I was feeling frisky and wanted to read a mystery, which doesn’t happen too often. I’ve seen this book recommended several places online and when it became available at my library, I snagged it up and read it in just 2 days!

Lucy’s relationship with her mother-in-law, Diana, is a bit complicated. She lost her own mom to cancer when she was a teenager, so Lucy has been searching for that missing piece her entire life. It takes Lucy a long time to realize she will never fill the void her mother left behind, and that’s ok. 

Despite efforts, Lucy and Diana just don’t connect and they’ve both learned to manage the cards they have at hand. Diana is extremely wealthy, runs her own charity, and is not one for warm and fuzzy emotions. Lucy is quirky and a little ‘off the wall’ but loves Diana’s son, Ollie, dearly. Even Diana’s own children are aware of the iciness Diana projects and have learned to simply chalk it up to, “that’s how she is”.  But that’s never been a good enough reason for Lucy. 

When police show up at Lucy and Ollie’s house announcing Diana has died of apparent suicide leaving behind a note that indicates she couldn’t bear to live another day with her recent cancer diagnosis, the family is stunned. Diana is strong and composed; suicide doesn’t seem like an act she would commit. Autopsy reports indicate days later that there was no trace of poison in Diana’s blood… nor was there any evidence of cancer. 

Told in both Lucy and Diana’s perspectives shifting between past and present time, The Mother-In-Law is unique twist on the age-old MIL/DIL debacle; when the mother-in-law is found dead, isn’t it obvious where all of the fingers point…? 

I flew through this thriller in just two days and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was captivating and kept me on my toes the entire time. I had my suspects of what could’ve happened to Diana, but it wasn’t until the very end that I figured it out. In my opinion, this isn’t one of those mystery books where the ending is blatantly obvious. You sort of have to work to discover it. I loved reading the two women’s perspectives about their lives and each other because as life will have it, nothing is black and white. 

If you’re looking for an easy read that will consume you for a few days, I highly recommend picking up The Mother-In-Law.