"A quietly devastating novel about a mother's attempt to survive after the murder of her 16-year-old son." —Booklist

From the author of the critically acclaimed A Cupboard Full of Coats, a provocative and timely novel about a mother's search for meaning and hope in the wake of incomprehensible loss.

The unimaginable has happened to Marcia Williams. Her bright and beautiful sixteen-year-old son, Ryan, has been brutally murdered. Consumed by grief and rage, she must bridle her dark feelings and endure something no mother should ever have to experience: she must go to court for the trial of the killer—another teenage boy—accused of taking her son's life.

Ryan should have been safe—he wasn't the kind of boy to find himself on the wrong end of a knife carried by a dangerous young man like Tyson Manley. But as the trial proceeds, Marcia finds her assumptions challenged as she learns more about Ryan's death and Tyson's life, including his dysfunctional family. She also discovers troubling truths about her own. As the strain of Ryan's death tests their marriage, her husband pulls farther away, hiding behind a wall of secrets that masks his grief.

A beautiful, engrossing novel that illuminates some of the most important issues of our time, The Mother is a moving portrait of love, tragedy, and survival.

"[A] tour de force that deserves recognition and as wide an audience as possible." —Patrik Bass, Essence

"Beautifully drawn characters. . . . Edwards crafts a richly detailed world." —Kirkus Reviews

"Highly recommended for readers who enjoy current issue-related fiction by authors such as Jodi Picoult and Jacquelyn Mitchard." —BookPage