Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

When Lucy met her mother-in-law, Diana, she had high hopes that they’d have a tight-knit, loving relationship. After losing her own mother to cancer at thirteen, Lucy was desperate for a motherly figure in her life. While Lucy instantly connected with Ollie’s dad, Tom, it definitely wasn’t the same with Diana. They didn’t have the mother-daughter relationship she’d hoped for, and over the next decade, their relationship remained tumultuous. So when the police knock on Ollie and Lucy’s door one evening to tell them Diana has died, they’re both shocked. They said it appears to be a suicide, but when detectives from the homicide department start appearing at their doorstep to question them, it’s made apparent that the police no longer believe Diana caused her own death. Although Lucy and Diana didn’t have the best relationship, Lucy knew Diana loved her family. So of course she wouldn’t want to hurt her mother-in-law, but there are plenty of people in Diana’s life that would. And it appears that Diana wasn’t being completely honest herself. The breast cancer she apparently was battling seemed to be nonexistent. Why would someone lie about being terminally ill? Questions about Diana’s death remain in the air. And the secrets of this family start seeping through the cracks. If Lucy, the person with seemingly the most motive to murder Diana, didn’t kill her, then who is to blame for Diana’s death? The Mother-in-Law is Sally Hepworth’s newest domestic suspense. I’ve seen quite a few books going around recently about mother-in-laws, some lackluster. But The Mother-in-Law was masterfully written and kept me fully engaged from start to finish. Told through both Diana and Lucy’s perspectives, “past” and “present,” a picture of both their lives, and their complicated relationship, is painted. This is my first Sally Hepworth read, but certainly won’t be my last—4.25/5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Sally Hepworth for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.