I loved this book. I loved the mystery of Diana's death, but I really enjoyed the look into Diana and Lucy's relationship. It was so interesting to see both sides of situations where Diana was trying to reach out and do something nice but had trouble explaining it so it came off as mean or passive aggressive and vice versa. I found Nettie's story heartbreaking, but it was easy to see how she alienated herself from everyone in her baby craze.

The Mother in Law is the perfect mix of family drama with real world situations. What lengths are we willing to go for the ones we love? And what happens when the love has limitations? This book is sure to be a best seller.

There was no question that Lucy's relationship with her mother-in -law, Diana, was strained. When Diana was found dead, the police start asking questions of the family. Told in the past and the present, secrets are uncovered and the real dynamics of this family are revealed. The well drawn characters are complex., as are their relationships. Could one of them have killed Diana?
I found The Mother-in Law to be an excellent psychological thriller. It is well crafted, profound and engrossing. The narrative totally held my attention to the very last page. Well worth reading!!! Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martins’s Press through NetGalley .

I was SO excited to read this especially because I am engaged at the moment and do not know what it will be like to have a mother-in-law! Hopefully mine will not be like the one Sally Hepwroth portrayed in this novel... but WOW did it make for a great story! A must read... I loved the characters and the way this book was written.

This book caught me by surprise. I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did, but I thought it was a fantastic domestic mystery/family drama.
At the beginning of the book, we learn that Diana, the mother-in-law has died suddenly from a supposed suicide. We soon find out that the circumstances surrounding her death are suspicious and it appears that Diana has been murdered. All of her close family members-her daughter and son, and their spouses are questioned and as the story unfolds, we discover that each of them could have had a motive. The story is primarily told through the point of view of Diana, as well as her daughter-in-law Lucy and it jumps back and forth between the past and the present.
When I first started reading, I found myself liking certain characters and disliking others. As I progressed through each woman's story, I began to warm up to some characters and form a hatred for characters I had liked in the beginning.
This was such a compelling story about family, money, relationships, and motherhood, I wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen to these characters and in the end the author didn't disappoint. I would highly recommend this book!

The title alone will make you pause and realize that you have a decision to make. You think you will need to either side with the mother-in-law or the daughter-in-law because how can you choose both? I appreciated the complicated relationship that Lucy had with her mother-in-law. Getting some of the backstory into Diana helps you understand some of her quirkiness and decision-making. I felt the novel lost a little steam as it was trying to conclude the story and solve the “whodunit.” But overall I enjoyed this novel.

Wow! Th Mother-in-law had me hooked just in the first chapter! This book is now my top book I have read in a long time. The Mother-in-law is about a girl named Lucy and her mother in law Diana. To say they do not get a long is an understatement. I loved how their relationship evolved through out the story. I have recommended this book to everyone I know that loves to read, even my mother in law :).

HUGE thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the early e-galley of The Mother-in-Law. How have I missed this author? Are her other books this great, too? [Adding backlist to TBR...] Due out in April, I’m encouraging everyone to pre-order and put in their library holds NOW for this 5-star suspense!

The story begins when the police arrive at Lucy’s door to announce the suspicious death of her mother-in-law Diana. The book is a little tricky to follow with chapters shifting both past and present, as well as POV (Lucy and Diana). In the present we follow the search for who is responsible for Diana’s demise, in the past we learn the ups and downs of Lucy and Diana’s complicated relationship.

Author Sally Hepworth creates a bounty of suspects and a bevy of motives to take out charitable do-gooder Diana. Every few chapters another layer is added to the family drama, keeping you guessing where the book will end up.

There’s some implausibility to the ending, but even so it is enjoyable as each character is served their appropriate measure of justice. The book leaves a few loose ends trailing, but this is such a well-crafted suspense I can’t give it any less than the 5 stars it deserves

O - M - G! WOW! This was an incredible book told from both sides of the she said, she said centuries old argument of the daughter in law versus the mother in law. There are 2 sides to every story and it was so jarring to see the simple things that kept these women apart.


I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own. :-)

Thanks so much for the complementary ARC provided by Netgalley, the publisher, and the author.

This is an absorbing domestic thriller told from different POVs and alternating time lines between past and present, thus shedding more insight on the backgrounds of the characters and the events unfolding.

The pace is gripping and the characters are complex and mysterious adding further dimension to the growing suspense.

Sometimes we all have a strained relationship with our Mother in Law like Lucy did with hers, but did that lead her to murder? When Diana is found dead, the police look into all the family members and question everyone. Was it murder or suicide? When I wasn’t reading I was always thinking of the who done it and why. I also found myself changing my mind often. This book will lead you on a thrill ride of an adventure.

I received an advanced copy and all opinions are my own.

3 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Who killed Diana? The cops say suicide, but every member of the family certainly has motive in The Mother-in-Law.

Maybe I missed something, but this book didn’t live up to the hype for me. There weren’t really any shocking moments, but I did enjoy the reveal and the story. Hepworth did a magnificent job of keeping me guessing throughout the book. I was suspicious of every single person. The characters, especially Diana (mother-in-law), were not likable people. Diana is bitter and unloving towards her children and doesn’t support them in any of their endeavors. She also found ways to belittle and be passive aggressive towards Lucy prior to and during the marriage to her son, Ollie. I did feel for Lucy a little bit because I know from experience how challenging a mother-in-law can be (my husband hit the mother-in-law JACKPOT with my mom)! 😊

While I wouldn’t call this a domestic thriller, I will say that it is full of family drama and a lot of mystery! The ending was a nice surprise that I really didn’t expect!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Sally Hepworth for my advanced copy!

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From the moment Lucy met Diana and they both found it was dislike .
The day Diana met her death and the post Morton does not mention the word cancer .
Who has killed Diana
I had an ARC from St Martins press

(I received a complimentary ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

I love psychological thrillers, so when I heard about "The Mother-in-Law" by Sally Hepworth, I was intrigued. The story jumps back and forth between past and present, as well as different accounts from (primarily) Lucy and Diana. The story opens with a visit from the police - Diana (Lucy's mother-in-law) has been found dead. As the story progresses, we quickly realize this isn't a cut-and-dry case, and we begin to question everyone's motives.

Sally Hepworth did an incredible job of capturing the reality of many familial relationships. We often leave so much unsaid, and as a result, our family/family-in-law members don't always have a full understanding of what makes us tick. They may attempt to fill in the gaps by making assumptions, which can lead to further misunderstanding and conflict. We long for reconciliation and acceptance, and hope to achieve this before it's too late.

I had never heard of Sally Hepworth prior to reading "The Mother-in-Law" (I live in the United States, so I don't think she's as well-known here), but you can bet I'll be keeping an eye out for her future books, especially if they're as thrilling as this one was! I give it a solid 5/5 stars. Readers in Australia and New Zealand can pick up their copy later this month (January 2019), while readers in the United States will find it available toward the end of April 2019.

Thank you so much for this ARC!

The Mother-in-Law was fantastic. I was absolutely obsessed with reading this book. Perfectly executed story told in multiple points of view and in different periods of time. This book flowed so wonderfully which made it hard to put down. The ending was unexpected but wrapped up nicely, with no remaining questions.

It is safe to say that I will certainly be reading more Sally Hepworth! READ THIS BOOK!

A story of family interfaces and a bit of a mystery. I thought the writing quality was good. I especially enjoyed the main character's wry sense of humor. That being said, the ending left me a little flat. Sometimes I wonder if reading as many books as I do leaves me a bit jaded when it comes to the end of a "whodunit." Just my take. Others may enjoy this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review.

This was the first book by Sally Hepworth that I've read so I wasn't sure what to expect. I started it at bedtime thinking I'd try a chapter out and get a feel for it... Three hours later I'm reading the last chapter with tears down my face.

I don't have a mother in law because my husband's mother died of breast cancer before I knew my husband. I was nervous I wouldn't be able to relate to the characters but it was actually very emotionally relevant in so many ways.

The characters in this book are so tragically real and flawed and relatable. Told from a variety of viewpoints, the reader can't help but feel betrayed and heartbroken but so hopeful for reconciliation as they slowly begin to understand each one. Most importantly, this book made me want to reach out and restore broken relationships, to build better future relationships. A book that causes the reader to see themselves through another's eyes, to want to take the steps to be better wholer person after reading it will always deserve five stars. This is a great book for mothers and daughters, for women who know mother's and daughters and daughters in law.

The shock at hearing from the two police officers who’d arrived at Lucy and Ollie’s door that Diana, Ollie’s mother and Lucy’s mother-in-law was dead, was immense. It looked like suicide – but there would be an autopsy. Then there were questions – and secrets deeply entrenched…

Lucy knew she didn’t match up to her mother-in-law’s standards; she certainly wasn’t who she would have chosen for her beloved son. But she also knew Diana loved her grandchildren. Lucy and Ollie’s three loved their Dido and Papa, it was just Lucy who didn’t get along with Diana. Ollie’s sister Nettie’s husband Patrick didn’t get along with her either – Diana was aloof and did everything she could to have her children stand on their own two feet. While Tom would slip Ollie and Nettie money occasionally, Diana refused all financial help. And it wasn’t like she couldn’t afford it.

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. Highly recommended.

With thanks to Pan Macmillan AU and NetGalley for my ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

LOVED this book. Sally Hepworth is one of my very favorite authors and this book did not disappoint. Follows the complicated relationship between a wife and a mother in law and how that relationship twists and turns. It's wonderfully written, the characters are well developed, and the story keeps you wanting more. Highly recommend!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.
At first glance, I was drawn to the cover and title; however, it was the story that ultimately kept my attention. Once again, Sally Hepworth has created complex characters where there is more than meets the eye. There seems to be an influx of cliché 'fill-in-the-blank family member' narratives right now but this one stood out to me. Hepworth dives deeper into certain human complexities (such as, how one's past positively/negatively shapes their future) and familial relationships. I recommend to anyone that has enjoyed Hepworth in the past or someone that enjoys a page-turning thriller.