As emotionally satisfying as it is simply constructed,
The Mother tells the tale of every woman's worst nightmare: losing a child, then having to face in court the man accused of murdering that childSkilfully plotted and heart-wrenchingThrilling, tense and poignantA compelling novel that gets into the head of a mother attending the trial of the boy accused of murdering her son. Her story gathers momentum and tension until the final verdictA harrowing tale of a mother's grief where nothing is certainA powerful book that will cut you to the quickA wonderfully vivid and arresting portrait of a mother facing up to the ultimate horrorMarcia Williams thought she knew her son. She thought he was safe. She was wrong.
Chosen by Bernadine Evaristo as one of her Top 20 Books by Black British Womxn Writers, Yvvette Edwards' second novel, The Mother, tells Marcia's story.
Today, Marcia is heading to the Old Bailey. She's going there to do something no mother should ever have to do: to attend the trial of the boy accused of her son's murder.
She's not meant to be that woman; Ryan, her son, wasn't that kind of boy. But Tyson Manley is that kind of a boy and, as his trial unfolds, it becomes clear that it's his girlfriend Sweetie who has the answers Marcia so badly needs and who can – perhaps – offer Marcia some kind of hope for the future. But Sweetie is as scared of Tyson as Ryan should have been and, as Marcia's learned the hard way, nothing's certain. Not any more.
'Skillfully plotted and heart-wrenching' – Stylist
'Thrilling, tense and poignant' – Heat
Yvvette Edwards lives in London. Her first novel,
A Cupboard Full of Coats, was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize.
The Mother is her second novel.
