To me, in-law drama is one of the most, if not THE most, fascinating type of drama. I've experienced plenty of this and feel like I have a good understanding of some of the causes of in-law drama. This book delves deeply into this particular type of drama, if you couldn't tell from the title! Of course that is what initially caught my attention. It was interesting getting a "behind-the-scenes" look at the MIL's point of view, as I myself am a daughter-in-law and its always great to have a better understanding of "the other side". This book picked up quickly, kept my interest, and had quite an interesting finish. In my opinion it was not as good as The Family Next Door, which I loved, but I still give it 4 stars, The characters are complex, and so is the story line.

What a captivating book that is so hard to put down. Lucy joins the Goodwin family through marriage and while she and her father in law Tom connect easily, she struggles to understand her mother in law Diana. Diana and Tom are well to do and their children Ollie and Nettie often come to them for money to which Tom says yes while Diana refuses. After Toms death, Lucy and Diana begin to connect and become close. Diana asks Lucy to help her set up an email that will help her obtain things she needs to end her own life. When Diana is found dead things don’t quite add up. Who killed her and why?

The queen of domestic thrillers is back with another impressive book. This book keeps you reading deep into the night and makes you realise that there are always two sides to any mystery story, even when it's a mother in law

I've seen this author:s name before, but never read one of her books until now. After finishing The Mother-in law in 24 hour, I have reserved Hepworths other books
Needless to say this book was unbelievable. Part of it ours at my heart strings and made me cry and parts had me racing through to see what really happened to poor Diana. The title.made me think this would be a story of evil in- law against innocent daughter in law drama. This was not the case. This book shows how deeply a mother loved her children and extended family and will do anything for them.
Pre+order this gem now, you will love it.

The first thing that drew me to this book was the title. The relationship between daughter in law and mother in law always seems to be notorious for not getting along. Though this is not true in many cases, there are some horror stories about it. I liked the book- it was an interesting exploration of family relationships and flew by for me. I would recommend it to anyone ( regardless of whether they have a mother in law or not). Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

What I really enjoyed about this book was the way the author provided a plausible different POV. Lucy is a daughter-in-law who finds her mother-in-law to be cold and difficult. Diana is the other half of this relationship and, with experience and wisdom, provides a different perspective that is equally compelling. Both narratives make perfect sense and the reader (at least I did) understood both of them perfectly. This, I think was the real objective of the novel. Through the turmoils of life, Diana and Lucy, very different in backgrounds and personalities, find they are not so different in essential ways.

The unraveling of the possible homicide or suicide is interesting and provides a perfect backdrop for a well written novel. The reason the book held my interest was, at times, to find out why or if a crime had been committed, but in reality I was smitten by the evolution of the main narrators. Also fascinated by the stubborn stasis of other characters. Very well written book.

https://amusingreviews.blogspot.com/2018/11/review-mother-in-law.html

Just a fabulous book! Loved it - the whole thing through! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this copy for my honest opinion.

I really liked this. Nuanced, layered story with interesting characters. Put it on your list. Free advanced copy from Netgalley, comes out April 2019

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book. My reviews can be found on my GoodReads page at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1335387-kelly.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ecopy for my Kindle.
I have purchased and read all of Sally Hepworth's books, but this one is my least favorite of all her books. It's a murder mystery with a mother/mother in law who is completely in love with her husband and thinks she can't continue living without him. Her idea of practicing "tough love" with her children is too tough for me. But there is a turn of events which leads to the mother/mother in law's murder and "who done it" which was probably the most interesting part of the book. In all, I found this book hard to read. It really didn't keep my interest plus I don't agree with the "right to die" aspects brought forward in this movie. Sorry, but as much I have enjoyed her previous books, this one was just o.k. for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed Sally Hepworth’s previous works so I was really looking forward to this latest. This particular book was not my favorite - I just could never connect to the many characters and the storyline.

I enjoyed this book. I found Diana a hard character to like, even with her backstory. I thought story was well paced, and there weren't too many unnecessary sub-plots going on to distract from the overall concept of the book.

Overall I would recommend this book.

Definately a 5 star and if I could give it a higher rating, I would. Sally Hepworth has done it again in a big way. I absolutely loved this book.

“The Mother-In-Law” by Sally Hepworth is a murder mystery set in Australia. Lucy and Ollie are married with two children. Ollie’s mother and father are as different as night and day. While his dad is easy-going and fun to be with, Diana, his mother, is an uptight woman who is totally interested in what people this and what people will say about her family. She is also not a generous person. Although the parents have a very comfortable life, they are not generous with their children. Antoinette is Ollie’s sister and married to Patrick. Her greatest regret is that they have not yet been able to have a child. Ollie and Lucy could surely do with a bitter home and Nettie and Patrick could use some financial assistance also.

The story begins as the police come to Ollie’s and Lucy’s to bring the sad news that Diana has committed suicide. However, things really don’t add up for the police and one by one the family is taken to the station to answer questions about their relationship with their mother. Lucy and Diana have not gotten along as Diana is constantly correcting Lucy’s parenting and housekeeping and everything. Diana is not well liked by her family. Did one of them kill her? Why would anything be so bad that would cause someone to take her life?

I found this story a bit difficult sometimes because different chapters were devoted to Lucy and others to Diana.

I have been a fan of Sally Hepworth for a while now and her new novel did not disappoint me. I was so intrigued and engrossed in this book from the first chapter and I loved the way the author wrote the different point of views. I feel this showed me more of an insight into each character's thoughts and why they made the decisions/choices they did. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading women's fiction and/or family suspense.

My latest book was another Advanced Reading Copy!!! This one comes out on April 23. It was my first Sally Hepworth novel and just like...that she is now on my list of favorite authors.
Diana and Lucy struggled from the very beginning to get along, see eye yo eye, and generally have some human decency for each other. Now Diana is dead of an apparent suicide, but is that what really happened? The family starts pointing fingers and blaming each other, but who really knows the truth behind Diana’s death and what really happened??
The Mother In Law tells an amazing story from both the daughter in-law’s and the mother in-law’s points of view. Doesn’t a story change so much when you read it through someone else’s eyes??? I expected this to be a typical horrible mother in-law story, but it really explored so much more than that. The human relationships between parents and children, right and wrong, and our perceptions with everyday life situations are all brought to the forefront throughout this novel. So much of this becomes a self reflection of our own relationships with the ones we love mostly.
This is a great novel that is a combination of a fictional story with some added suspense that will keep you guessing until the very, very end!!
I highly recommend this book!! It was such a great one!!
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️

Diana is an interesting mom and person. Her and Lucy (daughter-in-law) have a very strained relationship. They just really didn't get along too well.
It was a good story and there were quite a few "what were they thinking" moments near the end that I didn't see coming. I didn't really love any of the characters though but enough to finish the story.

This story flips between Lucy and her mother-in-law Diana. It also flips from Present day to Past day. The story flows very well and I was never confused while reading.

Diana is discovered dead from an apparent suicide. The family is shocked and the police are investigating. As the story progresses, we learn more about Diana and Lucy's relationship. When I thought that I had the story figured out, another twist would surprise me and sen day thinking in a whole different direction. I had a hard time putting this book down because the end of each chapter had me wondering what happened next.

I officially want to work for St. Martin's Press so I can read all the goodies they get!

This book was a whodunit, but it also was a story about a woman, and her family. Well, maybe a story about two women and their families. It incorporated classic mother in law grievances, but it went so much deeper.

You start off not really liking Diana very much but then there's a shift. The book alternates between Lucy's point of view and Diana's point of view.

Lucy just wanted to be accepted by her mother in law and to possibly have what she had lost with the passing of her own mother. She a mother and committed to her family with a mother in law that is awfully unbearable at times.

Diana is cold, unfeeling and oftentimes hurtful but eventually you get to see that there are two sides to this multifaceted woman and your view of her may change a little. The book shows that now of us are one dimensional. There are always several layers of a person and sometimes you're surprised by what you find when those layers are peeled back.

Then there is Nettie and she is a reminder of the harsh reality of the price some people pay in their quest to have a family.

This story is about the love two mothers have for their families and how different it is often conveyed. Mixed in with a good mystery, greed, and family secrets this book was nothing short of amazing.

4.5 stars, rounded up*

Lucy, a stay at home mom, is completely floored when police show up at her doorstep with news that her mother-in-law, Diana, has died. There are signs that Diana committed suicide, but the police suspect she was murdered. Lucy’s relationship with Diana was complicated even at the best of times, and the past is revealed through alternating POVs of both women. This is certainly a strong mystery, cemented in Diana’s death and the events leading up to it. But it’s also a powerful novel about women and their relationships with each other, particularly mothers and daughters.

I especially love the alternating POVs, as one person’s coldness or oddness is revealed as simply an ineptitude to connect with others. No one is a cartoonish villain; life just happens, with hopes and aspirations, and the sometimes thin line between cruelty and kindness.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc.