St. Martin’s Griffin | Book Chatter

Emma in the Night
By Wendy Walker
St. Martin’s Griffin, 9781250141422, August 2018, 336pp.

The Short of It:

No one can be trusted.

The Rest of It:

Three years ago the Tanner sisters disappeared without a trace. One day, Cass shows up on her mother’s doorstep, three years older but without her sister, Emma. When the investigators are called in to question her, she urgently pleads for them to find Emma, who is hopefully still on the island she just escaped from.

The investigators don’t fully believe the story Cass is telling them. Something is off. To complicate things, Cass and Emma’s mother is narcissistic and continues to turn the attention back to herself anytime Cass or Emma is in the spotlight. One of the investigators, Dr. Winter, is very familiar with this disorder since she dealt with it in her own childhood so she watches them all carefully to see if she can decipher what really happened to Emma and Cass.

Emma in the Night is super twisty and delves into some much deeper issues than you might expect. This family is beyond dysfunctional and no one can be trusted which makes for good reading. Until the final pages, I had an idea of what happened to them but nothing solid and I was somewhat off when it was finally revealed.

This is a smart, highly detailed story about a seriously messed-up family. It’s gritty and some parts will leave you cringing. Some of the story lines could be triggering as well so be warned. Overall, I’d recommend it.

Source: Purchased
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

The Mother-In-Law
By Sally Hepworth
St. Martin’s Griffin, 9781250120939, March 2020, 368pp.

*No Spoilers*

The Short of It:

Whether you can relate to having a Mother-In-Law of your own, or not, this book has you flipping the pages. It’s one of those easy, fast, reads that I am reaching for like crazy during this pandemic.

The Rest of It:

The story is told by the two main characters and alternates between the past and present. When Lucy meets Diana, everything she has heard about Mother-In-Laws is put to the side. After all, she’s not even married to Ollie yet and she’s a pretty agreeable person. Surely, they will get along.

But, Diana is a little different. She’s guarded and although she looks perfectly pleasant and is polite to a fault, there is something off putting about her. She’s a little cold, perhaps. Even to her own children, Ollie and Nettie, she lacks affection and Lucy immediately picks up on it but when she marries Ollie the deal is sealed. Diana is her Mother-In-Law whether she likes it or not.

As the story unfolds, Diana and Tom are asked countless times to help their kids out financially. Although Tom is up for it and certainly has the money to hand out, Diana doesn’t believe in handouts. She believes in hard work and struggle. This is a running theme throughout the story.

One day, Diana ends up dead. How did it happen? Why? Is there more to the story than meets the eye?

Yes.

On top of all the family drama, there is the question of what happened to Diana. This family has a lot of secrets and you know that always makes for good reading. Although I felt like the ending was a tad rushed, I enjoyed this book a lot and read it in just a couple of sittings.

You wouldn’t necessarily think of this book as a club read but there were questions in the back and I must admit, they were pretty thought provoking.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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