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
Dec 2023 Must-Read Books
Dec Newsletter

4.25 stars

A bingey thriller where everyone is a suspect and you're pulled in a million directions. Faulkner lead me down so many windy paths, and I enjoyed the ride. You will be left guessing until the bitter end and repeatedly ask yourself "what is going on?"

Dang. I'm sad. I was really looking forward to this one and then I got it on audio and I was so excited and it fell short for me. Sorry that was the longest sentence ever, but I just had to get my thoughts out.

Katherine Faulkner had me in her grasp with Greenwich Park, so I was excited for the opportunity to read her latest release The Other Mothers. In Faulkner’s attest book, we meet Tash—a new mother and freelance journalist. Tash isn’t one of the posh moms, though she’s spent plenty of time observing them from a distance. When Sophie, a young nanny, dies it seems like this might be just the story to launch Tash’s career. Soon Tash finds herself in the midst of the upscale group of moms she’s previously only known from afar. But becoming intertwined with the London elite has risks—and an increasing body count.
Katherine Faulkner is no doubt a skilled storyteller in the thriller genre. This story follows a nonlinear timeline and moves between Tash’s storyline and Sophie's. There are layers upon layers of deceit, darkness, and backstory in The Other Mothers—sometimes so much that my mind screamed, “it’s just too much!” No matter how overwhelming it seemed though, I couldn’t stop reading. Faulkner has a way of instilling palpable danger and suspense even in the calmest moments of a story. I am truly a fan and The Other Mothers was a fantastic day spent reading!
Thank you, Gallery Books, and Netgalley for the ARC.
The Other Mothers is scheduled for a December 5, 2023 release.

@katherinefaulknerwrites is a master of the domestic thriller! Her second novel, The Other Mothers, is a fantastic look into the already scary world of motherhood in the toddler years but ups the lies, twists, & turns of her main character, Tash’s life! Tash is a freelance journalist who is juggling a two year old, her job, her marriage, & a new friend group she has found from her son’s day care. She is also consumed with finding out the truth around the death of a local nanny.

I truly loved this book and could not put it down once I started it!

Thank you @simonandschuster for allowing me to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

(This review was also shared on the Barnes & Noble website)

I liked how determined freelance journalist Tash is to find out if and who murdered a young nanny found floating in a natural pond. Her investigation involves meeting and socializing with several wealthy mothers of children in playschool, and she is glad her son Finn will find new playmates among them.

The suspense is built well as the novel progresses and the reader can't decide who to suspect, which woman or which husband. Tash is drawn into their drama, but I was glad to see her discover the truth, even at her own peril. The ending came as a surprise as it seemed very ambiguous at first, until I thought about it and figured out what would happen.

A psychological thriller well worth reading.

The Other Mothers, by Katherine Faulkner, is a slow burn to start, but once I was up to speed on the different characters, I found myself moving from chapter to chapter to see what happened. Who can you trust if not your friends, your mate, even yourself...
Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for the ARC ebook I read to complete this review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a book that I found hard to rate. I didn't like most of the characters, but I felt compelled to find out what happened. Tash is intrigued to uncover whether a nanny's death was truly an accident or a murder. The police have closed the case and the coroner has ruled it an accident, but some evidence contradicts their findings. Tash is struggling as a freelance journalist and is hoping that this investigation will restart her career. She is also struggling to find the solution to care for her toddler son while she works. He resists going to the playgroup , but another mother invites her son into playdates to help her adapt. Tash is also invited to join a group of wealthy women as well. One of them might know what happened to the nanny. I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher. This is my honest and voluntarily given review. I didn't like to see how increasingly captivated Tash was by the world of the wealthy and how that affected her. Other than the toddlers, there was only one adult character that I like.

This one started out slow but picked up about 30% of the way in. Tash is an investigative journalist who is determined to solve the murder of a nanny in a ritzy suburb of London. This thriller is set in a posh suburb with an upper-class cast of characters who have lots of secrets. Kept me guessing! I just reviewed The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner. #NetGalley

Another stellar novel by Ms. Faulkner. I swore I had it all figured out instantly but nope. Wanting to be accepted is especially hard for mothers and Tash gets caught up in that. Unfortunately, it’s a pretty toxic group.

After a bit of a slow start this book will have you suspecting EVERYONE. I found the pacing of the story to be uneven as there was a lot of care and detail given to the descriptions of parenting and caregiving but then other parts that have to do with the overarching murder mystery were glossed over. In the end, it was a pretty good thriller with a twisty resolution.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner.

Tash is looking for the next big story to jump start her foray into freelance journalism. She has been working from home and taking care of her two year old son, Finn. When a nanny turns up dead in a neighboring community, she begins to investigate the suspicious circumstances. Was Sophie really murdered?
She enrolls Finn in a playgroup in the same nearby neighborhood and is invited to join a mom’s group. They welcome her into their clique, making her son’s transition to school easier. She is happy that he is making friends and adjusting to school, while she makes friends of her own.
But are her new friends connected to the murder she is investigating?

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for this e-arc.*

I thought the plot details were well written even though the nanny murder/murderer troupe is over for me at least. I read it for the complexities of friendship and social aspirations in various random groupings of women. I think the subject has endless possibilities to be
of interest and reflective of the culture. Good and bad comes of mommy groups but tend to be divided as fiction equals the dark side. nonfiction brings more reality than sensationalism usually.. That being said I found the Laura villain to be especially unbelievable and
that made my reading experience less enjoyable.three and a half stars for want8ng to finish the book

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! After enjoying Katherine Faulkner’s debut, Greenwich Park, I was interested to read her follow up. Being a new mum myself I was immediately drawn by the fact that the plot centered around a group of new mums. There are storylines: the present, where our protagonist Tash is desperate to be included in the wealthy mums’ friendship group, the past, which follows the nanny of one of the mums. The nanny is found to be dead at the beginning of the novel and journalist Tash feels the mums group has something to do with it. Cue investigations! For the most part, I enjoyed the story, it was well paced and the observations about motherhood felt relatable. However, there were some questionable actions taken by certain characters and the ending was abit anti climatic. Still, a good thriller overall,

I loved this book! What a page turner. I love a cast of unreliable characters and this certainly delivered! I could not figure out who to trust or how the story would unfold. I highly recommend!