The Mother-in-Law

 


Interesting, intriguing mystery.  The narration swings between the daughter-in-law, Lucy, and the mother-in-law, Diana. And, it also goes back and forth in time.

Ollie, Lucy's husband, and Nettie, are the children of Diana and Tom.  Lucy and Ollie end up having three children, while Nettie and her husband cannot seem to conceive, which becomes a sticking point in the book.

Lucy does not like her mother-in-law: she's not the warm, cozy, overly friendly kind of Lucy's dreams.

Personally, I was not as offended by Diana's reactions and actions as much as Lucy always was.  Just because she wasn't effervescent and gushing didn't mean she was a bad person, which she was not at all.  Over a long time, the two form a bond and a kinship, which was quite beautiful, really.

When Diana is found dead in her bed with a suicide note in her drawer, no one can quite believe it.  As it turns out, it was murder.  But, WHO would murder this giving, charitable person?

It's a gripping story as the suspicion shifts from one person to another.  In the end, it was Diana's daughter who committed the murder because she had learned that her mother was giving all her income, which was considerable, to charities.  Nettie would not get any money to help her with her desires to get pregnant.  So she commits suicide and Ollie and Lucy run the charities.
I give it 3 1/2 stars.  Not the best, not the worst.  

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