You'll Like My Mother

by Naomi A. Hintze

After her husband dies in Vietnam, a very pregnant Francesca Kinsolving seeks support from her mother-in-law in Ohio. For Francesca it is an introduction to terror...

Genres: Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Gothic, Mystery Thriller, Classics

159 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

An American writer of mystery, supernatural and gothic suspense novels for adults.

Hintze was born in Camden, Illinois, the daughter of Jesse Estes Agans and Estella Rang. She studied at Maryville College from 1927 to 1929, and at Ball State Teachers College from 1929 to 1930. On April 19, 1930, she married Harold Sanborn Hintze, with whom she had three children. Naomi was fascinated with psychic phenomena, a recurring theme in her books. She and her husband settled in Charlottesville, Virginia, where the nearby University of Virginia was the only American university with a Division of Parapsychology. Naomi was a member of the American Society of Psychical Research. She died on November 16, 1997.

In 1970, she was nominated for the Best First Novel Edgar Award for You'll Like My Mother published by Putnam in 1969. The book was adapted into the 1972 film of the same name, directed by Lamont Johnson and starring Patty Duke, Rosemary Murphy and Richard Thomas (The book was published in the United Kingdom in 1970 under the title The House With the Watching Eyes). Her third novel, Aloha Means Goodbye published by Random House in 1972, was made into a TV movie in 1974. (It was published in the United Kingdom as Hawaii for Danger.)

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Forget zombies, vampires and werewolves. Meet the most terrifying creature ever to walk the earth . . .
a mother-in-law!

After a troubled past, Francesca falls hard for Matthew. Following a whirlwind courtship and quickie wedding, he's off to Vietnam, but is killed on his way there. Months later, a VERY pregnant Francesca decides it's time to meet Matthew's mother, a woman he promised she would like.

He was wrong.

Imagine being met at the door by a woman exclaiming, "You came at an unfortunate time. It was necessary to drown the kittens."

Oh, it gets better.

She then goes on to say, "Our Siamese mated with an alley cat. The kittens were no good . . . as is always true of any species when a thoroughbred mates with a mongrel."

As you might imagine, things go downhill from there.

There was a great, creepy buildup during the first half of the book, but then . . . well, not much. It ended the way I wanted it to, but everything seemed a bit too convenient and tidy.

I've got to hand it to my husband for his honesty. He NEVER told me I'd like his mother.
In fact, after meeting her, I told him, "Gee, your mom's really nice." "No, she's not!" he snapped.

I can't say I wasn't warned . . .

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess you could call this a novella today and it reads very quickly in any case. First published in 1969, You'll like my mother features Francesca, who starts the novel very, very pregnant and on her way to visit her mother-in-law in the small town of Always, Ohio. We quickly learn that Francesca was expelled from college for sleeping with a professor (my times have changed! The prof would be the one to go today for sure!) and ended up living in a shack off the beach in California, where she somehow contracted blood poisoning. Her rescuer, one Matthew (Maths) shortly afterwards became her husband and shortly after that, got called up to Vietnam. Unfortunately for Maths, he died in a plane crash out there, and now Francesca is a widow. She decided to give the child up for adoption, but wanted to pay a visit to her mother-in-law first, just in case she might want the child instead.

In true gothic horror fashion, her mother-in-law insults her horribly during dinner; this after she first met her drowning kittens in the back yard! When her nasty mother-in-law goes to take her back to her hotel room later that evening, the car won't start and the next day, the river floods, inundating the driveway, so poor Francesca is stranded. While still flooded in, her water breaks, and then things go from bad to worse...

This does has some nice twists and turns, and you kinda feel for poor Francesca, but overall, nothing really special. Hintze writes well and the story moves at a good pace. If you are into gothic suspense novels, you may enjoy this. 3 stars!

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this around age 11 and found it wonderfully scary. As I recall, it's about a young pregnant girl who journeys to meet her mother-in-law after the baby's father is lost in the Viet Nam war. I was enthralled early on by such things as the narrator's description of a bakery display case at a dusty roadside cafe--I can still see the donuts sweating beads of liquified sugar in the heat and the plump flies crawling over grease-spotted waxed paper or bumping clumsily against the inside of the glass....Such scenes set the table nicely for the horrors soon to be served up. Once the girl arrives at the family estate, she is welcomed with all solicitousness by her new mother-in-law, but slowly comes to the realization that she is quite literally trapped, and so begins the odyssey of control and terror from which she must save herself and her child, using every bit of wit she possesses. The movie based on the book was just stupid but I remember enjoying the book tremendously.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although somewhat dated, this taut little thriller kept me turning the pages. The writing is tight, which keeps the suspense mounting, and the characters are fleshed out decently enough for the reader to care about whether or not the heroine survives til the end. I reader somewhere that this was a made for television film starring Patty Duke, but isn't easy to find. The plot seems like good fodder for a TV film during that decade.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

For its time, it was a suspenseful read. I enjoyed this one.

[``Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Older book of gothic suspense and a real page turner.

[Mary Kendall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I happened upon a copy of this author's first novel and all other activity stopped. The plot sucked me right in and kept me there. Incredible storytelling and so sad it is out of print and the author unknown. A movie resulted from the novel in 1972 and the trailer (same title as novel) really captures the gothic suspense and macabre tone of this work. In sum, it is hard to find stories of this caliber anymore.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

After rereading Aloha Means Goodbye, I decided to try other books by this author. I would probably give this one 3.5 stars. Francesca, the heroine, has never been particularly courageous or adventurous; but now, recently widowed, with a baby on the way she is determined to visit her late husband's mother, despite receiving no replies to the telegrams and letters she sent her. Although Matthew never told her much about his mother, he always ended with "You'll like my mother." But, once she arrives, Francesca finds the elder Mrs. Kinsolver nothing like what she expects — and then circumstances prevent her leaving. Now, Francesca must find the courage to survive, not just for herself, but for her baby. Despite being in the Gothic vein, in addition to being suspenseful, scary, and ???, this book is also surprising sweet. The romantic element is very understated. Recommended.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yikes. Just yikes. Could anything be more terrifying than to be young, widowed, pregnant, and under the control of your evil malicious, and hateful mother-in-law?

I challenged my cousin Wayne to buddy read this one with me after hearing he has never finished a book in his life, but he remembered starting this one way back in the 1970s and liked it. It took a bit of work to find this, but worth it to me to try to get a cousin interested in reading.

[Gaile · Rating 5 out of 5]

A movie starring Patty Duke and Richard Thomas was made based on this book.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw the old movie starring Patty Duke and Richard Thomas and was thrilled to discover the book it was based upon. A riveting thriller that I highly recommend.

[Carol Storm · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Die! Die! My darling!"

Need I say more?

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

After purchasing this at a thrift store on a whim to get my 3 books for $1 deal, I was wondering if i would even like this book. However, being a lover of gothics and thrillers, i decided to give it a go.
And I’m glad I did.

After going through most of her pregnancy alone, a widowed Francesca is on a mission to meet her late husband’s mother before she decides whether or not to give their child up for adoption.
Her hopes do not go according to plan because after her husband’s (Matthew) constant telling ms of how Francesca would “like his mother”, the Mrs. Kinsolving she meets is nothing like the one Matthew described.

With many twists and turns throughout the story, there is a development within the character of Francesca: from a timid, unprovoking woman to gaining her voice and confidence.


An easy read, You’ll Like My Mother holds familial secrets close, in hopes no mongrels stray too close to the thoroughbreds.

[Charles Fischer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another nice Valancourt re-discovery, Hintze was largely an article writer for magazines, but she did have this swift, forceful little terror in her, and it's a pleasurable read. A pregnant, widowed young mother comes to an Ohio river town to visit the mother-in-law she's never met, and if you think matters are going to go well, it's possible you've never encountered a work of fiction of any form. Some nice twists, a hoary revelation.

[Michele Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars for an old-fashioned thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. I had never heard of the author until I read about her in the Nerdette newsletter ( I think that’s where I read it). This reminds me of books and movies I enjoyed as a teenager. The writing is crisp, and while the story is dated, the characters and setting drew me in and led me racing through this slim volume!

[Boris Cesnik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Promising start but conventional ending. I wished it would have moved in the direction of the more eerie and gut-wrenching Nightmare by Anne Blaisdell. Sometimes the heroine's action and thinking felt silly and the story seemed forced. Overall enjoyable, maybe a tag above the average suspense novel of that era but still not an unforgettable reading experience.

[Thesincouch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this in general - more so because it was published in the 60s than in its own merits. How the author treats people with mental disabilities is appaling but not unexpected. There were parts of this that were completely engrossing and some of them that lost me, but in general, I'm not sorry I stuck to it.

[Cyndy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember watching this movie years ago with Patty Duke playing the young woman. It was a fast read and entertaining. But the cover of this book? Come on, no postpartum woman is going to have a waist like what is depicted. At least not within a week of giving birth! lol

[Chrissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suspenseful!

[Gena Lott · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most unnerving mysteries I have ever read. Even to this day, I remember how frightening I found it. Great Story-telling!!

[elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hidden Gem, love the book, it was suspenseful, well written.

[Tracey Mcdougal · Rating 5 out of 5]

1 of the 1st books I’ve ever read, and it remains in my top 20 books of all times.

[Geicodave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average thrilller.

[Rupert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun old school suspense page turner.

[Chrissy S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vintage creepy mother-in-law horror. I enjoyed reading this. I found out about it on the Monster she wrote podcast. Easy read.

[Brian Bridges · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a solid block of tension from beginning to end. The story is simple, the twists are fun, the atmosphere is palpable, the tone is claustrophobic, and the pacing is fast.

I normally avoid pregnancy stories like the plague and I actually didn't know this was a pregnancy story, going in. All I knew is that Valancourt re-released it and I loved the cover art. However, as soon as I began reading, I found myself immersed and the time sped by me every time I opened the book. This is partly due to the fast pacing and the simplicity of the story. The reader's perspective is locked with the main character, following her around, and our knowledge is limited to her knowledge. This is good for added mystery and tension. I found myself feeling what she was feeling.

As for the pregnancy itself, it really avoids the gory details, which was a relief to me. I can handle so much blood, horror, gore, and violence, as long as it's not medical. Once it's in the context of medical content, I get extremely squeamish, for some reason. This story's pregnancy did not trigger that in me.

There were only a couple times in this story where it was difficult for me to suspend my disbelief. And only a couple moments stand out in my memory, where the main character was a classic horror story idiot, doing things that no average intelligence person would ever do. Mostly, I bought into the character's actions and motivations. And the moments that felt implausible to me were fairly insignificant and didn't ruin the story for me.

Overall, if you want a fast-paced, bingeable, and high-tension story, I would recommend this. If you want something with more depth and grit, you might look elsewhere.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just a silly little gothic suspense novel. Fun if you don't want your brain to have to do any heavy lifting.

[Margaret Unger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than I expected judging from the cheesy cover.

[Kalyn Botz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suspenseful! It was an easy read that was full of action the whole way through.

[Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

First time a have read a Naomi A Hintze book.
Great book for a quick read on a rainy weekend.