𝑶𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆. 𝑭𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆. 𝑶𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕.

This twisted tale had me in an absolute choke hold until I finished it. All the publishers are touting new thrillers with taglines like, "an unbelievable twist you'll never see it coming" and those are usually eye-rolling, but in this case, it's 100% true. It's the kind of book that you immediately want to start again when you get to that ending. Your flabbers will be gasted.

In a quiet neighborhood, three families exist separately, only tangentially connected by proximity. Klara never wanted the domestic life, but found herself led here by her new husband Troy. She feels trapped, isolated, but she duly follows conventions and allows herself to lose the solo home and career she built. Troy is so good to her, so she won't let herself think of the smooth way he insinuated himself into her life.

Mary, a retired teacher, is cleaning out her son's old room before she sells her home. She can't afford to keep it up, and the neighbors don't want her there anyway. She's tormented by the 'what-ifs' but consoles herself with the knowledge that she loved her golden boy more than life itself.

Finally, there is Henry next door, who has acquired a long list of all the women he yearns for who don't want a thing to do with him. Due to troubling behavior at work, he's been let go from his job and is living in his parents' basement. He's become quite interested in watching the neighbors, especially the wives. He senses that his help is needed, and Henry is always eager to assist.

Lots of things stand out about this book, but no one captures the essence of motherhood quite like this author. Mary's story in particular will just gut you in places. The wounds she carries are deep and life-changing, and her moments of reminiscing about her son's younger years made me unexpectedly emotional. Klara's story too will get under your skin in a different way--be prepared as you may see a version of yourself in her. And Henry. One of his mother's memories of him made me gasp out loud.

When these stories converge, it is absolutely shocking to see the level of detail and precision that went into creating all the moving parts of this plot and how brilliantly everything came together. I read the ending twice (ok, three times) and then stared off into the distance like an extra in an 80s music video. This book is going to be a smash hit of 2026.

A good mother will always see the best version of her children, flaws and all, but a great mother will have the courage to see what's standing right in front of her. You're not prepared for where this one will lead you. Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the early copy. This one is slated to publish February 10, 2026.