The Other Mothers

• Author: Katherine Faulkner
• Genre: Mystery/Suspense
• Publication Date: December 4, 2023
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Thank you to libro.fm for providing me with an ALC of this audiobook. I am offering my honest opinion voluntarily.

When a young nanny is found dead in mysterious circumstances, new mom, Tash, is intrigued. She has been searching for a story to launch her career as a freelance journalist. But she has also been searching for something else—new friends to help her navigate motherhood.

She sees them at her son’s new playgroup. The other mothers. A group of sleek, sophisticated women who live in a neighborhood of tree-lined avenues and stunning houses. The sort of mothers Tash herself would like to be. When the mothers welcome her into their circle, Tash discovers the kind of life she has always dreamt of—their elegant London townhouses a far cry from her cramped basement flat and endless bills. She is quickly swept up into their wealthy world via coffees, cocktails, and playdates.

But when another young woman is found dead, it’s clear there’s much more to the community than meets the eye. The more Tash investigates, the more she’s led uncomfortably close to the other mothers. Are these women really her friends? Or is there another, more dangerous reason why she has been so quickly accepted into their exclusive world? Who, exactly, is investigating who?

I have to be honest here—lately, my picker has been off when it comes to libro. Normally, I tend to pick books I enjoy. But for the past few months, I’ve chosen a bunch of audiobooks that weren’t doing it for me from libro. It has nothing to do with libro, because I’m the one picking the books. And it’s got nothing to do with the books either, they just weren’t to my taste, or weren’t a good fit for me. It’s just a matter of me not picking books that suit my tastes. But I hadn’t given up hope, and this one looked like a good one to try and restore my faith. Luckily, I was right!

This is exactly the kind of book I gravitate to—a mystery surrounding a person who died under mysterious circumstances, and a novice trying to investigate within a setting that has a small-town vibe. And I know that London does not have a small-town feel, but the insulated and increasingly claustrophobic characteristics that Faulkner gives this innocent sounding playgroup of well-off mothers that aspiring (yet financially struggling) Tash is welcomed into offers small-town vibes.

I loved the way that Faulkner developed her characters. It all seems innocent at first, despite knowing that there’s a dead body in there somewhere. And we get to see the POV of not only Tash, but also Sophie, the young woman who died. While we learn of Sophie’s fate only in flashbacks to her life (and eventual death), we get to see a lot more of Tash and her own personal growth. She’s a relatively new mom, with a 2 year old, a husband who works a lot, mountains of bills, and she’s trying to start an investigative journalism career, but it hasn’t really panned out yet. But the idea of Sophie’s death being perhaps more than a tragic accident becomes a fixation for Tash, and as she gets closer to the other mothers, her fixation on finding out what really happened to Sophie starts to take over more and more of her life. 

As the story went on, I noticed that Tash starts to talk less and less about her husband and son; her inner monologue and her time is almost completely taken up by keeping up with the other mothers in the group and continuing to investigate them while simultaneously keeping up the friendships. But as she gets closer to finding out the truth, all the other areas of her life start to unravel.

Overall, this was a fast-paced, quick, and intriguing read from start to finish. I was caught up in what was going on from the beginning, and every time I thought I had a handle on things, Faulkner turned everything upside down and I realized I had no idea what was really going on. There were so many plot twists, even one thrown in right at the end, and I loved every minute of it. Some mysteries are tough to follow on audiobook, but not this one—I couldn’t stop listening, and the narrators were absolutely fantastic, handling a variety of voices and regional accents beautifully. This is definitely one not to miss, and I’ll be moving her other book high on my priority list.

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