Tash isn't like the "other mothers" but they take pity on her when her son has some separation anxiety at daycare. Soon they're inviting her to coffee dates, spa days, and their homes.

There are two problems:
The first - Tash doesn't have the kind of money they have, and she is quickly running out of cash for expensive coffee, pastries, and clothes.
The second - it's looking like all of Tash's new friends might know something about the death of a young woman she is investigating for one of her freelance stories. Who is lying and why?

It was hard at first to keep up with all of the characters since there was so much drama! This was an intricate story with multiple moms, kids and husbands but after a while the story picks up a rhythm. There are a lot of twists and turns with an unexpected ending that will keep you guessing.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an advance reader's copy.

Tash is a reporter who is asked by a deceased girls mother to investigate her daughters death. Her daughters name is Sophie and she was a nanny for Claire and Jess but she was found dead The couple or apart of a super rich exclusive sect whose kids all go to the same nursery and surprising no one all the toddlers are two, the exact same age as Finn Tash’ss son. Tash infiltrates the friend group but seems more interested in snooping around their house keeping Up with the Joneses and critiquing her new friends to investigate Sophie‘s death. The first half of the book of them have a get together‘s drinking something they call play dates. This was a book that ended way better than it started it also had really good surprises towards the end but throughout the narrative I kept thinking why would this woman bring her two-year-old baby to investigate a possible murderer? If you like thrillers then you may very well enjoy this book I would be lying if I said I did not but there were many things I questioned throughout the book that made no sense but having said that I would still recommend this book to any thriller fans especially those who like books with the rich and affluent doing wrong this is definitely that type of book. I want to thank Gallery books Ann net galley for my free Ark copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

3.5 Stars

Keep you friends close and your enemies closer.

Tash is a mom to an adorable 3 year old who is having a hard time leaving her for school. She sees a posh mom group with their perfect appearances and well adjusted children and envies them. They eventually bring her into their fold. Secrets are as bold as the coffee they share and Tash soon learns the price is high to be friends with this group. She is trying to make a go as a freelance journalist but finds herself looking into the murder of a local nanny. She is caught up in a web of lies. Be careful what you wish for.

There are so many twists and turns that you might just get whiplash. A definite slow burn for me, especially at the beginning. Once I carved out time to read it moved faster. Characters were self centered, entitled and I found it difficult to relate to. Dads behaving badly and moms not wanting to let go of their posh lifestyle. I can understand Tash’s want/need to fit in and her concern for her son, but not at the cost of her family. Far fetched, definitely but it’s like watching your favorite guilty pleasure, you just can’t look away. The ending was somewhat of a letdown. Dual time line and story line which made the story move faster. I had a hard time remembering the backstory of the characters/couples, and I’m not sure why. I will definitely read this author again and plan to go back and read her first book. I did enjoy her writing style. This author knows how to spin a story. I recommend this book if you love twists and turns, this story will definitely keep you guessing! I love the cover art, it really captures to feel of the book.

Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

When a young nanny dies near Tash’s home, she is certain the story would reboot her journalism career. Suddenly being accepted to her sons play group, Tash finds herself questioning their motive. Is she digging into nanny’s death that should be kept a closed case? All evidence has Tash looking closer at her new “friends”. Who’s investigating who?
This read has alternating POV and timelines. The dead nanny Sophie and Tash, a new mom hoping to boost her career. Fast paced because of the back and forth chapters.
Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for The Other Mothers ARC read in exchange for my review.

The Other Mothers is an interesting story, and I mostly enjoyed it. It took me a while to be able to keep track of all the characters, and the timeline jumped around a little too much. I enjoyed the last half of the book much more than the beginning. I felt like the story conclusion was very well done. Thank you, NetGalley, for the advance reader copy of this book.

The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner was an enjoyable mystery/ thriller for the fall season. The book opens with the murder of a young nanny and our main character, Tash, is quickly wrapped up in the idea that she can perhaps figure out what happened to jumpstart her budding career as a journalist, However, she's also a new mom and needs "other mothers" in her circle to navigate these new mom waters but she's finding it hard to also determine who she can trust.
I do say the title alone made me untrusting of just about every other mother in this book and I think I have Neil Gaiman and Coraline's Other Mother to thank for trying to sew buttons onto her eyes. Nevertheless, everything seemed a little too picture perfect and elite for the world Tash is welcomed into, to be as pure as it seems from the outside.
It is so often those with the fakest smiles and money to burn who have the most to lose if secrets are revealed. I think if you are interested in diving into the world beyond the playdate and the diaper bags, this may be a good book to get swept into.

A young mother gets caught up in an elite social group where secrets center on a dead nanny. As the mother fights to keep up with the other women and to establish her career, she’s drawn into the secrets while holding a few of her own. Author Katherine Faulkner keeps readers guessing until the final pages in her latest novel The Other Mothers.

Natasha “Tash” Carpenter starts every day fighting with her toddler son, Finn. Once a rising journalist, Tash put her career on hold to have Finn, and she and her husband couldn’t be happier with him. Now, though, Finn is old enough to go to preschool, but he hates it. The morning battles are exhausting and leave Tash begging and pleading with her son to be happy about being with other kids; Finn is having none of it.

What’s worse, all of the leads Tash has for freelancing jobs are either nonexistent or offer busy work. She misses the excitement of a new story and the camaraderie with her publication team. Being a mom is wonderful, but it’s also lonely.

When a group of mothers whose children go to the same London preschool extend an offer of friendship, Tash feels like she’s hit the jackpot. Claire, Nichole, and Laura seem so put together. Tash wishes she had their couture wardrobes, high-end coffee runs, and spa days with fancy lunches and lots of gossip. It may be hard for Tash to keep up financially, but she’s grateful that the mothers are willing to socialize outside of preschool hours so Finn can get to know some of his classmates better.

Soon enough, though, Tash realizes the ties that Claire has to a recent sensational headline. A young woman, Sophie, was found dead a few years earlier in what seemed to be an accident. The facts of the incident have never sat well with Tash, though; there are enough missing pieces in Sophie’s case to make Tash wonder whether she can revive the story and get to the truth. Then she finds out Sophie used to be the nanny for Claire’s children, and all of a sudden her interest in her new friend group rises dramatically.

Tash does everything she can to stay in step with the women who have taken her in, but she also finds herself maxing out her budget. The more she digs into Sophie’s life, too, the more she finds she can’t think about anything else. Other freelance stories start to suffer as Tash tries to figure out the details behind Sophie’s death, but she can’t let it go. Then someone else dies, and Tash realizes she may be out of her depth. Why would Sophie cause such a problem after dying? And did Claire know her better than she’s letting on?

Author Katherine Faulkner splits her narrative between Tash in the present day and Sophie in the weeks leading up to her death. The effect is a slow burn that mystery lovers will find tantalizing in the best way. Between the subsequent reveals each woman shares as well as the expertly-placed red herrings, Faulkner does a fantastic job keeping readers engaged until the big reveal at the end.

The book does suffer a little from a dragging middle portion. For a while, the story feels like it’s treading water as certain story elements drift into place. Also, at times Nichole and Laura seem interchangeable. Claire’s relationship with Sophie makes her stand out, but the other two friends are often relegated to background scenery.

Those who stick with the book through the second third of it will be rewarded with a series of compelling twists and turns all the way to the end. Unlike some mysteries that tie everything up in a nice neat package, Faulkner chooses a hint of ambivalence. In the hands of a less skilled author, the ambivalence would have felt like a lack of commitment to anything, but Faulkner uses it to show her characters’ lives will continue beyond the last page.

Readers wanting a mystery that delves into the messiness of every-day life and how it can cloud a person’s judgment even as they follow their compulsions will enjoy this one.

I tried this one twice and couldn’t get into it- it felt like I’d read this before and just didn’t grab me. A meek main character and a group of moms with nefarious intentions…. Been there done that.

3.5- I love a good, twisty novel and this was that. It felt a bit slow in the first half and had a few too many characters to keep track of. The guilty culprit remains a mystery and keeps the reader guessing throughout. It was a tangled web and the end was satisfying, but it took patience to get there.

Thank you Gallery Books and Netgalley for a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I read Katherine Faulkner's debut novel and enjoyed it. I was excited to get an early copy of this book. It has the same posh, high-class vibes that the first book did. I found the beginning of the book to be a little slow, but once I was 25% in, I was hooked. I flew through the last 50% of the book. I enjoyed the short chapters and the alternating point of view from Tash and Sophie. The mystery aspect of the book was probable. I could see the storyline being confusing if you weren't fully invested in the book, but I enjoyed the big reveal at the end. Overall, I would highly recommend this domestic thriller to any mystery lover.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Tash is a freelance journalist living in a London suburb who begins digging into the suspicious death of a local nanny named Sophie to try and get her career back on track. While investigating, Tash becomes close friends with the other mothers in her son's new playgroup, who may know more about Sophie's death than they are letting on. As Tash works to uncover what happened, she starts receiving warnings from an unknown number telling her to stop. Will Tash get to the bottom before it is too late?

The beginning of the book started off slow for me, and it took a minute before the pacing picked up and things got interesting. I liked the short chapters and that the author alternated between Tash and Sophie's POV. The countdown leading up to Sophie's death kept me wanting more. I found those chapters to be the most enjoyable and suspenseful. The author does a good job of placing breadcrumbs throughout and keeping the reader guessing; however, there were a lot of different characters in this book and their personalities all blended into one, making it hard to remember who was who in the group. Overall, this book fell short of my expectations. Although it was still a decent read, I enjoyed Faulkner's other book, Greenwich Park, more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

I had the extreme pleasure of gaining an early copy of this novel. I enjoyed reading the author’s previous novel, Greenwich Park and was pleased to have the opportunity to read and review.
The Other Mothers is a domestic thriller that is an entirely unique story. We get to see two POVs— Sophie, the deceased nanny, and Tash, a freelance journalist who is investigating Sophie’s death and who happens to befriend the wealthy mothers at her son’s playgroup. The timeline alternates between the present and Sophie’s past leading up to the moment of her death. A brilliant psychological thriller that will have you saying, "Just one more chapter!"

Happy Publication Day!!!

The Other Mothers is Katherine Faulkner's second thriller & it was a good one!

We follow our main character Tash, mom and journalist and is hoping a new case will get her back into the game & that case being no other than a Nanny who was found dead and Tash thinks that murder happened, even though the police don't. We follow Tash get down to the grit and find out what really happened.

This book is medium paced with a lot of character introductions at the beginning between mothers and their husbands so it is a little to get into a first but once you know who is who and how everyone is connected - it is much easier to read!

I liked how we got a lot of unreliability between the main characters and really gave a "who am I supposed to trust right now" and "what is going on" vibes.

Read this if you like
- Everyone Being A Suspect
- Motherhood / Spousal Drama
- Neighborhood Thrillers Where Everyone Knows Everything
- "Mom's Club" & Rich Housewives

A young nanny dies, and it is ruled an accident. However, Tash can feel in her bones that it was murd3r. She decides that this can be the story that will relaunch her journalism career! She puts her son in a local playgroup in hopes that she can get some work done while he is there. Finn, her son, is having a hard time when she drops him off. One of the other mothers offers to have Tash and Finn over for a playdate. Finn can get to know the other children better, and Tash can hang out with other new mothers.

Tash begins to wonder why she was so quickly accepted into this tight-knit friend group.

As Tash gets closer to the truth, she gets warnings, and bad things start happening to her. This book made me think of the saying, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." Also, a lot of mothers can relate to wanting to make friends with other new mothers. That aspect of the story drew me in. This story is told in the present from Tash's POV and then goes to the past and is told from Sophie's (the nanny's) POV. You know I love dual timelines and multi-POV.

This was fast-paced, and I was invested to know "who dun it" and why!

Read this Book If:
You want to read a who dun it thriller
You want to have a twist of an ending in your next book
You're a nosey lady or lad and like drama in your thrillers

This was really good!! I didn't read the first book by this author, GREENWICH PARK, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I saw many people loving this one, so I had to check it out. I was impressed!! I thought the pacing was good, plenty of shady characters, and you never know who to trust.

Tash is a mother investigating the death of a nanny. She gets involved with the mothers in her sons playgroup. These mothers will have you not trusting one of them. You get the point of view of Tash in the present time, and the point of view of the nanny, Sophie, in the past. As you get further into the book. It gets more and more engrossing as you are trying to figure out what really happened! This one was suspenseful and entertaining. Loved it!!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. My review will be posted on Instagram, Bookbub, Goodreads and Amazon.

https://onereadingnurse.com/2023/12/05/book-review-the-other-mothers-by-katherine-faulkner/

I just have to get one random thought out of the way: why are her book covers both in all lowercase letters? It’s so rare that it jumps out at me!

The Other Mothers took a few chapters for me to get into since there is a bit of chronological time jumping. Once I got the hang of it I couldn’t put the book down. Like first it doesn’t seem that interesting and then all of a sudden it’s 2am and whoops! Faulkner builds tension and suspense slowly and it’s just perfect pacing.

Tash is a journalist who ends up personally and professionally wrapped in the lives of the wealthy mothers in her son’s new playgroup. She is investigating the death of a nanny and I just love when there are so many equally suspicious suspects. Everyone is shady and many are a little twisted, but there’s always one big baddie and I couldn’t have guessed who it was.

The point of view flips between Tash in the present and the dead nanny in the past. Obviously the action spirals towards two things: in phe present Tash is getting into serious trouble and in he past, the murder of the nanny approaches. It’s addicting to keep flipping pages and see how depraved everyone gets by the end.

Faulkner is also really good at tying atmosphere and physical setting into her plots. The locations feel real whether it’s a sticky, tiny flat, a luxurious townhouse, or a rainy London park.

Check it out yourself if you like complicated female friendships and layers on layers of mystery and secrets. Just don’t start it at bedside or you might lose sleep and regret it at work in the morning👀

...

Thanks for checking out my book review of The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner. I received a digital advanced copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and as always, all options are my own ♥️

This was exciting, a good story about murder, secrets, and a really toxic group of new mothers.
*
Quick synopsis: Tash, the mother of a toddler, is a freelance writer who starts looking into the death of a nanny a few months earlier, and finds herself enmeshed in a playgroup with several other mothers who all have secrets.
*
I liked this a lot more than Greenwich Park, I thought it really did a much better job of subtly building the story and developing red herrings more naturally. So if you liked that book, you should love this one!
*
I think the climax was a bit clunky, but I really enjoyed how the twists kept coming even when I thought the whole thing was wrapped up. It also felt a bit long at times, but overall a really solid thriller.

Thank you Gallery Books and Netgalley for an ARC of {" The Other Mothers". I have heard a lot of great things about Faulkner's debut novel, " Greenwich Park", but haven't had a chance to pick it up yet. If her debut novel is anything like her sophomore novel, wow ..WOW.. WOW. I read thrillers probably more than any other genre and can usually predict the ending of a novel, but I can honestly say I was surprised by every twist and turn this book offered. I couldn't put this one down, and cannot wait to see what Faulkner writes next.

I just read The Other Mothers and oooo, it was so good. It was the story of a mom who goes digging into the suspicious death of a nanny to one of the kids in her mom’s group. This had all the vibes of a Liane Moriarty or Sally Hepworth book. With timelines jumping, narrators switching back and forth, twists, turns, red herrings, fancy moms who are clearly hiding things and main characters taking things one step too far too many times that they lose all credibility. And it was all done in a compelling, delicious and juicy way that meant I could not put the book down.

Katherine Faulkner returns following Greenwich Park with THE OTHER MOTHERS, a deliciously wicked mom noir domestic thriller —full of mean grown-up girls with menace, murder, class, and lots of TWISTS!

Set in an upscale London neighborhood with breathtaking homes, designer clothes, put-together moms and nannies— and way too-expensive playdates! Faulkner cleverly explores the dark side of motherhood and the fissures inside female friendships.

Tash James, mother of Finn and wife of Tom, a doctor. They are broke, and she is trying to launch her career as a freelance journalist. When she learns about the death of a nanny, Sophie Blake, which sounds suspicious, she thinks this will be her chance.

She needs to meet the other mothers to develop friendships and investigate. The mothers invite her into their group of friends, and she is delighted and gets swept into their socially wealthy world of expensive playdates, glamour, coffee, and cocktails. Has she found friendship in Laura, Nichole, and Claire?

Told from the POVs of Tash (present) and Sophie (past), it is a slow burn until all the secrets unravel. But then another young woman is found dead. The more she dives in, the more she wonders if these other mothers are her friends or if they have an alternative agenda.

Who's Zoomin' Who?

It is explosive when the group and their husbands go together on holiday. Dark SECRETS and lies of the past rise to the surface, and desperation and the plot thickens. There is so much to unfold in this group!

THE OTHER MOTHERS is a well-written domestic thriller with twists, and the author's investigative journalism skills shined through. If you enjoy evil mommy dramas and suburban thrillers infused with secrets, manipulation, deception, lies, and MURDER —this is for you!

Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for an advanced reading review copy for an honest opinion.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pub Date: Dec 5, 2023
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