In a Country of Mothers

No relationship is more charged than that between a psychotherapist and her patient—unless it is the relationship between a mother and her daughter. This disturbing literary thriller explores what happens when the line between those relationships blurs.

Jody Goodman enters psychotherapy with questions of career and love on her mind. But Claire Roth, her therapist, keeps changing the focus of their sessions to Jody's parentage—Jody was adopted; Claire gave up a baby for adoption who would now be exactly Jody's age. As the two women become increasingly involved, speculation turns into certainty, fantasy into fixation. Until suddenly it is no longer clear just which of them needs the other more—or with more terrifying consequences."Homes...has the ability to scare you half to death....[She is] devastating...a very dangerous writer."
—Washington Post Book World

"A commanding narrative...by turns witty and unnerving, and at times almost unbearable in its emotional intensity."
—Wall Street Journal

"Intriguing...captures a world spinning out of control....Homes is at her best evoking the pathos and obsession at the center of relationships between therapist and patient, mother and child, husband and wife. She is also wickedly funny. [This is] a psychologically gripping story."
—San Francisco ChronicleA.M. Homes is the author of over 10 books including the novels May We Be Forgiven and Music for Torching; and the short story collection, Things You Should Know. Homes’s work has been translated into over 20 languages and she is a frequent contributor to Art Forum, Harpers, Granta, and more.