Published 5th June 2025 by Hera Books.
From the cover of the book:
First comes gossip … then comes revenge.When single mum Lola Martinez’s son, Luca, starts school, she feels that she’ll never fit in with the yummy mummies in the playground. Confident, married to wealthy men, with ample free time, they are everything she isn’t.
However, Lola is invited into the inner circle, surrounded by seemingly friendly people, even if Lola’s silence about her child’s father puzzles them. Despite herself, Lola quickly becomes involved in playground politics, making as many enemies as friends.
But then Lola is brutally murdered, her death rocking the close-knit community. As the police investigate the case, they discover that Lola was hiding many secrets – as are the mums in her new social circle. But who had the most reason to kill her? And who else might unwittingly hold the answers to what happened that night?
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Devoted single mum Lola Martinez cannot help but be nervous amongst all the yummy-mummies in the primary school playground on her son Luca's first day in Reception at St Xavier's, in leafy Kingston-upon-Thames. Lola is worried she will never fit in with these confident, affluent women, so she is delighted when she finds herself being invited to join the most desirable clique of them all.
But being part of this inner circle soon has Lola out of her depth. Navigating the complex rules of playground politics while keeping the truth about her past hidden from their prying eyes is a nightmare. Unguarded moments result in secrets being spilled, and as tongues begin to wag, friends become enemies...
When Lola is brutally murdered after events turn ugly at the class Christmas party, it falls to DI Banner to discover if one of these vengeful mums has it within them to be a murderer.
This twisty new thriller from A.A. Chaudhuri sees her returning to the format of slick ensemble piece, that plays out in a very familiar setting - the clique-riven, rumour-mill-fuelled crowd that rocks up to the primary school gates.
Thruming with a delicious Mean Girls vibe, Chaudhuri inserts anxious single mum Lola into a group of seriously complicated women, and tells the story of her demise, flipping back and forth between the times before and after her murder. Lola's voice (through her first person narrative, and the transcripts of conversations she has in an on-line forum with a mysterious character called 'Tracy') blends with alternative accounts of events from multiple perspectives, and vivid flashbacks to moments where shocking secrets are revealed.
The plot thickens with parallel threads around Lola's murder, all manner of domestic dramas, and the actions of a rapist stalking Britain's college campuses. Luckily, you have canny DI Banner (truly a rose amongst entitled thorns) to help you solve this many-layered mystery. Banner is adept at feeling out the cracks and cover-ups in the testimonies of the other mums and their partners... and blowing their lies wide open.
As usual with a Chaudhuri thriller, she has a ball plumbing the psychological depths of her characters, especially when it comes to seething jealousy, creepy obsession, and back-stabbing betrayal. She misleads and misdirects with skill, and then hits you broadside with an orgy of twists, and you will love every single second. She explores weighty themes along the way too, delving into the way the secrets we keep shape our lives, make us vulnerable to the manipulation of others, and can feed a desire to manipulate in turn.
A page-turner to be consumed in a single tasty bite!
The School Gates is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats.
Thank you to the lovely A.A. Chaudhuri for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
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