Given the title, cover, and synopsis, I expected a thrilling read, but halfway through realized that it wasn't very thrilling at all. It seemed like it would fit more in Women's fiction. It was very sincere in it's writing and sparked my emotions as a mother, but didn't provide that jolt of anticipation I've come to love with thrillers.

DNF @ 24%. I really wanted to like this one, but I just couldn't get into it. I was expecting a thriller, but it was much more Women's Fiction. The writing wasn't bad, I think it was just an instance of me being the wrong reader for the book.

I have reviewed "Little Disasters" for New York Journal of Books where it will be posted the evening prior to the release date.


How strong are the bonds of friendship? London Pediatrician Liz Trenchard and Jess Curtis met several years ago when they were both pregnant for the first time. Along with two other women in their birthing classes, Mel, and Charlotte, they have remained close, yet Liz and Jess's closeness has sustained the most.

When Jess arrives as the hospital with ten-month-old Betsey in trauma, Liz is faced with a critical dilemma. Betsey is diagnosed with a skull fracture, and Liz, who knows Jess who is a stay-at-home mom for Betsey and her older sons, Frankie and Kit adores her children and would never harm any of them, yet suspicion looms as to how Betsey got hurt.

Motherhood can be stressful, and most mothers have long tiring days when their infants may be ill or fussy and lack of sleep can make the situation much worse. Since experiencing a traumatic delivery, Jess has never felt a close bond with her daughter, and untoward thoughts have raced through her mind. Her husband Ed has given all household and childcare responsibilities to Jess while he works long hours to support them.

Before giving birth to Betsey, Jess was fulfilled with her two sons, ages eight and 10, but it was Ed who believed another child--hopefully, a girl--would complete their family. Jess is known to be the perfect wife, housekeeper, and mother, but how can she deal with all the pressure now with a newborn added to the mix? Kit is a calm and placid child, whereas Frankie tends to be hyper as well as fragile, so how can she handle them the house and an infant too?

"The first time Jess imagines hurting Betsey, she has been home from the hospital for three days. Ed is back at work. . . . The boys are at school, and it will be lovely for her to have some time with Betsey on her own. . . . '

". . . She's sleep-deprived, fragile, and the horror of the birth nudging at the edges of her brain. . . . '

". . . But getting thee children up and ready to go out for school is harder than she imagines. . . '

". . . . She'd forgotten she could feel so bone-achingly tired: this tiny baby who wants to be fed at one three, and sometime after five, has drained her of all her energy."

When Jess cannot accurately explain Betsey's "accident", Liz along with her colleagues become suspicious and feel the need to call social services. Jess is aghast and distressed that Liz would do that to her, but Liz explains the welfare of the baby is their first concern. To make matters worse, when the authorities are called, Jess learns she is only allowed limited and supervised visitation with Betsey, and Martha, her sister is asked to move in with her to monitor her with her sons.

Jess displays signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder and goes through counting rituals, constantly flagellates herself as being a bad mother. She needs to be better than her own mother and torments herself for not being perfect.

Meanwhile, Betsey remains hospitalized and under observation as she is now suffering seizures and needs to be closely watched. Jess cannot get a handle on this and sneaks into to see her, only to have her instinctively snatch her from her crib, believing she'd be better off with her. This decision leads to her arrest and gives Ed, as well as Liz and her friends question her sanity and her questioning who she can trust. In addition, Frankie goes off the wall becoming totally fearful and frantic, blaming himself.

Feeling completely alone Jess in her mind conjures up losing her home and her family. But she must protect and care for her baby. Why can't anyone understand this?

When Martha suggests they keep the boys out of school one day and go on an adventure, she knows a change of scenery is what Jess needs as well as her sons too. The head to the park for a hike and Martha discovers a large tree perfect for climbing. She urges Kit to scale up it though Jess is against it. She must protect her son, and she cannot let him do something that may harm him. Martha chastises her stating he's a young boy and needs an adventure.

"'Jess.' Martha puts a hand on either of her upper arms and looks her in the eye. 'I know you're under a lot of strain, but he needs to enjoy being a little boy. He needs to challenge himself. To be allowed to live in the moment. Otherwise, you're doing him a disservice. You're not preparing him for life.'"

When Kit misses a step and tumbles out of the tree breaking his arm, all Jess can think is: "He's dead. He's dead. "He's dead. He's dead. He's dead. He's dead."

What more must Jess have to endure? Detached from the ones she loves, Jess agonizes not only her fate but that of Frankie and her marriage. But something sinister is in this mix which turns the scenario around.

Meanwhile, as Jess's life falls more out of control, insight into Liz's life becomes known, mainly her childhood and her neglectful mother, now suffering liver disease from being an alcoholic. Liz's backstory tells of her deep connection with her younger brother, Matt, and their contempt for a mother who never seemed to care, especially after Matt was hurt and Liz, feeling responsible stepped in to take their mother's place in nurturing him back to health when she refused. The similarities between Liz and Jess and their history binds them with a complete understanding of each other.

"Little Disasters" is a very intense and complex novel where the characters of Liz, Jess, and Ed share their point of view as well as their feelings of inadequacy, guilt, and remorse. Powerful and compelling, the prose gets to the heart of parenting as well as self-doubt, anxiety, and heartbreak--a read many mothers--especially those who have endured difficult deliveries and children with health issues can fully understand.

This story was not exactly a thriller like I expected but it was thought provoking and realistic.

I am not a mother, but I would hope if I were that I would go to the ends of the earth to keep my child safe. As a pediatric provider who has worked in cases where CPS has had to be involved, this book truly hones in on the empathy needed to handle these cases. It is beautifully written and I would highly recommend it.

A very dark and twisted book with an original story line not what I expected at all.
I really enjoyed this book, gripped straight away, sometimes I found it hard to read and sad at times. Definitely recommend thi book to others.
Thanks netgallery for this advanced copy of this book

Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.

This is an excellent novel about the struggles a new mother has to maintain the image of "good mother". The characters were well developed, with a storyline that felt like it could have happened to just about anyone I know. Recommended for all, not just women's fiction, this story impacts all family members.

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley and Atria for my honest review.*

Liz is a pediatrician on the night shift in the local ER when her estranged friend, Jess, brings in her baby, Betsey. Jess hasn't noticed that Betsey has a severe bump on her head and Jess's story doesn't add up for the injury. Liz's duty is to Betsey and her supervisor requests that she call in protective services to investigate. Liz is also dealing with an alcoholic mother who tells Liz about a baby she lost to SIDS that Liz doesn't recall.

The story unfolds in multiple story lines and from Liz's, Jess's, and several other's points of view. What was going through each of their minds as new information is revealed. The writing was fantastically descriptive and I found myself feeling all of the emotions from Jess and understanding all of Liz's doubts about what she was learning and what she knew about Jess throughout their whole friendship.

I know that some people might not enjoy the split time lines, but they don't bother me at all. When they are done well, I feel like the story unfolds one nibble at a time and it becomes very hard to put the book down. This novel kept jumping back to 10 years ago, 4 years ago, 30+ years ago, and then to the day of the accident and it was always just the right amount unfolding bit by bit to keep me guessing and to make me keep reading late into the night just to find out what really happened!

The only distraction that I found was that the use of the colons and semi colons felt overwhelming. It was a little distracting until I got used to seeing them several times in each chapter. I'm not saying that they were used incorrectly at all, but it was not something that I have seen used so much in fiction. I should add that I mostly listen to audio books and some of my favorite authors use the colon and semi colons frequently but I don't see them while listening. And this will not keep me from reading more from this author.

When paediatrician Liz is called to examine a sick child admitted to her hospital, she is surprised to see that the mother is Jess, a friend from the prenatal group they had attended when expecting their eldest children. Jess, now a mother of 3, has always seemed like the perfect wife and mother, yet she seems edgy and evasive about what is wrong with baby Betsey. When Liz discovers that Betsey has sustained a serious head injury, she comes under pressure from her bullying boss to involve the authorities. Was what happened to Betsey genuinely an accident? Some reviewers who enjoyed Vaughan’s crime/courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Scandal” have been disappointed that this is not more of the same, but anyone approaching it without this expectation will be rewarded with a pacey but sensitive exploration of the pressures modern mothers face, not least bacause of the demands they put on themselves. Jess, a full-time mother, devotes her whole life to being a mother, wife, homemaker and hostess, while her husband does “the fun stuff” and she struggles, unnoticed, with loneliness and postnatal depression. Liz tries to balance her career with motherhood and to be different to her own mother, who was neglectful and unloving and, as she comes to suspect, perhaps even worse. This novel is a reminder that caring for babies can be overwhelming, that we all need strong support systems, and that we should strive to be good enough rather than perfect, but it is also an absorbing and thought-provoking psychological drama that will keep you guessing.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book is about two women who are good friends. One is a doctor (Liz) and the other is a stay at home mom (Jess). Jess brings her 10 month old daughter to the ER for a head injury and Liz must report the injury as possible child abuse. Now, don't think, oh I can't read about that, because this book is not really about child abuse. The book is about so much more than that. It's about Liz doing her job and feeling guilty for doing so and what it does to her friend. It's also about Jess and what she is going through, because how could this have happened to her? She is a great mother but there is definitely something going on with her. Overall, a pretty good read.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to review this eARC!
This book is about 2 women- Liz and Jess. Liz is a pediatrician and Jess is the mother of 3. They met when their kids were super young and have been friends ever since. Jess seems to be the perfect mother, but then one night she brings her baby girl into the ER saying she's acting weird and we discover she has a fractured skull. The rest of the book is trying to figure out what happened to the baby. We also learn more about Liz's mom and her past. The book is told from multiple perspectives and multiple timelines. I thought it was done well and added intrigue to the story as opposed to making it confusing.However, this book was way too long. It started off really strong and then had a long lag until it picked up again in the ending. I liked the exploration of postpartum mood disorders, though I wish they would've been explored further. All that being said, this was an entertaining read that I would recommend if you don't mind books that don't have a very fast plot.

SPOILERS AHEAD:
For most of the book we think Jess has postpartum psychosis because she has a lot of visions of harming their unplanned 3rd child. She is pretty neglectful and isn't the mother everyone thinks she is after this child. However, what actually happened to the baby was that Jess was having the intrusive thoughts so she decided the benefit outweighed the risk and she was going to go to the liquor store and leave her kids alone (the oldest was 8). She didn't trust herself around the baby so she left the kids with instructions not to pick up baby sister and to call if they needed anything but she'd be back soon. Freddie, the 8 year old, confesses to trying to change her diaper and letting her roll of the changing table, however thats not what happened. Another mom in their group, Charlotte, used to date Jess' husband and she never got over it so when she saw that Jess left, she swooped in and went into the house and told the kids what a naughty mom they had, etc. and she dropped her off of the changing table then manipulated the soft hearted boy into thinking it was his fault. Justice is served and all is well in the end.
We also find out that Liz's sister, Clare, did not actually die of SIDS as a child. Her mom had postpartum psychosis and killed her.

This was actually a really deep story about post-partum depression, and I feel like the description really need to say that. There are probably some people who would decide not to pick it up then, but I also think so many more actually would. It touches on the subject from so many angles and characters that it was so much deeper than I originally thought. I especially enjoyed the perspective of how those around Jess, the main character who is most likely suffering from ppd. How does her mindset affect her kids, her husband, her friends? How do they really see her? It was an enjoyable book, but as it often happens for me, there was one factor in the ending that I didn't really like. I think it took away from the real story about ppd, and that was the far more interesting story to me. I would recommend this book to anyone dealing with ppd, personally or with someone you know, to help you think through what it really means to life overall.

This is the first book I read by Sarah Vaughan. I'd say it's a pretty intense book, though just a bit repetitive in the middle. But overall does create a compelling story of less talked about aspects of motherhood.
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The novel starts with showing Liz, an experienced pediatrician, in the ER, seeing one of her best friends bring her little girl with a head injury. While Liz is examining the little girl and talking to the mother, she understands that the story of how the injury happened, and her friend's strange behavior don't not add up.
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[Spoiler warning] I don't have first hand experience, also don't know anybody that has gone through postpartum depression, but I think the author does a good job of creating a suspenseful unraveling of the impact and magnitude of postpartum depression aggravated by OCD tendencies.
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I liked the multiple POVs used to tell the story. And the final twists were satisfying and realistic, which I always appreciate. I'd say that the first and last quarters were gripping, and the middle could have been edited and shortened, for a more uniform reading experience.
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I think there should be a trigger warning for pregnant women or mothers with kids under one year old, as some scenes are a bit intense.
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Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the e-copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was an interesting book that I wasn't too sure where it was going. When Jess comes into the ER with her baby who is severely hurt, her friend Liz sees right through the cracks. Jess isn't telling the truth and there is more to the story... so much more.

Jess is suffering, confused about her hurt baby, and her friendship with Liz. There's so much uncertainty throughout the book, it was almost annoying.

Over the course of the book, we see both Jess and Liz's point of views but nothing really comes to fruition. We still don't know exactly what happened to Jess's baby until the very end of the book and it is a total twist; I didn't see that coming and it was really insane.

I enjoyed this book and the ending was well worth it... but it wasn't my favorite.

This wasn’t the twisty book it promised to be. Honestly, it took me just over 4 days to finish whereas usually I finish in 1-2 days on average.
I kept waiting for the ‘good stuff’ and it barely hit the mark.
Jess and Ed have three children. One day Jess brings in little baby Betsey to the ER - she is not herself. She finds that Betsey has a skull fracture and this begins a whirlwind of social services, police and finger pointing when Jess’s story does not match up with the fracture itself.
Friend Liz happens to be a pediatric doc in the hospital when this happens and gets wrapped up in the fiasco. Their mommy and me/school friend group also is concerned about Jess’s well being and stories come out of concern for her- possible post partum depression.
When the truth finally tumbled out months later- it is not something anyone was expecting...

I really enjoyed this book. The story follows a group.of friends who all meet up and have young children. Liz is a pediatrician and one day her friend Jess brings her 10-month old baby to the hospital. Liz discovers that the baby's injuries do not go along with the story that Jess is telling her. Jess is investigated and speculation is rampant amongst the other mothers. Then Liz uncovers a secret from the baby's brother that turns the whole investigation.
The story keeps you riveted and then boom - an ending you just did not see coming!
A great read that I thoroughly recommend.

This was a really great story, just a little slow moving IMO. A hard look into what postpartum depression/psychosis looks like and how devastating it can be to a family when left untreated. There were parts of the story that just seemed distracting and unnecessary to the story. Overall it was a good read.

Pediatrician Liz, is called to the emergency room and finds the 11 month old daughter of her friend Jess is the patient. All signs point to abuse, but Jess has always been such an excellent mother and Liz tries to give her the benefit of the doubt, putting her own job at risk. When her boss gets involved, the police and child protective service are called in. What would make such a seemingly perfect mother hurt her own daughter?
This is a revealing story focusing on postpartum depression and anxiety. Jess was able to control her extreme anxiety and fear for her children with her first two, but the third and most difficult child sends her anxiety out of control. Every time Betsy has colic and is inconsolable makes her feel more and more like a bad mother. I started out severely judging Jess's character but as the story continued, I felt sorry for her and admired the lengths she would go to protect her children.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley. The views and opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This story is one many women will relate to. It’s about motherhood, trying to go it alone, and the dark thoughts that accompany our fears. Jess is the mom who has it all. But her story about her child’s ER visit doesn’t add up and Liz, the doctor, begins to realize something is wrong....with her past, too. Taught, well-written, and relatable, this is a great thriller.

This is a sad and engrossing tale of motherhood.

First thing to know is that this is not really a mystery or a “domestic thriller” - I went in expecting that, and found more of a Big Little Lies type story of a group of friends with a focus on one particular family. If you are expecting a more traditional thriller just know that this is not that book.

Despite that, the book was engrossing. There is a mystery of sorts in the book - how did mother Jess’ child get seriously injured? Jess’ friend, a doctor, is the first to identify the injury and also one of the first to wonder if her friend was responsible for hurting her child. I found this story very involving and the sensitive subject matter was handled with frankness and honesty as well as not a little sadness.

I think it’s always useful to read a book that explores the darker sides of motherhood, and does not rest on so many of the stereotypes of “perfect mothers” common in women’s fiction.

As with many books that try to be thrillers or quasi-thrillers nowadays, I felt like this book had one twist too many. The original ending, before the unpredictable twist, was a good one and made for a consistent and highly readable story. The twist itself was somewhat out of left field, but managed to work anyway, even though I think I would have preferred the ending without it.

This is a really well-written piece of women’s fiction and I recommend it, even though it will break your heart a little.

Thanks to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster and Sarah Vaughn for the advance copy of this book, which was at times a tough read, but a good one.

Little Disasters is a very well written mystery. A plot that pulled me immediately into the story. A real page turner. Mystery fans will love this book. I received an arc from the publisher and Netgalley and this is my unbiased review.