August book club - The Mother-In-Law by Sally Hepworth

Thank you so much for the copy of The Mother in Law. Once I started this book I couldn't put it down, I really identified with Lucy. I had a difficult relationship with my own mother in law and couldn't wait to see how the book ended. I have now got a feel for Sally's writing and intend to buy her other titles so thanks gransnet for introducing me to another writer.

Thanks for sending me a copy of The Mother in Law by Sally Hepworth. I thoroughly enjoyed the book from start to finish. Diana’s interactions with family members were certainly thought-provoking and I changed my opinion of her more than once during the course of the book! Will recommend to my reading friends and book group.

Thanks for my copy of TheMother in Law. What an intriguing read. When I first looked at the book I was a bit dubious whether I would enjoy it or would it be assigned to the try again later pile.I was hooked from page 1. It is one of the few books i have read where shifting back and forward in time works well. As the story unravelled it held my interest through out. The ending a complete surprise with a real feel good factor to finish. Can I ask Sally will Oliver and Lucy's tale end there or will there be more to come? I shall deinitely be reading The Family Next Door.

Thank you for my copy of The Mother in Law. It was a griping read which I had trouble putting down. I am not usually a fan of books which jump back and forwards but this told the back story really well without complicating the story. I was surprised by the ending and have passed this on to a friend to read. I will definitely be reading all of Sally Hepworth's books

The Mother-in Law by Sally Hepworth

My first book by this Author and I have enjoyed reading it. It is very thought provoking and highlights the importance of communicating clearly to your loved ones, listening, asking questions and not supposing that people know what you are thinking about.

The Diana states in her final message to her children:-
‘I could have written more, but in the end, there’s really only two pieces of wisdom worth leaving behind. I worked hard for everything I ever cared about. and nothing I ever cared about cost a single cent.’

As a Mother-in-law myself I felt closer to that character though I could never countenance the breaking of a beautiful vase, not because of the value but the beauty of it’s creation.
I am afraid I pictured her in my mind as Diana Rigg the Actor straight from the beginning.

So my question to Sally is :- Did you picture Diana as Diana Rigg in your mind? and if so who was Lucy?

I enjoyed reading this book, thought that it was very well written. I have a couple of points though - where did Diana and Tom get their money? They are Uber rich unusual for a working man to become that successful. Diana had no problems spending it - marble staircases and lux home by the beach. this jars with her refusal to help her children financially. Still a good read, definitely will look out for other books by Sally Hepworth

Looks like this was a good read. I'll treat myself .

The book was gripping from the start, and I really enjoyed it. I found the skipping from present, back to the past, then forward again, quite easy to follow. It shows how you can misjudge people’s intentions and motives. I also wondered how Tom and Diana made so much money. (Wasn’t Tom (just) a plumber when they met?)

Just a quick question - in the blurb on the back of the book it says Lucy first met her mother-in-law five years ago. However when Diana is found dead, Lucy is married and her eldest child is seven years old. Is this an error by the publisher?!

I also enjoyed this book. As the mother of sons and mother in law to two women I was a little concerned that the book may just portray a stereotype. Far from it. I found all the characters believable The moving from past to present and back again was easy to follow and logical, answering questions I had about the characters as I read. The book reminded me of the importance of words not said and how they can impact others and burden relationships.. I found this an unusual, easy to read and captivating book while also wondering about the origins of Tom and Diana’s wealth. My question to the author is did she base Diana on a real person/people or is she totally fictional? I shall look out for other books by this author.

Thank you for my copy of The Mother-in-Law. It seemed really promising after the first chapter.

I don't want to be too negative about it but there were things that were irritating and distracting throughout.

As someone has previously mentioned the timeline is not consistent. I also wondered about the believability of the wealth and would have liked to have been shown more about the origins of this and the relationship between Tom and Diana.

There were proof and editing gripes throughout eg:

bug the house themselves instead of buy

hair behind the eyes instead of ears

Lucy and Ollie's house seemed open plan but then later they talked about going into different rooms.

Personally, I didn't relate or warm to the characters. I really couldn't understand Diana, although I warmed to her slightly more in the final third of the book, as things were coming together. I also couldn't get the Diana character having a bunk up in the back of a car with someone she didn't love.

It was well written and I quite enjoyed the read but maybe not quite pacy enough for me.

Wow! The Mother in law had me swapping my mind throughout the book, Diana was an incredible character, with so many different layers, one minute I hated her, then I would warm to her, then think nope she is horrible,. I loved the book. Thanks so much x

I enjoyed this book although it is not the genre I would normally go for. I particularly liked the way the characters revealed themselves gradually through the story. I did feel that Patrick was a less fleshed out character than the others and I feel his back story and relationship with Nettie could have been explored further.

I've just bought the book through Amazon. Was it possible to buy it through Gransnet ?

Looking forward to starting it over the weekend.

Really enjoyed this book liked how it flitted from past to present giving history about each character . When I read what Diana had done with her will i thought what a nasty thing to do , then read the reason why she did it I thought very clever . I would like to ask Sally her opinion on assisted suicide ?

This struck me as a very Gransnet theme for a book. Given how many Gransnet threads relate to family issues and misunderstandings, you could be forgiven for concluding that there is possibly no relationship more prone to problems than that between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law

Set in Australia and told from the perspectives of the mother-in-law Diana and the daughter-in-law Lucy, the chapters alternate between past and present as the who-dunnit of Diana’s death is unravelled. The author handled this well, developing the key characters into more rounded individuals with strengths, weaknesses and mixed motives, people you could empathise with.

The scenes which were replayed by Lucy and Diana in turn were cleverly done too, highlighting how easy it is to misunderstand and misconstrue, and the lasting impact of what we mean to say but don’t. The story of the necklace lent to Lucy on her wedding day served too to symbolize how very hard it is to switch on to a better footing once something has become a matter of resentment.

As others have already mentioned, there were a few niggles around the time scale, stemming from the editorial blurb on the back cover. Also the lack of a back story for Tom and Diana’s wealth. That said, I found this an easy, enjoyable read.
Thanks to GN and Sally Hepworth

I’d like to ask the author whether there are any plans to adapt this for film/TV; also, does she have any preferred actors to portray the key characters?

I’ve just finished reading this and really enjoyed it. I liked the way it gave the perspectives of different characters, and that it went back and forth in time. It was very easy to read so was perfect as I read it on holiday. I will look out for the other novels written by Sally Hepworth. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to read this. ?

My question to the author is, “what inspired you to write this novel?”

I finished this book in the day as I wanted to get to the conclusion,as seems to be a popular style at the moment this book jumps around the timeline giving the chapter up to each character at a time.It is quite thought provoking,how do others perceive us ?do we give people the true impression of ourselves and should we sometimes let the veneer slide and do things spontaneously? Life has so many twists that we sometimes do not realise what is happening until it's too late,I wonder if such a twist inspired the author to write this book and if she had come across a character such as Diana who was just too scared to let her true self through and as a consequence missed out on a lot of joy that she could have had! It will certainly make me think more about the way I act as a mother in law!

Bought this and am almost finished. Very good read indeed.

Thank you for my copy of "The Mother-in-Law". I started reading it and wasn't particularly enamoured, persevered and enjoyed it to a certain extent. I felt some descriptions were unnecessary and where more detail would have been helpful there was a dearth of it. The reaction of Lucy to some of Diana's comments was really immature, still, there wouldn't have been a book without them. Not really my sort of thing but all reading is worthwhile, thank you again.

I finished this book in two sittings as I really wanted to get to the conclusion. I enjoyed the exploring of Lucy’s feeling re losing her Mother and almost looking for a replacement. Not my normal type of novel but welcomed the opportunity to read something different so thank you.Have passed it on to my neighbour to enjoy.