Motherthing by Ainslie HogarthMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
A darkly funny domestic horror novel about a woman who must take drastic measures to save her husband and herself from the vengeful ghost of her mother-in-law.
When Ralph and Abby Lamb move in with Ralph’s mother, Laura, Abby hopes it’s just what she and her mother-in-law need to finally connect. After a traumatic childhood, Abby is desperate for a mother figure, especially now that she and Ralph are trying to become parents themselves. Abby just has so much love to give—to Ralph, to Laura, and to Mrs. Bondy, her favorite resident at the long-term care home where she works. But Laura isn’t interested in bonding with her daughter-in-law. She’s venomous and cruel, especially to Abby, and life with her is hellish.
When Laura takes her own life, her ghost haunts Abby and Ralph in very different ways: Ralph is plunged into depression, and Abby is terrorized by a force intent on destroying everything she loves. To make matters worse, Mrs. Bondy’s daughter is threatening to move Mrs. Bondy from the home, leaving Abby totally alone. With everything on the line, Abby comes up with a chilling plan that will allow her to keep Mrs. Bondy, rescue Ralph from his tortured mind, and break Laura's hold on the family for good. All it requires is a little ingenuity, a lot of determination, and a unique recipe for chicken à la king…
When Ralph and Abby Lamb move in with Ralph’s mother, Laura, Abby hopes it’s just what she and her mother-in-law need to finally connect. After a traumatic childhood, Abby is desperate for a mother figure, especially now that she and Ralph are trying to become parents themselves. Abby just has so much love to give—to Ralph, to Laura, and to Mrs. Bondy, her favorite resident at the long-term care home where she works. But Laura isn’t interested in bonding with her daughter-in-law. She’s venomous and cruel, especially to Abby, and life with her is hellish.
When Laura takes her own life, her ghost haunts Abby and Ralph in very different ways: Ralph is plunged into depression, and Abby is terrorized by a force intent on destroying everything she loves. To make matters worse, Mrs. Bondy’s daughter is threatening to move Mrs. Bondy from the home, leaving Abby totally alone. With everything on the line, Abby comes up with a chilling plan that will allow her to keep Mrs. Bondy, rescue Ralph from his tortured mind, and break Laura's hold on the family for good. All it requires is a little ingenuity, a lot of determination, and a unique recipe for chicken à la king…
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There's one word that I'd use to describe the narrator of this book and that is Vicious.
Abi is terrifying. And the writing is terrifyingly good. I could not read this book quickly enough. We've got this mixture of domestic suspense and outright horror. A character who's desperate to be loved and a character who's scarred by her past. There's so much inner conflict in Abi, and this was one of those books that really had me thinking deeply about the psychology of the mind--and exactly how stable Abi is. Because there's one scene in this toward the end that I did not see coming. It's gruesome, and yet kind of... inevitable. I don't even know if that's the right word, because it is so, so shocking. Abi is pretty much a psychopath. Or a sociopath. But she's endearing too. And I love traditionally unlikeable characters like this.
View all my reviews
There's one word that I'd use to describe the narrator of this book and that is Vicious.
Abi is terrifying. And the writing is terrifyingly good. I could not read this book quickly enough. We've got this mixture of domestic suspense and outright horror. A character who's desperate to be loved and a character who's scarred by her past. There's so much inner conflict in Abi, and this was one of those books that really had me thinking deeply about the psychology of the mind--and exactly how stable Abi is. Because there's one scene in this toward the end that I did not see coming. It's gruesome, and yet kind of... inevitable. I don't even know if that's the right word, because it is so, so shocking. Abi is pretty much a psychopath. Or a sociopath. But she's endearing too. And I love traditionally unlikeable characters like this.
View all my reviews
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