Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. This 2nd novel did not disappoint. As soon as I started it, I couldn't put it down. It left me in suspense until the end and left me excited for the author's next book! She has a talent for engaging suspense novels.

This is the prefects suburban thriller! I love when there's some drama in these kinds of books and I feel like this one truly had it all! I devoured it!

I really enjoyed this story about a freelance journalist, Tash, investigating the death of a young nanny in her new neighborhood. Rich people with secrets is one of my favorite types of mystery so this was a fun ride. I also liked how the author told the story of Sophie (the nanny) as she navigated being a live-in caretaker for one of the local families. The viewpoints switch between current day and Sophie before her death until you reach the conclusion of the story. The end was well-paced and satisfying. I think all contemporary thriller readers will enjoy this one! Thanks to Katherine Faulkner, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Tash (Natasha) is a journalist trying to relaunch her career as a freelancer while her husband, Tom, is busy working as a doctor. She's also preoccupied with their toddler and the pressures of first-time motherhood. Tash soon realizes while finding a playgroup for her son Finn, also involves fitting in with the other mothers.

Sophie is a nanny for Claire and Jez who are expecting their first baby together while raising Jez’s son, Jude. Sophie notices a strange detachment between Claire and Jude, and works to make sure he’s properly cared for, all while living under the same roof as the family.

Tash is quickly swept up in coffee dates and spa outings that she struggles to afford, in the upper class of London. All the while she’s spending her spare time investigating the death of a young nanny. But when the investigation leads her right to her own playgroup, and another young woman turns up dead, Tash has to wonder, who are these other mothers and why was she invited in?

Fans of Ashley Audrain and Chandler Baker will enjoy the similar themes of motherhood, friendship, envy, lust and suspense. The alternating timelines are layered intricately, building suspense so that the reader can’t put this one down.

Tash, mom to Finn and playgroup outcast, finds herself in too deep when she begins to uncover secrets in regards to the death of a local nanny from playgroup. When the other mothers begin to accept her, she begins to ask question that only a journalist can get away with. She is convinced that the death was no accident, and even though someone clearly wants her to stop digging, she can’t seem to stop. Will anyone stop her before she uncovers the truth?

The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner follows Tash who is a journalist that put her carrer on hold for Finn her son. She is trying to do freelance articles when Sophie's mother asks her to look into Sophie's death. It was ruled a drowning but here is more to the story than meets the eye. As Tash befriends the other mothers from play group she finds that nothing seems to be adding up. Wanting the approval of the other mothers, Tash is now keeping her own secrets from her husband Tom. It all comes together in the end and keeps you guessing up until the end of the book. If you loved Greenwich Park then you will love The Other Mothers.

This is one of those books you just can’t put down! I was hooked from the beginning. I loved how the story unfolded and the different points of view between Tash and Sophie’s stories. Everything was so tangled together I had no idea how this book was going to end and it kept me on my toes the whole time. I am so happy that I was able to get an advance reader copy of this book through NetGalley. Great book!

Was really excited to read this, loved Greenwich Park. It took a bit for me to get into this book, but once I did I was consumed. What I love about Faulkner's storytelling is that just when you think you have the answer, the murderer has been revealed, the story told, she tosses another twist your way. Definitely recommend for a quick summer read. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Other Mothers.

I read the author's first book, so I was intrigued to read her next novel.

Tash is a former journalist adapting to motherhood when she is asked to investigate the suspicious death of a young nanny, Sophie, by the victim's mother.

Hoping this will restart her journalism career, Tash begins probing into the case, while at the same time is befriended by a clique of wealthy moms.

She's dazzled by these women, and as her investigation progresses, she discovers the nanny had a secret that might have led to her death.

Are these women responsible for this young woman's death? What are they hiding? And is Tash next on their list?

This is a stereotypical narrative; struggling mom with few to little friends of her own is welcomed into a clique of charming, wealthy women.

She's charmed by them, by what they do or don't do, by their wealth and excess, while at the same time handling all the parenting as her husband, a doctor, is managing his own work stressors.

The narrative is filled mostly with Tash hanging out with the women, while she speaks to the police, digs around half heartedly and investigates the people in her social circle.

Most times, the case could be solved if the people who know what happened would just speak up instead of teasing Tash with warnings about leaving the case alone or not knowing anything about Sophie,

There's the usual 'scary' emails and text messages from suspects unknown, plenty of red herrings.

And plenty of drama, mama; it's like Peyton Place but in the UK, everyone is sleeping around with everyone else because apparently, no one has self control or takes birth control or uses condoms. It's pretty ridiculous.

Everyone is unlikable, including Tash. I didn't like her. I didn't hate her, but she was pretty naive for a reporter.

I can't believe she thought it was wrong of her husband to report a doctor for abusing their prescription privileges!

She practically shamed her husband for always choosing to do right instead of letting certain things slide..

Who is she to judge?

Has it never occurred to her that a doctor abusing their prescription privileges might be doing so for nefarious reasons?

It was hard to take Tash seriously as a reporter since she's sort of a flake, not forthright and caught up socializing and hanging out with the Joneses. Investigating Sophie's death seemed almost like an afterthought at times.

I did like the ambiguous ending, which felt more realistic than everything that had happened.

Everyone has something to hide. Everyone has blood on their hands, including Tash.

Do you choose to save face or reveal the truth, hurting everyone, including your children?

Katherine Faulkner has an incredible way of leaving every single chapter off with such an insane cliffhanger that you cannot help but read "one more chapter"... and then next thing you know you just stayed up until 4am finishing a book! I'm writing this with a headache from lack of sleep but it was so worth it. I loved Greenwich Park and was so excited to hear her second book was out and it did not disappoint!! Faulkner is officially on my list of authors whose books I will automatically read without even knowing what they're about! 5 stars!!!

This had a lot of very common elements - privileged women, main character who wants to belong and fit in, hardship of being a mum to small children. But then it gets interesting as there is a murder to solve!
I like hearing Sophie’s viewpoint throughout, it humanizes her. It also helped push the tension and mystery, each person seems a suspect throughout.
Tash is the main character who becomes obsessed with finding out the truth, yet gets herself caught up in the drama. I find her the least likable character, which is a strange reaction. Everyone in the book has moments of unpleasantness which makes the book very relatable.
Great build up to the reveal, with twists galore. A read it in one sitting kind of book.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

Sometimes I struggle a bit with alternating narratives or timelines, and this book has both situations- Tash in the present, Sophie in the past, leading up to her death. The reader knows from the beginning that Sophie has died, BUT was she murdered? Was her death REALLY an accident? If she was murdered, by whom? And how does Tom, Tash's husband, tie into it all? I was kinda bummed that Sophie was dead, because she was a character that I really felt I could root for. This boom did remind me a bit of Girl on the Train; it did, however, manage to be it's own story. Be careful who you trust- friends may not always be your friends for the right reason! I really couldn't put this book down, so I plan to look for future titles by this author AND have been recommending both this and Greenwich Park to customers. A fun, twisty, smart book, 9.5 out of 10!

Another fantastic thriller by @katherinefaulknerwrites !
Pub Date 12•05•23

This twisted, page turning thriller was hard to put down! A small town, a tight knit group of mothers that have the dream lives, & dark secrets that keep them close!

Tash is a journalist trying to make a name for herself! She begins digging into the accidental death of a nanny named Sophie. The more she digs, the more danger she is in!

With so many lies, who do you believe?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

As a fan of Greenwich Park, I was excited for this novel. It was a slow start for me in the beginning and I think would better appeal to parents, as there is a lot of talk about parenting. I wish the murder plot was a larger focus early on because it was slow to pick up.

a freelance journalist, in need of money and a story get involved in the death of a nanny. The story overlaps with a group of upper class women who befriend her and her son. This was both a mystery of how the nanny died and her story and the story that raises moral issues of when is the truth not necessary and what is the greater truth. Well written and absorbing

The Other Mothers begins with Tash, a struggling journalist and new mom stumbling upon a story about an unsolved murder of a young girl. She thinks this might be the story to catapult her career, so she begins to investigate while juggling her parental responsibilities. When she learns that the girl was employed by one of the families at her childcare center, she's even more intrigued. One of the members of the parent click begins to show an interest in Tash and her son and invites her into their circle making it easier for her to find personal details to fill in the blanks for the article she wants to write.

This book will have the reader suspecting every character at some point in the book. It seemed rather obvious to me who the most likely culprit was, but that might have just been my personal take. I prefer when I haven't figured things out before the end of the book. The writer does an excellent job fleshing out the backstories of the main characters. The reader will have several surprises in that regard as they progress through the novel.

This was a miss for me. The plot was incredibly drawn out and the characters were all that I have come across before. I really wish I got into this one more but found myself pretty bored.

Tash is one story away from the big break she desperately needs. As a recently-gone-freelance journalist, the money isn't coming in the way she'd hoped, and her husband Tom can barely keep them afloat with his position at a nearby hospital.

As Tash unintentionally enters the delicate, exclusive and precarious clique of the London moms at her son's playgroup, she stumbles upon so much more than bored housewives looking for gossip: she finds a story. One involving a young nanny's mysterious death that's been oddly overlooked by her new group of friends. As secret upon secret emerges from "the other mothers," Tash finds herself caught up in a sinister web of deceit that leaves no stone unturned, including those on her own doorstep.

After Katherine Faulkner's knockout debut "Greenwich Park," I couldn't wait a moment longer to dive into "The Other Mothers." Where Faulkner's writing remains strong here, I regretfully report that she may have fallen victim to the "second book curse." From the first chapter, "The Other Mothers" felt unnecessarily complex and clunky--the ensemble of characters never came together cohesively for me, the red herrings in the story were woefully obvious, and the ending itself felt haphazard and again, overly complicated.

All in all a fine thriller, "The Other Mothers" felt like something that could have been great with further plot revisions. At nearly 400 pages, it certainly felt like its length, and it lacked the clean, fast pacing of "Greenwich Park" that gripped me from the start.

I just couldn’t get into this. I kept having to go back and reread pages, because I realized I wasn’t paying attention. The characters seemed too similar, and the plot was too drawn out.

Everyone wants to be part of the group, especially when your a mom and need some of that motherly support. Tash is no different. When looking for a play group for her son Finn Tash meets Laura, a mom who seems put together and is part of the “it” mother group. But as Tash starts spending more and more time with the group she becomes engrossed in an article idea that hopefully will get her career as a journalist back on track.

The story is told from both Tash and Sophie’s perspective, leading up to Sophie’s murder and the culmination of Tash’s investigation into the murder. There was a nice amount of twists to keep the pages turning and just the right balance of feeling for the characters but not being able to trust any of them.

I really enjoyed this second book by Faulkner and look forward to reading what she comes out with next. Thank you to the publishers and to Netgalley for the chance to review this book