The Book:
The Mother in Law by Sally Hepworth, 2019
The Characters:
Married couple Lucy and Ollie, Ollie’s mother Diana, and sister Nettie
The Plot (from the publisher):
From the moment Lucy met her husband’s mother, Diana, she was kept at arm’s length. Diana was exquisitely polite and properly friendly, but Lucy knew that she was not what Diana envisioned. But who could fault Diana? She was a pillar of the community, an advocate for social justice who helped female refugees assimilate to their new country. Diana was happily married to Tom and lived in wedded bliss for decades. 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. Who could possibly want Diana dead? Why was her will changed at the eleventh hour to disinherit both of her adult children and their spouses?
The Twist:
Diana had planned to commit suicide after her husband’s death. She had researched it thoroughly and bought drugs online that would kill her painlessly. She changed her will not to include any of her children so that they would not have a motive for murdering her. When she needed help from Lucy to pay for the drugs with Bitcoin, she confided with her about her plans and they finally grew close.
Eventually, Diana decided not to go through with the suicide. She told Lucy she had called it off.
Nettie was desperate for a baby but couldn’t have her own, so she killed Diana since Diana wouldn’t give her money for a surrogate. Diana had told Nettie about her suicide plan to try to connect with her, so Nettie knew the drugs were in the fridge. Nettie dosed Diana with one bottle and later killed herself with the other.
The End:
Lucy and Ollie started the business that Diana had pitched to Ollie before her death which helps place refugees into well-paying jobs. They wound up poor but happy.
The Review:
As you can tell from my other reviews, I’ve been on a big psychological thriller kick lately. The Mother in Law was marketed as a psychological thriller, but I found it to be more of a slow mystery/whodunnit. Therefore, I liked it but didn’t love it. I didn’t find myself as tied to the characters as I need to be to really get into a book. The story was compelling enough, and I was content with the ending, so I still would recommend the book. Just don’t go into it expecting a high-suspense tale! Regardless, I’m looking forward to The Good Sister next year.
The book brings up an interesting theme of voluntary euthanasia, but there isn’t much discussion or lesson to be learned about it in the book. What are your thoughts on the topic? When a person has lived a long, fulfilling life and is ready to die, should they be allowed to make that decision for themself? If so, how do you measure whether a life has been lived to its fullest? Tell me your thoughts in the comments.
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