The Mother-in-Law: everyone in this family is hiding something

Sally Hepworth

Apr 2019 · Hachette UK

About this ebook

From the bestselling author of The Family Next Door comes a new domestic page-turner about that trickiest of relationships and what happens when it all goes wrong

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'Fiction at its finest' Liane Moriarty, Number One bestselling author

'Perfect for fans of BIG LITTLE LIES' - Library Journal

She has never approved of you. But it's when her body is found the secrets really start to come out ...

From the moment Lucy met her husband's mother, Diana, she was kept at arm's length. Diana was exquisitely polite, and perfectly friendly, but Lucy knew that she was not what Diana envisioned. Even so, Lucy wanted so much to please her new mother-in-law.

That was five years ago.

Now, Diana has been found dead, a suicide note near her body. Diana claims that she no longer wanted to live because of a battle with cancer.

But the autopsy finds no cancer.
The autopsy does find traces of poison and suffocation.

Everyone in the family is hiding something. But what? And where will the secrets stop?

With Lucy's secrets getting deeper and her relationship with her mother-in-law growing more complex as the pages turn, this new novel from Sally Hepworth is sure to add to her growing legion of fans.

'The best book that I have read in a long time... Would make an amazing tv series. Does not disappoint!' Reader Reviewer

'Prepare for Gone Girl-level twists' Refinery29

'Wow! What a conclusion!' Reader Reviewer

'Brilliant characterisation, great story, a genuine five star read' Reader Reviewer

'I read this book in just two days because I just couldn't put it down' Reader Reviewer

'The Mother-in-Law is indeed twisty and suspenseful, but even more than that, it's clever and nuanced' Kelly Rimmer, bestselling author of Me Without You

Ratings and reviews

A mesmerising tale of family dynamics, this is very easy to read; I was drawn in from the  beginning and seemed to reach the end very quickly! Lucy loves Ollie; from the very first moment she met his parents she found his father, Tom, to be a warm and generous person. However Diana, his mother, was definitely chilly and stand-offish and it's gripping to follow the relationship between the parents and their children; Ollie has a sister, Nettie. Like all families, there is what you see on the surface and what lies hidden beneath. Luckily, this novel follows both Lucy and Diana through the years, allowing us to peep into the history of each of them and get both perspectives. This is my first Sally Hepworth novel and I find myself wondering why I haven't read this author before? The story is spell-binding, with no obvious outcome. It is fast flowing, well-structured, skilfully crafted and such an easy read! I was very lucky with my own mother-in-law; with six children she was a warm and loving person and very accepting of me as a second wife. I now realise how lucky I was - Diana is certainly a bit of a cold fish but there are reasons for this and I felt as if I understood her more as the book progressed. Such clever writing didn't reveal anything until almost the end - and I didn't see that coming! A fabulous story, and thoroughly enjoyable. Another author to add to my ever-growing list of favourites, and definitely a 5* read.

Very good read. She keeps up the suspense

The mother-in-law

About the author

Sally Hepworth is the New York Times bestselling author of six novels, most recently The Good Sister (2020) which was an instant bestseller. Her novel The Mother-In-Law (2019) has been optioned for a TV series by Hollywood actress and producer Amy Poehler. Drawing on the good, the bad and the downright odd of human behaviour, Sally writes incisively about family, relationships, drama and identity. Her novels have been translated into 20 languages. Sally lives in Melbourne, Australia with her family.