The next psychological thriller from the bestselling author of The Good Neighbors... There's something strange about Loren's new mother-in-law... When Loren meets Jack, she's sure he's the man she's been waiting for-a perfect husband and a father for her young daughter. Shortly after their wedding, their plans to start a life together are put on hold when the couple receives word that Jack's father has died. In an effort to appease her new husband, Loren invites her mother-in-law, Coralee, to stay with them while she grieves. When strange things begin to occur just after her arrival, Loren questions how much she knows about the woman she invited into her home. One calculated move after the next, Coralee attempts to drive a wedge between Loren and her new husband. Jack believes his mother's strange behavior is just further proof she needs their help, but Loren isn't so sure. As Coralee's actions become increasingly sinister, Loren is pushed to her breaking point and she realizes she must do whatever it takes to get rid of her mother-in-law for good. What she doesn't know about her new family could kill her...
KIERSTEN MODGLIN is a #1 bestselling author of psychological thrillers. Her books have sold over two million copies and been translated into multiple languages. Kiersten is a member of International Thriller Writers, Novelists, Inc., and the Alliance of Independent Authors. She is a KDP Select All-Star and a recipient of ThrillerFix's Best Psychological Thriller Award, Suspense Magazine's Best Book of 2021 Award, a 2022 Silver Falchion for Best Suspense, and a 2022 Silver Falchion for Best Overall Book of 2021. Kiersten grew up in rural western Kentucky and later relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, where she now lives with her family. Kiersten's readers across the world lovingly refer to her as "KMod." A binge-watching expert, psychology fanatic, and indoor enthusiast, Kiersten enjoys rainy days spent with her favorite people and evenings with her nose in a book.
"I had no just how much trouble meeting Jack Wells would cause."
The Mother-in-Law by Kiersten Modglin
My Review:
Oh my gosh.
Oh my gosh.
Oh my gosh.
Oh my gosh.
Yes, this book is THAT wild!
Before I go any further....this book is f'ing TERRIFIYING! I mean..I do not scare easily. Not at books. But this....
I have a vision of the author writing this with a smile, thinking "take THAT readers!!" I am sure that is not what happened but....
I also see this book as a black and white film maybe having come out in the fifties or sixties. I see it with ominous music, audience watching with bated breath, unable to look away.
"Hush. hush sweet Charlotte." "Gaslight." "Rear Window." You know the type of movie.
And it's another MOTHER-IN-LAW book. Now, I have read many of those. These types of books do not scare me and are usually harmless but....
So, you know the drill. Guy meets girl. Girl meets guy's crazy mother-in-law. No spoilers there.
But this is not a typical thriller. No gore. No animal abuse THANK GOSH or it would have been an automatic one star.
No chase scenes. Nothing filler.
However..there is a gothic, ominous feeling of DREAD that permeates. There are little things that entwine themselves to the reader leading up to an ending that defies....
SPOILERS:
THAT ENDING! THAT ENDING!
I felt like sleeping with the lights on.
3.5 of 5 stars but five stars for the creepy factor. This is one frightening book and it plays with your mind. Read it (with the lights on) and try not to jump at strange sounds.
Why is there only five stars to give? This book blew my mind, it was simply one of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read this year. I loved the tension, the smart and complex characters and the not-too crazy twists that still gave me small shocks. The author writes well, not describing too much or too little. No annoying details that didn’t make sense, it all came together nicely.
This starts off strong, then gets sort of boring. Jack and Lauren meet by accident and eventually become a couple. Lauren has a house that's been in her family for generations. When Jack's Dad dies, his mother Coralee decides to stay with the newlyweds in Laurens' house. The constant meddling of the mother in law goes on for a while. Too long imo. She's obviously trying to tear their marriage apart for a reason. I found the ending too complex, but overall, it's not a bad domestic thriller.
This was just your typical domestic thriller with a pretty unoriginal plot, not outstanding writing but one that kept me engrossed anyway.
There are probably a lot more things I didn't like about this book than I liked and I'm being maybe a bit generous with 2.5 stars rounded up here purely because it kept me entertained enough to stay focussed during a difficult period - that is saying something at least.
What I didn't love:
🔸️Despising the characters and their stupid decision making. One or even two may have been intended (and done well), but not sure about all 4 adult MCs.
🔸️Changes in narration style/tense at the end of Loren chapters. The book is told in present tense but at the end, presumably to build suspense, it has things like "I had no idea how much trouble meeting Jack Wells would cause me" or "I'd like them to bond. Besides, how bad could she be?' If I'd only known...". Ugh. This happens a lot.
🔸️Suspend disbelief is neccesary but tbh it is just too unbelievable with a lot of holes to really enjoy, recommend or rave about.
🔸️One of my KU notes says "too much hand washing in this book" because we just had to read such silly, unnecessary detail throughout.
This book! Wow! I finished reading this almost two days ago and I'm still processing what I just read! I have been a Kiersten Modglin fan for a while, but I think this might be my new favorite of hers.
Imagine getting married to the perfect man, his father dying right after the wedding, and your new mother-in-law coming to stay for an indefinite amount of time while she grieves. That's the dilemma in this story. Only it doesn't stop there. Strange things are afoot and the creepy action begins with the arrival of Mommy Dearest.
The characters are well-written and the plot is fast moving! I can honestly say that I've not been this creeped out by a book in years. I was riveted to the intense action and - believe it or not - my smart watch actually picked up on my heart rate veering into the "cardio" zone during a few scenes! That is pretty much unheard of for me.
I can't put into words how great this book is! It's the perfect, five-star psychological thriller!
This was the Lifetime movie-bargain bin basement-Walmart clearance-Tyler Perry movie wigs-version of a thriller.
If it wasn’t clear, I hate this book with a burning passion. I hate I spent an evening reading it waiting for it to turn into the 5 star read everyone keeps toting.
The Plot:
Single mom Loren meets handsome stranger Jack and they fall in love faster than tweens in YA novel about vampires. They get married and have all of one day of happiness before it all goes to complete and utter shit. Enter Coralee, Jack’s mother, who comes to temporarily stay with the young couple after her husband, Jack’s father passed away.
I know you’re thinking that doesn’t sound so bad, and you’re right, in theory the book sounds amazing, but it wasn’t. Coralee goes about creating a wedge between the newlyweds as monsters-in-laws do, ranging from the small and calculated to the over-the-top and insane. How every single adult responds to this is truly baffling.
And then when you get to the “twist,” Heavy Sigh I wanted to hurl this book out the window a la Silver Linings Playbook.
Modglin has done it again! This twisted and suspenseful story has the signature style her readers have come to love and new elements that will keep them guessing. As the story progressed, an unsettling feeling crept in with each word, leading to several shocking reveals. As tensions mounted, my questions did, too. Who was behind the strange occurrences? Could Loren protect those she loves? Most thrilling of all, and my most frequently asked question...What on earth will happen next? Haunting and insidious, this book had me hanging on every word and left me with chills.
After I finished this book, I was tempted to recommend the book to my daughters-in-law, so that they can see how good they have it! Since this is a 2-star book and I did not want my daughters-in-law to start hating me, I quickly nixed that thought.
UGH, UGH, UGH! This book reminded me of a 1-star Lifetime movie.....and I am being kind. I listened to the book's audio version and the two narrators were superb and that was the only reason why this book earned two stars from me and not one.
The book's premise and the author's character development were both lame. Each character lacked credibility. The book's ending was contrived and very predictable. Overall, it was a mindless read.
Perhaps my expectations were too high. I read Sally Hepworth's "The Mother-In-Law" last year and that was superb. Also, many Goodreads reviewers raved about this author and that, too, influenced my decision to listen to this book.
This mother-in-law (also known as monster-in-law) is not one I would want! Lol Loren meets Jack and they get married. Jack’s dad dies and his mother comes to stay with them. It’s just one thing after another with this woman. I found myself immersed in this book from the very first page and thankful my mother-in-law was not HER! Great twists towards the end. Just when I thought she couldn’t get any worse, she did!!!
This one was just ok; I had high hopes because the reviews are great, but I didn’t find it very thrilling or psychologically twisted. The premise is that Loren and Jack are recently married when his father dies, and he goes to stay with his mom. His mom is a manipulative clinger so Jack ends up being away for weeks. Eventually, the MIL moves in with them, and things start happening around the house; Loren is convinced it’s the MIL.
This book falls into the new trend of labeling “domestic crazy people drama” books as psychological thrillers. Another example is The Husband Thief (which I liked better) IMO writing about crazy people doing domestic stuff still requires a "mystery" to be considered a “thriller” but that’s me. This one not only lacks a real mystery, but the pacing/lack of action made it boring at times. There isn’t really a BIG mystery of what’s going on; we know Coralee is a psycho; the only “mystery” is why she’s being a psycho, but who really cares? The first third of the book is just filler of the couple meeting and getting married; going to work, dad dying, etc… We’re 30% in before Jack & Coralee FINALLY come home, and shit starts happening. Then it’s pretty much Coralee acting crazy, Loren crying and getting pissed, and Jack acting like a major wuss trying to be peacekeeper to the two. It takes until the last quarter of the book to know the “why” and it’s unwound super slowly, and not very twisty, or exciting.
Bottom Line This one’s on KU; I recommend it for readers that like dysfunctional families with a slow burn secret, but I don’t think true thriller fans will be very impressed.
The Mother in Law by Kiersten Modglin Pages : 290 Genre: Thriller Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
My quick review :
This book was something else. I don’t think I felt this much RAGE in a book before, anxiety and utterly and complete shock. If I could give this book more than 5 stars I totally would.
Absolutely, freakin' delicious! 😍 I could not get enough of this novel. I loved, empathized and even hated nearly every character of this novel so many times throughout. The emotions this book provoked in me were strong & fierce - I nearly wanted to throw my phone a few times 😂 That ending though was fabulous! Deep, yummy & such gold. I get what all the hype about this one has been about and my word. I'm happily satiated from this one, yet again by Kiersten! 🤤
I have read other mother in law trope books before, so I thought I knew where this one was going to go. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see it went in a different direction. This is a typical KModg book. Popcorn thriller, short chapters, easy one day read. This wasn’t my favorite by her, but it was still enjoyable and bingeable. I disliked every character at one point or another, and felt like Jack and Loren’s relationship moved unrealistically fast. Coralee was such a monster, you would NOT want her for your mother in law! But the reason behind her actions will not be what you expect.
This was an easy read—quick to get through but not exactly full of surprises. Still, the suspense was strong enough to keep me hooked and turning the pages. There were definitely moments when the main character’s naivety had me shaking my head, but I couldn’t look away. And don’t even get me started on the mother-in-law—absolutely impossible to like (which, let’s be honest, made it more entertaining).
Overall, a predictable but thoroughly enjoyable read!
Omg this book is so awful! My dog could write a better “psychological thriller.” The “twists” are so out of left field. It’s like a story idea was there and then she didn’t know how to end it. Absolutely horrible. Im baffled how this book has anything but 1 and 2 stars. Annoying. Slow. And please don’t name your character’s kid Rynlee because her name is LoREN. This makes 0 sense. Like this book.
This book felt like it could be a Lifetime movie—in the best way! Loren meets Jack, they get married, and things seem great... until Jack’s mother, Coralee, moves in after his father passes away. What’s supposed to be a short visit turns into something much longer—and much more disturbing.
Coralee is the house guest from hell, and her presence starts to take a serious toll on Loren and Jack’s marriage. The tension keeps building, and you’re left wondering just how far they’ll have to go to get her out.
I've been dipping my toes in psychological fiction lately. I like to change up genres from time to time, expanding my mind with more than just horror. Compared to my normal reads, I would call some of these psycho books 'slow burns'. This one took a lot of build up before I could really get into it. It starts with a cute meet/ fast falling in love/ and then moves on to the MIL moving in with the newly married couple. The twisty end made me LOL> read as a comedy, this story was satisfying, but other than that, I couldn't take it too seriously. It's my first read by this author
Wow that ending! Loren is a great character, she’s like able & relatable. She certainly doesn’t deserve jack’s family drama. This was devoured in a day, a must read!
My rating…3.5 stars ‘Not Bad, Like a Midweek ‘Hey Big Head’ Text” – This one had potential! I wasn’t glued to it, but I wasn’t rolling my eyes either. It did what it needed to do, like that one cousin who shows up to the function and eats, but at least brings soda.
Loren thought she hit the jackpot with Jack, a charming husband and a great father figure for her young daughter. But when Jack’s father passes away, inviting her new mother-in-law, Coralee, to stay seemed like the compassionate choice. Little did Loren know, she’d just opened her home to a master of psychological warfare.
While the suspense kept me hooked, some of Loren’s decisions had me raising an eyebrow (or two). It’s one of those stories where you might find yourself talking back to the book, offering unsolicited advice to fictional characters. It definitely gave lifetime movie network. IYKYK.
Overall, “The Mother-in-Law” serves up a hearty dish of domestic suspense with a side of dark humor. It’s a reminder that sometimes, family ties can double as nooses.
Loren meets jack and falls in love , Loren’s daughter Rynlee adores jack too! So what’s the problem in this lovely little set up?? Well here comes coralee the monster in law from hell!!!
This book digs deep into century old secrets and a house that is the centre of a lot of arguments! I took an instant dislike to Coralees character from the beginning and it quickly snowballed into hate!