The Mother in Law is a domestic thriller set in Australia. It follows Lucy and her mother in law, Diana, through a series of strange deaths and unexplained events. I got this one for free from Kindle Unlimited and finished it in one sitting on a plane. It’s dark, it’s twisty, and best of all, it’s unexpected.
The Good
I could not put down this book. When was the last time I finished a book in one sitting? I’ll wait….
Yeah, I can’t remember either. So this was a great one. I loved that there were two narrators, and their perspectives were completely different for a shared event. It’s so true to real life. We tend to think our perspective is the only perspective and that couldn’t be further from the truth. This book highlighted that in the best way possible.
I thought the writing itself was great. It’s the best when I can forget that I’m actually reading. The prose shouldn’t pull from the story IMO. (I’m totally guilty of this as a writer 😅 what’s the point of a big vocabulary if I can’t use it?!)
I also enjoyed the story as a whole. It’s basically a murder mystery. I guessed the killer wrong the whole book until the reveal. Nothing worse than guessing whodunit in the first chapter and being right. Not so with this book.
The Bad
The only nitpicking thing that I can think of for the “Bad” section is that a chapter would stop and switch perspectives just as I was getting into that particular part of the storyline. This happened, like, a lot. By hour four or five of reading, it started to get a little exasperating. I totally get that the author wants me to keep reading, but it felt like I was in a constant state of my curiosity not being fully satisfied until the very end. For me, a little uncomfortable to deal with for the whole book. But I guess it did keep me turning the pages.
The Verdict
Solid 5/5, would absolutely recommend to anyone looking for a thriller or a mystery type thing. And probably one I will read again once I’ve forgotten some of the details. 😊
C. Brown 