(Reviewed by JD Jung)
Meredith Mayes is facing the unthinkable. Her husband and son died in a car crash ten years ago. Now, her other son Percy has been penned with the nicknames “The Minor Street Monster”, “The Ann Arbor Assassin” and “The Michigan Strangler”.
Percy tortured and killed twelve women from 1993 through 2013 and was finally apprehended when he was caught burying one of the bodies.
Meredith is bombarded with nonstop media attention and tries to handle it with the assistance of her nephew Curtis who is going through his own internal struggles. Since some of the murders took place in a house that she owned, she felt enormous guilt. This prompted her to return to the house and play out (along with the reader) the torture and murder in her own mind.
Meredith keeps contemplating if she should have been able to see the warning signs. For instance, she just recalled that one summer when Percy was only five years old, there were five dead animals found in their yard.
She not only questions her possible role in her son’s tragic behavior but also reexamines her own life and past decisions. Did she really want to have a family in the first place?
At only sixty- eight pages, Mother of not only presents a tight plot but also dares to examine thoughts that are often considered taboo.
I recommend this quick, dark read for those who wish to delve into the human psyche with no holds barred.
