The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth

This is really real. Teacher Tired, especially at the beginning of the year, is its own kind of hades. Up at 5:00am, out the door at 6:15am, in the school by 6:45am, non-stop with the students from 7:00am to 2:05pm (including lunch time and manning the traffic circle at dismissal.) Planning time? Oh no, hunny. That’s called “Go-to-Whatever-Meeting-Has-Been-Squeezed-Into-This-15-Minute-Window” time. Do I sound bitter? I’m not bitter, just EXHAUSTED. And this is why middle school teachers are the craziest.

Anyway, I guess it could be worse. And I’ll hold onto the hope that this absolute chaos will calm down as we all get into a new routine and work out the kinks in the system. Lucky for coastal Virginia teachers though, we were able to snag Friday off, without any serious damage being suffered at the whims of Hurricane Dorian. It was already much needed (all that planning time I didn’t get was paid in full.)

Unsurprisingly, I have not had a moment to sit down and lose myself in a book this week. I’m generally a believer in taking at least an half an hour to unwind at the end of the day, but I just wasn’t able to put that into practice. As is usually the case, as the school year progresses, a more livable and healthy routine will develop. Or at least I hope so. Ya girl needs her reading time. It’s my therapy so I don’t morph into 2007 Britney Spears, you feel me?

THANK GOD for audiobooks! I listen when I’m getting ready in the morning, driving to work, going to the gym, and driving back home. They’re just another tool to step into another world and get wrapped up in the lives and problems of other people.

The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth was not at all what I was expecting, but in the best way. The synopsis describes the story as “twisty and compelling,” which it is, but it’s not as much a thriller as it is a dissection of all the ways people can misunderstand one another. Which can sometimes result in inexplicable consequences.

The story is told from two perspectives with flashbacks, spanning from the 1970s, to the first time Lucy is introduced to Ollie’s family, and to the present. In present day, Lucy is married to Ollie and they have three small children together. When the reader is introduced to their family at the beginning of the story, they are at home and being visited by two police officers. The police have come to inform them of Ollie’s mother’s death, which appears to be the result of suicide.

Diana is a woman who keeps the secrets of her past close to her chest. From the beginning, she appears cold, closed, and detached – the polar opposite of a maternal figure. Unfettered by the trivialities of everyday life, including emotions and matters of the heart, Diana is practical and business like in all things. This extends to her relationship with her children, Ollie and Nettie, whom she refuses to dote on and never extends help to (especially when it comes to money) when it is asked for. Diana only diverges from this trait when dealing with the love of her life, Tom (the polar opposite of her in every way – warm, affectionate, and boisterous), and the pregnant refugee women she helps through her charity.

But Diana is not a character that can be assessed at face value alone. Events from her past strongly dictate the state of her character in the present. As the story progresses and the familial matters become more and more murky, Lucy begins to try to untangle the circumstances of her mother-in-law’s death. Is Diana’s suicide exactly what it appears to be? Or is there something more sinister at its core?

An all-consuming read that will keep you guessing until the very end. If you’re thinking this is a book about an evil mother-in-law and her beat down daughter-in-law, you would be mistaken (because I was) though it might appear to be at the beginning. There are a lot of twists in the storyline that ultimately had me sympathizing with Diana in the final chapter. If anything, this is a book that shows we are all human, we all make mistakes, and we all have to face the consequences of our decisions (even if we mean to help, but unwittingly hurt.)

This was definitely a 5/5 for me! If you’re interested in audiobooks, I highly recommend this one. I look forward to indulging in more of Sally Hepworth’s books!

A few other books by Sally Hepworth, that sound pretty outstanding:

Hope you get to pick this one up and dive into a few other good reads this month!

Happy & heathy reading!

Lexi