After a difficult pregnancy and dealing with postpartum depression, Daphne Marist joins a support group with other mothers going through the same things. There she meets Laurel Hobbes, whose daughter just so happens to have the same name as hers, Chloe. The two strike up a deep and close friendship, alienating others around them, and even begin dressing similarly and acting the same way. In Laurel, Daphne sees someone who is put together and not as frantic as she is, and someone she can aspire to be like when it comes to her life. Laurel sees Daphne as a kindred spirit but is taken aback when she comes on rather strong. As Daphne appears to be spiraling out of control, she develops extreme paranoia and believes her husband is trying to take her daughter away from her because of her history of postpartum depression and irrational behavior.

Daphne takes on Laurel's identity and whisks herself away to the Catskills where she becomes a live-in assistant to Schuyler Bennet, a reclusive author who lives in a gorgeous stone mansion, minutes away from the local insane asylum whose inhabitants may or may not be connected to Daphne's new life in unexpected ways. Daphne's research for Schuyler leads her down a path that is alluring and terrifying at the same time, as well as familiar. Has Daphne's paranoia taken over her grip on reality, or is there a more sinister plot at play?

Told through Daphne and Laurel's journal entries, THE OTHER MOTHER is a gripping psychological thriller, with twists and turns on nearly every page! Carol Goodman has penned a riveting novel dealing with a subject matter that isn't discussed nearly enough: postpartum depression. Through the characters' journal entries, readers fully see the harrowing journey that women who grapple with this condition go through, questioning their own sanity and ability to care for their children. Even though neither mother would harm their daughters, unrelenting and intrusive thoughts cloud their judgment, and it is something no one should have to experience.

Throughout THE OTHER MOTHER, there is a sense of foreboding that creeps in and out of the story, and having an unreliable narrator like Daphne keeps this feeling front and center. Some suspension of disbelief is needed -- there were a few too many coincidences for everything to be feasible -- but THE OTHER MOTHER is a compelling novel with a big twist at the end that is very satisfying!