Google “toxic mother-in-law,” and the bottom of the first page indicates 8,630,000 results. 😮 Article after article talks about X number of signs you have a toxic mother-in-law and how to navigate a toxic mother-in-law. If you’re a fan of TikTok, #toxicmotherinlaw has 73.9 million views! 😲

Dennis and I had a whirlwind relationship, only six months from the time we met online until we got married in July of 2002. I met his mother a couple of times in New York before we actually got married, but I didn’t really have time to get to know her until after.

Margaret is an identical twin from the first set of triplets ever born in Trinidad, and she still has the newspaper article that talks about her and her sisters. She is outspoken, active, has an infectious laugh, and knows how to be the life of the party. She loves her calypso, taught me how to make an edible pot of chicken soup (along with a number of Trinidadian dishes), and always makes me promise to have a drink with her. She loves to go shopping when she’s on vacation (and passed along that trait to her son 😂), and she has never failed to make me feel welcome and loved.

She has been there for all of our key moments: in New York, when I was in the hospital for gall bladder surgery the day after Dennis and I got married, when I had a horrible stomach flu one Christmas when we were visiting. Despite living in New York, Margaret has always made the trip to Chicago when it was important: after our daughter was born, after Dennis was diagnosed with cancer, and when we lost him.

One of my favorite stories to tell about Margaret is that I love it when she comes to visit because my house is cleaner when she leaves than it is when she arrives. 🤣 She always has to be busy—sweeping, dusting, cooking, putting things away. She just doesn’t really like to sit still until she’s singing along to her music on the stereo and has a drink in her hand.

Do I have a toxic mother-in-law? Absolutely not.

Now the bigger question: am I a toxic mother-in-law? I don’t think so, but would a toxic person actually know they’re toxic? I guess you’ll have to ask my son-in-law Shawn. (And Shawn, if you’re reading this, you know what to say. 😏)

Sandie Jones wrote a great story about the mother-in-law from you-know-where. If you like thrillers with twists and turns, you’ll want to pick this one up.

Book Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5 Stars for The Other Woman by Sandie Jones

299 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: August 21, 2018
I received an advance copy of this title from the author.

Publisher’s Description

HE LOVES YOU: Adam adores Emily. Emily thinks Adam’s perfect, the man she thought she’d never meet.
BUT SHE LOVES YOU NOT: Lurking in the shadows is a rival, a woman who shares a deep bond with the man she loves.
AND SHE’LL STOP AT NOTHING: Emily chose Adam, but she didn’t choose his mother Pammie. There’s nothing a mother wouldn’t do for her son, and now Emily is about to find out just how far Pammie will go to get what she wants: Emily gone forever.

************

I received an ARC of this book prior to publication. It arrived on a Monday, and I finished it on Tuesday. Yes…it was THAT good.

Well-written, realistic characters…check!
Page-turner…check!
Unexpected twist…check!

When I was about halfway through, I was thinking the author should have skipped the prologue because it gave away too much, but oh was I wrong. The whole time I was reading this, I was thinking about how much I appreciate my own mother-in-law because Pammie is just the MIL from you-know-where. But I don’t want to give anything away because this is just too good to spoil.

I almost gave this 4 stars instead of 5 because I think Emily is too forgiving, that I would have said enough is enough at some point and cut my losses because the red flags…. oh my, the red flags! But I know there are people out there who are exactly like Emily and Adam, so that’s part of what makes this story so believable.

This is definitely a must read.

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