The Mother Next Door

Fiona, Alison and Jasmine are neighbors and mothers who rely on Lou to collect their children from school. They trust her completely. Then a storm rolls in, and the children do not come home.

Lou sends the three women a message with a single demand. They must confess a truth they have kept hidden since the day their own pasts collided, or they will never see their children again.

The story is a domestic thriller told from several points of view. Some chapters come from one of the captive children, so the reader sees the danger from inside as well as from the mothers' side.

The mothers' shared secret comes out in pieces while the search goes on. Chapters are short and timed, the storm tightens around the hunt, and none of the characters can be taken at face value.

The book turns on what Lou actually wants and why she picked these three families, and on how far each mother will go to get her child back.