{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20261010T034321Z-reviewed-full-unique-works","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250284279?tag=bookfrontie00-20","asin":"1250284279","authors":["Andrea Dunlop","Mike Weber"],"book_id":"9781250284273","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/the-mother-next-door-9781250284273","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781250284273.jpg?v=2590967b36b3c40c","description":"\"Harrowing.\" — Wall Street Journal • \"Riveting.\" — Seattle Times A groundbreaking work of narrative nonfiction that investigates Munchausen by Proxy from the host and creator of the award-winning true crime podcast Nobody Should Believe Me . No bond is more sacred than that between a mother and child. And no one is more sympathetic than a mother whose child faces a life-threatening illness. But what if the mother is the cause of the illness? What if the sympathy is the point? Munchausen by proxy (MBP) has fascinated and horrified both professionals and the general public since this disturbing form of child abuse was first identified. But even as the public has been captivated by these tales of abuse and deception, there remains widespread misinformation and confusion about MBP. Are these mothers unfeeling psychopaths, or sick women who need help? And more important, how can we protect the children whose lives are at stake? The Mother Next Door offers a groundbreaking look at MBP from an unlikely duo: a Seattle novelist whose own family was torn apart by it, and the Texas detective who has worked on more medical child abuse cases than anyone in the nation. Readers ride along on three high-stakes MPB investigations; through riveting reporting and shocking stories from the family members, friends, and doctors caught in the blast zone of these unthinkable acts, a twisted portrait of motherhood and deceit is revealed. With help from some of the top MBP experts in the world, Dunlop and Weber uncover the complex maze of psychological, systemic, and cultural issues that compound MBP and offer solutions for how we might find our way out.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9781250284273","publication_date":"20250204","publisher":"St. Martin's Press","slug":"the-mother-next-door","subtitle":"Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy","title":"The Mother Next Door"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"FAM001010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Child Abuse","score":0.7783,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"TRU002010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Serial Killers","score":0.7389,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"FAM001030","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Partner Abuse","score":0.7177,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"FAM001010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Child Abuse","score":0.7783,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"TRU002010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Serial Killers","score":0.7389,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"FAM001030","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Partner Abuse","score":0.7177,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"FAM001010","confidence_band":"high","label":"Child Abuse","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"TRU000000","confidence_band":"high","label":"True Crime","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"TRU004000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Cons, Hoaxes & Scams","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Child Abuse","score":0.7783,"slug":"child-abuse"},{"label":"Serial Killers","score":0.7389,"slug":"serial-killers"},{"label":"Partner Abuse","score":0.7177,"slug":"partner-abuse"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers interested in narrative investigations of Munchausen by proxy"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Gregg Olsen","Karen Peakes","Hachette UK - Thread","& 0 more"],"book_id":"9781538724859","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781538724859.jpg?v=d9677641aac7bb69","score":0.7139,"title":"American Mother","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781538724859"},{"authors":["Martha Stout"],"book_id":"9780767915823","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780767915823.jpg?v=b0d53fe14efc4577","score":0.7045,"title":"The Sociopath Next Door","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780767915823"},{"authors":["Freida McFadden"],"book_id":"9781464227301","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781464227301.jpg?v=f01e005da0b86bdb","score":0.7038,"title":"The Surrogate Mother","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781464227301"},{"authors":["John Coston"],"book_id":"9781504049412","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781504049412.jpg?v=23dd99325ad4209f","score":0.7019,"title":"Sleep, My Child, Forever","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781504049412"},{"authors":["Kelly McDaniel"],"book_id":"9781401960858","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781401960858.jpg?v=6b6a37a3f018d828","score":0.7015,"title":"Mother Hunger","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781401960858"},{"authors":["April Balascio","Simon & Schuster Audio"],"book_id":"9781982177034","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781982177034.jpg?v=87207abc280683b9","score":0.6907,"title":"Raised by a Serial Killer","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781982177034"},{"authors":["Megan Nix"],"book_id":"9780385548595","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780385548595.jpg?v=9012e56da1ea4eb5","score":0.6897,"title":"Remedies for Sorrow","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780385548595"},{"authors":["Jarrett Ferentino","Ron Lieback","Nancy Grace","& 0 more"],"book_id":"9798895654620","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9798895654620.jpg?v=b13fe3de916d9190","score":0.6855,"title":"Mothers, Murders, and Motivation","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9798895654620"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:true crime"],"label":"Crime","score":0.0487,"slug":"crime"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:mental illness"],"label":"Mental","score":0.0313,"slug":"mental"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:child abuse"],"label":"Child","score":0.0294,"slug":"child"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: Munchausen by proxy, Medical child abuse, Motherhood and deception.","Themes: Crime, Mental, Child.","Reading lane: Child Abuse and Serial Killers."]},"llm_signals":{"confidence":0.91,"pacing":"unknown","reader_fit":["Readers interested in narrative investigations of Munchausen by proxy"],"themes":["Munchausen by proxy","Medical child abuse","Motherhood and deception"],"tropes":[]},"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":true,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":0,"goodreads_ratings_count":7824,"goodreads_reviews_count":1054,"quality_score":0.9491}}