One of Those Mothers

TABLE OF CONTENTS COVER PAGE PRAISE TITLE PAGE COPYRIGHT PAGE DEDICATION CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: OCTOBER FRIDAY CHAPTER TWO: JANUARY NINE MONTHS EARLIER DAY ONE CHAPTER THREE: OCTOBER MONDAY CHAPTER FOUR: JANUARY DAY ONE CHAPTER FIVE: OCTOBER MONDAY CHAPTER SIX: JANUARY DAY TWO CHAPTER SEVEN: OCTOBER MONDAY CHAPTER EIGHT: JANUARY DAY TWO CHAPTER NINE: OCTOBER MONDAY CHAPTER TEN: JANUARY DAY TWO CHAPTER ELEVEN: OCTOBER TUESDAY CHAPTER TWELVE: JANUARY DAY TWO CHAPTER THIRTEEN: OCTOBER TUESDAY CHAPTER FOURTEEN: JANUARY DAY THREE CHAPTER FIFTEEN: OCTOBER TUESDAY CHAPTER SIXTEEN: JANUARY DAY THREE CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: OCTOBER WEDNESDAY CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: JANUARY DAY THREE CHAPTER NINETEEN: OCTOBER WEDNESDAY CHAPTER TWENTY: JANUARY DAY THREE CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: OCTOBER THURSDAY CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: JANUARY DAY THREE CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: OCTOBER THURSDAY CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: JANUARY DAY FOUR CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: OCTOBER FRIDAY CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: JANUARY DAY FOUR CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: OCTOBER SATURDAY CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: JANUARY DAY FIVE CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: OCTOBER SATURDAY CHAPTER THIRTY: JANUARY DAY FIVE CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: OCTOBER SUNDAY CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: JANUARY DAY FIVE CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: OCTOBER MONDAY CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: JANUARY DAY FIVE CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: OCTOBER MONDAY CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: JANUARY DAY FIVE CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN: OCTOBER TUESDAY CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: JANUARY DAY SIX CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: OCTOBER WEDNESDAY CHAPTER FORTY: OCTOBER THURSDAY CHAPTER FORTY-ONE: OCTOBER THURSDAY CHAPTER FORTY-TWO: NOVEMBER FRIDAY CHAPTER FORTY-THREE: NOVEMBER FRIDAY CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR: NOVEMBER SATURDAY CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE: NOVEMBER SATURDAY CHAPTER FORTY-SIX: NOVEMBER SUNDAY CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN: NOVEMBER SUNDAY CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT: DECEMBER MONDAY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR GUIDE Cover Title Page Table of Contents Start LIST OF PAGES 1 3 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 Praise for One of Those Mothers ‘Domestic noir up there with the best of them. Beautiful settings, believable characters, and a moral quandary to keep you reading through the night — One of Those Mothers is a page turner in all the right ways.’ — Jacqueline Bublitz, Before You Knew My Name ‘With stiletto-sharp observation, vibrantly drawn characters and a deeply disturbing secret at its heart, One of Those Mothers had me in its grasp from the first chapter. A terrific debut.’ — Charity Norman, Remember Me ‘Wildly compelling, refreshingly raw exploration of motherhood, friendship and the haunting anxieties of parenthood.’ — Claire Mabey, books editor, The Spinoff, former festival director and co-founder of Verb Wellington ‘A gloriously claustrophobic and page-turning tale of friendships, relationships and ultimate loyalties. Megan Nicol Reed pins middle-class motherhood to the specimen board and watches it squirm. Compulsory (and cautionary) reading ahead of your next group holiday.’ — Kim Knight, senior writer, The New Zealand Herald ‘A contemporary tale of complex relationships where loyalties and values are tested. Written by a natural storyteller, it will keep you thinking!’ — Stacey Morrison, television and radio host ‘Searing and darkly funny. Megan Nicol Reed cleverly cuts right through to the euphoria and claustrophobia of family and friendship. Extraordinarily gripping.’ — Frances Morton, editor, Sunday and Your Weekend magazines First published in 2023 Copyright © Megan Nicol Reed, 2023 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Allen & Unwin Level 2, 10 College Hill, Freemans Bay Auckland 1011, New Zealand Phone: (64 9) 377 3800 Email: [email protected] Web: www.allenandunwin.co.nz 83 Alexander Street Crows Nest NSW 2065, Australia Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100 A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of New Zealand. ISBN 978 199100 6 295 eISBN 978 176118 626 For my mothers Contents Chapter One: October Friday Chapter Two: January Nine Months Earlier Day One Chapter Three: October Monday Chapter Four: January Day One Chapter Five: October Monday Chapter Six: January Day Two Chapter Seven: October Monday Chapter Eight: January Day Two Chapter Nine: October Monday Chapter Ten: January Day Two Chapter Eleven: October Tuesday Chapter Twelve: January Day Two Chapter Thirteen: October Tuesday Chapter Fourteen: January Day Three Chapter Fifteen: October Tuesday Chapter Sixteen: January Day Three Chapter Seventeen: October Wednesday Chapter Eighteen: January Day Three Chapter Nineteen: October Wednesday Chapter Twenty: January Day Three Chapter Twenty-one: October Thursday Chapter Twenty-two: January Day Three Chapter Twenty-three: October Thursday Chapter Twenty-four: