Content warning for suicide and self harm:

What a wild ride! This book tells the story of Abby and Ralph, a married couple who have moved in with Ralph's mother Laura to help her deal with her deteriorating mental health. Laura dies by suicide at the opening of the book, but the couple quickly realize she hasn't truly left them. Unfortunately, in life, as in death, she is cruel and manipulative to both her son and daughter in law. As Ralph's mental health deteriorates, Abby is desperate to save him from the same fate as his mother. She is not without her own demons, and her own unhealthy, and just odd, coping mechanisms. This description makes it sound like a garden variety, sad book about mental health and generational curses but this book is so weird, it's just impossible to put into a review without ruining it. There are so many components and bizarre twists and turns. It's about the damage that we do to each other without trying, and the damage we do in the name of saving each other, and how one person's villain is another's hero. I really enjoyed it, even if it made me a little sick at times. Would highly recommend to anyone with a taste for the macabre and the strange.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 54%. Idk what the heck is going on in this book and I’m so bored I don’t even care. Going into this I expected more of a horror/creep factor and up until this point I have gotten neither.


Abby is excited when her mother in law Laura moves in with her and her husband Ralph. In her mind this is the perfect opportunity to build their relationship. However, Laura is very critical, judgmental and down right mean to Abby making Abby’s home life a nightmare. Abby escapes to her job spending her days caring for Mrs. Bondy her favorite patient at the nursing home she works at. Mrs. Bondy has become a mother figure for her and the two have formed a strong bond.

Laura takes her own life and Abby and Ralph take her loss very differently. Ralph sinks into a deep depression and Abby is growing paranoid someone or something is trying to destroy her happy home. When Abby hears that her beloved Mrs. Bondy may be moving it completely shatters her. Abby comes up with a plan to help her husband, keep Mrs. Bondy close and get rid of Laura once and for all.

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing group for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

A scary, domestic horror that is also weirdly funny in some places. A Mother-in-Law from hell gets even worse upon her death and has her daughter-in-law, Abby, fighting for her family. Weirdly creepy and extremely entertaining. Also, that cover!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Vintage for an e-arc of this novel.*

Ralph and Abby Lamb decide to move in with Ralph's mother, Laura, now that she is old and needs help around the house. Laura has always been a manipulative and selfish woman, she loves her son but she wants to be the only woman in his life: Abby will never be good enough for her Ralphie.
When Laura takes her own life, her ghost haunts them in different ways: Ralph feels the symptoms of a depression relapse, while Abby is scared that this will be the ending of her relationship... but she is determined to do anything to save her marriage.

Motherthing is such a unique story of love, pain, trauma and... weird food (what the hell is jelly salmon??). It's hilarious, intriguing, WEIRD and hard to put down. This is not a ghost story, there's no haunted house here, but we do have two very complicated main characters, with a traumatic past and witty sense of humor, that you'll fall in love with.
Abby Lamb's stream of consciousness is fascinating, dark, very funny and very scary at the same time: is she a victim or a perpetrator? At a certain point she even shocked me (no, not during her last tasty recipe) when I suddenly noticed that I did have some of her same thoughts in the past - still do at times. Mmm maybe I need therapy again...

Ainslie Hogarth's writing style is interesting and fresh, it reminded me of Chuck Palahniuk and Jen Beagin and it's weirdly charming. I wouldn't necessarily label this book as horror, but it does have its dark moments (please check TWs): it may not be for everyone, but it was certainly for me! I absolutely loved every single page, every single weird joke and odd recipe in this book!
Also: can we just appreciate that amazing cover for a moment? I want to hang that on my wall.
5 stars.

* I'd like to thank Ainslie Hogarth, Knopf Doubleday and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was expecting a spooky, horror book based on the description, but that’s not really what this book is. After Abby’s difficult mother-in-law dies, Abby is at first thrilled. She is sure that now she and her husband, Ralph, will have a child and be free of his mom. However, soon it seems like her mother-in-law’s ghost has returned to haunt their house. It is less spooky and more a commentary on depression seemingly. I also just didn’t like the narrator and found her annoying.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

📚Book 36 of 2022: Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth

💬Reader’s digest version: Abby has a problem: a toxic mother-in-law and a husband with major mommy issues. Even after her death, the specter of her mother in law’s presence still casts a shadow over the lives of Abby and her husband, Ralph. Abby pulls out all the stops to get her husband back from the death grip of his mother and loses her own grip on reality in the process.

🏃🏻‍♀️My Take: Buckle up for this one is all I have to say. This book is packed with dark, domestic horror, beyond gory imagery, and little spouts of humor along the way. If you’ve ever read Bunny by Mona Awad, this book has a similar vibe.

I’m still in a place of WTF with this one. There are parts of this book that made me want to vomit, scream, and laugh out loud. It’s perfect for spooky season, but I will warn you..it is not for the feint of heart.

🙏🏻Big thanks to @netgalley and @vintagebooks for the Arc. This book hits the shelves on September 27, 2022

I love a horror novel that makes me laugh -- Hogarth's MOTHERTHING is the perfect blend of unsettling dread and nervous laughter. Abby and Ralph's married-couple repartee is fabulously realistic, and I was immediately sucked into Abby's narrative voice. What a horrible charmer! Every inch of the novel was thrilling and terrible, from the jellied salmon to the blood-soaked basement carpet. I will certainly be stocking Hogarth's books and recommending them enthusiastically!

Do not be deceived by the fun cover and synopsis. This is not a spooky book about a haunted couple. This is a dark story about two mentally unwell individuals dealing with infertility and the traumatic event of their mother/mother in law committing suicide. By the time you reach the end, your are probably going wtf?! or at least I was lol. If you know that going in and it sounds like your cup of tea, this is def the book for you!

So dark and likely one that readers will either love or hate, especially depending on their relationship with their mother in law. Abby's mother in law Laura is a horror story who is relentless in her small and large digs and her constant threat that she will commit suicide- and then she does. Abby's left to deal with the fall out, especially on her long suffering and quite nice husband Ralph who seems to be haunted by her. At the same time, she's working at a care home and her favorite patient might be leaving. How Abby resolves all of this is at the heart of this novel of psychological horror, And then there's the chicken a la king. I'd not read Hogarth before but I'll look for her again. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

The writing style got to me. It was just a free flow stream of words and there are times it tripped me up. Otherwise a very interesting and kept my attention wondring what in the world was next.

Incredible! Weird! So much I did not see coming in this novel about grief, mental illness, and *spoiler alert* cannibalism?! So messy and intricate and gut punching. Would love to know more of this world!

This one just wasn't really for me. I definitely thought that it was quite funny in some ways, and I liked that Hogarth approached it in a unique stream of consciousness writing style as it felt really unique and experimental. But I think that my expectations based on the description set me up for one thing, and it was something completely different. This is less a fun domestic horror story about the ghost of a vengeful mother in law, and more an examination of a woman in the midst of a significant mental break. It is more of a weird fiction horror tale than the tongue in cheek story I was anticipating. Perhaps if I had my expectations managed a bit better it would have been a better fit, but as it was I just didn't connect to it so well.

MOTHERTHING didn't work for me, but it may work for others.

"A mother's love is devoted. Consuming."

The last time my mother-in-law visited, she stayed for 9 days. She offered an unending litany of complaints: my sons' hair (too long), the meals we served (too exotic), the portions (too generous).
She carped and nagged about everything from the size of the ice cubes in her glass to the color of my neighbor's fence. The day I put her on the plane bound for Arizona (nonstop, as she refuses to change planes), ranks as one of the happiest of my life, right up there with the births of my two long-haired boys.

I can't imagine the hell it would be if I ever had to live with her.

Dear Abby got to experience that hell on a daily basis when she and her hubby, Ralph, moved into his mother's home to help the old gal cope. While Mother Laura dotes on her son, she's snotty and nasty to her humbled daughter-in-law. When Laura commits suicide (leaving a huge mess for Abby to clean up, of course), it seems as though life might improve for our hapless heroine, but just like unpleasant guests who overstay their welcome . . . Laura refuses to leave. One visit to a fortune teller later, Abby learns the terrifying truth:

"Your mother-in-law, she's with you, with your husband technically, and she's very angry. She'd rather see her son dead than alive with you."

Looks like some pretty drastic measures could be called for here, and, DAMN - does Abby EVER do DRASTIC in a BIG WAY!

Abby is a fascinating character, a tormented soul who was abused by her own mother, she is bursting with love to give, to her husband, residents of the nursing home where she works, and to the much-wished-for, unborn child she is desperately longing to nurture. This was laugh-out-loud funny, but also bleak, tense, and insanely disturbing. It will definitely not be for everyone, but for those who like their humor BLACK AS THE DEVIL'S COFFEE, this is highly, highly recommended.

Extremely thankful to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ainslie Hogarth's 'Motherthing' is certainly a powerful read.

The story follows a young couple that experience a traumatic event that leave them both agonizing and longing (for different reasons). This event changes their perspective on everything and triggers certain past childhood traumas that are related with HEAVY Mother Issues. All of these issues told from death, horror and ghosts.

Furthermore, our main protagonist seems egotistical and envious, a truly unlikable character. Her decisions, choices and inner voice can make you quarrell with yourself and go through actual pain, but also can be very relatable in some aspects. Something that will definitely make you uncomfortable. I really like the way that the author explores the dark cavities of co-dependancy and mental health issues when one is in a relationship. How hard it can be to be with someone as damaged as you are, and how magnetizing it can feel at times. The roar and the lighting of such moments when you are in love, gripping, exciting, all of it precious, tiny parts of your insignificant life in the hands of something bigger, what we call universe and what we call love. The experiences all magnified by our brains when it felt like there was nothing. But we all know it is not like that. It is not as romantic as your brain makes you believe. And Hogarth perfectly achieves that feeling. The horrifying sense of knowing that it is not true and you still have problems. The other person is not an extension of your persona. None of the things that you have built in your brain are real. You can not save them. Can't you?

I give this book a 3.75 stars (4 stars rounded) ! Highly recommend it if you are into the unlikeable female character / depressed moving woman literary genre.

MOTHERTHING by ainslie hogarth depicts abby and her husband ralph following the suicide of his mother laura.

deep in the throes of grief, ralph’s mental health quickly deteriorates, made clear by the fact that he is convinced his dead mother has rejoined him as a ghost in the basement.

abby remains detached from grief due to her long-standing hatred of laura; in fact, abby is convinced ralph should set his grief aside to finally move out of laura’s house and have the baby they’d always dreamed of.

at first, the novel closely aligns with the marketing of the book: “a darkly funny domestic horror novel”; however, the plot and characters deepened in complexity more than expected. there were moments i was laughing out loud, but as abby’s mental health also unfolds, i discovered a deeply wounded character working through past traumas, grief, and womanhood.

the ghost of the mother in law is not the focus of the book as anticipated; simply the catalyst for abby’s psychological unraveling.

the focus is actually the ghosts of childhood trauma, mother-daughter dynamics, codependency, and objectification.

and hogarth writes these demons with droll humor and incisive depth — along with the perfect balance of absolute atrocity 👻

for all these reasons and more, i loved MOTHERTHING and hope you all read it so we can all process that ending together 👀

OUT SEPTEMBER 27! thank you @vintageanchorbooks @netgalley for the advanced copy of the book!

5/5 ⭐️

This book is so cringy!! It's weird, cringy and uncomfortable! Typically I'd be ok with those descriptions but not this time. That's all that was happening. I expected more from the ghost and the haunting and was let down. It was barely even a thing! The pace did pick up after the halfway point but just not enough...until the last 10%! That alone bumped it up a whole star! Didn't see it coming at all! I had my hand on my forehead saying "whaaat??!!" There was a teeny tiny thing at the very end that I thought was gonna be another great twist but no, kind of a missed opportunity there. Love the cover though!

A twisted take on grief and trauma, Motherthing is intriguing and at times provocative, but struggles to find its purpose.

Certain aspects of the novel were great, but others missed the mark. It might work better for other people, as my critiques of it come more from my personal reaction to things than more objective things like the prose or the story.

What did I enjoy?
The cover, first of all, is definitely in my top ten of the year. It’s fantastic.

I liked how weird the book was, that it wasn’t afraid to take a risk on something quirky and dark. The tone was also very foreboding and grim, which held steady throughout. That’s sometimes hard to do when a book has a lot of dark humour.

As much as I’m not super fond of first person, I liked the stream-of-consciousness aspects and how little things from earlier in the novel came back in amusing ways. The book is clever, and there are some provocative and imaginative metaphors and turns of phrase that I really enjoyed.

I also liked how we’re not sure whether it’s a ghost story or whether the entire thing is a manifestation of Abby's guilt and her husband’s deep deep grief. I do enjoy it when a book plays with “reality” in a way that doesn’t feel deliberate.

There are some moments of comedy that did make me laugh too.

What I wasn’t super into:
The main character shortly grows very annoying. I had no idea how old she was supposed to be, as sometimes she acted like she was barely out of her teens, and at others, she was my age (late 30s). I had no clue what to make of her behaviour at some points.

It’s not scary at all. The ending is a bit bonkers, but it’s nothing I haven’t seen before in horror at least. I’m not sure how Abby made the leap to doing what she did, in truth, but … it definitely didn't go where I expected from the start so that was refreshing and kind of funny in a gross way.

The “bad mother made me nuts” trope is getting to be a bit tired. We see it all the time in novels. There’s a junkie mother or a neglectful mother that we only see one side of, and it makes the grown daughter have severe issues that she doesn’t go to counselling for. Maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention or something, but I must have missed something about what the mother “did” to make her so bad. The thing Abby reveals later seemed to me to be a misconstruing of what the mother said, because there were no hints of that earlier on?

Abby’s obsession with “Cal” was so annoying and her misinformation about fertility drove me absolutely nuts. It got to the point where every time she said “Cal” I felt the muscles in my face just slacken with irritation. Rather than showing her to be obsessive, it almost felt like a mockery of those who deal with infertility. Perhaps it wasn’t intended that way, but I wasn’t sure how else to take it, as Abby was just so ridiculous about the whole thing it was hard to take her seriously.

Likewise, I wasn’t sure whether this book was supposed to be taken a face value (showing an unhinged woman’s downward spiral) or if it was a satire. If the latter, I wasn’t sure what it was supposed to be satirizing.

I’m not trying to say it’s a poorly done novel, because it’s not. I was very into it the first half, and I think the author is talented, but I just wasn’t sure what the novel was trying to say, and I couldn’t stand or comprehend Abby. This might not be the case for everyone, so if you’re intrigued, even by the cover, do check it out!

I was quite excited about this one and tried a couple of times to get into it, but unfortunately, I just don't think this book is for me

A dark and upsetting story of how parental relationships can haunt you both figuratively and literally.
The grounding of this horror in food and feeding/eating was grossly effective. I particularly like the types of food chosen. Using foods we associate with the suburban 50s and 60s really tied into the mother in law as a demon quite well. The dual role of comforting and harming was well established and unfortunately looks to continue on into the characters' children.

This is a very dark, horror story with a few flashes of very, very dark humour. Ralph and his wife, Abby, moved in with Ralph's mother to try to help her through her mental health problems. Mother, Laura, has always had issues with mental illness and on more than one occasion has threatened to take her own life. Despite the difficulties and personality clashes Ralph and Abby tried their best to help Laura but, sadly, one day she takes drastic measures and passes away from self inflicted injuries. I did say this story is dark. Laura may be dead but before long Ralph starts behaving oddly and eventually admits to Abby that his mother might not be completely gone from the house.

There are many disturbing, and gross-out themes in this book, not just the opening suicide. If it were not for the lightness of the writing, dark humour and supernatural silliness, it would be an extremely depressing read throughout.

An undoubtedly entertaining book that is both extremely bleak and inappropriately hilarious in equal measures.