ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you, Amanda Preston, for being the first person to read a very different version of The Daughter In Law. You encouraged me to use my knowledge of psychology and write the book the way it should have been written.

Thank you, Hannah Richell, for your advice on writing with babies and prologues and for your blogs on grief and loss. Your words and strength continue to inspire me.

Sarah, Geraldine and Sue, you are all as obsessed with books as I am, so thank you for finding me and never leaving! Thanks for the fantastic chats, all the reading weekends and delicious grub. Thanks, Sue, for reading a very rough first version of the book and still saying it was good!

Darling Kat, you are my sister from another mister, thanks for giving me the best reaction when I told you I was being published. Lend me some sugar, I am your neighbour!

Massive thanks to Kate Nash and Lina Langlee, my wonderful agents, for believing in my writing, supporting me throughout and working so quickly and efficiently to find me the best publishing deal.

Thank you to Amanda and all the team at Boldwood for seeing potential in me and having me as part of the team. I’m so thrilled and excited for what’s to come. Thank you, Nia, for being my first editor, for setting the bar so high and encouraging me to dig deeper.

I would like to give special thanks to my parents. To my dad for being a grafter and showing me how to work hard in life and for his inspirational sense of wonderment. I know he would be proud of my achievements. Thanks, Mum, for supporting me on my journey, holding the fort and for always taking us to the library as kids. I still get the same thrill now as an adult whenever I walk into a room full of books that I can take home and read for free!

Chris, thanks for always listening, championing me and being my number one fan. Also for the packets of munchies in the final editing stages.

Savannah, Bodhi and Huxley, my beautiful babies who teach me how to be a better person every day. At such tender ages you have shown so much interest and respect for my writing. Thank you for being brilliant kids and letting me read to you and do all the silly voices.

Finally, thank you to all you readers who have picked up this, my first book and supported me on my writing journey. I hope I can continue to write more books that you will enjoy.

BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS

1. Although Annie wanted a child badly, her own traumatic childhood meant she displayed signs of covert narcissistic abuse towards Ben. How did she manipulate him as a child and as an adult?
2. Some themes in the book are the mother and son relationship, anxiety and depression, friendships and love. Did you recognise these or any other themes within the book and where did you see them featuring in the novel?
3. The Daughter-in-Law is written in the style of the unreliable narrator. At what point did you decide that Annie was hiding more than Daisy?
4. Daisy’s flashbacks to her childhood show that she was neglected emotionally by her parents. What implications did this have on her relationship with Callum and what were the repercussions of that relationship?
5. Annie talks about how Jenny and Daisy were very similar in the way they looked and presented themselves. It is thought that we often unconsciously seek out a partner who bears a resemblance in some way to a parent. Discuss.
6. Did you feel sorry for Annie in the end?