Cannonball Read 13

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search This Site

| Log in
  1. Follow us on Facebook
  2. Follow us on Twitter
  3. Follow us on Instagram
  4. Follow us on Goodreads
  5. RSS Feeds

  • Home
  • About
    • About CBR
    • Getting Started
    • Cannon Book Club
    • Diversions
    • Fan Mail
    • Holiday Book Exchange
    • Book Bingo Reading Challenge
    • Participation Badges
    • AlabamaPink
  • Our Team
    • Leaderboard
    • The CBR Team
    • Recent Comments
    • CBR Interviews
    • Our Volunteers
    • Meet MsWas
  • Categories
    • Review Genres
    • Tags
  • Fight Cancer
    • How We Fight Cancer
    • How You Can Donate
    • Book Sale
    • CBR Merchandise
    • Supporters and Friends of CBR
  • FAQ
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Follow Us

Open Registration for CBR13 ends Jan. 31! Sign Up Today!

> FAQ Home
> Genre: Fiction > The real message here is to limit your children’s screen time

The real message here is to limit your children’s screen time

The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth

October 11, 2020 by Ellesfena Leave a Comment

CBR12 Bingo: Pandemic

This is another entry in the ever-growing genre of “twisty” books aimed at women. I admit I am always tempted by these books–I have to know what the twist is! And for the most part, I actually enjoyed The Mother-in-Law, unlike some other entries into this genre.

The book opens with Lucy and her husband receiving a visit from the police to tell them that Lucy’s mother-in-law, Diana, with whom she has never gotten along, has been found dead by apparent suicide. The rest of book alternates chapters between flashbacks and what happens after Diana’s body is discovered. Some chapters are narrated by Lucy, others by Diana. Of course, this being a “twisty” book, nothing is quite what it seems.

One thing I really liked about this book is that it’s clear, from the first time Diana narrates a chapter, that she’s actually not the cold, unfeeling woman that Lucy and other family members think she is–she’s just very different than Lucy and their different communication styles result in misunderstandings and hurt feelings. I found this refreshing after reading so many books like this where one or both of the main characters are genuinely unlikable. I liked both Lucy and Diana (I actually liked Diana better), and empathized with them both at different times during their conflicts.

There are, of course, numerous red herrings along the way. I didn’t love the twist–has there been a “twisty” book since Gone Girl where the twist actually improved the story? If there has, I haven’t read it–but I did enjoy the book up until then. The main thing that bothered me was the amount of time Lucy lets her very small children use electronic devices. It’s literally every scene the children are in, and they are unappealing brats for the most part as they usually only come on the scene to whine that their sibling is hogging the iPad. I’m not sure this was the author’s intent, but it sure did reinforce the point that you should limit your child’s screen time as much as you possibly can. It’s a good message, at least.

completed bingo: Readers choice (replacing Roarinf 20s), Pandemic, Friendship, Green, I Wish…)

Filed Under: Fiction, Mystery Tagged With: cbr12bingo, mystery, sally hepworth

Ellesfena's CBR12 Review No:25 · Genres: Fiction, Mystery · Tags: cbr12bingo, mystery, sally hepworth ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

About Ellesfena

CBR13 participantCBR12 participantCBR11 participantCBR10 participantCBR  9CBR 8

CBR13 goal: to read and review at least one more book in each of the many series I’ve started and never finished. View Ellesfena's reviews»

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.



Recent Comments

  • Malin on If you are getting another cat, read this book. Heck, if you have a cat, get this book.Ponyo is just as cute as her namesake. This book sounds really useful, I suspect my husband and I are not giving our cats all...
  • msvreadsbooks on The Last Resort – Meh.Thanks, all! I'm excited to get started on this journey and to read more reviews from my fellow Cannonballers (is that what we're called?).
  • msvreadsbooks on The Last Resort – Meh.Then this book is for you! Haha. It's not a bad way to spend an afternoon.
  • andtheIToldYouSos on Gideon Nav packed her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and she escaped from the House of the Ninth.ONE OF US ONE OF US
  • andtheIToldYouSos on Gideon Nav packed her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and she escaped from the House of the Ninth.I let the art come my way through the Tor instagram...if I sought it out, I'd never stop!
See More Recent Comments »

Want to Help Out?

CBR has a great crew of volunteers, and we're always looking for more people to help out. If you have a specialty or are willing to learn, drop MsWas a line.

  • How You Can Donate
  • FAQ
  • Shop
  • Volunteers
  • Leaderboard
  • AlabamaPink
  • Contact

Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo
  3. Google Pay
© 2021 Cannonball Read | Log in