Psychological thrillers are by far my favorite genre so please keep this in mind when reading my review. If you are new to the genre I could easily imagine living this book so I'd definitely recommend this to any new thriller readers. For me this was decent, not great. I enjoyed the pacing for the first half to three quarters of the book, and i especially liked how most of the chapters ended in little cliffhangers (made it really hard to stop reading). However the last 100-150 pages dragged for me. Overall a decent read.

Absolutely loved this thriller from R.H. Herron - I was kept on my toes the entire time and couldn't stop turning the pages to find out how it was all going to end up. I can't wait to read more from this talented voice in the future.

Did i enjoy the rollercoaster of this book? Yes. Was i in love with this book? No. I found myself wanting more while i turned the pages, but I just wasnt jumping for joy through the whole book.

3.5 Stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton Books for the review copy.

Hush Little Baby is a thriller featuring a pregnant queer former alcoholic who is beginning to doubt her own safety and sanity as strange things start happening around her house.

Jillian Marsh is a an OBGYN whose partner recently left her for a younger woman not long after Jillian got pregnant with their baby through reciprocal IVF. Jillian has a past both with a challenging relationship with her mother and Jillian's own struggles with alcoholism, which almost cost her her job at one point. In recovery, Jillian has formed a strong bond with three other pregnant former alcoholics, who call themselves The Ripleys, and they get together regularly to talk pregnancy and sobriety. Her best friend in the group, Bree, has been acting weird lately, but this group of women have promised to be there for each other through the challenges of this stage in their lives.

Jillian, however, is not in a great place. She's still bitter about her ex, she didn't even really want to be pregnant at first, and she's dreading being a single parent. However, things get worse when weird things start to happen around the house. First a baby book goes missing. Then the cat gets out through an open window. A glass is broken, things seem to be in different places from where Jillian remembers setting them, and something just feels...off.

Hush Little Baby purposefully confuses the reader as Jillian experiences her confusion. Is Jillian experiencing mental illness? Is she experiencing breaks in consciousness? Is her ex, Rochelle, messing with her to get full custody of the baby? Or are Jillian's friends messing with her? Or, even worse, is someone really out to get her?

While I loved the way my own confusion mirrored Jillian's in the story, it took a lot of build up for any real action to happen in this novel. The first half was just watching Jillian go about her day and provide exposition to all of the possible backstories that could be contributing to the current threat. The real thriller plot line hit the ground running at the 70% mark and took the story to the thrilling final show down. It took me two weeks to read the first 60% of this book and less than a day to fly through the end -- though even parts of the ending felt a bit tediously overwritten (especially because the threat and motive have already been revealed by that point and the read is just reading to see how it can resolve in any sort of happy ending for Jillian).

Though uneven, I did enjoy this book and I especially enjoyed reading a queer thriller. Jillian's queerness was a prominent detail, but not a central plot point for the story. It was just nice, for once, to read a mainstream thriller that wasn't about heterosexual couples being terrible to each other. Sometimes I want to switch up and read about queer people being terrible to each other! I recommend this to anyone looking to read queer genre fiction, as I know that isn't always easy to find. I would also recommend it to die-hard thriller readers, but thriller readers who only read a few a year might want to pass -- there are better options out there in terms of pacing and story development.

Twists and turns about our pasts and how they mold us in the present. Causes the reader to question who is really on your side and who can you trust?

Didn't capture my attention and engagement. Interested in trying it again though and hopefully it will take.

Jillian is very pregnant and 99% sure someone is stalking her. Or is that pregnancy paranoia talking? But as the threats escalate it becomes very clear that someone is after Jillian. And her baby.
What I loved about this one: LGBTQIA+ representation, Addiction and Recovery positive, unreliable narrator, almost all female characters and an author with a great writing style. Herron’s voice and humor made this feel like watching your favorite TV show.
What I didn’t like: any of the characters (I found them to be quite cringe-y) and that the whole plot was centered around pregnancy. I’m at a point in my life where this is not something I want to focus on felt that this story could also be very triggering for some people. TW include: Pseudocyesis, Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Miscarriage, Abortion, Violence.
Based on the pregnancy theme it’s probably not one I would’ve picked up on my own, but it did have a good twist and was still an enjoyable read.

Wow . . . what a story!

Are the puzzling mishaps of late due to a baby-making fuzzy brain, or is someone out to gaslight Doctor Jillian Marsh during her last phase of gestation . . . or could there be a dark hereditary factor to be considered?

Discover the seemingly bottomless depths of a mother's love in this steady-paced pulse-pounding thriller. This novel also highlights the fact that pregnancy is both an individual and collective rite of passage, your body, and your village expands along with the abilities to grow in strength and spirit.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Dutton for an advanced copy of Hush Little Baby for my unbiased evaluation. 5 stars

Let's talk Hush Little Baby by @rachaelherron
This was my first book by this author and honestly it was brilliant! Characters I easily connected with, a pace that kept me reading late into the night, and an ending that honestly blew me away. I remember audibly gasping at the plot twist.

I was immersed into Jillian the MCs life and with a connection like that, the gas lighting, thinking someone was in her home watching her was terrifying. I will NEVER hear the song Hush Little Baby again and not think of this book!!!

Thank you @duttonbooks for my finished copy of Hush Little Baby
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ giant stars for this thriller!!

I liked the beginning of this book. But then it got a little too predictable. I think "motherhood thriller" should be a new sub-genre of thrillers now. There are lot like this out there.

If you are used to suspense contemporary fiction, you might predict what'll happen in the first three chapters.

Even so, I still recommend as a beginners thriller.

The description of this book was sooo good. The author did a good job keeping the tension heightened which made me feel Jillians terror. And I loved the twist that I didn’t see coming. I just wish we weren’t given bread crumbs of Jillian’s past but for some more information on it.

This book was a great psychological thriller that I couldn't put down. It kept me intrigued from the start. I thought the ending was a little bit of a let down but overall it was a great read that kept me up late because I didn't want to put it down.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Hush Little Baby - R.H. Herron


After reading and LOVING Stolen Things by Herron, I have been impatiently waiting to see what sort of thriller she would release next!

Jillian Marsh is a pregnant OBGYN navigating her pregnancy and impending divorce on her own. When things start to go awry in her house, like a misplaced baby book and knife, Jillian can’t figure out if it’s her pregnancy brain or her soon to be ex-wife Rochelle playing tricks on her. As things begin to escalate, Jillian knows she will do whatever it takes to keep her baby safe.

👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼

Hush Little Baby is a brilliant thriller! From the very first page I was hooked and didn’t want to put it down. While the first half is definitely a slow burn, Herron does an incredible job maintaining the suspense and your attention. I thoroughly enjoyed all the characters in this book, Bree, Camille and Maggie from Jillians mom group, combined with her ex and her new partner, left lots is suspects as to who was messing with Jillian.

👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼

One complaint I do have is that this book resembles an episode of the show private practice (the baby in the book even has the same name as the mother in the show). Which made me feel like it lacked a bit of originality. (If you’ve seen private practice, I’m sure you can guess what plot I’m talking about based on the title of the book).

👶🏼👶🏼👶🏼

That being said, I still really enjoyed Hush Little Baby. Herrons writing style really works for me, and I will be impatiently awaiting Herrons next thriller!

A fantastic psychological thriller that has a genius premise. I love the layers, appreciate the buzz and enjoy the subject matter of this book. I like that I can easily connect with the characters and I was completely hooked.

Is someone gaslighting Jillian? Or is someone stalking her? Or is she going insane? Or is it just plain ol' pregnancy hormones? For a good portion of the book, that is the question. There are lots of clues, aka red herrings, supporting any of these theories. That is what makes the book fun to read! Along the way we get to know a very flawed person. Jillian's character is laid bare in so many ways. I really enjoyed this and wish we had gotten a bit deeper looks at many of the other characters as well. But, the big twist/reveal seemed to happen too early in the book and not only did the resolution drag on and on, a good portion of it felt incredibly unbelievable. To say more would be a spoiler, so just know that you need to have an open mind and just go with it!

Enjoyed, and will recommend for sure. It was nice to see a same sex relationship in a story without having it marketed that way. It was just natural. Anyways, great psychological thriller!

This was a good psychological thriller that kept me up late with those chapter ending cliffhangers. I think the pacing was a little off 3/4 of the way through and it kind of dragged me to the end but overall a decent read.

A deeply gripping thriller, one that left me reading faster and faster to reach the conclusion. The author gave serious muscle to the psychological/emotional aspects of the story, leaving me nearly breathless with nerves and anticipation. Thank goodness I had my last baby thirteen years ago, or I would be seriously paranoid right now.

I will say that the culprit turned out to be a bit far-fetched, and the culmination dragged on a bit too long. But regardless, Hush Little Baby was a satisfying thriller, and I look forward to reading more by the author.

Gripping chilling thriller you will read late into the nght. full of twists and turns Jillian is pregnant are things really happening to her or does she have pregnancy brain.Tense chilling unputdownable.#netgalley #hushlittlebaby.

Overall, I felt kinda meh about this book. Not necessarily bad, but not particularly memorable either. Giving it 2.5/5 Stars.