Motherthing is creepy, weird and horrific. Dark humor at its best but the novel does carry a strong psychological undertone that managed to send more than a few shivers down my spine.
The writing is crisp and the narrative flow unrelenting.
It will definitely always come to my mind when discussing mother in law/daughter in law relationships in the future...

A delightful fictional weirdness that deserves to be enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever...

Many thanks to Vintage and Netgalley for this terrific ARC

A very original concept. Definitely have to get the print for my shelf. The tension was terrific. I finished the book in one sitting. Couldn‘t put it down.

This was not what I was expecting, and it honestly exceeded expectation! It was creepy, it was disturbing, it was heart-wrenching. *chef's kiss!*

Abby loves her husband Ralph and Ralph loves Abby but he’s also a mama‘s boy and when she dies and Abby take something that belongs to her Irene will not let her forget it. If Abby thought her mother-in-law was a problem when she was alive, she hasn’t seen anything yet! This was a really good book I thought the story went along quickly and although it can be pretty funny it’s definitely a horror story. I also thought Abby and Ralph had a really good relationship I just like this book all the way around. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I LOVED this book. It’s so uniquely well written. I went all in during a long layover and couldn’t put it down. It made me chuckle a good few times, and also make horrified faces.

This is soaked in dark humor and trauma. I’m not sure I would have marketed this so heavy on the humor part but I so appreciate the humor and writing style of this book. I can’t quite explain what I read, part ghost story, part trauma filled nightmare, and really I just wanted to hug Abby and never eat her food.

Awful mother-in-law stories always have a weird draw for me and Motherthing did not disappoint.

Have you ever had that guest that is downright horrible but just won't leave? You're forced to put up with them for what feels like forever, as if you might have died and this is now your own personal hell? To listen to this person nag and berate and belittle you for all of eternity?

Abby finds herself in the position of many wives' worst fears: her awful mother-in-law might be gone, but her ghost still is lingering and tormenting them. Abby is hilarious. She's witty and smart and snarky and her commentary had me burning through this book in hours. I have been there before with the significant other with the mother I couldn't help but loathe for her treatment of myself vs her son and her attachment issues.

Even with Abby's snark, the overall mood turns dark and dreadful as Ralph's depression over his mother's passing grows. The psychological horror aspect ramps up quickly and the sad undertone pulled at my heart for Abby. It is hard to not feel for her as the story progresses.

I loved this and will recommend it to anyone looking for a suspenseful, psychological thriller. Especially anyone that has had to deal with the monster-in-law or even giving their everything but their love never returned in the amount it is given.

Thank you to the author and publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Motherthing.

This was not for me. I couldn't do the writing style. It felt all over the place and took away from the point of the story. Just no.

Motherthing was the perfect blend of humor, horror, and what-the-f*ck is happening. I loved every hilarious and mildly terrifying second of it. The cover is absolute *chefs kiss.* I would recommend this to anyone with a sense of humor, a strong stomach, and possibly someone who read and enjoyed NightBitch

Mothering is a comic tragedy or a tragic comedy. Bad things and sad things happen, but all and all it is a clever, witty story. Some lines were so funny that I laughed out loud while reading. There was one big twist I never saw coming. The things we do for love....

Poor Abby had a brutal childhood, finally found love, only to be haunted by her crabby, dead mother-in-law. When I read ghost stories, I wonder if these are ghosts or mental illness. Motherthing has both going on. The way Abby breaks the haunting is not the normal way of doing things. (If there is a normal way of getting rid of a ghost.)

We have some blood, vomit, and chewed up bread getting caught in Abby's hair. The spraying bread gagged me out more than the blood, but that's the way I am.

Thanks to Netgalley and Vintage for allowing me to read, review, and gag over soggy bread in Motherthing.

This was such a fun and wild story! I thought this was a fast pace and entertaining book! I loved the characters and felt I could relate to some of them. Overall, fun and quirky with enough suspense to keep me going. Such a fun read that I will be telling my friends about!

Interesting and engaging opening and premise but I found the dialogue and plot development a bit trite. Might try it again later though.

This book is literally insane. Be ready for stream of consciousness that moves to scenes like a movie. That part took me off guard but having had depression, I get it and like this gimmick. I would say it's like "The Yellow Wallpaper" but this one also brings is ghosts and demons--or the idea of. It's up to the reader to decide.
Honestly, I wish I had a third-party epilogue to hear about the fallout.

The title and premise were so intriguing. This book is so confusing, I never knew what was going on. I feel like scenes were thrown in just for an ick factor and nothing about this worked. Disappointed.

this was such a creepy and at times disturbing book, I was OBSESSED. all throughout this book, I was waiting for something to happen that would keep me up at night but by the end of it I realized that “something” was the writing. Hogarth is able to write about a story with characters that are so hauntingly real, THAT’S what kept me up at night! her ability to keep you so engaged in the story like this is incredible (at times I felt like I was one of the characters themselves.) I initially went into this thinking it would be horror but quickly realized it’s psychological with a little bit of paranormal aspects which made this book even more enjoyable.

This is such a sick, disturbing book!! I loved it!! Excellent, twisted explorations of motherhood, wifehood, femininity, depression, and love. Definitely a top reading experience for me this year.

5/5

4/5 stars

What the actually f**k did I read? It was creepy and raw and terrifying in the best ways possible.

I loved the concept of mental haunting and actual ghost haunting, but also portrayed the stages of grief in a real way. I found Abby to be just as creepy as Laura, but obviously in drastically different ways. Her directness and eccentric personality irked me in both good and bad ways, and I always felt weird reading.

Sometimes she’d go off on long tangents that weren’t really my thing and bored me, but that was the only time I felt truly bored during the whole book. It was a lot slower than I thought it was going to be, but that only added to the eerieness.

Other than that, I’m speechless. What was that ending?!?!?

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the e-ARC!

Dark and incredibly thrilling, poignant and possessed, this book reads like a roller coaster through trauma and generational depression. I absolutely loved it, was horrified by it, and will spend too much of my life thinking about it in the back of my mind. Hogarth’s writing is SO GOOD, I’ll read anything she writes from this point forward. This is a great recommendation for any horror lover, especially those who aren’t squeamish.

This book was crayyy zeee. It all started out as normal as any other domestic couple can seem. Then Abby’s world spiraled out of control.

Synopsis: Ralph’s mother committed suicide and appears to Ralph after her death. Abby, Ralph’s wife, feels bad for him because he is grieving in an unhealthy way. I can’t divulge any more than this, I’m sorry to say.

Quote- “he flinches. Not because I am close, but to let me know not to come any closer. “I’m okay”. He smiles but his eyes are glazed cherries and his face is a yanked rag spent from a hook.”

“Negativity was Laura’s (mother in law) mysticism, and maybe that powerful negativity has kept her here on earth.”

🎥 movie to go with this read- Falling Down with Michael Douglas. Because when you’re having a bad day or week, shit happens and you do stuff.

🥨 Snack- jellied salmon with crackers, because eww.

Overall, this was a good read and Hogarth is a fantastic writer

If you are looking for a spook, this book is probably for you! BUT, be warned - of the many triggers, which include but are not limited to gore, violence, foods, & so on. It is VISCERAL!

From the first words in the book, we are gripped by the experience that character Abby and her husband Ralph are faced with. Ralph’s mother, the MIL/Motherthing in question, has committed suicide in the basement of the house which the three of them shared together.

Ralph descends into a depressive state, contemplating what he could have done better as a son. He also won’t leave their basement & Abby wants to know why.

Feverishly, Abby clings to her beloved cookbook and tries saving her family with food like the jiggly jellied salmon dish. But Ralph isn’t that hungry and he’s a bit preoccupied entertaining his zombie/ghost Motherthing in the basement.

Will Abby be able to reckon with her hatred for her deceased mother in law, and in a grand gesture to save her family, can she pull her Ralph out of the darkness of grief?

You’ll just have to see for yourself!