Mother, Mother by Koren Zailckas

This is a STUNNING novel about a bad mother. And while you find yourself thinking "Josephine doesn't seem so bad ..." well, that's the thing!

Perfect eldest child Rose ran away. Middle child and hellraiser Violet tells us half the story. Protected, sheltered youngest, Will, tells the other half of the story. Between the lines, we may find the truth.

Years ago I read Zailckas' memoir, "Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood" (published in 2005) and I remember that I really enjoyed her terrifying but not wholly surprising story of alcohol abuse. I was curious about her transition into fiction writing - and then, I was utterly blown away when I read this.

As a reader you don't know what happened - and maybe you don't even know what you don't know. It's become so trite this year to compare everything to Gillian Flynn's "Gone Girl", except in this case there are true similarities in the way the novel is written and the way the storyline is revealed.

This is a wonderful book, and I'll be talking about it a lot in the near future. Don't miss this one!