Friday Friyay: 'Motherthing' by Ainslie Hogarth

 Happy Friday! I've got an insanely good book for you today which I finished last night, close to midnight. That's Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth, a Horror/Paranormal/Mystery book which honestly went way harder than I expected it to. I was reading from between the covers while it was thundering outside, so I had quite the experience. 

When Ralph and Abby Lamb move in with Ralph’s mother, Laura, Abby hopes it’s just what she and her mother-in-law need to finally connect. After a traumatic childhood, Abby is desperate for a mother figure, especially now that she and Ralph are trying to become parents themselves. Abby just has so much love to give—to Ralph, to Laura, and to Mrs. Bondy, her favorite resident at the long-term care home where she works. But Laura isn’t interested in bonding with her daughter-in-law. She’s venomous and cruel, especially to Abby, and life with her is hellish.

When Laura takes her own life, her ghost haunts Abby and Ralph in very different ways: Ralph is plunged into depression, and Abby is terrorized by a force intent on destroying everything she loves. To make matters worse, Mrs. Bondy’s daughter is threatening to move Mrs. Bondy from the home, leaving Abby totally alone. With everything on the line, Abby comes up with a chilling plan that will allow her to keep Mrs. Bondy, rescue Ralph from his tortured mind, and break Laura's hold on the family for good. All it requires is a little ingenuity, a lot of determination, and a unique recipe for chicken à la king…

Book Beginnings is at home on Rose City Reader, hosted by Gilion Dumas, and Friday 56 at Freda's Voice, hosted by Freda. I'll also be joining the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy over at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.

BB:

'The night Ralph's mother flayed her forearms, a woman in a red dress handed him a business card. I know how woman in a red dress sounds because I thought the same thing at first.' 1%

Yeah, that opening line does not mess around! It really immediately made me go 'huh', 'what', 'why'. And the rest of the novel really continues along the same lines, with literally one weird thing and one insane revelation or twist or happening. It also is a fascinating portrayal of mental decline.

F56:

'Back into bed, fistfuls of blanket hoisted up to my chin, I pretend not to hear the shower curtain rattle gentle along the bar, the bathroom door open and close and footsteps, bare, dragging, making their way down the hall and, from my count, stopping just outside our closed bedroom door.' 56%

There were sooo many good quotes on this page, but I didn't want to spoil too much so I went for this one which gives you a sense of the dread and the horror Abby is feeling without giving you the whole context or scene. 

BBH:

This week's question was suggested by Billy himself:

What review rating system do you employ?

I employ my beloved Universes, on a scale from 1 to 5, or technically 0 to 5. I don't think I've ever given 0 or 1 Universes because that would basically mean I chose to read something I knew I'd hate. I usually find something enjoyable in any book, even if it has serious flaws, otherwise I'd never have picked it up. My average rating is probably a 3 to 4, but I also tend to be quite liberal with my 5-Universe ratings. If I love something, I love it, even if it isn't lifechanging or groundbreaking or whatever.

So that's it for me! What rating system do you use? And what do you think of Motherthing?