Chelsey’s Review

This book kept me guessing and I loved how the varying storylines played out.

Helen is expecting her first child and is excited to take prenatal classes with her husband and her brother and his wife, Serena, who are also expecting around the same time. But when Serena cancels at the last minute for a different series of classes and her husband gets tied up at work, Helen is forced to go alone. There, she meets Rachel, a young, single woman who seems anything but motherly. Both Rachel and Helen are already on leave from work due to health complications so Helen doesn’t think much of it when Rachel starts turning up more and more. A friendship of convenience is quickly formed, but when Rachel shows up at Helen’s door late one night with marks on her neck and asks to move in, the friendship shifts from strange to uncomfortable. Is Rachel simply a young mother down on her luck? Or is something more sinister at play? And what are Rachel’s true intentions for Helen?

I enjoyed that the story was told from various narrators but focused on Helen. I also loved that the novel was broken down by weeks pregnant. I could envision Helen getting bigger by the day, feeling lonely and isolated while her husband worked late every night and her house was consumed by a massive reno project that they were trying to complete before the baby was born.

Rachel’s whole persona gave me all the red flags but I could totally empathize with Helen’s need to be kind while also allowing Rachel to slip into her life because she was so lonely. There were so many times I cringed as Helen’s discomfort radiated off the page while pregnant Rachel smoked a cigarette or chugged another alcoholic beverage with no regard to her unborn baby.

Some parts of the story were more predictable than others but even still, I was always eager to pick the book up and continue reading. I don’t typically like when a novel wraps everything up in the last chapter or two, but thought it was fairly well done here. The very end was also so good that it helped me overlook the final information dump. I love when a book ends on a jaw dropping note and Faulkner really hit the nail on the head here!

Patricia’s Review

Rating: 4 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was pleasantly surprised by this well plotted story from a debut author. And can we talk about that beautiful cover?

Helen, far along in her pregnancy and with an all too absent husband winds up in her pre-natal classes alone. When an outgoing younger woman chats her up, she’s glad to have someone to talk to. Who would expect the new “friend” they made in pre-natal classes had ulterior motives?

While there were a couple of intervening chapters, or interludes, that were designed to set up some of the background but seemed to pull you out of the story; however, they were short and easy to gloss over, Faulkner does a great job of building Rachel from an outgoing mom-to-be, to a sinister stalkerish character. After too many coincidences, is stuck in a friendship she can’t seem to break out of and feels compelled to put up with Rachel and her weird behavior – smoking, drinking….and worse.

In a bizarre series of connections, Helen, her brothers, and their significant others are all wrapped up in a secret from their past. And while you might think you know what happened, the ending comes with a twist that will sneak up on you!

I can’t wait to see what else Katherine Faulkner has in store for us.

Both reviewers would like to thank Gallery and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this novel.