Rachel Porter has successfully alienated herself from her unusual family living a life of isolation for many years. When her mother passes away she unwillingly returns home to help her sisters, Francis and Stella, prepare the family home for sale. While cleaning, the remains of two bodies are discovered on the property. As the police begin their investigation more secrets begin to surface resulting in an elaborate web of lies and deceit surrounding two families. As the police search of the truth more bodies begin to pile up.

This novel is an elaborate web of lies and cover-ups that will leave your head spinning trying to determine who all is involved. As much as the constant cliff hangers and misdirection were meant to pull you into the story it became somewhat predictable towards the end. I will say that this novel was very entertaining and kept me guessing but personally I felt it just had too many plot twists going on all at once. I would recommend this to anyone who just wants a good whodunit book.

This is certainly what is referred to as a page-turner. A dysfunctional family living in a time warp with secrets and lies swept so neatly aside and hidden. They seem to be adept at disposing of unwanted family members in extraordinary ways and move on as if nothing has happened. When two dead bodies are found in the house as it's being cleared DS Ratcliffe and his side-kick Angie are faced with delving into a bizarre ever-changing case into the complex lives of the reticent family to unearth their long-held lies and secrets. Why do the sisters not get on and hate their childhood home? Why are they now estranged & so hostile to each other? The book is superbly knitted together, full of issues, packed with surprises and humour despite some gruesome happenings. It is the sort of story where you are keyed up waiting for the next shoe to drop. I did think Rachel a stupid woman for not checking the truth of a vindictive lie which came from such a dubious source. In fact all the characters, not just mother had lies & secrets. Thank you to NetGalley and HQ Digital. A fascinating read.

This is a story of a completely dysfuntional family.
Rachel left her family home many years ago and lost touch with everyone. When her estranged mother dies, one of her sisters calls her home to deal with the estate.
The house is hiding secrets and bodies are found whilst they finish clearing the house. You are left to wonder just who knew what was happening and who might be responsible and whether the seemingly more normal characters might be just as depraved as all the others.
The horrific childhood is revealed and each character seems to be seriously flawed. The police are investigating but having to deal with missing witnesses, family and others that end up in hospital
It keeps you reading wondering what else is going to be uncovered, who might be vulnerable and who knows what secrets were being kept and why. I thought I might have guessed who might be behind the actions- but kept changing my mind and thinking maybe the people I'd mentally filed as 'safe' might actually be part of the danger zone! a REAL PAGE TURNER.

My Mother, The Liar wasn't BAD, per se, but it tried to do ALL OF THE THINGS. Family drama, secrets, twists, turns....it's A LOT to cram into one book. There were times when I had to go back and re-read because I couldn't tell who was talking.

BUT....maybe that was the point. To confuse the reader, to bring them into the web of lies.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thrillers are definitely my thing but this one was odd in the way that even though there were many crazy twists and turns in this novel about an extremely dysfunctional family, it felt more like a narrative told after the fact rather than the story unfolding naturally with characters whose lives we get to know slowly. None were terribly likable which is not a problem for me as I tend to enjoy reading about flawed individuals and families, but in this book there are so many secrets that I almost couldn't keep track of who married whom, who gave birth to whom, and is anyone ever telling the truth? I've heard good things about this author so I will certainly give her other books a try! This one just didn't keep my attention like others have.

This is the second book I have read by Ann Troup. I think she is going to be a big success.
My Mother, The List was suspenseful and kept me reading. I couldn't put it down. This is about a dysfunctional family and the secrets they hold. You will be holding your breathe waiting to see what happens to the main character.

You will need a flow chart to keep track of the lies and possibilities of motherhood. Very good novel about a deeply disturbed family.

Rachel Porter hasn't been home in almost 2 decades. She left behind a dysfunctional family and more buried secrets than even she knew about. Then her estranged mother dies and she's called back to her childhood home by an older sister who despises her. From the moment Rachel walks back into the house she vowed never to see again a series of events begins that threaten the tenuous hold she has on her sanity and her health.
The Porter family puts the dysfunction in the term dysfunctional. Three sisters who never got along and who for various reasons, their "mother" Valerie tortures psychologically and physically throughout their lives. Woven into a tale of sexual abuse, death, and insanity is a tale of multiple murder and greed.
I have to admit this book was hard to get thru at many points because I had a hard time believing most of the characters were simply awful as they were being portrayed. But they were, and because of a history of secrets and abuse, their motivations and personalities were explainable.
As a murder mystery this book was excellent. As a tale of family abuse, neglect and terrifying secrets, it was exceptional. Thanks to Netgalley for an arc.

Interesting book - who is lying who is telling the truth. Enjoyed the different characters and the intertwining relationships.

"My mother the liar" by Ann Troup, is a book that makes you appreciate your own family being "semi-normal ". There are so many lies and twisted tales told by Valerie the mother of this family that it's hard to imagine that a family can really be this dysfunctional. Storyline is well thought out but it is a little hard to find any of the characters likeable or relateable. Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC copy in return for giving my honest opinion.

I found the overall story to be good but I didn't feel the author presented it in a manner that kept me intrigued. I found it difficult to really care about any of the characters. I probably would not have finished the story had I not felt obligated to do so. I just felt like the story plodded along. It didn't feel to me as though there was any suspense. Yes there were questions and a mystery but nothing compelled me to continue reading. There was a build up in action at a few points but I felt it missed it's mark. I think this story had the promise of a good novel that just didn't follow through. It wasn't a bad novel, it just wasn't a good one either.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for offering a copy in exchange for an honest review.

OH BOY OH BOY OHBOY! This was a twister. Lot's and lots of secrets to discover the worst of which is finding out that your own mother may or may not have lied to you for years! For more, pick up the book and start reading. You won't be able to quit until you have turned the last page.

My thanks to Netgalley and HQ Digital for this advanced readers copy.

I hate to say it but this was a huge disappointment. I took a break from this to read another book. It failed to hold my attention.

Gripping family story with several unexpected twists. Nobody was who they seemed,lots of secrets uncovered. Good ,well written characters.

This book was a big let down.
I could not relate to and of the characters and half the time I did not know what was going on.
I read half of this book but it did not grip me a big let down.

A horribly dysfunctional family with so many secrets. There were lots of twists and turns but the story is very joyless. A little light among the shade would have lifted it. Perhaps a bit too much explaining in the last few pages. I did like Rachel but oh boy what a lot of pain and angst the author put her through!

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Holy smokes! This book is one for the record books! I have never read anything quite like this before (other than in random bits and pieces in newspapers) My Mother, the Liar delivered what it promised and then some!!! With more twists and turns than a backroad, I never knew what was coming. This book details many “scary but true” types of events in the lives of the members of several entwined families. Just when I thought I had uncovered the truth, a new piece of information would render my conclusion useless. Rarely have I read a book that made me feel this genuinely anxious for the safety of the main characters—specifically Rachel, Charlie, and Amy. I also found myself rooting for the revival of the lovestory that might have been. I loved this book and all its morbidity. What a twisted bunch of people! (Excluding the three already mentioned, who really tug at the heartstrings—Charlie and Rachel mainly.) I had extreme difficulty abandoning this book long enough to put in a full workday, and even found myself sneaking a few pages in during my lunch-break! I am truly in awe of the behind-the-scenes efforts that this novel needed to come to fruition. Thank you, Ann Troup. What a magnificent read!!

I was quite confused during parts of this book. Moments of not liking it and then I did. I found the story quite confusing and had to re-read a few times to get things clear. Overall though it was a really good thriller and well worth a read.

Every family has its secrets…

Boy, Ole Boy, did this family have secrets...and lies - lots and lots of lies.

This book took me some time to get the hang of it. I really didn't enjoy the book until well after the halfway mark. The story was good enough to keep my attention, but there were quite a few characters with quite a bit of issues and it was hard to keep track of everyone. Plus, they are all a pack of liars! WHEW! Plus, I think the switching from character to character made things confusion. I had a hard time keeping track of who was who, how are they related to this person or that person, etc.

As the blurb tells us Rachel Porter's estranged Mother has passed away. Rachel goes home with trepidation knowing her past will be dredged up. She will have to face those she has left behind and that will not be an easy task. To make things worse, dead bodies have been found. Everyone becomes a suspect. Stressful!?! You betcha! Rachel also has a seizure disorder which is triggered by stress, so she is not having the most enjoyable family reunion.

Past loves, past lovers, family secrets, murder, lies, affairs, molestation are just a few of the things touched on in this book. Unfortunately, it was just good at best for me. As I stated this book was hard to get into but once I got past the half way mark it was an okay read. Everything does seem to fall together in the end, but it didn't blow me away. Some may call this predictable. I wished the characters had been fleshed out more. I don't really feel like I knew any of them and that also hinder my ability to enjoy this book.

I received a copy of this book from HQ Digital and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A story of an odd family full of lies, secrets death and chaos, an enjoyable read.