The Other Mothers

The author of the “twisty, fast-paced” (The Sunday Times, London) Greenwich Park returns with a fresh and deftly paced thriller about murder, class, and motherhood in an exclusive London community.

When a young nanny is found dead in mysterious circumstances, new mom, Tash, is intrigued. She has been searching for a story to launch her career as a freelance journalist. But she has also been searching for something else—new friends to help her navigate motherhood.

She sees them at her son’s new playgroup. The other mothers. A group of sleek, sophisticated women who live in a neighborhood of tree-lined avenues and stunning houses. The sort of mothers Tash herself would like to be. When the mothers welcome her into their circle, Tash discovers the kind of life she has always dreamt of—their elegant London townhouses a far cry from her cramped basement flat and endless bills. She is quickly swept up into their wealthy world via coffees, cocktails, and playdates.

But when another young woman is found dead, it’s clear there’s much more to the community than meets the eye. The more Tash investigates, the more she’s led uncomfortably close to the other mothers. Are these women really her friends? Or is there another, more dangerous reason why she has been so quickly accepted into their exclusive world? Who, exactly, is investigating who?

Katherine Faulkner, an award-winning journalist, studied history at Cambridge. She has worked as an investigative reporter and an editor and was formerly the joint Head of News at The Times (London). She lives in London, where she grew up, with her husband and two daughters. She is the author of The Break-In, The Other Mothers, Greenwich Park.  

ISBN: 9781668027875
Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: December 05, 2023

“Next-level mum noir, The Other Mothers is a brilliant portrayal of the complexities of parenthood, work, and—oh yes—murder. Smart, tense, and gripping. Loved it!”
— ELLERY LLOYD, New York Times bestselling author of The Club, a Reese's Book Club pick“Katherine Faulkner unpeels Fornasetti wallpaper and opens glass box extensions, revealing delectably dislikeable characters, secrets, and murder. The Other Mothers is The Undoing meets Big Little Lies. A fast-paced, decadent skewering of upper-middle-class motherhood.”
— ABIGAIL DEAN, New York Times bestselling author of Girl A“Katherine Faulkner has done it again! Anyone who enjoyed Greenwich Park will love this—maybe even more. Full of terrible people behaving terribly, it's such a compelling story. I read it in one sitting . . . extremely gripping.”
— HARRIET TYCE, Sunday Times bestselling author of It Ends at Midnight and Blood Orange“[A] first-class thriller, with taut prose, gasp-worthy twists, and characters you’ll love to hate. Faulkner has done it again—fans of Greenwich Park won’t be disappointed.”
— ROBIN MORGAN-BENTLEY, author of The Guest House and The Wreckage“Such a fast-paced, twisty story that takes you in completely unexpected directions. I read this in one sitting and adored every page. Greenwich Park was fantastic, but this is another step up.”
— HOLLY WATT, award-winning author of The End of the Game and To the Lions“I devoured this novel—heart-stopping from first to last, both a brilliantly twisty thriller in the domestic noir genre and a vivid recreation of the difficult early years of being a working mother with a small child. Katherine Faulkner's eye for detail includes everything from the dandelion beauty of a small child's hair to the way some mothers manipulate, ostracize, and deceive each other. I especially enjoyed the details of North London life, and the way it can move in just a few blocks from the luxe to the dismal.”
— AMANDA CRAIG, author of The Three Graces and The Golden Rule“A highly addictive and whip-smart tale, The Other Mothers strips the surface from Insta-perfect lives to reveal a deeply unsettling reality. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough!”
— TERESA DRISCOLL, internationally bestselling author of Tell Me Lies and I Am Watching You“[A] scrumptious whodunnit. . . . Faulkner has a frank but careful storytelling style that eggs the reader onward even as the questions pile up—no reader can avoid consuming it with haste.”
— The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette“The author of Greenwich Park returns with a fresh and deftly paced thriller about murder, class, and motherhood in an exclusive London community. The Other Mothers is a thriller of many layers, with more than one puzzle to solve. . . . A compelling mystery.”
— The Miramichi Reader“Totally gripping from start to finish, The Other Mothers is an unputdownable thriller in the vein of Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies and Celeste Ng’s Everything I Never Told You. And like the former, it would make for a very binge-worthy miniseries.”
— PureWow