4.5 Stars

The Other Mothers is a compelling page turner that kept this reviewer engaged through its final dramatic scene. The story is told from two points of view–a young nanny from the recent past, and a new mother and freelance journalist determined to uncover the truth behind the nanny’s tragic death. A group of wealthy mothers and their children provide the connection between the protagonists.

Author Katherine Faulkner does a fantastic job with the story construction. Though the timeline alternates between past and present, the voices of the two protagonists are clear and distinct, allowing the story to flow seamlessly. The central characters are well defined, and the secondary characters are important to the plot. The twists and turns keep us guessing, the conflicts and motivations are believable, and the pacing is just right. The Other Mothers is a great read and recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing an eARC to read and review. This review will post to Bayside Book Reviews at https://baysidebookreviews.com and its Instagram page on release day. Follow us! *NetGalley Top Reviewer*

In The Other Mothers, we are introduced to Tash. Tash works as a freelance journalist while taking care of her toddler, Finn, as her husband works in a hospital. Tash has been having a few issues getting reporters and newspapers to take her freelance writing seriously. As bills stack up, Tash's motivation dwindles. In addition to the financial stresses at home, Finn is less than enthusiastic his new playgroup. Every day he wails and reaches for Tash as she drops him off. By the time she gets home, does the morning dishes, and puts a load of laundry in, it's already time to pick Finn up again.

During one of these tear-filled, hysterical drop offs, Tash is helped by another mom at playgroup. Laura introduces Tash and Finn to her son and they become instant friends. Tash is much more at ease. Laura introduces her to two other moms in their clique, Claire and Nicole. With this new mom-friendship, Tash finally feels like her family and social life is where she wants it to be. When a local nanny dies under uncertain circumstances, Tash feels like this is the story she can use to be taken seriously as a freelance journalist.

Five stars for The Other Mothers. Faulkner's latest novel has it all: dark suburbia, suspense, and a world the reader wants to be in. Her characters are nicely written. At different moments, it is easy to both like and dislike almost all of the characters. Everyone's motivations for how they act in certain circumstances are very thoroughly explained and the reader can empathize with the characters. In terms of character development, I personally found it as more of a un-developement (in a good way). The characters' flaws come out at different points in the story, making them human and realistic. Another piece of this book that I loved was that no character, no matter how "small" of a role they played, was insignificant to the storyline. I love books where each character is introduced for a reason.

Not only was the story objectively interesting, I was kept on edge throughout the book. Just when you think you've figured things out, things take a turn. The whiplash was real. I found every twist and turn to be satisfying, and the ending was the icing on the cake.

Five stars for The Other Mothers. Special thank you to NetGalley, Katherine Faulkner, and GalleryBooks for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book started out good but then it started to lose my interest. It did not leave me wanting to read more

Whew this was a wild ride. Tash is looking to revive her journalism career, and a story falls into her lap. She is then tied up into a niche group, mom's of a higher class that belong to a posh playgroup. She peels back the layers of the murder that occurred in this community, and ruffles some feathers along the way. Did I think the ending was realistic? No, but it was well written and I enjoyed the guessing game and clues sprinkled throughout the book. Thank you Netgalley and Gallery for the free ecopy in exchange for an unbiased review.

This book featured Tash, an investigative journalist in London who is married to Tom and has a three-year-old son. She is working part-time and is a bit lost when she meets three other women in her son's playgroup. She quickly becomes enamored of them and their posh homes and lifestyle. While getting to know them, she investigates the death of a nanny, Sophie, who died under suspicious circumstances. Tash quickly realizes that Sophie was involved in the other mothers' lives and she digs deeper, despite Tom's reluctance. Additionally, Tash gets anonymous tips to stop digging and bad things start happening to her and Tom. However, Tash has become entrenched in their world just like Sophie had and found it hard to extricate herself.

This was a fast-moving novel with interesting characters. It touched upon the difficulty of having a career while being a mother, making friends, and navigating relationships in addition to the main plot. I would recommend!

The Other Mothers is a must read! I'll be honest, the first couple of chapters had me wildly confused, but about 3-4 chapters in I started connecting the dots. From that point, I went back to the beginning and started reading again and it all made so much more sense! There are twists and turns you'd never expect and secrets galore! It's debatable if these families have more money or more dirty laundry... but it all eventually comes out in the wash! A riveting story of betrayal, love, loss, and good old fashioned greed. Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Whoa, this was a crazy, wild ride! A very believable situation where young moms have their little cliques and some are keeping secrets that would solve a murder that was ruled an accident. Would make a great TV series!

Coming in December, The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner was five stars. I was swallowed up by this story. Twists and turns coupled with unlikeable characters and people who are unreliable made this one a pleasure to read. I could not put it down until the very last page:

When a young nanny is found dead in mysterious circumstances, new mom, Tash, is intrigued. She has been searching for a story to launch her career as a freelance journalist. But she has also been searching for something else—new friends to help her navigate motherhood.

She sees them at her son’s new playgroup. The other mothers. A group of sleek, sophisticated women who live in a neighborhood of tree-lined avenues and stunning houses. The sort of mothers Tash herself would like to be. When the mothers welcome her into their circle, Tash discovers the kind of life she has always dreamt of—their elegant London townhouses a far cry from her cramped basement flat and endless bills. She is quickly swept up into their wealthy world via coffees, cocktails, and playdates.

But when another young woman is found dead, it’s clear there’s much more to the community than meets the eye. The more Tash investigates, the more she’s led uncomfortably close to the other mothers. Are these women really her friends? Or is there another, more dangerous reason why she has been so quickly accepted into their exclusive world? Who, exactly, is investigating who?

This is a much darker, multi- layered novel that’s a perfect follow up to the hit Greenwich Park which deserved my five star review for her debut novel. This five star read follows the dual time of present day mother Tash and a few months ago Sophie, a nanny for a family in Tash’s playgroup. Both Tash and Sophie tell the story of privileged white women and the women who raise their children, often living in the home, invisible, enjoying the homes and castoffs while resenting them in Sophie’s case and envying them by Tash. When Sophie drowns, the journalist in Tash initiates a covert (to her wealthy playgroup friends) investigation and each chapter tells another layer in both women’s lives once deception, selfishness and disloyalty threaten both of their lives. What is truth, how and when it’s in your favor and what will you do for it?

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Was so happy to get a copy of Faulkner's latest book, as I loved Greenwich Park! This one did not disappoint either! Tash felt so out of the mommy group once her son began daycare, she was looking to see where she fit in as she had also recently stopped working as an investigative journalist. When she learned about a local nanny who died, her investigative nature began to evolve. Also, Tash begins to connect with a few of the moms and eventually joins their small group of play dates and eventually a trip together. We jump perspectives from Tash and the nanny who died. So many twists and turns up until the very end! Loved this read! Can't wait for more from this author!

Tash has been struggling as a journalist and grabs the story of a local nanny's death. The story actually brings her closer to the sophisticated women whose children attend school with her son. Tash is able to befriend them and start to work on a gripping story of a potential murder.

But there is a reason these women have invited Tash into their wealthy glamorous world and it's not because they enjoy her friendship. Another death occurs and Tash fears for her life. If you love thrillers and twisty domestic stories The Other Mothers is for you! #GalleryBooks #KatherineFaulkner #TheOtherMothers

I loved this book and devoured it in less than a day. It centers on Tash, a struggling journalist who starts digging into the death of a young nanny named Sophie in her neighborhood. At the same time, Tash becomes friends with 3 other moms from her playgroup; she desperately tries to keep up with their lavish lifestyle. There are also chapters peppered in from Sophie in the months leading up to her death, painting the story of what really happened.

The author does a great job of laying breadcrumbs that could lead you in many different directions. There were plausible red herrings throughout and I went back and forth multiple times about what I thought really happened. While Tash wasn’t exactly a likable character, she was a believable character with whom I sometimes empathized. The ending left a bit of a cliffhanger, but was packed with surprises. Though there were a lot of characters and a lot of dynamics between those characters, the writing was clear and precise and I never lost track of how it all dir together.

Overall, this one was a winner for me (much like this author’s previous book, if you haven’t read it yet) and I would strongly recommend to those who like mysteries and domestic suspense, as well as those who like reading about how the other half live. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for this ARC of The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner.

I loved the author’s Greenwich Park and so this book was an automatic request for me.
I was not as taken with this story, though it did keep me guessing and page-turning, wanting to learn each of the many characters’ secrets.

It is a domestic mystery thriller that contains one of my favorite story subjects: that of class envy and a peek into the lives of urban (Faulkner’s London here) elite families, especially women.

The main character Tash became “addicted” to keeping up with the fancy women of her son’s playgroup after she was invited into their circle.
She almost ruined her finances and her marriage while struggling to adopt their luxury lifestyle activities.

This avarice I find so juicy and relatable, but the fact that struggling journalist Tash also risked her social status - as well as her relationship with her husband - with these women over trying to solve the mystery of nanny Sophie’s death and its connection to her new group did not make much social sense, until (spoiler) we learn that Tash is as opportunistic and greedy as the rest of the group is revealed to be. ‘Friends close and enemies closer’ comes to mind.

I did enjoy Sophie’s parallel narrative for its intimate look inside the home of wealthy Claire and Jaz, as well as her relationship with another worker, Sal. It was fascinating to look backward through already-deceased Sophie’s chapters as the reason for her death is eventually revealed.

What I liked most about this story are the details we learn about these elites and how Tash and Sophie were near but so far to this “exclusive life that [they were] no real part of.”

The tidy wrap-up ending where all of the women join together in their secret shows that Tash did become one of them, if only their “vile protection racket.”

Four stars

Tash, a new mother and journalist, begins to investigate the death of Sophie, a nanny that was found near her home. Tash is interested into a new friendship group at Finn's playgroup she begins to wonder how much the other mothers know about Sophie and her disappearance. She thinks that this is just the story for her to investigate. Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the advance ecopy.

The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner is a solidly written book and one that really held my attention. Plenty of rich mommy characters to keep track of, Tash the freelance journalist, and intrigue that runs rampant behind closed doors. A somewhat familiar trope to the story, but engaging nonetheless. Recommend.

Once you start reading this you won’t be able to stop! Wonderful, amazing story. Totally captivating. Tash is a journalist hoping to restart her career. She becomes almost obsessed over the death of a local nanny, Sophie. Sophie’s death was deemed an accident but Tash disagrees. Her investigation becomes dangerous for her. Just loved this book and the characters.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. Usually it’s a little tricky for me to keep track of different characters and timelines but I think I’m this case it was done very well. I thought the twists were good and not all of them were fully telegraphed. Although I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending.

The Other mothers is a quirky psychological l thriller that highlights the real extent of what your decisions can mean in the long run. Tash is a new mother who is desperate for her some to fit in and like play group so she can get back to work. A group of mothers who are richer and seemingly idle take her under their wing. Meanwhile Tash discovers the death of a nanny that seems suspicious and starts to dig into what happen, little did she realize the consequences.

Katherine Faulkner's sophomore novel, "The Other Mothers" is certainly a great suspense-filled book.

As soon as I started the book nothing could interrupt me and I sadly finished in one sitting. The mother’s secrets are sinister and they have nothing to hear by hiding them. This is a very dangerous book to start if you have other obligations!