All the Other Mothers Hate Me

All the Other Mothers Hate Me is a satirical mystery thriller by Sarah Harman. When 10-year-old Alfie Risby goes missing from the exclusive boys’ prep school St. Angeles in London, washed-up pop star Florence Grimes worries that her son, Dylan, might be involved. Desperate to clear her son’s name, Florence throws herself into investigating his disappearance with the help of high-powered lawyer Jenny Choi. Their investigation uncovers the hidden scandals of the rarified world of the London upper classes. Thematically, the novel explores The Impact of Class on Interpersonal Relationships, The Motherhood Ideal as a Source of Identity, and The Negative Personal Impacts of Regret and Jealousy. All the Other Mothers Hate Me is Sarah Harman’s debut novel.

This guide references the 2025 Penguin Random House Kindle eBook edition of All the Other Mothers Hate Me.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of and references to bullying, sexual violence and harassment, mental illness, child sexual abuse, death by suicide, animal cruelty and death, substance use, graphic violence, sexual content, and cursing.

Plot Summary

All the Other Mothers Hate Me is written in first-person from Florence’s perspective. The narrative begins on a chilly Friday morning in November in London. Florence is late waking up to walk her 10-year-old son, Dylan, to his exclusive private school, St. Angeles. Dylan, a dedicated and passionate environmentalist, is eager to get to school because his class is going on a field trip to the Wetland Centre for birdwatching. He’s an unusual child whose closest friend is the elderly Mr. Foster, also an environmentalist.

Florence drops Dylan off at school. At the school gates, lawyer Jenny Choi introduces herself to Florence. She has recently arrived in London, and she hopes they can become friends as they are both Americans living in the UK. Florence and Jenny are exchanging numbers when the school guidance counselor approaches Florence. She wants to talk to Florence about Dylan’s behavior. Dylan has been violently acting out in class against the other boys. She notes that he hit Alfie Risby with a cricket bat the previous semester when Alfie was teasing a box turtle in the schoolyard (Florence and Dylan had later adopted the turtle, which they named Greta). More recently, Dylan dumped the contents of a desk onto another student. The counselor wants Dylan to be evaluated, but Florence insists there is nothing wrong with her son except for the other boys bullying him. Privately, she recognizes that Dylan is unusual.

In preparation for a meeting with a former music industry contact that evening, Florence gets her nails done. She hopes that her contact will help restart her music career, which stalled after she left the girl group Girls’ Night soon after Dylan’s birth. Florence currently has a side hustle as a balloon arch creator, and she asks her neighbor, Adam, to help her with a balloon delivery at a wealthy house in Notting Hill. At the house, she runs into a former bandmate, Lacey, whom she hasn’t seen in a decade. Overwhelmed, Florence leaves and goes to a bar where she gets drunk, has sex in the bathroom with a stranger, and goes to meet her sister, Brooke, for lunch. Brooke is preparing for her wedding the following week. Afterward, at a fancy department store, Florence buys an outfit for her meeting that night and receives a series of messages informing her that something has happened during the school field trip.

Florence rushes to St. Angeles, where police are stationed everywhere. Ignoring instructions that the school is on lockdown, she forces her way inside, finds her son Dylan, and sneaks him out. Dylan tells her that Alfie went missing during the school field trip. He and Dylan had been birdwatching partners, but he had disappeared when Dylan went to throw away some litter. No one had noticed Alfie was missing until the bus returned to school because Dylan had responded to Alfie’s name at roll call before the bus left the center. Florence’s ex-husband, Will, picks up Dylan, agreeing to take him for the week. When Dylan is gone, Florence searches his room and finds Alfie’s backpack under his bed. In the backpack is Alfie’s journal. She finds an entry where Alfie reports that Dylan threatened to kill him. She burns the journal, worried that Dylan is somehow involved in Alfie’s disappearance.

The next day, Florence goes to the Wetland Centre intending to leave Alfie’s backpack to protect her son from suspicion. However, the police stop and arrest her for attempting to trespass on the crime scene. While at the police station, Florence calls Jenny for help. The police release Florence without finding Alfie’s backpack in her bag. Jenny picks Florence up and takes her to the school meeting about Alfie’s disappearance. Jenny is disappointed that neither the police nor the school seem to be taking the situation seriously. She agrees to help Florence investigate Alfie’s disappearance.

The next day, Florence and Jenny interview the school maintenance man. He tells them to talk to the school vice principal, Ms. Schulz, about Mr. Sexton, a teacher who was fired for allegedly “groping” Alfie. Jenny and Florence interview Ms. Schulz, who tells them she saw Alfie’s half-brother, Ian, at the vigil for Alfie. Florence is stunned to learn that Alfie’s father, a wealthy businessman named Rollo Risby, has a son with a woman he knew when he was a teenager. Florence returns home to discuss the situation with Brooke, who tells Florence to hire a lawyer to protect Dylan. Florence refuses. That night, someone throws a cricket ball with a note warning Florence to stop investigating through her front door.

The next morning, Jenny and Florence continue their investigation. Jenny has learned that Ian lives in a large apartment complex called the Barbican, but she does not know which apartment is his. Jenny and Florence pose as door-to-door “toddler snacks” saleswomen to search for him. While they do not find Ian, they learn from a neighbor that he works as a DJ. Florence reaches out to her connections in the music community and learns Ian is performing that evening at a warehouse party. Jenny and Florence go to the venue to interview Ian. He tells them he has an alibi for the time of Alfie’s disappearance and that he has no motive to kidnap his half-brother. He indicates he is closer to Ms. Schultz than she implied. That evening, Florence asks Adam, who is a police officer, to help her find Mr. Sexton’s address.

The next day, Jenny and Florence tail Mr. Sexton as he loads fertilizer into a white van and drives to a hardware store where he purchases a saw. They become convinced that Mr. Sexton is suspicious. That afternoon, the police contact Florence. They want to interview Dylan in connection with Alfie’s disappearance.

The next day, Florence goes to Mr. Sexton’s house alone. Posing as someone from the water company, she plants photographs of the St. Angeles boys and Alfie’s backpack in his house. Then, she leaves an anonymous tip with the police, claiming she is a cleaner who found Alfie’s backpack in Mr. Sexton’s home.

The next morning, Florence learns Mr. Sexton has been arrested. Although she feels guilty for having framed him for the crime, she’s also relieved Dylan is no longer a suspect. Will drops Dylan off at the house.

On Tuesday night, Florence goes on a date with a married man with whom she’s been having an affair. On the bus home, she runs into Cleo Risby, Alfie’s mother, who looks bedraggled and tells Florence that Rollo is cheating on her with a 25-year-old. She shows Florence a drawing from Alfie that someone nailed to her door two days after Mr. Sexton’s arrest, claiming it’s evidence that Alfie is alive.

The next night, Florence meets up with Ian, who tells her that Ms. Schulz is his aunt and that she was attempting to get Ian included in Rollo’s will. With his half-brother gone, Ian would be Rollo’s sole heir. Late that night, Florence hears a noise. She finds Dylan in the kitchen at 2:00 am, fully clothed. He claims he was just getting a glass of water.

The next day, Florence meets again with Ms. Schulz, who confirms she is Ian’s aunt. She explains that Rollo had gotten her sister pregnant when she was 16 and then left her to raise Ian on her own. The shame and guilt had led to her sister’s death by suicide. She also reports that the Risbys fabricated the evidence against Mr. Sexton because Mr. Sexton had failed Alfie on an exam; he had never “groped” Alfie. Feeling guilty, Florence returns home and attempts to take a shower, but sludgy goo instead of water comes out of the pipes. Angry, she knocks on Adam’s door to complain. When Adam answers, Florence is shocked to see Jenny there. They have been having sex. Florence calls Jenny a “slag” and storms off.

On Saturday morning, a woman named Zofia knocks on Florence’s door and claims to be the sister of Adam’s girlfriend, Marta. Florence explains that Adam and Marta broke up three months prior and that Marta moved back to Poland. Zofia insists Marta did not return to Poland. Florence agrees to help Marta look for her sister and learns that Marta had been having an affair with Rollo. They also learn that she quit her job at a hair salon over text, claiming she had to return to Poland to help her ailing mother, even though her mother died years prior. Florence calls Marta’s phone number and hears the phone ring in Adam’s apartment. She realizes Adam must be involved in Marta’s disappearance. Florence attempts to warn Jenny, but Jenny thinks Florence is just being dramatic. Florence tries to report Adam to the police, but as Adam is himself a police officer, her attempt is unsuccessful. That night, Florence leaves Dylan home alone while she goes out on a date with a stranger. She has too much to drink and blacks out.

When Florence wakes up the next morning, she cannot find Dylan. She finds a letter shoved through the mail slot with an address in Cornwall and the message, “If you call the cops, he dies!!!” (315). Panicked, Florence calls Jenny. Jenny agrees to drive her to Cornwall to rescue Dylan. Jenny tells Florence that Adam has a family home in Cornwall. They surmise Adam must have taken Dylan when he realized Florence suspected he was involved in Marta’s disappearance.

When they arrive in Cornwall, Jenny waits outside in the car while Florence enters the house. Adam tells Florence he did not kidnap Dylan. He shows Florence video surveillance showing Dylan leaving for school that morning. He explains the note was a reference to Alfie, whom he has kidnapped and is holding hostage at the house. He wants Florence to negotiate a ransom for Alfie. He confesses that he accidentally killed Marta when he learned she was having an affair with Rollo, and he needs the ransom money to skip town. Florence pretends to agree to the scheme, but instead, she frees Alfie. Before Florence can escape, Adam attacks her. Jenny enters the house and shoots Adam with his own gun.

A week later, Florence wakes up from her coma. She sustained serious injuries during the attack, but she will survive. Jenny made Adam’s death look like suicide. The Risbys give Florence a £5 million award for saving their son. She gives £4 million to Mr. Sexton for having framed him in the crime. She plans to use the remaining £1 million to buy Adam’s half of the duplex. Florence is released from the hospital in time for Christmas. She celebrates with Dylan, Jenny, and Jenny’s twin boys. That night, Florence sees a news report about a suspected eco terrorist involved in setting off a nail bomb at the headquarters of an oil company. It is her neighbor, Mr. Foster. Florence realizes Dylan has been sneaking out at night to participate in this eco terrorism. She decides to protect him by not informing the police.