After an intriguing start, I’m all in with this latest from Becky Masterman. In the present day, Althea Deming clutches the urn containing the ashes of her husband Robert in one hand and her cat in the other, as she surveys the “renovations“ of her former home. This now belongs to her stepson Hal, her daughter-in-law Grace and their daughter Shyla, all of whom Althea regards as usurpers, albeit legal ones as per the terms of Robert’s will. She is now confined to a corner of the large house in a “grandmother suite“ while Hal etc occupy the rest. To say that Althea resents the changes is an understatement as she watches the three of them at dinner on the first night, not necessarily favourably. However, Hal thinks Althea is a sweetheart, but Grace is not so sure. Why are Grace’s instincts screaming that her mother in law is dangerous?? The story is told from Grace and Althea‘s perspective, so buckle up as this could be a bumpy ride. Oh my goodness, do not let the somewhat benign start fool you. Initially, I feel all the sympathy for Althea as after all, she’s a cuckoo in her own former nest. Grace sets some rules that would definitely make me want to be naughty, and I’m no Althea. The scene is set really well, you’re jogging along at a steady pace, anticipating some sedate domestic drama. Then a few little bombs are dropped into the storyline which pulls you up sharply. However, it still doesn’t seem too out there and there is one scene where Althea has a delicious response to some tactlessness. The author does a good job at lulling you into a false sense of security. You also realise that whilst a kind of domestic tug-of-war is going on between the two women, they are both outsiders. Althea in what was once her own home and Grace in a new area they have moved into when taking over the house. They are distantly polite and you start question who is the saint and who is the sinner here. It’s a Mexican stand-off but with handbags. Then, it really is a brace yourself read as one character shows her true colours in one shocking scene in particular. The Mexican stand-off becomes much more the pistols at dawn variety. It’s very dark, extremely chilling, very powerful, and yes, most certainly disturbing. There’ are several scenes where you are left in no doubt who the sinner is but also what action others may be pushed to in response. The tension could be cut with a knife, although Hal seems somewhat oblivious to this, is he burying his head in the sand preferring not to get involved? He does have his own problems but really??!! It does escalate, it becomes a little bit bonkers, but it’s bonkers in a good way, although this not necessarily the best choice of words as these characters are very far from good. This is a tale of the unexpected, so be warned!