Nicola Moriarty (The Fifth Letter) has perfectly blended humor and pathos in Those Other Women. The story begins with Poppy, who has never wanted children, and thought she and her husband, Garret, were on the same page about it. That is, until Garret reveals that he's been sleeping with her best friend, whose biological clock is ticking.
Spinning in the wake of her divorce, and annoyed to be excluded from "MOP" ("Mums Online--Parramatta," a group that thousands of mums from their Sydney suburb have joined), Poppy and her coworker Annalise start "NOP," for non-mums. Happily sharing tips on yoga studios that exclude children and restaurants whose ambiance discourages families, NOP is Poppy's safe space. But then she goes on a drunken rant, encouraging members to "get back" at MOP members who make them feel bad for not having children.
Suddenly half of Sydney is at war, as MOP and NOP members lash out at each other, both online and in person, and Poppy is left reeling. Can she undo what she's begun?
Funny, sharp and surprising, Those Other Women is a clearsighted look at the backstabbing and jealousy that every stay-at-home mother, working mother and childfree woman has encountered. Moriarty has created believably flawed characters who struggle to balance family and work, and who inescapably compare themselves to each other--something to which all readers will relate. --Jessica Howard, bookseller at Bookmans, Tucson, Ariz.