I was a little surprised but this book! The beginning started off really well, the author did a great job pulling you in and trying to understand what was happening- was she an alcoholic, is there something mentally unstable about her? Then the baby shows up on her porch. Her husband works on an oil rig, so many questions, so much suspense. About halfway through the book I did start to have a hard time keeping attention. More people were getting involved, then her husband comes home and she keeps the baby.

The good...the beginning and the end!
The bad...the middle dragged on a bit, but I wanted to know what was actually happening in the house, between the husband and wife

mgdreads says...give this a try and this is my first book from AJ McDine and will not be my last. Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me access to read this book. I look forward to my next book by this author!

This was a great and fast read. This was a very new idea and very compelling. The characters were likeable and the twists were great. I really enjoyed this book.

I really enjoyed this book! I am an avid reader of thrillers and when I read the synopsis for The Baby, I was so excited! A woman wakes up after a night of heavy drinking and finds a baby in her house with no idea as to where it came from or how it came to be in her house. So intriguing. I loved the first half of the story so much whilst we were piecing parts of this puzzle together along with our main character Lucy. The first few twists did get me and I found the whole book to be very fast-paced and fun to read. I will say that I guessed quite a few of the supposed plot-twists and the final twist is one that I had already guessed very early on. I also have just some little nit-picky problems with one aspect of the plot; at one point we are told that Lucy is being extremely careful to avoid using her phone so that she can't be tracked (keeping it turned off even though she needs maps) but at one point she uses her phone to check a schedule which is completely brushed over as in the next few pages she says something like oh I need to turn my phone on now even though I shouldn't... But I think the author forgot that a few pages earlier she had already used it. It also frustrated me because you can just turn location services off in settings on a phone and still use it without anyone being able to see your location. Small point and it probably won't annoy anyone else but I just thought I'd mention it. However, I still greatly enjoyed this book and would recommend to anyone who loves domestic thrillers. I would rate this book 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4/5.

Oh my word, this was fantastic!!! The tag line made me want to read it and as soon as I'd finished the first chapter I knew I was in for a treat. This is compulsive reading at it's finest. I lost a whole afternoon finishing the book, when I'd only sat down to read a couple of chapters over lunch. I just had to know what happened. It's a fabulously twisted tale with a great main character who I was rooting for all the way to the climactic and very satisfying ending. This is my favourite thriller so far this year. Highly recommend!

I have to say, when I started this book I thought it was ridiculous. But I kept reading and wow! I read it straight through in one night. Even if you are rolling your eyes at the start, keep reading.
Thank you netgalley, the publisher and the author for this fun read.

Unputdownable! Totally engrossing from beginning to end, the definition of a page-turner!
This was gripping from start to finish. The action moved along steadily, the locations were gorgeous, the characters were fascinating, not a complaint about anything from me. Ok, maybe one tiny one. The publisher's blurb touts a jaw-dropping twist at the end, BUT unless you have never read a mystery before, you can guess this finale from a long way away. Didn't take away anything from the story, but it wasn't quite the jaw-dropper that it's made out to be. However, still a well executed thriller that's well worth your time.

Super gripping and twisty, I loved this one!

Lucy's husband, Miles, works away on the oil rigs and when he's not around, Lucy drinks a bit too much (to put it mildly), so when she wakes one morning to find a young baby in a drawer, she questions her hazy memories. How did the baby get there? Did she take him? She is about to go to the police, but realises the baby is hungry and it seems that every time she is ready to go, something else gets in the way, until she realises it's too late to go to the police station without getting herself into trouble for not having reported it straight away. When Miles comes home unexpectedly, red flags start waving madly as we peel back the layers of Lucy and Miles' marriage and their past.

There were some breathtaking twists and some crazy tension as the action spiralled to its explosive conclusion, with one big final twist that left me reeling! Brilliant!

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, A. J. McDine and Bookouture, for an ARC in return for an honest review.

The Baby by AJ McDine

Publisher Bookouture

Time to read less than a day

Stars 4

Review

This is my first book by this author but it won't be the last.

The book was promoted as

An absolutely gripping psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist

I wholeheartedly agree, you get lots of books coming out re a missing baby but not many about a found baby.

I totally got engrossed and could not put it down. Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to review.

A gripping psychological thriller. When Lucy wakes up after a night out to find a baby in her house not knowing how it got there. Plenty of twists along the way. Well drawn characters it grips you till the end. Thanks to Bookoutre and Netgalley for this review copy.

It's totally gripping read from the beginning. Super twisted and addictive thriller. Unique storyline with unreliable characters. Slow at first but picked up pace soon after. Lucy's personal growth throughout until the end is amazing. I didn't like her at first but she comes out brave intelligent and caring person. The suspense is chilling, and revealing climax is shocking and unexpected. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC.

Seriously addicting fiction!! Great job at creating an original plot. Another one of those books that won’t let you get anything done around the house…. Just one more chapter lol! A baby showing up out of nowhere in Lucy’s house has her wondering if she got blackout drunk the night before and stole somebody’s baby. From there things got even crazier as Lucy tries to find out who the baby belongs to yet deep down wishes that he was hers since she had a miscarriage and was no longer able to have children. As she tries to untangle that puzzle she finds out her husband had been hiding something big. You don’t want to miss this ending. It’s amazing!

It is best to keep the description brief for this one. So in short, Lucy wakes up after a heavy night to find a baby in her living room. She has no memory of how they got there. Will she work out what happened?

This is my first book by A.J. McDine and I found the storyline to this one really piqued my interest so I wanted to give it a go. I am so glad I did! This was such a good story, with a lot of craziness, which I always enjoy. This really started with a bang and straight away you are drawn into the mystery, desperately trying to work everything out. This was skilfully plotted, engaging and I found myself gripped, needing to keep turning the pages… it has been a while since a book has done that. I found the characters very well written, which definitely provoked strong feelings. I did guess where the plot was going but this did not detract from the overall story at all for me. I can’t wait to read more by this author and recommend to others. I’d sum this up as a fresh, highly entertaining domestic thriller. 4.5 stars rounded to 5. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.

What an exhilarating thriller! I've been captivated from the very beginning and found myself gasping at the twists and revelations. The story revolves around Lucy, who is married to Miles, but they are childless. Miles works on a rig and is often away for weeks at a time, leaving Lucy feeling profoundly unhappy and turning to alcohol to numb her sorrow.

One day, amidst one of her husband's absences, Lucy wakes up with a pounding hangover to find a baby cooing in their living room... The suspense mounts as Lucy embarks on a journey to unravel the mystery of the baby's presence, and unexpected twists keep the tension high, leaving you on the edge of your seat.

The writing is engaging and easy to follow, with a fast-paced narrative that keeps you turning pages. The characters, particularly Lucy, are well-developed, allowing readers to empathize deeply with her struggles and the challenges life throws her way.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture, and A J McDine for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When Lucy’s husband, Miles, is away on the rigs, she likes to drink - a lot.

After a heavy session, where Lucy remembers nothing of the previous night, she finds a baby in her front room! Whose is it and why is it in her house?

This was a story full of twists and turns that kept me guessing as to the identity of the baby, and how Lucy ended up with him.

I didn’t like Miles, his character was all me, me, me! I felt for Lucy but felt at times she lacked assertiveness, where her husband was concerned.

I didn’t see the ending coming at all, and for me, it definitely was a wow!

My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

When Lucy's husband is away working on an oil rig, she's known to tie one on. But, after a particularly rough night, Lucy wakes up to find a baby in her home. How did the baby get there? And whose baby is it?

Our girl Lucy could have given the girl on the train a run for her money with how messy she was. I mean... she actually considered at one point that the baby was hers and she just forgot. 😳 Just plain forgot she ever had a kid! 😂

We've all read a story about a missing child, right? But this was refreshing in that it's a story about a found child instead.

From the moment Lucy woke up and began her story to the very last twist, I was locked in. I felt for Lucy, even though she was such a mess. It was clear to the reader - when it wasn't to Lucy herself - what was going on. I rooted for her, knowing that if she put the bottle down long enough, she'd be able to pull the wool from over her eyes (is that a saying? 🤔).

Overall, a fast-paced thriller that will keep you reading way past your bedtime, trying to figure out where this baby came from.

Thank you to AJ McDine, Bookouture & Netgalley for my review copy!

What a brilliant premise! When Lucy wakes up from a drunken stupor to find a baby in her house, it's as if her dreams have come true. I was immediately pulled into the book and empathised with Lucy throughout, despite - or perhaps even because - she's a flawed character.

This is a super fast-paced book, full of twists and turns. I read The Baby in two nights.

Wow! It really is a fabulous domestic thriller, with a mix of relatable characters that you'll both love and hate, interwoven with a plot that will live in my mind for a long time. I thoroughly recommend it.

Thank you to Bookouture, A.J. McDine and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

When Lucy wakes from a drunken stupor she can’t remember much but when she finds a baby in the house she is shocked as she doesn’t have a baby! Where did it come from? When her husband arrives home from work what will he say? This was such a page turner, I absolutely loved it. thank you to @ajmcdineauthor for this arc in exchange for my honest review. Out 23rd April

After an alcohol -soaked night Lucy wakes up to find a baby in her house. The problem is she doesn’t have a baby, although it is her biggest dream. Instead of going to the police she tries to unravel this mystery herself, but once she starts digging, more mysteries start floating to the surface.

From page 1 I was totally immersed in this mystery. It held me in a firm grip. What the heck is going on here?! I felt completely empathized with Lucy and her wish to have a baby for herself. She is such a kind and devoted character. I granted her this baby so much and felt all of her emotions very strong being a mum myself. This was a riveting and thrilling read and I really loved it that I could imagine everything that happened so vivid. I was so willing to give this book a five star read, but the ending felt a bit easy and too fast for me. But for sure this book is still a big recommendation as far as I’m concerned. I’m looking forward to read other books by this author!

I had a hard time getting into this book. The beginning threw me off a bit as the author jumped straight into a situation that, in my opinion, required a little explanation. After a few chapters things picked and the story drew me in. I ended up really enjoying this book, despite the premise being a little farfetched. It’s a quick read with lots of unexpected twists and turns. Definitely recommend.

3.6 rounded up to 4.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

Lucy wakes up from an alcohol induced hangover/blackout, and there's a baby in her house. Although she longs for a baby, she knows it not her baby. Did she steal the baby? Where did he come from? There are so many unanswered questions!

I enjoy a good unreliable narrator, and the author did a great job writing the plot though the eyes of Lucy. This was a book where it seemed you knew what was going to happen from the beginning, so my curiosity was piqued on how events would unfold. I was so entertained and engrossed in this story! I couldn't stop listening because I had to know what was going to happen. There were twists and turns along the way, and I was pleasantly surprised with how the events unfolded. This was a fast and addictive read that has me ignoring adulting to focus on listening!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.