Wow! What a page turner, so many twists and turns and keep you guessing moments, I couldn't put it down, excellent read and thrilling until the end

Ahhh, what to say. Such a wonderfully suspenseful book. I was hooked from the beginning! I was always waiting to see what was in store next for poor Dana. It had you constantly thinking who was the culprit. I enjoyed having a quick and easy read this time around.

I do recommend if you're in the mood for an easy, quick read.

Publish date 7/29/2022

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity for the ARC. Much appreciated!

I love reading books with horrible mothers-in-law and this is a good example. Evelyn is so over the top, if she wasn’t so mean and controlling you would laugh at her. She’s absolutely perfectly dressed and made up, is a terrific cook and knows exactly what she wants for her only son Sam. And that’s not Dana. Sadly for her Sam and Dana fall madly in love and are eager to start their own life. We read the whole story from Dana’s viewpoint, including the horrible ‘accidents’ that happen to her. Sometimes I wanted to shake her and tell her to speak up for herself, and I was glad when she finally did. The characters are not very deep, nor is the story, but it was a perfect holiday read.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for this review copy.

What a thrilling ride! This book starts off right after the vows are shared at a wedding. However, our bride, Dana, is on the floor and is passing out, possibly dying. She is suffering from an allergic reaction, and before she does fade out, she locks eyes with her brand new mother-in-law.

But, then, our book takes us back to six months previously. Sam and Dana began dating, and soon became engaged. Sam and Dana are truly in love, and their lives are about to start as a married couple before too long. However, things do not go smoothly. In fact, there are several hiccups, and these are major.

Sam still lives at home with his parents and Dana has her own place. But, the couple want to buy a home together. When something happens to their impending purchase, Dana has no choice but to move in with Sam and his parents. While not all that comfortable at first, Dana is rather relieved to see that Sam has a nice wing, with its own rooms. Maybe this won't be so bad. After all, they will marry soon and they will buy their own home.

However, one thing is more than clear. Sam's mother Evelyn is very controlling and gaslighting is rampant. No matter how small or how big the conflicts occur between Evelyn and Dana, Sam is convinced that his mother only means well. In fact, there are even times when Sam dismisses Dana's concerns. Dana just wants to marry Sam, so she endures trial after trial when it comes to Evelyn. She feels that their time living in the same house is only for a rather short duration and she doesn't want the rest of their lives soured by her having a bad relationship with Evelyn.

With surprising twists and turns, things go from bad to worse. This engaging read takes a sharp turn, one that was incredibly shocking, only to make this intriguing book even more compelling. The Mother-in-Law is a wonderful domestic thriller that kept me riveted from beginning to end.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

The Mother-in-Law was a fun and surprising read. It's rare I can't guess what will happen next in a novel, but Karen King kept surprising me. This is a book I'll be recommending for a while.

The Mother-in-Law by Karen King


Dana cannot believe how lucky she is to have found Sam; they love each other so much. Sam is so kind and considerate and when they have been dating for only a few months Sam asks Dana to marry him, Dana thinks she cannot be any happier. But Dana doesn’t think Sam’s parents, Evelyn and Harold like her very much.

As the wedding planning gets taken over by Evelyn, Dana does not want to make trouble and agrees to all of Evelyn’s suggestions but then Dana could not help over hearing Evelyn’s comments to her neighbour that Dana is “such a meek, compliant little mouse” but if Dana does not agree and things are done Dana’s way her future mother-in-law says “What Dana wants, Dana gets” so she cannot win.

When the dream house Dana and Sam want to buy falls thru Dana has to move in with Sam, who lives with his parent, Dana starts having accidents, cutting her hand on a broken mirror that happened to just magically break in her hand bag, getting electrocuted by a kettle that was working fine the day before, falling down the stairs. Dana is starting to suspect these are not just accidents but maybe someone is trying to stop her marring Sam not caring if they kill her in the process.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Bookouture for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Dana meets Sam, and they rapidly fall for each other and get engaged. Dana moves in with him to better plan their upcoming wedding, but the problem is Sam, a 35-year-old successful business man, still lives with his parents, Evelyn and Harrold. Sam is perfect... but his family isn't. His mother is overly protective of him, and soon, accidents start to happen to Dana, all more dangerous than the previous one. Dana quickly realizes that Evelyn clearly doesn't want her to have her son...
Think, The Monster-In-Law (movie with Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda), but without the comedy.
This mystery/thriller is filled to the brim with suspense and lies. I was hooked from the first chapter and read it in one sitting. it was entertaining, full of twists and family drama that kept pulling me in. The premise was good, and the ending, satisfying. The only little negative thing I would have to say about it, is that Dana should stand up for herself more!
I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and Bookouture, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I have enjoyed this author's previous thrillers but this one was the best! The tension starts building up right from the start and it gets harder and harder to know who is telling the truth, and who is being not only difficult but potentially dangerous too. Poor Dana just wants to be with Sam and marry him, but someone is out to break them up. The number of mishaps and accidents that happen to her is just too high to be coincidental, or is she just being paranoid? When she is accused of theft and even Sam finds it hard to believe her, maybe Dana should just leave... Twists and turns and lots of heart stopping moments lead to a satisfying and surprising ending.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC!

I’d be running the hell out of there if she was my MIL. I felt suffocated and anxious for Dana. Girl should’ve ran for the hills. Sam isn’t worth it. I don’t want to blame her, really, but the red flags were everywhere and as bright as the cover. And I get why he was a very big Mama’s Boy but he was so oblivious to the creepy things happening to her ... especially given the secrets that he knew the whole time.

This book was pretty twisty and creepy and I had fun making my own theories. I was excited to see how things would play out. Those last 3 chapters had my eyes glued to the screen because were so suspenseful.

The Mother in Law by Karen King is the story of Dana and Sam, a newly engaged couple. Everything seems to be going great for the two until unexpected accidents start to happen. Could someone be doing this on purpose? I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this well-written, suspenseful book that kept me guessing until the end. I just couldn’t put it down!

Wow there were crazy things going on in this book! I loved the very creative ways someone seemed to be sabataging Dana's wedding. I guessed early on what was happening but I enjoyed the way it played out. The only reason I didn't give it 4 stars was because I felt like Dana should have run a mile early on! I'm not sure anyone would put up with as much as she did and I started to get a bit annoyed with her character

This was so juicy I finished it in one night!

The Mother-in-Law follows a couple named Sam and Dana, who after a whirlwind romance of 4 months, are engaged to be married! We find out early on that Dana has a serious nut allergy, which is terrible because she ends up moving in with her future in-laws and they're a bunch of nuts! Sorry, I had to.

Anyway, Sam is in his 30's and still living at home which isn't super odd for wealthy families, but Dana doesn't wanna shack up with them, at least not for long.

But they can't seem to get out of there! "Accidents" keep happening right as they're about to leave. I feel battered and bruised just from reading this! Is someone hurting Dana or is she just paranoid? She's suffered from paranoia before. She isn't high society but anyone would be lucky to have Dana in their family so why does she feel so unwelcome?

The walls have ears around here and you might turn a corner and find out something you werent supposed to and you know the old saying: if they tell you, they have to kill you.

This was great with some really whacky twists that kept giving right up to the end. The only negative is that I didn't feel much chemistry between any of the characters but I'm here for a good time, not a long time, and I wouldn't have wanted it to be longer as it was a nice and quick read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!

I really enjoyed this. I really felt for Dana the whole time. I was convinced it was the mom being horrible but it wasn’t! I also thought Sam had something up his sleeve but he didn’t. No ending for Tamara. I wish she’d been called out. Great twists.

2.5 rounded to 3

The Mother-in-Law by Karen King takes a psychological twist on the typical toxic mother-in-law trope. Dana and Sam quickly get engaged after whirlwind romance and have to move in with Sam’s parents due unforeseen circumstances. But as the wedding gets closer, unusual accidents start happening to Dana that push her and Sam’s relationship to its limits.

The characters in The Mother-in-Law were extremely frustrating. Everyone was toxic in their own ways which made it hard to root for anyone lol But I love the suspense of psychological thrillers, so the need to know the truth is what pushed me to keep reading and I did read through this book pretty quickly. The first half or so of the book was a slow burn as the author was building the foundation for what was to come. But as soon as things started picking up I flew through this book. So the pacing was definitely satisfying.

There were a few plot lines that I felt took away from the book. I can’t say much without spoiling but I felt they were unnecessary and inorganic and only thrown in to force the ending to go a certain way. And while this is a psychological thriller, I felt that the scenarios/accidents were almost a little too unrealistic. Especially towards the end when it started to feel like a soap opera - as in it was so dramatic but I just couldn’t look away lol so that was also weirdly satisfying in a way.

I wouldn’t say this is a ~must~ read psychological novel for everyone. If you are a fan of psychological thrillers and are looking for a new one then go for it!

thank you so much to @netgalley & @bookouture for the ARC! look for The Mother-in-Law coming out 7.29.2022 :)

Wow what a great, thrilling read this is I loved everything about this psychological family drama, just my sort of book.

The storyline was excellent, so well written with good characters that each had their own story to tell and I was hooked from the beginning until the fantastic ending which was so well thought out and I never guessed anything, such a great ending to a great book.

I will definitely read more from this author and thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC which I have no doubt in recommending.

Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to review. I have to say this book was ok I read with ease and intrigue and continued to the end and happy I did as it did end with a twist - unfortunately I did not feel gripped but it was an easy read.

Popcorn thriller lovers, this is your book! I don’t know why I expected something amazing, because the whole mother-in-law trope is pretty overdone, but I was definitely not blown away by this book.

As these things usually go, Dana has met the man of her dreams, Sam. He’s perfect, he says all the right things, he has money but isn’t pretentious, and he loves her back. After a whirlwind romance, they decide to get married.

Then comes Evelyn, the evil mother-in-law. Overbearing, a little unstable, a lot intrusive, Evelyn is pretty much the mom that wives dread. Still, Sam is so great … anyone who raised him has to be a good person, right?

This has the stereotypical tension, a few twists (most not necessary, just added in for the sake of surprise) and the requisite dramatic ending. This was decent, and entertaining, but that’s about it. A perfect beach read, I give this three stars for being fine, but formulaic.

(Thank you to Bookouture, Karen King, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

I really wanted to like this one, but after struggling to remain engaged I finally had to accept that this book wasn’t for me. It certainly had good twists and can best be understood looking backwards, but there were too many things that got me frustrated and I felt that the narrative was bogged down with plot clichés, making it stale and unoriginal.

I was gifted this advance copy by Karen King, Bookouture and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Fabulous just hated the mother in law . Good twist at the end. All the characters very believable. Manipulation at its best

This isn't your ordinary thriller, this a roller coaster ride without a safety harness! So many characters you love to hate, I wanted to give them all a piece of my mind lol! People do drastic things to keep their secrets under wraps and Dana was in the middle of a big one that would endanger her life. I loved the fast pacing of this book and enjoyed the deliciously twisted plot.