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!
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....
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