Woman on the Edge by Samantha M. Bailey

Oh my WOW!! I was looking for a thriller read that is gripping, engrossing, captivating, suspenseful with a creative plot and twists. Boy, did Bailey deliver in this book and more. I loved this book and was completely hooked from the start. Told in two story lines between these two women that moved the story quickly. Samantha Bailey wrote with a passion that leads the readers into this foreboding storyline that is highly addicting and interesting to read. I highly recommend this book for those looking for a thriller read that will immerse you into the story. I cannot wait for Bailey's future books - an author to keep watch!!

I felt anxious while reading this book only because there was a baby involved. Other than that, the story was very predictable. The back-and-forth between two main characters felt so disconnected.

There are some big triggers in this book including stalkers, suicide, mental illness, and crappy husbands. I appreciate the author's candid description of postpartum depression.

Woman on the Edge by Samantha M. Bailey
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📚 Morgan is at a subway platform trying to get home after a long day, when a distraught woman approaches her, hands her her baby, and commits suicide. WTF just happened?!? How did this woman know her and proceed to trust her enough to give her her child before killing herself?
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📚 The tension. Is. Real. I had anxiety the whooooole way through and since both of the women were unreliable characters and extremely paranoid, you feel this frantic necessity to figure out the link just to give yourself some peace of mind. 😬 Unfortunately, it did not work well with me. It felt like too much going on, instead of flowing. Also, the "bad guy/gal" was predictable from his/her first appearance. 😶
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📚 However, my opinions are in the minority here. You may happen to love the pacing and intensity like so many others. 😉
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📚 Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy of this debut in exchange for an honest review.

I could not put this book down! I kept thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it. I loved the back and forth perspective and different moments in time. I truly didn’t see the twist coming until it snuck up on me! Definitely one of the best thrillers I’ve read in awhile!

4 stars

This book was gripping and fast paced from the get go. At 1/2 way they the book I still couldn’t figure out whether Nicole was having a breakdown or was really being stalked. I, as always, loved the two person points of view. The writing was good although I didn’t really get, nor did I see the point in all the chakra stuff. Really good read all in all.

Morgan is naively taken advantage of until she finally steps up to learn why a stranger would give her daughter to Morgan and then commit suicide.

Morgan lost everything when her husband is caught have embezzled from clients before committing suicide. Being honorable to her core, Morgan sells everything to help pay back friends and family that lost fortunes to Ryan’s scheme. Even so, she is just beginning to adjust to a life without funds, family or friends.

As Morgan waits for her train, a woman thrusts a child into her arms and jumps in front of a train. Before jumping, the woman calls Morgan by name and asks her to take care of the baby. Morgan is bewildered and swears she has never met the woman. Still, she is immediately the prime person of interest.

Nicole is the CEO of Breathe, a company she developed herself. When her daughter is born, she takes time off. While home, she begins to feel tired, paranoid and unable to consider returning to work. Strange things begin to occur that only Nicole seems aware of occurring. She tries to fight whatever this is but as the odd things continue her grasp on reality begins to waiver.

This book is fast paced and engaging. The writing is compact and multi-layered. My only criticism is that the story is shorter than most in the genre. I simply did not want it to end.


I received an ARC from Simon & Shuster through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

Thrilling and emotional ride through this book. I was very engaged throughout this read mainly because the storyline alternated between two timelines; the past and present. Nicole Markham is the CEO of a wellness and apparel company, named Breathe. She is telling her story from the past, and taking us on an emotional rollercoaster ride that pulls on your heartstrings as she journeys into the world of motherhood in the shadow of postpartum depression. Morgan Kincaid is also telling her story from present day, and how she is or is not intertwined with Nicole's life. After a brief moment in the train station, Nicole and Morgan meet, which changes the lives of Nicole's children and Morgan forever.

Alternating chapters between Nicole and Morgan keeps you on edge as you try to figure out the mystery. I was deeply curious as to what was going on in this story and I was curious from the beginning to the very end. There are so many twists and turns that the story keeps you guessing what and who is controlling all the mystery. The story is about Nicole Markham, who at the beginning of the story is a very scared and overwhelmed woman who pushes her baby in the hands of a seemingly stranger, and then jumps in front of a train. Morgan, who she gives the baby to, has in the past, longed for a baby of her own, has now become a person of interest. The baby, Quinn, is presumed to be in danger, along with Morgan and anyone who is associated with trying to protect Quinn.

There are topics of paranoia, deception, betrayal, postpartum depression, harassment, revenge, motherhood, adoption, complete with foreboding, complex, threatening intriguing, and action-packed drama that is bound to keep you on the edge yourself.

However, there is something about this book I couldn't put my finger on that didn't work for me, but I rate this a 4 overall. Definitely recommend this book to readers who enjoy a suspenseful psychological thriller. Definitely worth the read!

You’re waiting for the subway when a distraught woman approaches you, hands you her baby, and begs you to keep the baby safe. Then she jumps into the path of an oncoming train. That’s the plot of Samatha Bailey’s debut thriller, Woman on the Edge. This book grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let go. It’s told in alternating viewpoints. We learn more about Nicole, the woman who leaps onto the tracks. And we discover what happens to Morgan, the stranger who takes Nicole’s baby. What would drive a woman to give her baby to a complete stranger? Is Morgan in danger? The book kept me guessing, and although some of the twists were a little hard to follow, I really found this to be an enjoyable and suspenseful read.

I first discovered this book on NetGalley and was drawn in by the synopsis. I was 100% correct that this was going to be a great read! What a gripping storyline! This book is so well-written I didn't want to put it down. At the very beginning, I didn't get the flip-flop in chapters between Morgan and Nicole. However, as the book went on, I realized that that was part of the mystery - What is the connection between these two women? The only issue that I really had with the story was Morgan. She kept interfering with the investigation by going everywhere she was told not to. Although that worked out for her in the end, internally I was screaming, "No! Don't go there!" Throughout the story, my heart was breaking for Nicole and Morgan. Very emotional, fast-paced, and well-written.

After reading Woman n the Edge, I will be looking into the author to see what else she has written.

This was a very emotional and heartbreaking story. A new mother suffering from postpartum depression and severe anxiety and not trusting anyone except her best friend. Being plagued by things from her past and blaming herself for something that happened when she was only 17 years old. All of that contributes to her falling apart. That and the strange things that keep happening. Nicole suffers from some common mental disorders but other factors play a part in her complete and total breakdown that leads to her death.

Nicole and Greg seem to have the perfect life. Both are successful in their careers. Both are young and good looking and so deeply in love. Then Nicole finds herself pregnant. She worries that Greg may not want a child as they had never planned on any but to her surprise he is very happy about it.

Tessa, Nicole’s best friend, knows all of her deepest secrets. Her fears. Why she is so afraid after her baby, Quinn, is born. Afraid she won’t be able to keep her safe. Tessa is the only person that Nicole truly completely trusts. After her marriage is put to the ultimate test and Greg moves out, Nicole seems to get worse. Mentally she is in so much turmoil. She doesn’t know what is real and what isn’t. She decides there is only one thing that she can do to keep her baby completely safe.

On the platform of the subway Nicole hands her baby to Morgan and tells her to please take care of her and keep her safe. She says she knows what she really wants and calls her by name. Then Nicole jumps to her death. From there this story really heats up. It’s a roller coaster of a ride all the way to the end. More ups and downs that will keep you turning the pages as fast as possible. Who can you trust. Who is trying to run you down. Who cares about Quinn and who is only after her inheritance.

This is my first book by this author and it’s her debut novel. I do look forward to many more.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #Simon#Schuster and #Samantha M Bailey for this arc. This is my complete and honest review.

Again a 5 star book for me. I highly recommend this one. It has it all.

Woman on the Edge is great debut effort by Samantha M. Bailey. The suspense immediately begins when Morgan is given a stranger's baby on the subway and watches in horror as that mother jumps in front of an oncoming subway train. What just happened? Morgan doesn't know this woman-but the woman knows Morgan. And that revelation is what leads Morgan on a mystery that reveals she is in danger as well.

The woman who jumped in front of the train, Nicole, is a well-known CEO of a popular clothing company, a woman who seemingly had it all. Morgan is taken in for questioning and realizes she is a suspect. Just what happened on the subway and why did Nicole choose Morgan? These questions and more will be answered in this solid debut!

Thank you to the writer, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

Another story that I am on the fence about. The idea of the story is good and has a lot of potential. I think a little more time would have helped this story a bit. I had a bit of trouble with the writing. Maybe it is because the author is from Canada but I just had a hard time with it.

It almost seemed like the author wrote quickly and didn’t give a lot of background to each scene.

Just not sure how I feel about this one.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Author Samantha M. Bailey's Woman on the Edge is a case study in what happens when an innocent woman is falsely accused of murder and has to put the law into her own hands in order to prove she's innocent. 30-something Morgan Kincaid is on her way to work via the train when a distraught woman holding a baby thrusts the child into her hands. Her words will reverberate forever. “Please, take my baby,” the stranger pleads. “Don’t let anyone hurt her. Love her for me, Morgan.”

Morgan catches the baby before the mother jumps in front of an oncoming train. Morgan, who has never met or seen the woman before, almost immediate becomes a person of interest in the mother’s death thanks to her recent loss of her scoundrel husband, Ryan. The story alternates between Morgan in the present, and Nicole another 30 something woman who founded and is CEO of a best selling athleisure & wellness company called Breathe. Nicole appeared to have everything a person can ever want. A thriving business, a loving husband, and a baby on the way.

Morgan desperately wanted a child but not this way. Now, she's a suspect in Nicole's death because no one else saw what happened (and there's no video) so of course she's going to try to find out as much about Nicole as she can. Morgan can't understand why someone would give their child to a complete stranger and take their own life. Morgan has never seen her before that day. With no witnesses to corroborate her version of events, things are not looking good. To clear her name, Morgan tries to piece together Nicole Markham's final days.

Nicole believed that she, and her new baby, were in danger. Or was she a new mother struggling with postpartum depression and paranoia? Nicole's anxiety is compounded by the guilt of a traumatic event in her past. Her angst is palpable, as are her fears of motherhood, and she becomes a shell of her former self—a far cry from the successful CEO of her own company. Although a success in business, once she has a child, Morgan finds herself in a downward spiral of postpartum psychosis and fear with sins of her past haunting her.

And what is Morgan's connection to all of this? As she gets closer to the truth, one thing become apparent, her life is also in danger. Morgan's life fell apart when her husband committed suicide as a result of being found guilty of embezzlement. She was left with the repercussions, including the police thinking that she was his accomplice. With little help from the police, Morgan's only allies are her steadfast lawyer, Jessica Clark, and Nicole's brother Ben who hasn't seen eye to eye with Nicole since the incident almost 20 years ago.

Fantastic page turner. Pulled me in from the first page. Loved it. Thank you netgalley and publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book will keep you want to read more. Imagine standing on the platform of a train station waiting for the train. A frantic woman comes up to you, hands yo baby, tells you to take care of it, and then leaps in front of the train pulling in. Morgan's life is changed forever. Who is this woman who handed her their baby and why did she jump. Morgan's life becomes a tangle of questions as she wants to learn more about this mysterious woman.
This book is told in alternating perspective of Morgan and the woman who jumped.

This is a quick read. I couldn't put it down because I need to know more. I wanted to see how everything fit together.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

There were a few times I had to suspend disbelief, but I didn't care. Woman on the Edge is a fun, suspenseful thriller about a woman who is suddenly thrust into an unpredictable situation. Before jumping in front of a subway train, a woman hands over her baby to a complete stranger, forever connecting the fates of these two women. The story is told from alternating perspectives which kept me hanging on for just "one more chapter".

If you enjoy thrillers/psychological suspense, I recommend checking this one out.

“‘I know what you want. Don’t let anyone hurt her. Love her for me, Morgan.’ She launches her baby toward me; my hands catch the infant by instinct. When I look back up at her mother a second later, the train is shrieking into the station. And that’s when she jumps.”—from the heart-pounding debut thriller, Woman on the Edge.

Told from Morgan’s point of view, the tale also shows flashbacks into the infant’s mother, Nicole. There are twists, turns and plenty of lying awaiting you in this propulsive read. I won’t say anything else about the plot as going in blind is the best way to begin Woman on the Edge. 4 stars!

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

So happy I requested this book! What would you do of a stranger handed you her baby then turned around and killed herself? Oh! Then you're accused of her murder?

Loved this book! Read it one sitting! Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Wow!! This book grabbed me from the very first words and held me captive to the very end.

This story is a thriller at its best—edge-of-your-seat, page-turning, and heart-pumping.. I could not put it down! What a great debut!!!

Wow!! This book grabbed me from the very first words and held me captive to the very end.

This story is a thriller at its best—edge-of-your-seat, page-turning, and heart-pumping. I devoured this book. I couldn't stop reading, it was that suspenseful. I'm extremely impressed by this debut novel and look forward to more books by Samantha in the future, hopefully soon.