When I began reading this book, I found it slightly confusing to jump from day to day life to mentions of a possible prison term. I wasn't sure what had happened in the back story.
However, reading on, and realising that this was how the novel worked, it became clearer. Marti, a Social worker in the same hospital as her very important and busy Dr husband, gets caught up in a situation. An obstetrician, actually having an affair with her husband, makes a terrible mistake during a delivery., which Mart witnesses. Somehow, in telling what she saw, she herself gets arrested and accused of killing the newly born baby.
The descriptions of the Hospital and the hours worked, the exhaustion, the tired doctors falling asleep on the job, all is drawn so well. You can feel the tensions. You know there is going to be some ghastly error made.
The same tautness is shown in the courtroom drama where Marti is put under scrutiny, not helped at all by her husband, but supported by others who have no doubts of her innocence.
I found this a book that I didn't want to put down, thoughtful, well written and fast paced.

I really didn't enjoy this book at all, it was slow paced and felt like it dragged on forever.

So this book took me quite a while to get into, but then stopped me from sleeping all night because I was so stressed about what would happen...

This story is fabulous because Marti is a mother first and foremost and the love that she feels for her three kids is so passionate and so real that I was feeling incredibly protective of each of them. I also love the way she navigates the work place and the people she interacts with there as well as how she maintains relationships with close friends, with her family, and with her in-laws--the latter more challenging than the others.

I loved the trial, also. I guess though I've recently been devouring everything suspense, I've never read anything set in an actual court with a trial going on. I found the back and forth between the witnesses and the prosecutor/defender to be snappy and witty and I could very much envision it all coming together.

The entire political situation and the dynamics of the workplace were legitimately fascinating and probably raise some real world issues. I'll be passing this one on to my mum, who works as a nurse, to see what she thinks, but I was appalled by the situation and how overworked residents were. The family dynamics also stunk and I loved reading about them and seeing how they evolved.

It did take me a good third of the book to really start caring about anyone and to get invested. The ending felt a little sudden and I had to reread a bit to make sure I hadn't missed something. The middle, however, had me reading quickly and on the edge of my bed with my need to know what would happen. Sometimes the way that the flashforwards worked were also a little bit confusing, but common sense solved this.

If you're interested in nursing, social work, or court, or just enjoy good suspense novels, this will be right up your alley.

Great book! Loved Marti and her best friend, Colby. I found all of the characters interesting although some were unlikable. The difficulties in Marti and Elliot's marriage were relatable. The whole story was great and I would definitely recommend this book! Thank you for sharing it with me!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. I enjoyed this book but it didn't keep me reading into the night. Having said that I do recommend this story very much. I've already recommended to several friends!

This book was GREAT!!!! I was so enthralled by the story and how it took a character and changed her completely, in what I thought was a very realistic way of events unfolding. The writing style was great and dialogue very believable. I think this would make an excellent movie or HBO series!

Absolutely uputdownable!

When you start reading this (and you must!), set aside plenty of time to finish it because I promise, you'll not want to stop reading. I was constantly torn between rushing to finish to find out what happened and slowing down to enjoy the writing*, the characters and the dialogue. I loved the wonderful friendship between "Martha Helen" and Colby and the new friendship between Marti and Tonya, while the courtroom scenes had me pacing the room, shouting at two of the witnesses.

The seamless switching between timelines works so well, too.

Apart from the heartbreaking loss of a baby, Raskin touches on corruption, racism, poverty, male and female friendships, the effects of a failing marriage on the children, all in a breathtaking rollercoaster of a ride. I've long been a fan of Liane Moriarty, Maria Semple, Belinda Bauer and I'm jumping for joy to add another brilliant author to that list of female American writers who just "get" women. Absolutely brilliant.

* Example:
"The telling was getting easier with each rendition; pretty soon the language would have traveled far enough from its starting point that the words would be free of all emotional content. They’d just be little empty suitcases."

Disclaimer: I received an advance copy of this novel from the publishers in return for an honest review. I'm writing this a few hours after stopping up most of the night to finish it. Doesn't get more honest than that!

This was a fantastic book! I was immediately pulled in by Marti and her story. I couldn't wait to find out who she was accused of killing! I did find the writing a little disjointed - jumping around from place to place without so much as a line break - but that is probably due to the format and will be corrected in final edits. Once I adjusted to that, I enjoyed having the story fill in in bits and pieces. I could not put it down.

What an awesome book. I'm still reeling with what happened. The characters were real and had depth, making the story you would find in any news headline. I truly didn't want the book to end, it was THAT good.

I gave up after reading a third of this because it didn't feel suspenseful, it felt manipulative.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the copy of this novel.

This was a very pleasant surprise for me. I had never read anything by the author and to be honest, was a bit afraid that this was going to be a typical chicklit type of novel.

Although the failing marriage was an integral piece of the story, the main story focused on the overworked, exhausted interns and the catastrophic results that this can and does actually have. I was also impressed by the glimpse the author gave into the work of the social workers who try to help young mothers. As for the legal thriller, loved the surprise ending.

This was a quick read, and well worth the time. Looking forward to more by Raskin.

A well written and complex story that's as fun to read as binge watching a medical drama on Netflix. Best Intentions grabs you at the first page and doesn't disappoint. Told in two timelines, Erika Raskin's tale is gripping and purposefully plotted. I immediately liked Marti, a doctor's wife trying to hold her own under conditions that many would crumble under. This story conveys relevant medical issues without being preachy. Instead the reader is left with the desire to learn more and form their own opinions. I only wish it had been longer. The conclusion felt a little rushed, and I wanted more.

From page one I was hooked. The book has great characters, great story line and is thrilling from the start. Lots of twists and turns. This book will not disappoint

Witty and a the author does a perfect job of holding her penlight up to medical training , big pharm, big medicine and charming looking southern cities- I detect a bit of Maria Semple
panning Seattle and tech-

Marti Taylor is the wife of a successful doctor, the daughter of a congressman and the mother of three children, but she longs to go back to return to her work as a hospital social worker. When she lands a job, it’s at the same hospital where her husband works, and he makes it clear he’s not happy about that fact. One day at work, Marti sees something she shouldn’t have, but her ethics will not allow her to sweep in under the rug, so she reports it to the proper authorities. But trying to do the right thing places Marti herself under suspicion. They say no good deed ever goes unpunished. A great read about ethics, ambition and doing the right thing