The Other Mothers

Starred review from October 9, 2023
A restless former newspaper reporter probes an accidental death in this pulse-pounding domestic thriller from British journalist Faulkner (Greenwich Park). Freelance writer and stay-at-home mom Natasha “Tash” Carpenter is casting about for story ideas when Jane Blake comes knocking at her door. Months ago, before Tash left her job at the London Evening Post to care for her toddler, she wrote an article reporting the coroner’s ruling that Jane’s 21-year-old daughter, Sophie, likely drowned while swimming drunk in a local reservoir. Jane believes someone murdered Sophie, however, and wants Tash to look into the matter. Tash acquiesces—at first to appease Jane, then because she becomes convinced she’s on to something when she gets anonymous threats demanding she cease her investigation. After uncovering links between Sophie, a trio of fellow mothers Tash has recently befriended, their spouses, and Tash’s own husband, she begins to worry where her inquiry might lead her next. Faulkner expertly interweaves Tash’s increasingly paranoid first-person-present narration with sections from Sophie’s perspective that detail her final months. Plausible suspects, persuasive red herrings, and seismic reveals enliven the precisely crafted plot. This one grips from start to shocking finish. Agent: Madeleine Milburn, Madeleine Milburn Ltd.