You’ll never read a book as dramatic, as thrilling, and as unpredictable as a day in the life of a parent. Don’t believe me? Try this on for size.
Our house was newly on the market. I was huge pregnant with my fourth child, and we got a call that a showing was happening in thirty minutes. For normal people thirty minutes would be enough time to tidy up and head out before the potential buyers arrived. For our family of three tiny human mess-makers and only one Mrs. Clean, thirty minutes would never be enough to wipe the yogurt smeared across the windows, or clean the fifteen dirty cups we had somehow accumulated that morning. And it definitely wouldn’t be enough time to clean the poo that my son had pulled out of his diaper and proceeded to play with all over his bedroom carpeted floor.
By a miracle I managed to clean the house and load the kids in the car just as the home buyers pulled into the driveway. I’d love to conclude this story with a happily ever after, but what really happened was anything but. While I had been doing a last-minute check of the house, my autistic son decided to take a walk into the woods. As the buyers held out a hand to greet me, I was in full-blown panic mode as I rushed past them screaming for my son. Five minutes of hell later, I found him up the street with my huge belly bouncing, dragging his crying sister as I scooped him out of the arms of a neighbor who was already calling the cops. Needless to say, those buyers ran as fast as they could in the other direction, and I ran straight home to ugly cry until my husband came home.
You don’t often read in books about the poo on the carpet, or the seventy-eight “Mommy’s!” a child says in ten minutes (I know this number is legit because I’ve counted). But in my domestic thrillers, parenting can be more action-packed than a Harrison Ford movie. When I first started writing Pretty Ugly Lies, I was going through a tough parenting period. Kid number two had been diagnosed with autism, and kid number four was earning the nickname “little spitfire” due her fiercely rebellious nature. Motherhood became my tormented muse, and writing became an emotional outlet more satisfying than weeping. In Pretty Ugly Lies, four mothers’ lives converge in a story that shows just how fragile family can make us when our limits are pushed day in, day out. When one mother snaps under the pressure of parenting and weight of her crumbling life, it can turn deadly.
By the time Little Deadly Secrets congealed inside my head, I knew how to create drama amongst two mom best friends—Robin and Mackenzie—struggling in the throes of family secrets, best friend betrayal, and uncontrollable teens. Because let’s face it, teens are like wild animals. Always exploring, rediscovering the world and their place in it. And sometimes, like in Little Deadly Secrets, that journey will take them somewhere dark and uncharted and dangerous.
Parenting gone wild comes up a few of my favorite books. You never know how it will impact the characters, or what difficult decision they’ll have to make, or what terrible secrets they’ll uncover (which Little Deadly Secrets has lots of—hence the title). The unpredictability of childrearing makes for an entertaining thriller, as seen in these novels.
Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage
Talk about a tough child to raise! Hanna is an only child…and she wants to be only Daddy’s. When her mother Suzette is forced to homeschool her due to some unusual aggressive behaviors at school, we see a whole new side to Daddy’s little girl. A sociopathic side. A side that would make any mother wonder what the heck is wrong with her child. It’s an eerie thriller with a dash of horror that will make you hug your own kids a little tighter and appreciate their tantrums, because at least they’re not trying to kill you.
The Dinner by Herman Koch
Dinner amongst two brothers and their wives sounds delightful, right? Not when they’re discussing the horrific act their teen sons committed and if—and how—they should cover it up. In this exquisitely written novel, Koch unravels a shocking family drama as narrator Paul faces the truth of who his son is, and how it reflects on himself as a father.
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
We need to talk about how this book left me utterly perplexed yet empathetic with protagonist Eva in the aftermath of her teen son’s mass murder. Written in a series of letters from Eva to her husband Franklin, we process Eva’s maternal blame as she suspects that her aversion to motherhood may be the cause of her son’s horrific actions. It’s a novel that will get you thinking…and certainly talking about parenthood do’s and don’ts.
Silent Child by Sarah Denzil
When Emma’s child goes missing from school one day, her life is shattered. Fast-forward to his sudden return, and refusal to speak about what he went through or who was behind his abduction. Emma’s got to learn how to be a parent again, how to find out what happened to him, and how to get through to him. In this page-turning mystery, we experience a side of motherhood that tackles healing after trauma.
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Oh, the mama drama found in this witty take on parents behaving badly. Three women’s lives interconnect as Madeline, Celeste, and Jane’s kids all go to the same elementary school. Yet beyond the schoolyard where the biggest issue is who bit whom, their lives are littered with secrets and scandal that end in death.
Parenthood is the perfect primer for a riveting thriller. Anyone with kids knows that the day-to-day chaos with children can drive you homicidal (just me?). From one parent to another, I won’t judge you, but feel free to tell me about your child’s plot-worthy antics and you might just see them in my next book!
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