It’s no easy feat to write an equally comical and compelling novel about a missing child, but Sarah Harman accomplishes just that in her wild romp of a debut, All the Other Mothers Hate Me.
Florence Grimes was once the lead singer in a successful girl band, although those days are long behind this young American single mom. She and her son barely squeak by in London, although 10-year-old Dylan goes to a posh school paid for by her ex-husband. Florence never envisioned a life of “watching reality TV by myself all day, delivering balloon arches and dreaming of a musical comeback.” Everything changes, however, when Dylan’s bully—wealthy Alfie Risby—goes missing on a field trip, and some suspect Dylan is to blame. “If I’d had to choose a boy in Dylan’s class to vanish in broad daylight, Alfie would have been at the top of my list,” Florence confesses.
She soon teams up with another “outsider” mom at Dylan’s school, newly arrived Jenny Choi, a high-powered attorney and single mom to twin boys. Her sons “were a thirty-sixth birthday present to myself,” Jenny tells Flo. “Right after I made partner.” These two characters could hardly be more different, and their determined efforts have something of a Thelma and Louise vibe as they find themselves in increasingly unlikely—and dangerous—situations.
The success of Harman’s debut derives squarely from her narrative and plotting skills, which propel readers through the many twists and turns of Florence’s sleuthing attempts to figure out what’s happened to Alfie and prove Dylan innocent. Florence can be a hilariously maddening, certainly not always admirable character, but she will keep readers entertained and intrigued. Seasoned mystery readers may pick up on some hints to the case’s solution along the way, but even so, plenty of surprises remain.
All the Other Mothers Hate Me introduces an unforgettable bumbling detective, and hopefully Florence will find other mysteries to solve. Whatever the case, Sarah Harman is a writer to be watched.
