"Thriller" is a genre that promises to keep readers on the edge of their seats, and this definitely delivers. From the very first page, the tension is palpable, and the plot twists and turns in unexpected ways, making it difficult to put the book down. The characters are well-developed and the author does an excellent job of keeping the reader guessing as to who can be trusted and who is hiding something. The pacing is spot-on, with just the right amount of action and suspense to keep the reader engaged.

The writing style is gripping and evocative, making it easy to visualise the scenes and feel the emotions of the characters. The author's attention to detail and ability to create a believable world adds to the overall experience of the book.

Overall, this is an excellent example of the thriller genre. It's a page-turner that will keep readers guessing until the very end and is sure to satisfy fans of the genre. Highly recommended for anyone who loves a good suspenseful read.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Synopsis——. You want to be one of them. Until you know them.

Ex-journalist Tash has been searching for a story to launch her freelance career. 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. The sleek, the sophisticated, the successful mothers. The women she wants to be.

And then one day they welcome her into their circle and 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.

They seem to have everything. But they also have their secrets.

And it's soon clear that not everyone at the playgroup can be trusted.
My thoughts
I loved Greenwich Park so was excited to dive in to this novel and it definitely wasn’t a disappointment!
Tash a struggling journalist is the narrator along with Sophie the nanny who Tash begins to look in to her death.
Tash also becomes friends with three other mothers at the playgroup and she tries to live within their lavish lifestyles .
The author layers the storyline and characters beautifully with lots of possibilities and ‘what happened’ ‘who did it’ scenarios.
You think you know but you don’t know !!!
A book I devoured in two days and one I recommend and urge you to buy !! It is out no

Loved this novel. When reading the first few pages I thought the story was going one way, so I was surprised when I had it all wrong.

The twists, the turns, the suspense, it was great!
I had no idea who done it, so the story kept me going until the end.

Well written, a definite must read!

The Other Mothers by Katie Faulkner is a story of young wealthy women who all met up after giving birth and form an exclusive friendship that ends up with murder.
When a death occurs close to new mum Tash’s home, she is convinced that following the story will relaunch her career.Firstly though she will need to find a playgroup for her son Finn to enable her to follow the story.
Some of the women she meets at the local playgroup are residents in the more exclusive area of London. and she forms a friendship with them.
More deaths are uncovered and the husbands of the women are all suspects. When the true guilty party is uncovered, it causes repercussions for nearly everyone involved.
Recommended

The Other Mothers was a totally unpredictable story with plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing. It was full of unlikeable characters but that fitted the story. A great read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

What a story! The Other Mothers tells the story of Tash - mum, wife, freelance journalist and latest addition to the clique of mums from her son’s playgroup, and Sophie - the nanny of one of the other mothers who was found dead some time ago. After she’s approached by Sophie’s mum, Tash starts to dig deep and investigate Sophie’s death which has a few unanswered questions looming.

None of the characters in this novel are especially likeable - but they all bring a little uncertainty to the table. Suspicion is rife throughout this book which draws you in. Tash starts to receive threats to stop digging, but unsure where they’re coming from! There is even some mistrust with her husband - is he hiding something? Why does he appear to be a little controlling?

This story is told from 2 POV’s - the first being Tash in current timeline as she investigates Sophie’s life and death, and the second being Sophie in the countdown to her death. Lots of threads merely tied up in the end. I was wrong in my prediction - the plot was a lot smarter than I gave it credit for while reading it, but I feel if I’d read this more in one sitting, I’d have felt the suspense more, but life got in the way. That being said, it really was a good book! I’m hearing the author’s previous novel was good too, so that’s now on my TBR.

4 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for my fair and unbiased review! Looking forward to more from this author!

Another good read from the author of Greenwich Park. This time the story is set in the north London suburb of Highbury. Tash, a former journalist is trying to relaunch her career doing freelance work. At the same time her 3 year old son is starting playgroup and finding it difficult to settle.. The other mothers seem to be a comfortable clique. As she struggles to help her son, she follows up clues to the recent death of a nanny believing that accidental death doesn't seem right. As she becomes more vocal in her belief, she begins to get warning messages to leave things alone. At the same time, the well healed clique invite her to join them. The story progresses with her struggles to belong, her need help her son fit in and the drive to find out how the nanny really died.
There are lots of twists and turns to keep you riveted with the pace of developments increasing as you go through

A slow burn novel with lots of twists and turns to keep you reading. Nicely paced and detailed with lots of unpleasant characters.

My only mild complaint is that I found all of the female characters especially very ‘samey’ and it was difficult to keep track of who was who.

A recommended read.

I seem to be the odd one out here but I found this book really difficult to get into. It is a very slow burner and only started to pick up pace right at the end. By that point I was already quite bored unfortunately. I didn’t think the main character Tash was very likeable and most of her ‘investigation’ was luck based on other characters revealing secrets etc. There were a couple of good twists but nothing I found overly gripping.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and found it led a great trail of breadcrumbs to slowly unwind what had happened to the babysitter before. A darker look at the yummy mummy crowd and what really goes on behind closed doors.

Want a page turner for the beach then pick up this book. Easy reading thriller with good character development. I enjoyed this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Other Mother" delves into the affluent and seemingly idyllic world of London's elite, weaving a tale of murder, motherhood, and the complex dynamics that exist within this privileged community. While the pace of the story may lean towards the slower side, the overall experience remains undeniably entertaining.

While the pacing of the book I found a little slower and its length somewhat extended, the overall experience remains engrossing. The characters, particularly Tash, are well-developed, with their flaws and moral dilemmas making them relatable and human.

Murder. Motherhood. Class set in London.
A nanny is found dead in mysterious circumstances and Tash desperate to relaunch her career as a journalist now she is freelance, knows there is more to this story than what was reported. The nanny used to work in the playgroup her toddler son attends and her body was found close to where Tash lives. Tash also is trying to fit in more and wants to make friends with the other mothers at the playgroup who seem like they have their lives so much more together than she does.. She finds herself getting drawn more and more into their world while at the same time investigating what happened to Sophie, the nanny too and the worlds circle each other closely.

This one had me hooked from the get go. Decent characters, great pace and Faulkner builds a story beautifully adding layer after layer. This one fell on the right side of absolutely could happen which lend a particularly chilling undertone to the plot. I could not put this down until it reached its ultimately deeply satisfying conclusion with all the threads coming together and enough twists to keep me guessing.

A great domestic suspense. Looking forward to whatever Faulkner writes next.

Tash is struggling with her new role as a mother and without a real job. Her son is not happy to go to his new playgroup so she is delighted when a group of privileged women befriend her and let her into their close circle. Tash soon gets addicted to their high class lifestyle which she cannot afford herself. At the same time she gets obsessed with the case of a dead young woman who was also the nanny of one of the women. Soon Tash gets dangerously entangled in the mystery as well as in the affairs of the women.

This story is well crafted and slowly building up a web of secrets in which Tash gets caught up in. There are a lot of twists and turns and you never know which one to trust. Tash herself is not a very nice person and an unreliable narrator, which I both liked very much. I was really engrossed into the story. The only thing that troubled me was that motherhood and having children was showed as being something really dreadful. Tash loves her son, there is no question about that, but she feels lost without her job as a journalists and being a parent is obviously something that is so frustrating and unpleasant work and downgrading. I came across that in a lot of books and I find it very disturbing. I am a mother of two, they are adults now, but I never would describe being a mother in such a negative way. That really irked me.

This was my first book of this author and it would not be my last. I already have “Greenwich Park” on my kindle and I am looking forward reading it. I liked her writing style and how she created this complicated story.

A great second book from this 'must-read' author.

What more can you want? Characters that are fully-formed from the earliest point, a tightly knitted plot which is woven with recognisable characteristics, albeit more extreme than you'd routinely hope to meet at your local playgroup.

For any mother that has pushed her pram wheels across the threshold of the local playgroup, Katherine Faulkner will have you identifying with the Tash as she seeks out playdates on behalf of her son, Finn. When a group of wealthier women take an interest in her she loosens her judgement, even more so when a story regarding a missing nanny seems to be the answer to her journalistic prayers.

We follow Tash on a torturous route to the truth from afar, and with delight.

I loved it!

This is a book which will keep you guessing to the end. I'm rather a fan of Katherine Faulkner's books; usually set in modern day relatable circumstances. I have no intention of rehashing the plot here as it is complex and others do a much better job of setting the scene without giving anything away.
I enjoyed this read but must admit that I found it a tad too drawn out and really wanted to finish it in the end. Otherwise a great plot with good strong characters.

This book was great fun to read with so many red herrings and twists and turns in the plot, I couldn’t predict the ending.
Nobody escapes suspicion - whether it’s a child who might have pushed a smaller toddler down the stairs to a guilty looking police office - everyone is a potential suspect. The structure is straightforward but so confidently done. I think this is a perfect book for the beach.

The story: Tash has been searching for a story to launch her freelance career. She also wants some new friends to help her navigate motherhood. At her son's new playgroup she spots the other mothers: sleek, the sophisticated, successful. She manages to get into their circle and 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. But it's not what she expected.

My thoughts: The yummy mummies are not very likable characters, as you would expect, and Tash is a bit confusing because on the one hand she is disparaging of their endless coffees and high end gym wear, but on the other, pushing herself further into debt by joining their coffee club and drinking good wine at their townhouses.

Tash's journalistic background comes to the fore as she discovers a mystery around one of the nannies, and realises there has been a cover-up.

A good pace with a few red herrings and several twists. The sort of book you must devour quickly to find out what really happened.

I really looked forward to this novel - and it was a really good tale!

Tash is a journalist; now looking after her son, she's searching for a story to launch her freelance career. With husband Tom working all hours, childcare falls to her and she is glad of the time Finn spends in nursery - but he's not happy about it. Until, that is, one of the 'yummy mummies' helps for which Tash is very grateful. However, being absorbed into their group is an expensive affair and not really on she can afford but, having got an idea for a story, she needs to stay on the right side of these people while she searches for the truth. What is that?

This is a gripping story which grabbed me from the very beginning. I wasn't quite sure where it was all heading but boy, I had a fine time getting there! With an excellent cast of characters and an insight into the differences between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' I was focussed from beginning to end. I have to say, though, that the lack of capitals really irritated me and definitely spoilt my enjoyment. Had it been in all of the book I don't think it would have annoyed me so much, but sometimes they were missing and sometimes they were there which was very distracting. I must say that would put me off reading more from this author. Very enjoyable, 4.5*.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - as my honest, original and unbiased review.

A gripping psychological thriller that kept me on the edge. Told by different POVs (Tash and Sophie) in present and past that creates the scene for the last surprising twist and solution.
The description of the rich neighborhood was fascinating as it shows how empty a certain type style of lifestyle can be.
Tash is a character morally grey even if I liked her, wasn't a fan of the other characters.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine