The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth

14th January 2020 Books

The Mother-in-Law is a whodunnit with a difference. Diana is dead – apparantly by sucide – but it is soon clear that things are not as they seem and Diana has in fact been murdered. As this story unfolds, it seems that more people wanted to see her dead than alive.

This is my first book of 2020 and I have to say, it was a good one!

Girl meets boy and then girl meets boys mother. Whatever Lucy wanted from her mother in law, it wasn’t Diana. Perfectly polite but always kept at arms length, the forced relationship they have is not the one she always wanted.

Now Diana is dead and a suicide note has been found. It says that she no longer wanted to live because of her battle with cancer but the thing is, the autopsy finds that there was no cancer.

I really enjoyed this book. Not only is it a great thriller that has you guessing as to who hated Diana enough to actually kill her, but it’s also a wonderful exploration of relationships.

Relationships between a mother and her children, and of course those between a mother and the women our sons marry. Lucy is desperate for the mother/daughter relationship that she lost when he own mother died years before, but it’s immediately clear that she will not be getting that from Diana.

Told from Lucy and Diana’s perspective both then and now, this is an interesting story which shows how easily actions can be misunderstood and how relationships suffer as a result.

Written in a style which flows well and is easy to follow, this is a great book to curl up with of an evening when the kids are in bed and you have an hour or two to indulge! The Mother-in-Law is currently available on Amazon.

If you enjoyed this review, they why not check out my other book reviews to help pick your next read.