The Wrong Mother: A Novel
by: Sophie Hannah
Published by: Penguin
Buy From Amazon.com
Reviewed by Janelle Martin
Many mothers long for a vacation from their life, a few days where someone takes care of them. For most, this remains a dream but Sally Thorning turns it into reality. When a longed-for work trip is cancelled at the last moment, Sally sees the chance to grab a break from her young family. She checks in at remote hotel where she meets Mark Bretherick. In between spa treatments and sleep, she indulges in a short affair, at the end of which she returns home to her life refreshed.
A year passes and Sally is watching the news with her husband Nick when she hears that Mark Bretherick’s wife Geraldine and daughter Lucy have been murdered. In shock she realizes that, despite all the details being the same, the Mark Bretherick on the screen is not the man she spent a week with–but what should she do? Going to the police may expose her secret, but keeping quiet may put her family in danger. Suddenly Sally realizes she could be Geraldine’s twin and she’s being followed. In desperation she sends the police an anonymous note. It it enough to spur action?
Sophie Hannah’s third novel The Wrong Mother (published in the UK as The Point of Rescue) is a story of mothers under extreme pressure. This is not an easy book to read; Hannah has crossed an invisible line and heads straight into the territory of which no one speaks. Geraldine calls this the “conspiracy of silence.” Anyone who has spent any length of time in childcare of the very young will recognize flashes of their own feelings in the pages of The Wrong Mother, and that’s what makes this novel at times squirm-inducing.
Despite the difficult topic, The Wrong Mother is a captivating read. Full of plot twists, red herrings and psychological labyrinths, the solution will catch most unaware. Hannah is a gifted and compassionate writer who gently leads her readers from revulsion into reluctant understanding, taking tentative steps toward discussion of a taboo, yet vital subject.
Armchair Interview says: Well worth your reading time.
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