Text reads, "5 mystery novels about mothers" against a light gray background. Shows covers of Keep Her Safe by K.A. Tucker, Then Came Darkness, by D. H. Schleicher, Aunt Dimity and the King's Ransom by Nancy Atherton, A Necessary Evil by Abir Mukherjee, and The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujeta Massey

Mother’s day was this past weekend in the U.S. In honor of that day, I decided to find 5 new (or newer) novels where moms & mother-figures play a significant role in the story.

1. Keep Her Safe, by K.A. Tucker (2018)

There are TWO moms who are significant in this story. One’s dead by suicide, the other’s a drug addict. Not very heart-warming and cheery, you say. No. But both are fully developed, compelling characters who love their children. Romantic suspense.  Read my review here. 

2. Aunt Dimity and the King’s Ransom, by Nancy Atherton (2018)

Sure, Aunt Dimity isn’t Lori’s mom. She’s not even really an aunt, only Lori’s mom’s best friend. Oh, and she’s a ghost. But she acts like a mother, her advice is level-headed and wise, and she’s always there when Lori needs her. Sounds like a mom to me. Read my review of this heart-warming mystery. 

3. Then Came Darkness, by D.H. Schleicher (2018)

Evelyn is a mother whose actions set much of the story in motion. She is a passionate, ambitious, and complicated woman, one who loves her children, watches her dreams erode from life (and a ne’er-do-well husband), and never excuses her own lapses in judgment. Read my review of this Great Depression-era mystery.

4. A Necessary Evil, by Abir Mukherjee (2018)

5. The Widows of Malabar Hill, by Sujata Massey (2018)

I’ve put these last books together because they share a major similarity: the mothers in these books are in polygamous relationships. Their children are half-siblings. All moms tend to be competitive about their children (the unspoken “My kid’s better than your kid!”) but making the mothers sister-wives complicates things, as does their seclusion. Without giving away the plots of these historical mysteries, I can say that their maternal natures factors into the crimes committed to or (possibly) by them. Read my review of A Necessary Evil here and my review of The Widows of Malabar Hill here.

Bonus: The Perfect Mother, by Aimee Molloy

I haven’t read this new psychological suspense. But you know anytime the word “perfect” is used to describe a character, that character is suspect. Read about it on Amazon!