Motherthing

Motherthing is a contemporary horror-thriller standalone by Ainslie King.

Abby Lamb moves in with Laura, her mother-in-law, in an attempt to finally connect with the woman she desperately wants to see as a mother figure. Abby's husband, Ralph, adores his mother and turns a blind eye to the cruelty that Laura is subjected to. When Laura shockingly dies, her ghost haunts the walls of their family home. Both Laura and Ralph are plunged into madness and Laura must do everything in her power to save her and her husband.

When I came across this book, the cover immediately stood out to me and I was very eager to find out what the blurb had to say. I don't usually pick up books that include horror elements, so I was excited to see how I would fare with this one.

Sadly, I didn't enjoy this book at all. Immediately upon reading this, I was more confused than invested. I thought the concept of ghosts and a deceased mother-in-law haunting a couple would be more thrilling, but there really wasn't anything exciting about it. I found that our FMC, Abby, rambles a lot and doesn't offer much in terms of plot development. The writing style really doesn't help this, and I struggled with reading this book for that sole reason.

Abby seems hung up on the fact she had an awful childhood, which is understandable and does make you feel sorry for her, but her insistence to seek out Laura and find a mother figure in her was exhausting. Abby's inner thoughts were immature and weird, which confused me based on her determination to become a mother of her own.

Ralph was boring and could have been non-existent. It is very clear that all of our main characters are mentally ill and I feel like themes like depression could have been explored better and more respectfully.