White’s debut centers on Gwen, a woman who is many things—a single mother to a baby she did not plan on having, a top-tier attorney working in legal aid to protect society’s most vulnerable, and a bulimic who obsessively runs; during one such run, four weeks postpartum, her baby is kidnapped. Gwen’s story initially unfolds through her therapy session—where readers learn the devastating details of the kidnapping and glimpse Gwen’s inner turmoil—before opening the plot to include former drug dealer Zivi, the kidnapper of Gwen’s baby for his own desperate reasons: to comfort his beloved Giselle, who is still reeling from the death of their baby.At its heart, this is a daunting tale of parenthood, love, and devotion, one that reveals the power of unresolved trauma. Gwen, though stuck in a cycle of self-blame, continues to grapple with the emotional impact of unplanned motherhood; Zivi, while having committed to a crime-free life, cannot bear to witness Giselle’s sadness; and Giselle, even as she grieves for her child, cannot stop herself from falling in love with Gwen’s. Alongside the unraveling of the story’s three main perspectives is the unraveling of its central mystery, though, unlike traditional whodunits, this is a mystery that plumbs the motivations behind the kidnapping, the tangle of relationships that precipitated it, and the aftershocks it produces for the novel’s main characters. White skillfully builds on these layers, making readers question not only the morality of the crime, but who the real protagonist and antagonist are.
This is a unique crime-driven thriller that explores two contrasting sides to parenthood—nurturing and destructive—both of which play into not only Gwen’s downward spiral but also Givi and Giselle’s shocking outcome. A must read for those interested in suspenseful novels with considerable psychological depth, White’s writing will entertain and surprise in equal measure.
Takeaway: A compelling psychological thriller exploring parenthood and trauma.
Comparable Titles: Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere, Sam Vickery’s The Perfect Baby.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-
