Florence Grimes stood poised on the brink of greatness; she had the looks, the voice, the fame and the money. Then she got pregnant, got dumped, and quickly found herself depressed, unemployed and alone - apart from a newborn son and a teenage sister forced to take care of them both. Ten years later, Florence feels stuck. She adores her son, Dylan, but worries about his lack of friends, while she feels isolated among the married, fabulously wealthy mothers at the exclusive private school Dylan's father insisted on funding. And, with thoughts of a triumphant musical comeback seeming more and more far-fetched as she drifts through her thirties, Florence is painfully aware that her life has no particular purpose. That is until an uber-rich classmate of Dylan's goes missing on a school trip, and Dylan is implicated in his disappearance. Now Florence must rediscover the drive that once propelled her into a moderately successful mid-tier girl band in order to find Alfie Risby and save her son.

If you're looking for an easy beach read which combines rich people behaving badly with a light mystery and a touch of pathos and social commentary, then you may well enjoy Sarah Harman's debut novel.

Florence is an undeniably tragic character, and her impulsive, irresponsible behaviour is no doubt rooted in her childhood trauma. Forced to grow up far too early in order to care for her sister while their erratic mother worked all hours in an effort to prevent them from slipping further into poverty, she has never had a model of a consistent, reliable parent, or even a healthy, functioning adult, so is it any wonder that she struggles to be these things herself? She is also a haunting reminder of the way in the which the media - and society - treated young women in the 2000s; she has absorbed the message that her value is in her attractiveness according to horrifyingly rigid metrics to such an extent that she cannot see what else she might be capable of.

All that said, she is still incredibly frustrating and hard to root for, especially when her actions put innocent people in harm's way with no real repercussions or character development. No wonder all the other mothers hate her! Even the title is a perfect reflection of her tendency to blame other people for things not going her way rather than taking literally any accountability. The other characters are thinly drawn (perhaps reflecting Florence's self-absorption, as we only see them from her perspective), making it difficult to speculate about their motives or possible involvement in Alfie's disappearance. I would have preferred it if the author had included chapters from some of the other mothers' points of view as a counterpoint to Florence. Even Dylan, the son whom Florence would do anything for (apart from arrange a suitable babysitter when she wants to head off for another bleak night out), is not so much a character as a collection of identifiers: vegan; eco warrior; loner. Thus, it is difficult for the reader to speculate on whether or not he is capable of harming his classmate. Meanwhile, the friendship between Florence and Jenny (the other American mother who doesn't quite fit in) never feels fleshed out enough for the conflict between them to carry any believable emotional weight.

Despite focusing on the disappearance of a child, All the Other Mothers Hate Me feels decidedly frothy and low stakes. I never felt that Alfie was in serious jeopardy and, because the plot relies on Florence being preposterously oblivious to suspicious behaviour and things that don't quite add up, any big reveals come many pages after the reader has already figured out for themselves what is going on. I think the author was aiming for a humorous tone, but I never really found Florence's chaos amusing.

Harman makes some astute observations about celebrity culture, class and school run politics, but ultimately I found Florence's character too off-putting and dimwitted to overlook, and the ending is both tonally dissonant and even more unlikely than the events which precede it.

Finally, Dylan's pet Greta is very clearly a tortoise! Why does everyone, including the English characters, insist on referring to her as a turtle?

Thank you to NetGalley and 4th Estate for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The first thing that attracted me to this book was the title.
This debut novel offers drama, mystery, humour and much more. At times I felt like the story was progressing really slow, but midway it picked up the pace again. If you like mysteries with unlikeable main characters, this might be the book for you.

📖 Synopsis: Florence is a 31-year-old American single mom living with her 10-year-old son (Dylan) in Britain. She is broke, immature and pretty unreliable, and none of the other mothers at Dylan's school like her. When a boy in Dylan's class disappears and she suspects Dylan might have had something to do with it, Florence decides to protect her son at all costs.

Not for me - too over the top, jumping on the Motherland chaotic/scummy mummy trend and lacking in cohesion.

This is a book you are either going to love or you are going to hate - I've got my feet in both camps so it's a 3/5 from me! On one hand the storyline was very interesting and kept you captivated as Florence and Jenny tried to figure things out... but on the other hand, it did sound like a load of waffle at times that was only there to fill up the pages.

Super relatable and very funny, would definitely recommend as an easy read with some laugh out loud bits. Thanks to Fourth Estate, Sarah Harman and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a witty and entertaining read! The Fmc was an unhinged mess but she had her reasons! Can’t wait to read more from this author.

Florence is a single mother raising her son, Dylan, while juggling a chaotic life filled with balloon arches, unsuitable dates, and the judgment of other school mums. When a boy goes missing during a field trip, Florence is thrown into a whirlwind of suspicion after discovering the boy’s rucksack in her son’s bedroom. Is Dylan involved? She sets out to find answers, uncovering secrets and facing several unexpected twists along the way.
While the plot is entertaining, I struggled to connect with Florence as a character. The story is packed with a large cast, making it a bit challenging to keep track of everyone, and some of Florence’s parenting choices felt questionable, pushing the limits of believability at times.

*Thanks to Netgalley for a review copy of this book!*

As soon as I read the blurb for this book I knew I wanted to read it. Being a mother of two ND children (read "those" children) I feel like this sometimes 😂 (if I don't laugh I'll cry.)

It was quite easy to get into with no slow build up. However this feeling didn't last. Around a third of the way through I felt like it started to drag, especially because I didn't really care for Florence (the mfc) too much. I felt she was so irresponsible.

I couldn't find myself warming to any of the other characters either, except maybe Dylan as I saw my kids in some of his characteristics.

Saying that, there was a lot of mystery and intrigue as to what was happening and it all came together in the end. I felt empathy for Florence at the end but it's a shame it took so long!

I would probably try another book by the author but I would be more likely to choose audiobook format.

An absolutely brilliant book! I've never read anything like it :) All the Other Mothers Hate Me is a pacy, drama-filled and hilarious book that I devoured in a few hours. The protagonist is hilarious, but her adventures and outlook made me laugh alot. I absolutely loved it, and could have happily read another 300 pages. It also deals with cliques in a way that I've never seen before, and adds a light-hearted element to serious subject matter, which was brilliantly done. 10/10.

Love the narrative voice, love the name and love the cover. Looking forward to reading more from Sarah Harman.

From the blurb I thought this was going to be a lightweight, quick read. It was actually deeper and more complex though.
When a boy goes missing Florence is worried that her son is involved and so tries to investigate.
To be honest she's pretty bad at that, she seems to have few skills and is pretty narcissistic. However, her development over the book is interesting and there were some twists although I did see them coming.
One thing I was right about, it's a quick read, very hard to put down once you start.

I really enjoyed this book from Sarah Harman and was suprised to see it was her debut. Florence is a failed pop star turned amateur detective. I won’t lie. I did want to shake her numerous times during the book but overall I really liked the characters build up and enjoyed the plot and ending!

Well, this book was tons of fun!
Right from the start I enjoyed this and my enjoyment didn't let up throughout.
We are following our main character Florence, who is meant to be not quite like the other mothers. Whilst I did like her, I felt like she wasn't that different from the other mothers in the story and I was expecting her to stand out from them a little more than she did.
One thing I did like was the humour. I didn't find it laugh out loud funny, it was more humorous than anything else, but it was very enjoyable.
This is also a very fast paced, easy read that I flew through in one day.
After finishing the book I checked out the author and I was surprised to find that this was her debut. Going off my enjoyment and how good the writing was, I was very surprised and I will definitely be reading her next book!

Firstly thank you Netgalley, Sarah and 4th Estate for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. I both read on my kindle and listened to the audiobook and I was hooked. This is a great paced book and I enjoyed the conclusion. I won't give any spoilers but I had so many theories, some which were correct and some that were wildly incorrect. Sarah's writing really kept me guessing as well as laughing, screaming and getting emotional (I am only 9 months post partum with my second gremlin)

Our main lady Florence I wanted to slap or shake several times but thankfully a new friend Jenny comes along for that, the pity party Flo had on constantly for herself got tiresome but ultimately shes a good egg with horrific judgment. 

I look forward to more from Sarah and I am recommending this for the book club.

An American Abroad..
Florence Grimes, an American abroad (London) and failed pop star, turns unlikely amateur sleuth in this pacy, amusing romp as she battles with class rivalry, the infamous school gate, her ten year old son, general domesticity and - a very missing boy. Witty, dry and compelling - a very entertaining read.

I really enjoyed this book! This is a debut, but you really wouldn't tell. This story is exciting, has dry humor and a plottwist at the end. This is a 'mind on 0' book, a book you get sucked into from page 1. Highly recommended!

Let me start by saying I really enjoyed this book, it was totally my cup of tea! But a lot of reviews I've seen talk about it being funny and I feel like I missed that?! Don't get me wrong, there was some witty banter between characters etc, but for me it wasn't a major focal point.

We kick-off into the mystery early on in the book and, by the halfway point, I wasn't entirely sure where the plot was going! So the twists that unravelled made it a really enjoyable read.

Although I found the main character annoying at times when she made stupid decisions or was irresponsible etc, I really did sympathise with her as a mother - with the constant anxiety she had over keeping her son safe. I enjoyed seeing her evolve as the story went on, battling with herself a lot and basically discovering a new side of herself.

All in all, a great read and absolutely do recommend picking it up if you get a chance!

The author had me in a dilemma - do I live or hate Florence?! But maybe that’s what makes this book so enjoyable!
It was full of humour and really entertained me which I was not expecting for this “thriller”. I had been waiting with anticipation to read this book and it did not disappoint!

I was highly anticipating this book for months and it did not disappoint! A truly original mystery with a main character who drew me in immediately and kept me laughing while also desperate to find out what really happened on a school field trip where a boy vanished. Get excited about this one- it lives up to the hype!

Florence is a single mother to Dylan and she lives a fairly chaotic life. She has a sister, sells balloon arches and dates unsuitable men. The other mothers at school look down on her. During a fieldtrip, a boy goes missing and Florence finds his rucksack in her son's bedroom . Is he involved? She goes about investigating. Several twists in the plot .
On the whole, not a bad and fairly entertainng read though I did not really take to Florence . Lots going on and quite a lot of characters to keep track of. Some of her parenting skills are quite shocking .Not sure about the believability
Thsnks to Net Galley for the arc