wanting to read this book.
Title: Simple, impactful and fabulous!
Writing/Prose: Well-written, fluid, witty, beautiful and engaging.
Plot: Engrossing, clever, unique, thought-provoking, believable, interesting, heartfelt, fast-paced, and entertaining.
Ending: Whoa! Absolutely loved it and totally took me by surprise!
Overall: This was an all around fabulous book with such a creative and refreshing storyline that was definitely very satisfying and well worth reading! Would highly recommend!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press & Sally Hepworth for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

The relationship between a daughter in law and mother in law can be difficult. Trust me I am speaking from personal experience! Reading this book was hard for me at times as I reflected on my own relationship with my mother in law. That being said it was a page turning thriller that took me on a wild ride. When Lucy meets her mother in law Diana for the first time she is so hopeful for a warm loving relationship. But she quickly finds Diana to be cold, distant and very different from herself. Now with Diana being found dead from an apparent suicide the family struggles to understand what brought her to this. Furthermore once the autopsy comes back it reveals Diana might not have committed suicide after all. Family secrets and betrayals start coming out and you never know who is telling the truth. This book is told through alternating perspectives of Diana and Lucy which I really enjoyed. As the narration flips from the past to present we learn more about this tumultuous relationship. I recommend this book if you are looking for a book with family drama that keeps you on your toes!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher St Martin's Press for this advance reader copy,

I liked this book, didn't love it. It was a little quiet and missing some of the drama and soap i was expecting. Told from the alternating perspectives of Lucy and her mother-in-law Diana (who mysteriously dies and her family is considered prime suspects-Lucy in particular due to their difficult mother/daughter-in-law relationship). While it was a straight forward engaging read, I had trouble relating to any of the characters (which is funny since I just got married and have my only history of mother-in-law drama). I think I was expecting fireworks and ended up with bonfire instead. It's not a bad book by any means, but I think I had different expectations.

This book was a good mix of genres, mostly a family saga with a murder mystery twist. Some parts were amusingly poignant, other parts were just heart-rendingly sad.
The author reminds me of Lianne Moriarty, the way she mixes humour with real life circumstances and a touch of suspense.
The dynamics were primarily between two people, Lucy and her mother in law, Diana.
Lucy was truly a good person and Diana was misunderstood in the way that some strong people are - she did not feel the need to explain herself to others, which may have hurt her relationship with her children.
Diana endured some unique hardships as a young woman, but grew stronger for it and wanted her children to be equipt to do the same. She made no excuses and I felt was a little hard on them, while her husband seemed to enjoy indulging them.
It is no spoiler to say the book starts out with Diana's mysterious death and the full story is told by flashbacks from Diana and the current time point of view is Lucy's.

In what has become a popular format, this story is told from two points of view, alternating between the past and present. Lucy and her mother-in-law, Diana, have never “clicked”, despite Lucy’s attempts. When Diana is found dead, family secrets and relationships come to a head as the police investigate whether it was suicide or murder.

Set in Australia, this was an engrossing read that I really liked. I don’t often give 5 stars unless a book is truly outstanding, but there was something about this one that really appealed to me.

“The Mother-in-Law” was a slowly revealed mystery, telling the story through alternating chapters of flashbacks and current times. At different points, I considered every character a suspect, and enjoyed that it wasn’t a mystery that was figured out quickly or easily. I enjoyed the character development of the mother-in-law, Diana, who seems in the beginning to be a cold, harsh woman but the flashbacks reveal who is really is and why she’s the way she is. I was genuinely saddened knowing what was going to happen to her.

This is a really well written suspenseful mystery/ drama. Personally, it gave me a sense of paranoia while also keeping me really engaged. I will say that it started out slower than I would have liked, but it quickly picked up. You must give it a chance to build! The character development was spot on. I recommend this to other lovers of suspense.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Each chapter goes back and fore past and present between Diana (mother in law) and Lucy (daughter in law) the characters were really interesting and the twist at the end was not expected at all. I have all of sally Hepworth books in my kindle stash so will be reading them next. And I will be looking out for her books in the future. This was a great psychological thriller I couldn’t put down
Thank you so much netgalley

The problem is it's so easy for a mother-in-law to get it wrong. It seems there is an endless list of unwritten rules. Be involved but not overbearing. Be supportive but don't overstep. Help with the grand kids, but don't take over. Offer wisdom but never advice. Obviously, I haven't mastered this list. The most frustrating part is that it's nearly impossible for a father-in-law to mess it up. He has to be welcoming. That's it. People have higher expectations of a dog.

The dreaded word Mother-in-Law. It encompasses so many emotions but this relational thriller puts it all in perspective that you are dying (no pun intended) to see this to the end. Lucy's mother died while she was quite young and so missed the relationship of a mother to care, support and to cherish her. When she married her husband Ollie, she had great expectations in a mother in law. Meeting Ollie's mother Diane, Lucy expectations came to abrupt halt. Diane is not the lovey, feeling type. She is reserved and believes people should work hard and nothing be given. She believes her children should work hard, while her husband is the complete opposite. Lucy and Diane's may appear to have many contrasting ways between them but in some ways, they are very similar to the core. I think that is what makes this relationship so riveting.

The narration goes back in forth from Diane to Lucy from past to present. The plot is set up when Diane appears to have committed suicide. The family is shocked. But then the truth slowly unravels to the true character of Diane and those that supposedly love her. Her two grown children and their families have a different take on their mother which begs the question, do I know her. When the police deem the death as murder, the relationships show their true colors. The secrets, the lies, the deceit, and who really killed Diane and why.

A riveting family thriller.

A Special Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest revie

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the advance copy of The Mother in Law by Sally Hepworth.
This was my first Sally Hepworth book,but definitely won't be my last.
I absolutely loved this book. So fast paced and had a major twist I didnt see coming. This was not like other thrillers that have been coming out lately.
The story was so different and I loved the different POV that told the story. It switches back from then to now and makes the story so interesting.
I would definitely recommend picking this one up when it come out in April.

The Mother in Law by Sally Hepworth, an Australian novel which will be released in North America on April 23rd, expertly blends mystery and suspense with juicy domestic fiction. It chronicles the fraught relationship between Lucy and her mother-in-law Diana. We know from the beginning that Diana has an untimely death, which the police are investigating as a homicide, but how did it get to that point? The narrative drifts back and forth between Lucy and Diana, as the tension between them reaches a crescendo. It’s a fantastic page turner that will appeal to fans of Liane Moriarty.

Sally Hepworth is becoming a must read author for me. I expected a well written thriller - evil mother in law gets whats coming to her - but this book is beautiful and so much more than a standard thriller.

All the characters are flawed, but Hepworth does a deep dive on her characters and makes their baggage and scars make sense. She manages to make the seemingly cold, unfeeling Diana incredibly sympathetic and I loved how her character evolved.

There's plenty of twists to keep the reader entertained as well.