The Mother-In-Law

 

The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth

Fiction

2019

Narrated by Barrie Kreinik

Finished on July 11, 2026

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Someone once told me that you have two families in your life - the one you are born into and the one you choose. Yes, you may get to choose your partner, but you don't choose your mother-in-law. The cackling mercenaries of fate determine it all.

From the moment Lucy met Diana, she was kept at arm's length. Diana is exquisitely polite, but Lucy knows, even after marrying Oliver, that they'll never have the closeness she'd been hoping for.

But who could fault Diana? She was a pillar of the community, an advocate for social justice, the matriarch of a loving family. Lucy had wanted so much to please her new mother-in-law.

That was ten years ago. Now, Diana has been found dead, leaving a suicide note. But the autopsy reveals evidence of suffocation. And everyone in the family is hiding something...

From the bestselling author of The Family Next Door comes a new page-turner about that trickiest of relationships.

Having recently read Mad Mabel, I decided to try another book by Sally Hepworth. While not quite as good as Mad Mabel, this audiobook was entertaining and it kept me guessing. Told from Lucy and Diana's perspectives, both from the past and the present, we gain insight as to why each behave the way in which they do, not only to one another but to other family members. A satisfying read!