Daphne and Laurel are both new mothers with baby girls called Chloe (although sophisticated Laurel spells her Chloe's name with an umlaut). Both are married to older men and living isolated lives in suburban Westchester when they meet at a New Mum's group where, to Daphne's delight, Laurel takes her under her wing and the two become close friends. But it soon appears that Laurel is a little obsessed with Daphne as they begin dressing alike, styling their hair the same, and Laurel appropriating Daphne's stories as her own. As their friendship becomes darker Daphne feels she has to escape, from both Laurel and her own domineering husband, and she accepts an archivists job with an author who lives in the shadows of a sinister upstate psychiatric hospital where the story of one of the inmates uncannily mirrors that of Laurel and Daphne.
The Other Mother had potential as a domestic suspense novel but there was simply too much going on. There were so many twists and turns to this tale that it became bewildering and nonsensical. Carol Goodman is a well-respected thriller writer but I felt that she had lost her way with this story - there were too many things happening and the plot simply wasn't tight enough.
This is a dark tale, dealing with mental illness, psychosis, and postpartum depression, and it isn't something that I would recommend to anyone who is feeling distressed or who is a new mother. In fact, this is such an unbelievable and confused muddle of a book that I would advise anyone to give it a wide berth.
Not recommended.
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