Before this title I hadn't ever read a Sally Hepworth book. Since (I must apologize to NetGalley for forgetting to share my review before now!), I have read a few others because of having read this one.

Whether or not I liked all of the characters or their choices, they were fleshed out well and the storyline kept me going from the start all the way through. I think that it took me one day to finish this book. I definitely recommend it!

Lucy lost her mother early from cancer. Since then, she always thought she'd have another chance when she got married to have a maternal relationship with her husband's mother. But it isn't to be. Ollie's mother, Diana, isn't a warm and friendly person. Instead, she is distant and cold showing almost no interest in her children or their mates.

Even when Lucy thinks she has done something that will bring she and Diana closer, she is wrong. When Diana gives her a special necklace on her wedding day for her something borrowed, Lucy is touched, that is until Diana makes a point of telling her that it is just borrowed and she expects it back. Surely grandchildren will make a difference but the only difference is that Diana ignores Lucy's wishes on how the children should be raised and does whatever she thinks is best. Diana and her husband Tom are wealthy but they won't even consider helping their children financially with things like house down payments or even health issues. Diana believes that she and Tom made their own way and so should the children.

But now Diana is dead. The police tell the family that it could be suicide as they found a note. But there are unanswered questions. Diana told everyone she had breast cancer but there's no record of it in her medical records and no sign of it at the autopsy. There was a bottle of drugs beside the body that is a common drug used for suicide but again no sign of it being in the body. Diana changed her will right before she died and instead of her children, Ollie and his sister Nettie getting the inheritance they had been expecting their entire lives, the estate is all left to a charity.

Now the police are thinking it may be murder rather than suicide and that the murderer must be a family member. Are they right?

Sally Hepworth is an Australian author who has carved out a space for herself in the publishing world. She specializes in family dramas that have a bit of mystery contained within. Readers will recognize each character's type as someone they are familiar with and the inevitability of Diana's death and it's fallout makes for a compelling read. This book is recommended for readers of either mystery or woman's fiction.

Another great novel by Sally Hepworth! A thriller about love and relationships, especially with those who aren’t blood. Told from multiple perspectives this novel examines each family member and their possible motive for murder.

It took me 3 years to read this ARC and I only searched for it on my Kindle because I read and enjoyed The Good Sister! This is definitely a mystery but I didn't feel like it was a thriller. It wasn't as fast-paced or dramatic (ok it was dramatic!) as other mystery thrillers I read. The person is already dead at the beginning of the book and it is initially ruled as a suicide. It mostly unfolds as a piece on the relationships between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law. And I enjoyed it. Some parts hit far too close to home for me (not the in-laws part lol) but I was able to get through it and have extreme compassion and sympathy for the one that was embroiled in these parts. It doesn't excuse the actions of this person but I can see where they are coming from. I was fascinated by the dichotomy that was Diana Goodwin. I thought she was a very well-written character and in some ways I understood her motives but in some ways I didn't. I would've like Tom to have been more developed as a character but the book is not about the male characters. It is about the female characters. The males are barely supporting roles. But I really liked this and read it in 2 days and will continue down Sally Hepworth's back catalog!

This is a family drama that shows the rocky relationship between a mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law. We dig into the book and Diana, the mother-in-law, has died. There was no love lost between Diana and Lucy, the daughter-in-law. It is entertaining and I more than once realized how grateful I was for the wonderful woman who is my mother-in-law. It seems like there were a lot of moving parts about what this book was going for and for that I rate it just ok.

Love her books, and this one is no exception! I was on the edge of my seat with each turning page. You will get pulled in from the very start! I felt like I could climb right into the book, as if I knew the characters on a personal level. Be prepared to lose sleep, because you won't want to tear yourself away from this one!
A must read!

There were a few times I thought I had the ending of this book figured out but they were all a big nope. I cannot even believe how Diana really died….crazy!

The characters in this story were so varied and enjoyable. I think Lucy & Ollie were my favourites. Diana seemed cold but her intrinsic motivation was well explained & made her understandable.

The layout for this book is so well done. It clearly points out at the beginning of each chapter whose point of view you’re reading and in what part of the timeline. This makes the story so much more smooth.

Thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin’s press for the chance to read this book.

The book was good, but the reasoning and explanation didn't do it for me. I've preferred other books by this author more than this one.

This was my first Sally Hepworth book and it won’t be my last, it is so well written it pulled me in from page one and compelled me to keep reading to find out exactly what happened to Diana the mother, mother-in-law and grandmother, there are many twists and turns in this one and my feelings for the characters changed often throughout, I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Lucy is married to Ollie, Diana’s son and she loves him, when they married Lucy wanted so much to be close to her mother-in-law she wanted to be friends but found her a very hard person to get to know she seemed to show no warmth and was not open with her love for any of the family, but she worked tirelessly for her charity helping pregnant refugee woman and was a pillar of society, will she ever become friends with Diana?

Five years later Diana is found dead in her house with a suicide note not long after she told her family that she had cancer, but was that the truth did she commit suicide or was she murdered?
I loved the way the author took us through their lives with Lucy and Diana and past and present as we learn so much about the family their thoughts and the things they are going through this all evolves into a story that opens up so many black and bright spots in their lives. It is intricate story that brings out many characteristics in this family good and bad.

This is a story that I would highly recommend, it really had me thinking and changing my mind many times about this family, Lucy and Diana are strong characters add the other family members to the story and this one is a must read.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

Oh my! I just finished this book and I must say that I didn’t see the ending coming. Not because it was a great mystery and I was completely fooled by all the clever red herrings, but because I almost gagged when I read the ending and realized what the author meant for readers to take away from the whole story. It was a weird sermonette about a horrible person she seemed to admire, but who I found obtuse, selfish and repugnant. I’m still incredulous at this ending. Only someone who has lived in luxury for most of their life, being entirely supported by their husband, would think it was brave and wonderful to be financially insecure. Was the point of the book to show how a heartless philosophy, rigidly adhered to, can destroy a family? If so, why the little “happy ending”?

Striking and engaging from page 1! I greatly enjoyed and am looking forward to Sally’s next book! Don’t miss this one!!

I enjoy thrillers that I don't see the end coming, and this one definitely got me! I was surprised by the twist!

This was my first book by Sally Hepworth, though I suspect it won't be my last. It took me a while to finish, which is not the fault of the author, but just because I've been a little distracted lately. The tone really reminded me of Liane Moriarty, though a less humorous. Though I guessed a few of the twists beforehand, it was still an engaging domestic mystery and I was definitely surprised by the ending. Recommended!

The Mother-in-Law is a twisted story about complicated relationships......especially between Daughter-in-Law and Mother-in-Law. A story of secrets, lies, heartbreak, and so many twists. My first read by this author......I'll be back for more.

I enjoyed this story, there were a lot of fun twists and turns! I am a huge fan of stories that are narrated from multiple points of view, and this book did that well. I have never read a book by this author before, and look forward to reading more!

When Lucy marries Ollie she knows that her Diana, her mother in law, is not her biggest fan. She wants so badly for Diana to like her and accept her into the family. Too bad it isn't that simple. Diana doesn't have the best reputation for being kind to those around her. When she shows up dead in her own home, it is hard to know if she has really committed suicide or if there was someone that wanted her dead and made it happen.

This book was fantastic! Sally Hepworth is phenomenal when it comes to weaving a story and creating characters that you love and hate all at the same time! I couldn't put this one down and am already anticipating her next book!

Anyone with in-laws know these kinds of relationships can be fraught with drama. Even in the best relationships, there can be conflict. Lucy finds this out after she marries Ollie and gets to know his icy mother. When the mother is found dead of an apparent suicide (or is it?), the mystery deepens.

I guessed some of the twists that showed up but I was impressed by how well Hepworth was able to tie up all of the many loose ends present towards the last third of the book. The resolution of the mystery was very satisfying. I did think this book was a tad too long - there were a couple of past events described that weren't really necessary for the plot.

Overall, this was an entertaining mystery with some interesting characters.

While I am fortunate to have a mother in law that I like (and I think likes me) we have all heard the horrible MIL stories right? Sally Hepworth takes this common theme to a whole new level. This was the first Hepworth book I’ve read and then I went on a Hepworth binge, not sorry.

The Mother-in-Law opens with a knock on the door telling Lucy and her husband that Diana, Lucy’s MIL was found dead. The family was surprised but also not shocked because Diana had cancer…except the autopsy showed no signs of cancer but then a found suicide note was found that said she was tired of living with the cancer and had decided to end her life, yet there were signs of poison and evidence of suffocation. From there readers are moved between 2 timelines, one of the future and one of past where we learn the secrets and truths of what seemed like a perfect family.

Diana was a socialite and leader of a non-profit that helped refugee women and mothers. Diana appeared to be living a grand life with a grand house and perfect children, but looks can be deceiving. When Lucy came into the family Diana kept her far enough way that they couldn’t bond and far enough away that Lucy couldn’t really get to know Diana as a person. But as Diana’s life starts to change and she starts to get older and she needs to make some tough choices she finds Lucy to be an ally.

As readers are taken through a who-dun-it plot we are let in on all the secrets this family has and how each member is desperate to fix their mistakes or make a life they thought they deserved, and sometimes at a cost. I did figure it out before we are let in on the ultimate secret of how Diana died but Sally Hepworth is a writer that leads you right to the answer then takes a different turn and it happens from pulling info we already learned but may have over looked back to the surface for the AHA moment.

This was a great mystery, thriller that wasn’t too cozy or too over the top. I love when a mystery is believable mystery and this hit that note for me. I also love when there’s a back ground character that actually plays a significant role but is somewhat overlooked. Tom, Diana’s husband was that for me. I loved his character and I knew that at some point he as going to show us something but I didn’t expect it to be the true character of Diana in the way they loved each other.

I give The Mother-in-Law 4 stars. Character and plot development were on point, the time frame was great and the way background info was shared was also great.

Thank you Netgalley, Sally Hepworth, and St Martin’s Press for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was expecting a suspense novel, and got a domestic relationship novel instead. Because of this, this book was just ok for me. It highlighted the importance of communication in relationships and the presumptions we make. I did like the characters and the writing style.

Wow wow wow. I was drawn to The Mother-in-Law by the title alone, I have an unfavorable relationship with my own MIL and was curious to see how this MIL character would transpire on paper. ANd omg I was shocked! The shock just kept on coming. I'm so glad I read this one and it certainly opened my eyes.