The Mother Next Door: A Novel of Suspense

· Sold by Harlequin
5.0
4 reviews
Ebook
339
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

“A polished and entertaining homage to Big Little Lies and Desperate Housewives… The denouement is bonkers, but satisfying.”
—The New York Times Book Review

“A witty, wicked thriller packed with hidden agendas, juicy secrets, and pitch-perfect satire of the suburban dream.”
—Andrea Bartz, New York Times bestselling author of We Were Never Here

GOOD MOTHERS…
Never show their feelings.
Never spill their secrets.
Never admit to murder.

The annual Halloween block party is the pinnacle of the year on idyllic suburban cul-de-sac Ivy Woods Drive. An influential group of neighborhood moms—known as the Ivy Five—plans the event for months.

Except the Ivy Five has been four for a long time.

When a new mother moves to town, eager to fit in, the moms see it as an opportunity to make the group whole again. This year’s block party should be the best yet... until the women start receiving anonymous messages threatening to expose the quiet neighborhood’s dark past—and the lengths they’ve gone to hide it.

As secrets seep out and the threats intensify, the Ivy Five must sort the loyal from the disloyal, the good from the bad. They’ll do anything to protect their families. But when a twisted plot is revealed, with dangerous consequences, their steady foundation begins to crumble, leaving only one certainty: after this year’s block party, Ivy Woods Drive will never be the same.

“Suspenseful, compulsively readable… Extremely fun to read." —ShelfAwareness

*Don't miss The Weekend Retreat, Tara Laskowski's next novel of suspense. Available now for preorder!

Ratings and reviews

5.0
4 reviews
Chelsea Taylor
August 8, 2021
Ohh I simply adore womens fiction/psychological thrillers! Add in a Halloween setting and I am sold! A group of women on Ivy Woods Drive call themselves the Ivy Five. Only when new mom Theresa comes to town, there's only four. And suspiciously no one wants to explain where the fifth woman is. Everyone has secrets, and just because Theresa is quickly christened as the new fifth of the five, it doesn't mean they trust her yet. As one by one secrets are revealed and relationships are put to the test, who is taunting the Ivy Five is a wonderful jaw dropping surprise until the very end. I couldn't put this down! It was so so good. The more and more I read the more questions I had and the farther I had to go. Just one more page kept me up with the sun, but this book was honestly worth it. Drama, suspense, and hidden secrets mixed with high society social lady drama made for a perfect Halloween read! Five BIG stars! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Thank you to NetGalley, Tara Laskowski, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
1 person found this review helpful
Did you find this helpful?
DJ Sakata
November 9, 2021
This was cleverly paced and shrewdly plotted with just the right levels of humor and irony to temper the intrigue and needling angsty suspense that kept tickling my gray matter. The author is new to me and I enjoyed her writing style and hope to read much more of it in the future as her prose was smartly provocative yet easy to follow and called up sharp visuals behind my eyes. She craftily stuffed agile narratives with uniquely compelling characters who kept me a bit on edge and curious to know more about each one, although I wouldn’t want to share air with any of them.
Did you find this helpful?
Sheri Steuben
October 12, 2021
A new family moves to town and brings their own secrets to an already secret filled street. The setting is October and Halloween is a big part of the book. Several years ago something happened to one of the mothers on the street on Halloween and someone wants revenge this year. I liked the setting and the book being told from multiple POV. This story is filled with secrets and I loved how they intertwined.
Did you find this helpful?

About the author

TARA LASKOWSKI is the author of One Night Gone, which won the Agatha Award for Best First Novel and was a finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark, Anthony, Macavity, and Lefty Awards. She is also the author of two short story collections, Modern Manners for Your Inner Demons and Bystanders. Tara earned a BA from Susquehanna University and an MFA from George Mason University and currently lives in Virginia. Find her on Twitter and Instagram, @TaraLWrites.

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.