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  • The Mothers

  • Five women. Five secrets. One missing husband.
  • By: Sarah J Naughton
  • Narrated by: Nicky Diss
  • Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (175 ratings)
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The Mothers cover art

The Mothers

By: Sarah J Naughton
Narrated by: Nicky Diss
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Summary

When five very different mothers met in their NCT class three years ago, they had no idea that their lives were to become inextricably entwined.

There's Bella, stay-at-home mum of Teddy. She suffered postpartum psychosis after Teddy's birth. There's Chrissy, divorce lawyer, married to Russell. They're having some problems with their sex life. There's Electra, mother to twins, who is struggling with her son's behaviour. There's Skye, a single mother, who used a sperm donor to have her baby. Then there's Jen. She was supposed to be a mother, but it hasn't worked out like she expected.   

In fact, nothing has worked out quite like any of them expected, and now Bella's husband is missing - after stealing a life-changing amount of money from the accountancy he works at. The police want to get to the bottom of what happened, yet the five women seem to be hiding something. But what are they hiding? What secrets could possibly be holding these very different women together?  

For fans of Big Little Lies, Friend Request and He Said/She Said, this is first-class psychological suspense from the critically acclaimed Sarah J Naughton. 

©2019 Sarah J. Naughton (P)2019 Orion Publishing Group

What listeners say about The Mothers

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Another Thriller Muddied by Mental Health Issues

This book is hard to rate - I really liked "Tattletale" and I ADORED "The Other Couple" - so I really was expecting great things from this author Sarah J Naughton and had this book on pre order as soon as I heard of it. The set up of the diverse group of friends was intriguing and the missing husband and chapter one did start out well. The narration was excellent, the story seemed like it was a real page turner but being overshadowed by mental illness ruined it for me.

In fact I nearly returned it before I even reached the first chapter as I found the prologue so off putting. I listen to audiobooks for relaxation and I find a great thriller, especially one set in a luxurious exotic setting as "The Other Couple" was to be just perfect .... but as soon as the red herring of a hallucination inducing psychiatric disorder is introduced, I just do not want to hear any more.
Firstly because it is a serious, disturbing and gritty issue, especially when it involves post natal depression and secondly because it is such a cop out as a suspense device .... is a man really following me with an axe in his pocket or was it the milkman and I am going bonkers.
Rather like the equally serious and upsetting cave-in of animal cruelty being used to ramp up the drama and impending threat - I find it just such a cheap cliche and in the case of many less talented authors, struggling to write a thriller just plain lazy and transparently formulaic.
I suppose I just expected more from Sarah J Naughton who is a compelling storyteller and once the shadow of mental illness/postnatal depression and delusions was cast I just was no longer interested in reading a thriller - however good - which depends on psychiatric disorders to work.
I also think it is disrespectful to those who struggle with mental disorders that this is used so much as a weasel in thrillers.
I am sure this book was written very well as per the first two books but for me, I prefer plot lines where one of the main characters does not fear they are having a terrifying slide into psychosis, as apart from anything else,it has been done to death already.
I will look out for Sarah J Naughton's next book, but am returning this one and just so sorry it was not on a par with "The Other Couple".

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Good listen

I liked the narration of this book and the story was enjoyable and more so because, for a change, I didn’t see all of the twists coming.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Waste of time

So disappointed - really enjoyed her writing but there was no story, no message, no entertainment, just a waste of time and talent.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Fascinating story, lazy characterisation.

Interesting story but some characters felt painfully cliché. A clear aim to include a diverse range of characters but the 'hippy', the 'gay man', the 'queer lady' , 'troubled detective' all felt like they had been written 100 times before and it became difficult to feel for the characters when they were so clearly archetypes of diversity.

The author made some peculiar and unlikely choices in character also as for some reason the lead detective Iona, feels the need to say whether she would date or fall in love with every woman she meets. I don't know if this was a way of reminding the reader about Iona's sexuality or showing that she was very much longing for a partner but it felt incredibly unprofessional and out of place. As a queer lady I can't fathom doing this and I don't think anyone feels the need to describe whether they would date someone everytime they meet someone new?

The story is somewhat predictable but with fascinating loops and turns that leaves you where you thought you'd be but in an engaging and thought-provoking way.

Narrator is excellent and conveys characters well. I would warn however that if you are listening on a low volume you may struggle to hear any whispered dialogue without turning it up a bit.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant story

Absolutely loved this and finished it within 3 days as I couldn't stop listening to it. Great narrating too with a few great plot twists.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic story

I couldn’t stop listening with twists and turns along the way. I liked that that you got to hear the stories of each individual mother and how all there stories merged together. Would highly recommend!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Was a good story

I started to expect something but not quite the plot twist the author threw in at the end. Good build-up and variety of characters. Had thought more of the detective than how that was left, although the ending makes sense why the detective character isn't given the gratification you believe she will get.

I did, however, find the author a little undermining of working women and her stance on the female body, and this expectation every woman should go back to pre baby weight

Overall, it's worth a read/listen, but you may find some of the descriptions of the characters a little misogynistic despite the fact it's written by a woman

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Don’t waste your precious book time

Rant alert! I’ve just refused to finish this book. I never don’t finish books but I feel so irritated by it! The characters felt pretty solid initially. The whole missing bloke, possible murder, secrets to be revealed thing was engaging but……and here’s my issue with it…….it CONSTANTLY made derogatory/judgemental comments about the female characters physical appearance after having children. Now I will admit that I am not really a fan of physical descriptions in books. I like to make up my own versions of how people look based on how they make me feel. I accept however that lots of people do like to be told how characters look. Not a chapter goes by in this book without reference to one of the character’s physical appearance. Especially poor Bella who is described as “letting herself go” since having children and her husband doesn’t fancy her because she’s a frumpy fat mum. You even get a dress size (size 12) to complete the mental image of this grotesque frump bag. Yes people a MASSIVE size 12. Even the other mothers comment on it. They of course all lose their baby weight easily, because well, they are normal and successful and Bella is obviously a pathetic freak. I’d kind of decided that I just needed to accept that this author was obviously just a product of the unhealthy size zero culture of the 90’s (hence all the references to flat stomachs and pre-baby weights) but then, then, we got to chapter 19 and Bella says she will have to go back to work full time and her son will have to go into childcare with “all the other abandoned babies to learn independence, which basically means learning never to trust anyone else ever again”. 🤯🤯🤯🤯 As a fat full time working mother, I could take no more. Should we not have moved on from this sort of crappy narrative by now? I shall never know if the bloke was actually dead or why the mate was missing and you know what? I’m ok with that. With any luck the whole superficial cast ended up drowning in a horrific wine induced accident on Skye’s boat. The only survivor? The triumphantly huge inflatable that is Bella 😂

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Gently Gripping

Really enjoyed this gently gripping story. The characters are relatable and likeable. Not too deep - an engaging listen.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great story

Really liked the narrator. Took a while to get into the story but was worth staying with it!.

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