When we become moms for the first time, we know that we are going to be navigating things like diapers, picky eating, naptimes, sleepless nights, and playdates. What we don’t really consider is how having children will affect our relationships with other women. Some of my best friends are my friends because of our kiddos, and I am so grateful to have them in my life. On the flipside, mom groups can be full of grown-up mean girls and rife with competition and “keeping up with the Joneses,” that can make it tricky sorting out which of the other mothers is on the same vibration as you are.
This week’s book brought back memories of those days – but with a murdery twist. “The Other Mothers,” by Katherine Faulkner, is a twisty and fast-paced thriller where motherhood and murder collide within an affluent community in London. Tash has been searching for two things – a big story to launch her career as a freelance journalist and a group of friends to help her navigate the ins and outs of being a new mother. When a local nanny turns up dead under mysterious circumstances, Tash thinks she has found the story she has been looking for. Soon, she becomes consumed with uncovering the truth. At the same time, friendships with the other mothers in her son’s playgroup start to take root. Still, Tash is very aware of the stark differences between herself and these sleek, sophisticated mothers who live in a neighborhood of tree-lined avenues and stunning houses. Tash discovers a lifestyle that she has only dreamt of. Their posh London townhouses are a far cry from her cramped basement flat and a mountain of debt. When a second young woman is found dead, Tash sees that there is clearly more to this community than meets the eye. The more she investigates, the more she finds herself uncomfortably close to the other mothers and their involvement in these two murders.
“The Other Mothers” was so twisty and unpredictable that it had me guessing right up until the end. I swear everyone is a suspect, and every time I thought I had it figured out, I was wrong again and again.
If thrillers are your jam, go grab “The Other Mothers” this week; then you can pop over to my Instagram @allison.the.reader, and let’s chat about it. Not only am I interested in what you thought of this book, but maybe we can share some of our own (hopefully murder-free) stories about the other mothers in our lives.
Allison Diegel is the Executive Chaos Coordinator at the Diegel Home for Wayward Girls and Their Many Pets here in her hometown of Fallon. She has been reading since before she could talk, and now she likes doing lots of both.
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