New mom Tash has been searching for a story to launch her career as a freelance journalist. When a young nanny named Sophie is found dead under mysterious circumstances, Tash decides to investigate her death. Tash has also been searching for new friends to help her navigate motherhood. She sees them at her son's playgroup: the other mothers. These sleek, sophisticated women are the sort of mothers that Tash would like to be. When they invite Tash into their circle, Tash discovers the life she has always dreamed about and is quickly swept up into their wealthy world. As Tash continues her investigation, she begins to wonder if her new friends are connected to Sophie's death. When another young woman is found dead and Tash begins receiving threats, it's clear that someone will stop at nothing to prevent the truth from being revealed.

This was such a juicy, captivating thriller! The story is told from alternating timelines and points of view: Tash in the present and Sophie in the past. I loved Sophie's POV and the countdown of the days, hours, and even minutes leading up to her death. It really made this an exciting page-turner. With the dual POVs, I wasn't sure who or what to believe, which kept me guessing until the shocking conclusion. There were so many twists and revelations at the end. Some were surprising and unpredictable, but others were a little outlandish and over-the-top. Overall, a gripping page-turner, and I look forward to reading more from the author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 ⭐️
A journalist joins a mothers’ group trying to find out what happened to a nanny who died mysteriously months before.

Overall, I thought this one was recent. I do think the suspense could have been greater or it could’ve been shorter. There were times it dragged on a little. I found Tash to be an unsympathetic protagonist at times as well, which made it harder to connect with the story. There are some twists toward the end, that while not crazy, do add a little element of surprise at the end.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you’ve ever been a mother and/or were part of a play group, this book will make you worry. Tremendously descriptive of a motherhood clique and made me reflect on my own motherhood experiences. Combine maternal friendships with murder, romance, adorable children, disturbed children, and strange men with questionable morals and you have quite a twisty, somewhat complicated read. The intrigue was fascinating but a bit complicated and unbelievable. I enjoyed the story but may I not ever be involved in a group like this. But if you like a good plot twist, actually many plot twists, murder mysteries, and sneaky characters, this is a good choice. It will hold your attention.

Thanks to Net Galley and Gallery Books for the Advanced Reader Copy.

There is a lot of talk in this book about all things mother, almost to the point of being too much. I was attracted to the suspense aspect of the book, and the promise of an additional death which didn't happen until well passed the half way point. Chapters continue to alternate between Sophie and Tash right up until ONE MINUTE before Sophie’s death, with the full TRUTH is not revealed until the epilogue

As a young journalist struggles to get her freelance career off the ground, she gets drawn into a mystery surrounding a group of mothers and a young nanny who was found dead.
Written from dual POVs of Tash, a young mother and freelance journalist, and Sophie, a young nanny who was tragically found dead this book is definitely a twisty ride. I found myself sympathizing with both Tash and Sophie in the first two-thirds of the book. But hang on to your hats for the last third. I always love when I don’t see endings coming and I definitely did not guess the end to this one!!
This was my first book that I have read by Katherine Faulkner and I am interested to read more books by this author in the future!

Thank you to Gallery books and net galley.com for the ARC.

Natasha “Tash” Carpenter is a freelance journalist struggling to balance her career and motherhood and is thrilled when she finds a playgroup for her son Finn in a wealthy neighborhood near her home. She starts spending time with other mothers in the group while she begins investigating the death of local nanny Sophie Blake as a way to reignite her journalism career. She starts to uncover links between Sophie, the other mothers in the playgroup, their spouses, and her own husband. But when she starts getting anonymous threats, she realizes something is seriously wrong. Unfortunately, she’s been unable to persuade the police to relook at Sophie’s case and finds herself playing amateur detective while wondering who she can trust.

This was a solid read. The author ratchets up the tension bit by bit, using alternating perspectives to build anticipation—Natasha’s increasingly paranoid first-person narration is interspersed with sections from Sophie’s perspective that detail her final months. The book is filled with a lot of plausible suspects and shocking reveals, and the twists will keep you guessing until the very end. Fans of domestic thrillers will want to check this one out.

I was really excited to read this as I enjoyed Greenwich Park and it did not disappoint. This thriller centers around Tash, a journalist and mother to a toddler who is struggling to find her place in her new chapter—specifically adjust her young son to his playgroup and bonding with other moms. All around her, the suspicious death of a young nanny looms, especially once she starts digging and things spiral to a point of no return. Tash is an interesting, often frustrating—relatable so!—protagonist who is in the midst of an identity crisis, both in her career and in trying to find a community of other mothers.... until a group of posh moms take her under their wing, setting both aspects of her life on a collision course. There are so many twists, turns and even a few red herrings in this book, which I ultimately inhaled quite quickly. I can't wait to see what Katherine Faulkner does next.

Really good story packed full of twists and red herrings! Be careful what you wish for - there is evil that lies in those dreams. Well written and evenly paced. A page turner!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for this ARC!

This book is enthralling but there are SO many characters that are so alike that it feels like it drags on a little bit.

I will admit that it was a little challenging for me to follow the characters/pace of The Other Mothers at first. I decided to stick with it and I’m really glad that I did!

The story is told from the point of view of Tash, a journalist whose son, Finn, goes to playgroup in London where wealthy families in the area send their children as well. She begins to uncover a complicated past among the women of the group and quickly begins to realize that all may not be as it seems.

The second point of view is that of Sophie, a live in nanny for one of the families. She is not without her own set of challenges as well.

If you are hoping to find a book that has several twists and turns, The Other Mothers is a great choice. I can genuinely say I’m glad I stuck with it and was NOT expecting the ending at all.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was unable to finish this book and thus will not be posting a full review. Despite loving this author's last book, I found this book to be so slow, boring and I found myself dreading every chapter. Thank you for the opportunity.

The Other Mothers was a decent thriller but fairly unremarkable. I enjoyed it but doubt I’ll remember much about it in a week or two.

This book started out super slow for me. It gave me a very uneasy vibe that made it hard for me to want to pick up and not much was actually happened. About 20% I became really invested and the pace picked up quite a bit. Overall, I think this book was a bit too long for the story it was telling.

I felt that a lot of the “twists” were fairly predictable but I was guessing for most of the story and that kept me pretty engaged. I also really liked the alternating POV in the book.

The ending was a bit outlandish and usually I don’t mind that but in this book it did have me rolling me eyes a bit.

Overall I liked but didn’t love this one.

Thank you netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I've never read anything by this author, and the premise sounded interesting. However, I struggled to stay engaged. I didn't really care for any of the characters, particularly Tash. Lots of talk about parenting, which takes away from the mystery. The murder plot almost seemed like an afterthought. The characters weren't very distinct and blended together. The ending was probably the best part.

Huge thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for the advanced copy of The Other Mothers. This one comes out soon (Dec 5th) and trust me, you are going to want to add it to your list! Wowowow. Twisty, engaging, suspenseful and a willdddd ending - everything you could ask for in a domestic thriller and probably in my top 5 favorites. I highly reccomend especially if you love neighborhood and mom group drama!

Synopsis: Tash, a new mom and journalist is struggling to help her toddler, Finn, adjust to play-group. A few of the other mothers take her under their wing and start scheduling play dates which then leads to expensive spa days, brunches and coffee trips. Tash gets wrapped up in their luxurious and perfect lives even though she can’t afford it. At the same time, she starts getting back into freelance journaling which leads to her investigating the death of a young nanny. As Tash starts to uncover details about the case, she starts to question the other mothers intentions.

Not my favorite. I thought the ending fell flat and I felt it took way to long to get into the action of the story. It just wasn't the right book for me.

I read "Greenwich Village" after receiving it as a gift so I was really excited to get my hands on Faulkner's sophomore novel! I have to admit, it took me a few times to really get into the plot as the first few chapters kind of dragged on for me. After that, the pacing really hit the ground running! I enjoyed the alternating POV that helped us to put everything together piece by piece - Faulkner has a great knack for thriller writing! This one hit a little close to home being a toddler mom, but I really enjoyed it. The ending felt a little disjointed, but still interesting and fit well with the rest of the plot. Thanks so much for the ARC - can't wait for what she releases next!

I loved Katherine Faulkner's debut Greenwhich Park last year, and I when I saw this second book from her being compared to Big Little Lies, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. It delivered on it's comparison and then some!

When a young nanny is found dead, new mom and newly freelance journalist Tash thinks she's found a story to relaunch her career. At the same time, she finds herself swept up in the playgroup friendship of three wealthy mothers, and when another body is found, she questions everything she thinks she's figured out about the nanny's death. Wondering who she can trust, Tash's world starts crumbling in on itself, and she's forced to decide how much discovering and telling the truth is really worth.

I was so hooked on the story from the very beginning. Faulkner does a great job getting right into the middle of the action, and when I thought I had it figured out around 65%, she proved me completely wrong with a stellar ending.

Fans of salacious, suspenseful domestic thrillers need to add this to their TBR right now!

Even though I don't have kids, I still enjoyed this story. Tash struggles with being a new mother to her son Finn and she just doesn't fit in with the other mothers. They all live a lavish lifestyle that Tash can't keep up with since her husband Tom is a new doctor and she works from home as a journalist. Her last big article was about a young nanny, Sophie, that died by 'accident' near her neighborhood. When Sophie's mom Jane comes to Tash and asks her to look into Sophie death because she doesn't believe it was an accident, she soon finds out secrets linked to Sophie and the other mothers.

Tash starts getting anonymous messages telling her to Stop Digging. Apparently, someone has found out that she is looking into Sophie's death. As she continues to dig further (since she just can't help herself - she's a journalist after all), the messages become more aggressive.

I enjoyed the suspense and the drama around all these mothers and their husbands. The POV's alternate between present Tash and past Sophie creating a nice plot pace between the 2 women. The conclusion seemed a little rushed and OTT, but overall, it was an entertaining book.

Characters you love to hate, slow burn suspense, and plot twists galore- Faulkner’s new novel delivers all of these and more. More than the typical domestic suspense novel, The Other Mothers takes the “mom group” trope and twists it into something sinister and disturbing.

I read this author’s debut, “Greenwich Park”, in 2021, and absolutely loved it., so I was very excited to get her sophomore novel as well. This is your typical neighborhood thriller/drama - with a twist. A few twists, actually! Sometimes I get tired of the Real Housewives trope, but this book made these rich and troubled women feel more fresh than flat.

A young woman named Sophie is the centerpiece of the story. She was a nanny who ended up dead after doing some “wild swimming” in a dangerous body of water. At least, that’s what the police said when they closed their case on her death. Then along comes Tash, a freelance journalist, and her husband, Tom. Tash feels like there is more to Sophie’s death, and begins investigating. Maybe this story will be her big break?

Tash has also met some other moms in town while at a local playgroup. These are the intimidating moms, the moms with Lululemon and Botox and nannies, who all have perfect hair and skin and nails. Tash knows she doesn’t fit in with this group, but she also wants to make friends, despite it severely affecting her bank account. As her investigation into Sophie’s death continues, these women also become wells of information…but somebody wants her to stop looking. Is it one of her new friends?

Perhaps turning this book into a journalistic endeavor was what made it better than most other types of these stories, because normally those go in my three-star category, but I’m giving this four stars. We get to hear a lot of Sophie’s voice, and that also makes the whole thing more compelling. This does have a few overdone thriller elements, but overall, it was a great story that made for a quick read!

(Thank you to Gallery Books, Katherine Faulkner and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on December 5, 2023.)