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Readers' rating:
Published Dec 2023
384 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
The author of the "twisty, fast-paced" (The Sunday Times, London) Greenwich Park returns with a fresh and deftly paced thriller about murder, class, and motherhood in an exclusive London community.
When a young nanny is found dead in mysterious circumstances, new mom, Tash, is intrigued. She has been searching for a story to launch her career as a freelance journalist. But she has also been searching for something else—new friends to help her navigate motherhood.
She sees them at her son's new playgroup. The other mothers. A group of sleek, sophisticated women who live in a neighborhood of tree-lined avenues and stunning houses. The sort of mothers Tash herself would like to be. When the mothers welcome her into their circle, Tash discovers the kind of life she has always dreamt of—their elegant London townhouses a far cry from her cramped basement flat and endless bills. She is quickly swept up into their wealthy world via coffees, cocktails, and playdates.
But when another young woman is found dead, it's clear there's much more to the community than meets the eye. The more Tash investigates, the more she's led uncomfortably close to the other mothers. Are these women really her friends? Or is there another, more dangerous reason why she has been so quickly accepted into their exclusive world? Who, exactly, is investigating who?
"[A] pulse-pounding domestic thriller...Faulkner expertly interweaves Tash's increasingly paranoid first-person-present narration with sections from Sophie's perspective that detail her final months. Plausible suspects, persuasive red herrings, and seismic reveals enliven the precisely crafted plot. This one grips from start to shocking finish." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"[A] menace-infused thriller...Faulkner is a pro at ever-so-gradually ratcheting up the tension bit by tiny, spine-tingling bit. And, as the narrative deftly swings between timeframes...we get a vertiginous view of just how tightly a group of people's lives can be inexorably twisted together. Faulkner pulls out all the psychological-thriller stops—and then some." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Fans of Ashley Audrain and Chandler Baker will enjoy the similar themes of motherhood, the unspoken parts of women's relationships, desire, envy, and heart-pounding suspense. The alternating timelines build anticipation but the twists will keep readers guessing to the last page." —Library Journal
"Next-level mum noir, The Other Mothers is a brilliant portrayal of the complexities of parenthood, work and - oh yes - murder. Smart, tense and gripping. Loved it!" —Ellery Lloyd, author of New York Times bestseller and Reese's Bookclub pick The Club
"Katherine Faulkner unpeels Fornasetti wallpaper and opens glass box extensions, revealing delectably dislikeable characters, secrets - and murder. The Other Mothers is The Undoing meets Big Little Lies. A fast-paced, decadent skewering of upper middle-class motherhood." —Abigail Dean, author of New York Times bestseller Girl A
"A super-smart thriller... I was utterly captivated by the way this novel reeled me in, slowly revealing the layers of the wonderfully intricate plot. Smart, slick, and highly recommended." —Sarah Bonner, author of the number one New York Times bestselling Her Perfect Twin
This information about The Other Mothers was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Katherine Faulkner, an award-winning journalist, studied history at Cambridge. She has worked as an investigative reporter and an editor and was formerly the joint Head of News at The Times (London). She lives in London, where she grew up, with her husband and two daughters. She is the author of The Other Mothers and Greenwich Park.
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