This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info, read my Disclosure Policy.

---

BOOK INFO

---

BOOK BLURB

A brilliant, twisty novel about a missing woman, an unfaithful husband, and the dark secrets that will destroy two perfect families.

A scandalous revelation is about to devastate a picturesque town where the houses are immaculate and the neighborhoods are tightly knit. Devoted mother Cora O’Connell has found the journal of her friend Laurel’s daughter—a beautiful college student who lives next door—revealing an illicit encounter. Hours later, Laurel makes a shattering discovery of her own: her daughter has vanished without a trace. Over the course of one weekend, the crises of two close families are about to trigger a chain reaction that will expose a far more disturbing web of secrets. Now everything is at stake as they’re forced to confront the lies they have told in order to survive.

---

---

MY REVIEW

Cora and her husband host a birthday party for their two year old twins, and things go downhill quickly afterwards. Cora discovers a journal of her neighbor’s daughter that reveals a secret. Soon after, the neighbor’s daughter goes missing.

As one weekend’s events unravel, the lives of multiple families are changed. The story opens with a birthday party for toddlers, where Cora has invited family and friends to celebrate her young children. The guests include Cora’s mother Sarah, her friend Jade, and her neighbor Laurel. Each of these women has something going on in her life that they haven’t been able to discuss with anyone else.

Central to the story is Cora, a married mom of toddler twins. She lost her sister, Maggie, in a tragic accident years earlier, and still has trouble dealing with that loss. The loss of Maggie also greatly affected her mother, Sarah, and friend, Jade. The current emotions and actions of these women can be traced back to the night they lost a loved one.

We Were Mothers uses multiple points of view from Cora, Sarah, Jade, and Laurel to tell the story. This book is part women’s fiction and part suspense. Some of the issues the women are dealing with are very real, as is the feeling of having no one to talk to about those issues. One of the things I liked about this book was the women’s desire to protect their children, and how most of their actions are related to the fact that they are mothers. We Were Mothers is a fitting title for the book.

The suspense part of We Were Mothers comes from Laurel’s missing daughter. There are, of course, other events going on, but it seems one missing college student starts the unraveling process.

Some of the topics throughout We Were Mothers deal with motherhood, domestic abuse, and adultery. A good read for fans of family drama and suspense. This book does have a bit of a slow start, and I wasn’t completely satisfied with the ending, but it was still a good, light read.

Books by Katie Sise:

1. We Were Mothers
2. Open House
3. The Break