What's the only thing worse than a mother-in-law who can't stand you? One who wants to be your best friend. Ellie thinks she's marrying into the ideal family but soon realizes that her perfect mother-in-law, Linda, can be a perfect monster. What Linda thinks is generous and affectionate, Ellie sees as manipulative and invasive; from commandeering the wedding to crowding the vacation plans, Ellie can't escape her mother-in-law's meddling. To make matters worse, her husband, Dan, offers little support in the escalating struggles between mother- and daughter-in-law. Are his twice-daily phone calls to Linda really necessary—or even normal? How will the arrival of baby Tom affect the family? When will Michael, Linda's submissive husband, finally stand up to his wife? Ellie has always dreamed of having a close-knit family and now she's discovering what happens when wishes come true.

A tender, engrossing read, Jane Green's The Other Woman is the latest in her string of highly successful novels about love, family, and friendship. Her sparkling prose and lively humor have captured the hearts of readers on both sides of the Atlantic, and this newest novel highlights her wit as well as her warmth for and understanding of human relationships. With a nuanced eye for detail and expression, Green reveals not only the frustrations and compromises involved with family life, but also the ever-evolving nature of female friendship. As Ellie navigates through marriage and motherhood, she finds her friends enhancing but also complicating her life with their own desires and limitations. Yet when events take a poignant turn, Ellie finds herself reaching out to the one friend she never imagined needing: Linda.

Flawed, ambivalent but ultimately hopeful and resilient, Ellie Cooper is a heroine readers can identify with and cheer for as she moves through the stages of her life, from single woman to married mom and back—and back again. Life, with all its complications, will never be the idyll that Ellie expects, and as she learns to accept the flaws in her family and friends, she also recognizes and remedies the flaws in herself. A journey of growth, experience and forgiveness, Jane Green's novel will resonate with readers seeking an honest portrait of modern domestic life. Rather than relying on storybook cliché, Green's The Other Woman reveals the true give-and-take involved in building an extended family, proving that happy endings don't happen without hard work.