The Mother Fault

‘From the first few pages, I knew I was going to be finishing The Mother Fault the same day I had started. Kate Mildenhall has imagined a world as terrifying and visionary as Margaret Atwood’s Gilead, with the pace of the best thrillers – and characters I’ll never forget. This is a novel of rare insight from a rising literary star.’ – J.P. Pomare, author of Call Me Evie and In the Clearing
‘The Mother Fault is a clarion call, wrapped in vivid prose, inside a truly thrilling read. Mildenhall has written a page-turner that also delivers on beautiful language, vivid characterisation and emotional complexity. It is a sensual delight. When I wasn’t gasping in suspense, I was sighing with pleasure at the dazzling prose. I felt so close to Mim, I wanted alternately to shout at her and cheer her on. A novel for our times.’ – Angela Savage, author of Mother of Pearl and Behind the Night Bazaar
‘In The Mother Fault, Kate Mildenhall has achieved that rare thing – a book that at once tackles the big issues and is an addictive page-turner. The near-future Mildenhall has created is not only believable but disturbingly familiar. At its heart is a timeless story of motherhood – an expert and moving portrayal of the lengths a mother will go to in order to save her family. A smart, confronting and compelling read.’ – Melanie Cheng, author of Australia Day and Room for a Stranger
‘Kate Mildenhall raises big questions in this riveting thriller about the moral reckoning that will be demanded of us by future generations for our actions and inaction. But at the heart of The Mother Fault is a deeply human tale, one that prevails against and rises above political agendas: the need to protect those we love. This is exactly the kind of story we need right now; one that observes with lacerating honesty what we risk becoming.’ – Sally Piper, author of The Geography of Friendship and Grace’s Table
‘The Mother Fault looks unflinchingly into a terrifyingly plausible future. I could barely catch my breath while reading … The Australia Mildenhall conjures is at once recognisable and destabilising, beautiful and horrific, taut and emotionally resonant. It shook me to my core. I could not put it down.’ – Alice Robinson, author of Anchor Point and The Glad Shout
‘A shattering lightning bolt of a book.’ – Karen Viggers, author of The Lightkeeper’s Wife
‘Compelling and deeply human. The Mother Fault is an urgent call from a future which is at once terrifying and familiar. The mother of the title — the gutsy, flawed, heroic Mim — is a triumph. She will stay with you long after you finish this compelling, visceral and very human story.’ – Kristina Olsson, award-winning author of Shell and Boy, Lost
‘Brilliant. A raw, urgent, white-knuckle ride through a world only a heartbeat away’ – James Bradley, author of Clade and Ghost Species
‘Clever, political, pacy and exciting. The Mother Fault is pure diamond-edged propulsive power. Book of the year.’ – Chris Flynn, author of Mammoth
‘Sublime … With its superb storytelling and capacity to spark reflection on the way we live, this timely, riveting, warning bell of a book can be confidently recommended.’ * Books+Publishing *
‘This book is an epic journey, a hero’s quest, a great escape. A multi-faceted, ever-changing love story. A call to arms, a warning siren. It’s a love letter from a mother to her children, from a human being to her world, from a woman to herself. It’s an unvarnished, beautifully written, totally authentic tribute to the everyday badassery and bullshit of motherhood, to the ordinary extraordinariness of women. It’s also a fast-paced edge-of-your-seat, heart-in-your-mouth adventure with an ending worthy of a Homeland season finale. It made me think of The Glad Shout, The Road, Bird Box, Jason Bourne, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen … It’s absolutely SUPERB, I loved it, and you will too.’ – Anna Downes, author of The Safe Place
‘A literary thriller that speaks precisely, devastatingly, to its time.’ * The Monthly *
‘A triumph of a novel. Five stars. I loved it. Thrilling, confronting, page-turning and heartbreakingly poignant, The Mother Fault is a remarkable story.’ – Jane Harper, bestselling author of The Dry
‘ A stunning account of a possible future, The Mother Fault deserves every bit of the hype it has received in the lead up to its release.’ * The AU Review *
‘Timely and thoughtful, intelligent and fast paced, this is a propulsive literary thriller that’s likely to appeal to fans of Margaret Atwood and Charlotte Wood’s The Natural Way of Things.’ * The Weekend West *
‘The true power of this novel is in its appalling plausibility. That, and the fact that it is impossible to put down.’ * Readings Monthly *
‘The Mother Fault is reminiscent of works by Margaret Atwood, James Bradley, John Lanchester and Meg Mundell, with echoes of Charlotte Wood, Aldous Huxley, and even of convict Mary Bryant’s courageous escape attempt.’ – Amy Baillieu * Australian Book Review *

Kate Mildenhall is an author, writing teacher, and podcaster.

Her debut novel, Skylarking, was longlisted for Debut Fiction in the 2017 Indie Book Awards and the 2017 Voss Literary Prize.

Her second novel, The Mother Fault, was longlisted for the 2021 ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year and shortlisted for the 2021 Aurealis Science Fiction Novel of the Year.

The Hummingbird Effect was shortlisted for the 2024 ABIA Literary Fiction Book of the Year and longlisted for the 2024 Stella Prize and the 2024 Indie Book Awards for Fiction.

In 2024, Kate released her first picture book, To Stir with Love, illustrated by Jess Racklyeft. It was shortlisted for the 2025 Indie Book Awards and the 2025 ABIA Children’s Book of the Year, and was notable in the CBCA Book Awards for Early Readers.

Kate co-hosted The First Time Podcast, where she interviewed over 200 Australian and international writers.

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