Review: The Other Mother by Carol Goodman

Title: <The Other Mother by Carol Goodman
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 352 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss

Summary:

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….

Review:

In The Other Mother, Carol Goodman skillfully utilizes the unreliable narrator plot device which results in an engrossing, twist-filled mystery.

Daphne Marist and Laurel Hobbes meet at a support group meeting for new mothers who are struggling with postpartum disorders. Their daughters are both named Chloe and they strike up an unlikely friendship. Daphne is a former school librarian whose older husband manages a small hedge fund. Laurel is also married to a much older man but she is wealthy and attended exclusive schools in Europe. They quickly become inseparable and Laurel helps transform Daphne into her own image. Daphne eventually takes a job as an archivist for her favorite author Schuyler “Sky” Bennett and moves with Chloe to Sky’s estate in the Catskills which is next to the Crantham Psychiatric Center. Daphne becomes quite curious about former mental patient Edith Sharp and she finds herself in an shocking situation that she might not be able to escape.

Despite her sympathetic plight, Daphne is not an easy character to like at first. She is a bit of a doormat and does not really stand up for herself. Peter rules the roost and she easily gives in to him. She loves Chloe but she is overwhelmed by obsessive thoughts and fears. Her friendship with Laurel is not exactly healthy since, just like her marriage, Daphne follows wherever Laurel leads.

For the first half of the novel, Daphne is an incredibly unreliable narrator whose grasp on reality seems rather tenuous. She has trouble differentiating between fact and fantasy. She is also unsure whether her memories can be trusted.

Is Daphne just using Laurel’s identity to escape from Peter? Or does Daphne believe she is, in fact, Laurel? Well, that question is answered when her situation takes a shocking turn and Daphne finds herself in an increasingly precarious position. Will Daphne be able to convince anyone that she is telling the truth?

The Other Mother is an intriguing mystery where nothing or no one is quite as it first appears. Carol Goodman slowly parcels the truth through diary entries written by various characters. Although a couple of the plot twists are slightly implausible, the novel comes a stunning conclusion that is quite satisfying.