The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth

Lucy's own mother died when she was a young girl so when Ollie takes her to meet his mother for the first time, Lucy has hopes that she would bond with the woman her fiancé adores.  It wasn't meant to be. Diana is rich, beautiful, and proper, and runs her own charity for unwed mothers. The one thing she isn't is warm.  Lucy keeps trying to connect with Diana--at her wedding, when her first child is born--but something always goes wrong.  She does establish a relationship with other members of Ollie's family, his sister and her husband, and his father, Tom, but as time goes on relationships with them get complicated as well.  Then, one day, Diana is found dead.  Was it suicide, or murder?  

Although this was published a few years ago, it is really making the book club rounds right now.  It is one of the most popular books in my library and has a long wait on Libby.  My collections manager ordered an extra copy, and wanted to know if I would like to be the first to check it out, since I was going on a vacation.  I did, and read through the whole thing in a couple of days.  It is an engaging read.  It isn't really a murder mystery.  None of the main characters acts like a detective trying to figure out who killed Diana.  It is, instead, a family story, like The Dutch House, where people, over time, work through their relationships and come to a point of equilibrium.  The characters are complex and empathetic.  There are no good guys and bad guys, just a bunch of people who are struggling to understand each other.  (2019, 352 p)