Hey, it’s Diego.

I just finished reading Magpie by Elizabeth Day.

And it's about mothers who would do anything for their children.

So I thought I'd make a list of my top ones.

Let’s go.

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Motherhood Thrillers

All Her Fault by Andrea Mara

Marissa goes to collect her five-year-old son, Milo, from a playdate, shocked to find there was no playdate, and her son has vanished.

In All Her Fault by Andrea Mara, we follow Marissa as she refuses to stop looking for her son. A mother who will do anything to get her child back.

Don't Let Her Stay by Nicola Sanders

Joanne lives a peaceful life with her husband Richard and their newborn baby in a quiet village. Then Richard's estranged adult daughter, Chloe, moves in with them, and from the moment she arrives it is clear she has no intention of leaving things as they are.

In Don't Let Her Stay by Nicola Sanders, we follow Joanne, a new mother, as a new arrival starts picking apart everything she has built. If you are into the motherhood-under-threat angle, this one takes it as far as it goes.

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

Three foster sisters are called to face the authorities when human remains are discovered beneath their former foster home. As the investigation uncovers the truth about the woman who raised them, the dark side of motherhood, its power, its control, its damage, becomes impossible to ignore.

In Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth, the theme of motherhood is flipped entirely. Instead of wanting to become a mother, we see what a toxic version of it can do to three women over a lifetime.

And the newest addition to the list:

Magpie by Elizabeth Day

Marisa and Jake are trying for a baby and struggling with the costs of London life, so they take in a lodger, Kate, to help pay the bills. Kate is charming, helpful, and slowly becomes obsessed with Marisa, with Jake, and with their future child. When Marisa starts to suspect something is very wrong, she has to figure out who Kate really is before she loses everything.

Magpie by Elizabeth Day is a domestic thriller set inside a house in London.

Day's writing is solid. Dialogue feels natural, and the descriptions work well. There are some similes sprinkled in that I didn't love, but they don't get in the way.

We follow both Marisa and Kate in a single timeline, which I found to be an interesting choice. Having access to both perspectives meant I was constantly changing my take on each woman as the story unfolded.

The story is a slow burn and is more interested in the mental and emotional state of its characters than in plot development. The motherhood theme is what gives the tension its weight: everything in the story came down to what someone is willing to do for their children. The tension comes from revelations rather than action.

There is some romance, though it is not the main focus. There is sexual language but no explicit scenes. There is swearing and some graphic violence, though it is brief and not drawn out.

So, what about the ending? (No spoilers, obviously)

I enjoyed the ending. With the main threads resolved. The denouement was good, letting us know how the characters faired after the climax.

Magpie by Elizabeth Day is a domestic thriller that is more about the interactions between characters than about what happens. If you like your thrillers character-led and diving into their psychological state, this is a good pick.

Latest Updates

• The Last Thing He Told Me Season 2 dropped on Apple TV+ on February 20, based on Laura Dave's follow-up novel The First Time I Saw Him. If you binged Season 1, this is worth picking up where Hannah left off.

• I binged His & Hers on Netflix this past week, and it was quite the ride. I would recommend it to fans of thrillers that have twist after twist after twist.

That’s all for this week. See you next time.

— Diego Dunne

P.S. Let me know how I did today by replying to this email.

P.P.S. I would love to hear your recommendations for thrillers you loved. Reply to this email, and I’ll add them to my TBR list. Thanks!