The Other Mother by Carol Goodman

After the birth of her daughter, Chloe, Daphne Marist began having intrusive thoughts about harming her. Diagnosed with Post-Partum Mood Disorder, she joined a mother’s support group where she met Laurel Hobbes and became friends with her. A few months later, something caused Daphne to flee with Chloe. Using a false name and credentials (Laurel’s) she accepted a live-in job located near an asylum… and hoped her controlling husband wouldn’t be able to find her.

What I liked:

I spent a great deal of time being confused where Daphne and Laurel were concerned, especially at the end of Part One. A major bombshell is dropped at the end of that section that had me questioning everything I’d read up to that point.

The reader is made privy to diary entries made by both Daphne and Laurel when they were in the mother’s support group. The entries made by Laurel were particularly interesting to me when they described events Daphne had also written about.

Another thing I found of interest was the mystery surrounding a patient at the asylum who jumped from the tower window in the house (and living quarters) Daphne would later live in. It ended up having deeper ramifications to the overall story than I expected it to have.

There are several twists in this novel, and I loved not knowing what would happen next! Any confusion I felt, every doubt I had, every new question that popped into my mind as a result of what I’d just read served to keep me firmly engaged throughout the book.

The ending was awesome! I absolutely had no idea things would play out the way they did, and it was extremely satisfying to this reader.

What I didn’t like:

I can’t recall anything I didn’t like. (How wonderful is it to be able to say that?!)

Final thoughts:

If you have a fondness for psychological thrillers with unreliable narrators and unexpected twists, this book needs to be on your TBR!

I received an advance review copy of this book courtesy of William Morrow Paperbacks via Edelweiss.

Add to Goodreads

Author: Carol Goodman
Title: The Other Mother
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Publication Date: March 27th, 2018 by William Morrow Paperbacks
Rating: 5 stars

About the Book

From the author of the internationally bestselling The Lake of Dead Languages comes a gripping novel about madness, motherhood, love, and trust.

When Daphne Marist and her infant daughter, Chloe, pull up the gravel drive to the home of Daphne’s new employer, it feels like they’ve entered a whole new world. Tucked in the Catskills, the stone mansion looks like something out of a fairy tale, its lush landscaping hiding the view of the mental asylum just beyond its border. Daphne secured the live-in position using an assumed name and fake credentials, telling no one that she’s on the run from a controlling husband who has threatened to take her daughter away.

Daphne’s new life is a far cry from the one she had in Westchester where, just months before, she and her husband welcomed little Chloe. From the start, Daphne tries to be a good mother, but she’s plagued by dark moods and intrusive thoughts that convince her she’s capable of harming her own daughter. When Daphne is diagnosed with Post Partum Mood Disorder, her downward spiral feels unstoppable—until she meets Laurel Hobbes.

Laurel, who also has a daughter named Chloe, is everything Daphne isn’t: charismatic, sophisticated, fearless. They immediately form an intense friendship, revealing secrets to one another they thought they’d never share. Soon, they start to look alike, dress alike, and talk alike, their lives mirroring one another in strange and disturbing ways. But Daphne realizes only too late that being friends with Laurel will come at a very shocking price—one that will ultimately lead her to that towering mansion in the Catskills where terrifying, long-hidden truths will finally be revealed….