Mother of the Bride by Samantha Hayes
Genre: Psychological thriller, Domestic thriller
Read: 20th March 2024
Published: 26th March 2024
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
My mother is obsessed with every detail of my wedding – controlling my dress, my ring, my happiness. But when the day finally comes, will she really let me go? Last year, my sister’s fiancé was murdered on his wedding day. And I found my mother’s corsage next to his body…
I’m beaming as I walk down the aisle, but my smile masks a prickling fear, even though this is supposed to be the happiest day of my life.
My husband-to-be, Owen, is everything to me, with his sandy hair and sparkling blue eyes. He keeps telling me it will all be fine. I pray he’s right as I slip a gold band onto his finger with trembling hands.
Please let me be wrong about what my mother did. Please let Owen be safe.
But when the priest asks if anyone objects, I turn to look at my mother. Her eyes are icy beneath the brim of her hat, and she’s staring right at me.
Is my husband’s life in danger? Or is it mine…?
A page-turning, addictive psychological thriller from an Amazon no. 1 bestseller with twists that will have your head spinning until the very end. Fans of The Housemaid, The Family Upstairs and The Perfect Marriage will be absolutely gripped!
MY THOUGHTS:
Here comes the bride...and here comes the mother of the bride!
Lizzie has returned from a six month working hiatus in Dubai with a fiancé in tow. She met Owen at her employer's pool party when she had inadvertently stepped back into the pool. Owen jumped right in to save her citing she already had his attention, she didn't need to nearly drown to get it.
Now they are back in London having stopped at her friend Peter's place for the duration until they got the money together for a place of their own. But they were nearing outstaying their welcome when Lizzie took a phone call from her mother who then invited them to come and stay with her. Having grown up in the same house and then escaping when she was 18 to university, Lizzie couldn't think of anything worse. She simply did not want to risk her mother getting her claws into Owen and ruin this chance of happiness.
Arriving at the Cotswold house, adorned in roses and blooms galore, Lizzie grit her teeth and bared the two days they were to stay. But then the fates aligned, or maybe conspired, to keep them there when Peter told them not to return and subsequently blocked her. Lizzie was stunned. But she had more pressing concerns. Her mother had discovered their engagement and thus took control of everything, organising their entire wedding for two weeks' time.
But at the back of her mind, Lizzie remembered the outcome of her elder sister Shelley's wedding the year before when her groom Rafe was found dead in their kitchen before the ceremony. Lizzie never told anyone but she found her mother's corsage beside his body. She had hidden it and intended to confront her mother about it later but never did.
Did Owen have a similar fate ahead of him?
With thoughts of poisoned berries, accidents on the stairs, of being locked in the cellar to the mournful strains of Mozart's death requiem, Lizzie can't be sure that they are safe staying with her mother.
This tale of a complex and rather dysfunctional family is an addictive read from start to finish. Sylvia, the mother of the bride, is someone you really love to hate but then there are added complexities to her character also. And I just loved the setting of this one...the beautiful picturesque Cotswolds. It almost felt like an episode of Midsomer Murders!
I went into this book knowing that not all is as it seems...I mean why would it be? The title, the description...it was all a little too convenient. So it's not surprising I had the big twist figured out before the reveal. But it didn't ruin my enjoyment of this stunner of a thriller. The thrill is in the ride and Samantha Hayes has given us just that. I can't wait to see what she has in store for us next.
I would like to thank #SamanthaHayes, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #MotherOfTheBride in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
When not writing, Samantha loves to cook, go to the gym, see friends and drink nice wine. She is also studying for a degree in psychotherapy. She has three grown-up children and lives in Warwickshire.
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