The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lucy is folding laundry at her dining room table when a police car pulls up to the home she shares with her husband, Ollie, and their three children.  Although there is no fanfare—no lights or sirens—it's never good news when they make a house call. The police have come to inform them that Ollie's mother, Diana, has died in an apparent suicide although they are still investigating.

Diana has always been polite to Lucy, but has kept her at a distance.  It was apparent the first time they met that they would never have the closeness that Lucy had always hoped for, especially since she lost her own mother.

Upon further investigation it appears that Diana's death is a result of suffocation and everyone appears to be hiding something... But who would want to hurt Diana? She's was a pillar of the community, a wonderful wife and mother, and an advocate for social justice.

The story moves back and forth between Lucy and Diana, between past and present, and explores the complexity of relationships—especially between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.  The two person perspective was brilliant, we were able to see both sides of a situation and how easy things can be misconstrued.

One of my favourite quotes was:

"I think about all my conversations with Jan and Liz and Kathy about daughters-in-laws. We'd always focused on how different they are from us, how their mothering is different, their attitudes are different. We've never once focused on our similarities. As women. As wives. As mothers. It occurs to me suddenly that there are a lot more of them."

Relationships are hard, and especially hard are the ones with people you didn't choose to be in a relationship with. There is definitely a dance that mother-in-laws and daughter-in-laws do around each other. It's because they both love the same man in different capacities—one gave him life and raised him, the other shares their life with him and may even give him life (children). This book explores this dynamic, as well as looks at the relationships between a husband and wife, a parent and child, and between siblings.   

This was an incredible read and I was absolutely riveted.  I have nothing but effusive praise for Sally Hepworth's novel. Her characterization was rich and layered as were the family dynamics and on top of it all was a great mystery.

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SALLY HEPWORTH  is the author of five books, most notably The Secrets of Midwives, a novel she published in 2015.  She has been featured in media outlets that have included USA Today, The New York Times, and The Sydney Morning Herald.

Hepworth is based in Melbourne, Australia.