Another unreliable narrator that made me think, wtf did I just read? Motherthing is not just a horror/ gothic genre for me. About a couple, Ralph Lamb and Abigail who moved in to take care of his mother, Laura Lamb. The relationship between Abby and Laura was difficult. Laura always pummeled her with insults. While Ralph insists that Abby misunderstood and her mother's intentions were pure. Both were raised by a single mother.

The conflict occurred after Laura died by suicide. In Abby's wild imagination, her mother-in-law's house was filled with evil, crawling grime that wants to get and infect Ralph with misery. Poor Abby has always been scared to lose her husband and childhood trauma that eaten her alive and never been buried.

An underrated and disturbing read for me. My rating: 5 ⭐️

Thanks to @netgalley and @aaknopf for the review copy. Opinions are my own 💙

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#donereading #motherthing by #ainsliehogarth #vintagebooks #emabaca #malaysiamembaca #igbooks #igreads #kindlepaperwhite #goodreads #bookstagram

This story follows a woman after the death of her overbearing mother-in-law. Funny and hard to put down at first, I felt that the story lost its bite halfway through. In the beginning, we are thrown straight into the action which makes the parts discussing her job or the time it takes her and her husband to talk through the bizarre thing that happened seem quite slow.

A very unique, fun read for fans of Grady Hendrix and campy horror movies. Personally, some of the formatting (mainly, the script format), didn’t work as well for me, which was a disappointment, but it was still fun and I would recommend it.

Who hasn’t had a monster mother in law? Or been one. Interesting premise. Wildly imaginative. Darkly funny.

She's creepy and she's kooky, mysteriously spooky. She'll haunt you in your dreams and turn you into a maniacal monster, your Mother-in-Law-thing!

Be careful the family you marry into. You never know what you might get out of it. In MOTHERTHING, the bizzare and brilliant new novel by Ainslie Hogarth, we meet a woman named Abby desperate for maternal affection, a mother in law who refuses to hand any over, and, well, also, the mother in law is dead, and she's basically a poltergeist in her own home, and the only way to get rid of her is an unforgettable Chicken A La King recipe. Like I said, bizarre. In MOTHERTHING, Abby and her husband Ralph are grappling with the loss of his mother, Laura, to suicide. Laura's death is not the end of her, though. Cold, cryptic, and self-centered during her lifetime, Laura's ghost is even more vicious and twisted, blocking Abby from helping Ralph heal. And Abby sure does have some unique perspectives on how to make people heal. Just ask her favorite resident at the eldercare home she works for. When Abby sets her sights on caring for someone, she'll stop at nothing and no one to make it happen. Not even a ghost.

The plot is convoluted. MOTHERTHING involves the reader understanding what a Motherthing is (you'll find out), the challenges of living with someone who struggles with Borderline Personality Disorder, the nostalgia for recipes popular in the 50s you'd never make today, and the idea that ghosts take many forms. MOTHERTHING also jumps between first perso and third-person scripted narration. It's, bluntly, bonkers. And it's absolutely wonderful. I'm not doing it justice. You've not read anything like it. The ending is truly off the rails. Those who like their literary fiction plot-forward will find much to savor. Be prepared for cursing. For gore. For WTF moments. Though, ultimately, I don't think you can really be prepared for this one...

What the heck did I read?? I tried over and over but I just could not get into this book. I don't think it should be marketed as horror. There were shock factors, sure. Overall this was not the book for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3/5 stars
Genre: Horror
Received ARC from Netgalley

First of all thank you Nicholas Alguirre for that gorgeous and intriguing book cover! Did not know much about the book but that cover caught my eye almost IMMEDIATELY! Loved the Frankenstein green, the creepy fingers and that 1950’s retro vibes.

“She’s dead in the basement. And she’s refusing to leave….” Ok, you got me there too. A monster-in-law (mother in law) vibes is what I am getting and who doesn’t love that? The mother is haunting this couple and we have an unreliable narrator which leaves me questioning throughout the novel.

This book surrounds itself with all things of mother. Narrator has mommy issues. Narrator is obsessed with becoming a mother. Narrator has a terrible mother in law. Narrator attaches herself to an elderly woman who she calls her baby. Narrator is jealous of a soon-to-be mother. And narrator even describes things as a mother-like figure.

I understand the author’s writing style of writing but I am not the target audience for this novel.

The script-like novel find hard to read and throws me off my reading rhythm. The obsession with Cal and the topic of infertility triggers me and makes me cringe every time I read about it.

The intro caught me, the middle of the novel kept me steady (but on the verge of DNF), the climax had my mouth open and the very end left me questioning. Solid 3 stars for me!

Thank you Netgalley and Ainslie Hogarth for the ARC and the opportunity to review the novel!

I will be reviewing a physical copy of this book on my social media platforms but thank you agin to Vintage Anchor for the digital arc

Sooo…I was really psyched about this one. A crazy mother-in-law!? Cool premise that’s for sure. I also loved the cover.

I was able to follow it through the ring issue where Abby stole the MIL’s ring and then was like oh crap when the hospital assured her son that the ring was def with her/her belongings. Abby why’d you have to take the ring!?

I felt that the story didn’t feel very cohesive and was very choppy…hard to follow. There were parts that I was like ok that’s awesome for gore/grossness and shock value but I wanted more substance.

The characters were just…flat.

I was going to DNF but I just really had high hopes that it would get better. I usually finish books in a day, or 2…a week tops. This book took me like 2-3 months to finish. It had potential but I just really couldn’t get into it.

I saw that a lot of people really loved it though…so you definitely should check it out for yourself, it just wasn’t for me.

I was so excited to read this due to the amazing cover! But unfortunately I couldnt finish the book: I was bored, confused, and did not find it to be funny nor horror like even though 46% of the book. The plot felt very random and loose. The characters were unlikable. The writing felt forced and overdone. I do think this shouldn’t be marketed as horror.

first of all, i would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book. the cover immediately caught my eye and i thought i would love it... AND I WAS RIGHT!

i was hooked right from the start of the book. the word choice is honestly so weird at times but i truly think that the language makes the book - Ainslie Hogarth has really been meticulous with her wording in this book. i love a gruesome, as well as funny, book so it really is no surprise that i LOVED this! and the fact it is about toxic relationships and wanting to see validation? it was perfect - the story was funny but also shattered you at certain points.

however, i did find that the plot seemed a bit long. it did drag ever so slightly for me, to the point where it started to get a tiny bit boring. this book tackles a wide range of themes, including but not limited to, madness, depression, motherhood, seeking validation, death of a parent, grief, suicide, graphic scenes, self-harm and toxic relationships (which are portrayed amazingly i would like to add).

If you love dark humour and creepy situations in the books that you read, then i recommend this to you!

Well well well. Where do I begin. Is the mother in law crazy? The son? The wife? How about all of them In there own way. The whole time I kept asking myself what is real and what isn't. But how often in life and relationships do we do the same thing " is this real"?

A quite disturbing (and disgusting) but funny read. The book tackles depression and grief, motherhood and cannibalism with a ton of dark humor and a touch of folly that just make you say "what did I just read?" at the end.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for honest feedback.


This book wasn't for me. I didn't find the characters compelling, likable, or at the very least interesting. I did like the disorienting horror aspects but unfortunately it wasn't enough to make me want to engage with the characters. I do think there are people out there who will really enjoy this book, so if you are into family dynamics and horror this is for you.

With its clever insights and inventive storyline, Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth will stay with you for quite some time. It’s a dark, humorous book that touches on everything from codependent family relationships, to vengeful dead mother-in-laws and a woman who desperately longs for a child. While it does get quite intense at times, the writing is incredibly impactful and unbelievably thrilling. It was one of those books that I really couldn’t stop reading.

It starts off somewhat normal, with Abby and Ralph deciding to move in with Ralph’s mother, Laura, to help her out a bit. What Abby later comes to learn is that Laura is a cruel woman, who does whatever she can to manipulate her son. And even after killing herself, Laura continues to haunt their lives from beyond the grave. What follows is a daunting portrayal of a marriage that is quickly falling apart, as Ralph becomes more and more devoted to following his dead mother’s wishes.

While Abby feels like she’s losing her husband, the want of a child continues to consume her. But she knows that a baby could’t thrive in her womb until she frees Ralph from the torments of his mother. She embarks on a mission to prove her undying love for him, through one of his favourite dishes, Chicken a la King, but she has a rather unconventional ingredient in mind. With gory details and dry humour, Hogarth creates a story that is equally disturbing as it is compelling.

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor as well as NetGalley for a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

I have one thing to say:

HOLY SHIT.

Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth is the most unhinged female rage book of all female rage books. This novel delivered all its pretended and more!

Newly wed Abby deals with her husbands grief of his late bipolar mother in increasingly unusual ways. As the plot evolves we learn of Abby’s unsavoury relationship with her mother-in-law, Laura, which shows in how Abby deals with her husband Ralph’s grief by placating him with food and her want for a baby.

As Ralph’s psyche starts to mirror his mothers, believing her to be a ghost living in their basement, Abby begins to have manic thoughts of fixing him and getting rid of Laura forever. She has convinced herself that becoming pregnant will solve their problems in order to start a new life.

Abby’s obsession eventually leads to her down fall as we learn of her tragic past and why it causes her to think and act the way she does.

This was a novel I could absolutely get behind. It was unpretentious and astute with enough crazy to make you both sad and angry at the world for relating to such a wild novel.

Overall, I have rated this book 4 out 5 stars!

You’ve heard all the jokes about nightmare mother-in-laws, but in this case, she truly is terrifying…

Abby and her husband have moved back into his childhood home to care for his ailing mother, Laura. When Laura takes her own life (not a spoiler, it happens within the first sentence), Ralph sinks into a deep depression, while Abby begins to see and hear things that cannot possibly be real. As the horror of the situation unfolds, and the vengeful ghost is slowly revealed (like details from Abby’s traumatic past), she realises that in order to save everything she holds dear, she’ll have to make some drastic sacrifices (and cook the best Chicken à la King Ralph has ever tasted).

A warning, this book is not for the faint of heart, with some graphic descriptions of violence, and references to mental illness; abuse; fraught family relationships, as well as the difficulties of trying to conceive. While these are heavy subjects, Ainslie Hogarth’s dark sense of humour allows them to be explored in a way that doesn’t feel so heavy.

Motherthing is full of clever writing devices-the switch from first person stream of consciousness narrative to play script format builds further on the 1950s domestic horror story element hinted at by the excellent cover art, as does the incorporation of the recipe book that Abby frequently refers to. The quick-witted conversations between Abby and Ralph provide some very funny dialogue which had me laughing out loud at times.

Ainslie Hogarth is a master of metaphor and word play, as evidenced by the title-without a reliable and caring maternal figure in her own life, Abby seeks comfort in other people and objects. She feels a particularly strong bond to her favourite patient, Mrs Bondy (no pun intended) at the nursing home she works at. While while Mrs Bondy might be Abby’s ‘baby’, at the same time she is also a substitute mother to Abby, and when this relationship is threatened, all hell breaks loose.

As the story progresses, Abby becomes more unhinged, and so too does the plot-it follows the trajectory of her madness. While seemingly starting off as a regular heroic protagonist, Abby turns into somewhat of an anti-hero by the end of the novel.

For more than one reason, this reminded me of another favourite book that I read this year, Sayaka Murata’s ‘Earthlings’. Like Earthlings, it was disturbing, gruesome, hilarious and sad, yet also had a redemptive quality to it. I loved it.

"...I wanted to die but nothing happened. I wanted to not be alive anymore but I had to be. Alive still, in this terrible moment too, even though frankly I have that feeling again where I wouldn’t mind not being alive."
Well, this book was soME OTHER THING(does this count as a pun? If so, then it was very much intended)
It was almost perfectly unhinged and fresh and raw and relatable and also kind of disgusting at times and I loved it way more than I expected.
Also, the story is very food and cooking oriented, in the end it all led to the perfect recipe of love and devotion, with madness sprinkled on top.
I don't usually give away plot points in my tiny reviews, because there are others who already do that, so I'll only say this: (spoiler, maybe) it's a cannibalism story, perfect ending of this crazy story and I'm so glad I read it, because I have a slight obsession with literary Cannibalism.
I loved the audiobook as well, the narrator did amazing job, I kind of want to listen to more books by her. Reading and listening at the same time provided an interesting side of Abby's character, giving voice to her thoughts was needed to fully immerse myself in her life and inner workings of her brain.

I'm so sorry to say that, while I tried many times, I just could not get into this book. I wanted so much to like it but I kept losing interest.
I'm very thankful that the publisher and Netgalley gave me a chance to read this. I truly wish I could've given it a positive review..

ABSOLUTE BANGER.

A slow descent into madness that ends with a WTF-did-I-just-read. The sentences are so honest. It feels like the main character, Abby, is a realized person. The twist and turns are set in reality, and the book's form, going from modern format to screenplay, makes it a delicious read.