Wow! This was a heart wrenching story, about friendship and motherhood. I literally read it in a couple of days, despite also having a job and kids of my own.

The story is mainly about Liz and Jess, and also a little about their group of friends from the antenatal group of their eldest children. Liz is a paedeatric doctor in the hospital and one evening her friend Jess brings in her baby Betsey. Betsey has a head injury, but how did she get it? The injury and Jess's story don't match up so Liz has no choice but to get social services and the police involved. The story makes you question how well you really know your friends and what goes on behind closed doors.

Each chapter is written from the perspective of one of the characters, although only Liz's chapters are written first person. Most chapters are present times, but a few are about the past telling us how they all met and letting us know a bit more about their friendships and relationships.

This story probably also touched me a lot because I am a mother and have felt tired, exhausted and alone and isolated. I have cried along with my baby in the middle of the night, but have been fortunate not to have suffered like the characters in this story as the crying was not endless, just when hungry or sick.

I bought Sarah's Anatomy of a Scandal quite a long time ago, but had left it on my to be read pile for so long. I think it's time that I read it soon... if it is even half as good as this book I will be happy.

This is a very well written story. The content makes it hard to read in places. Most of it is a compelling read. There are a lot of twists in this story right up to the end. This story highlights how hard it can be to look after a baby and how not everything is as it seems.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Very well written story about the dynamics of family, friendship, relationships and parenting. It captures very accurately the stress and fear about new parenthood which is often not acknowledged.
I think the dynamics between the friends in this book and we slowly discover how early life experiences shape the way in which they all deal with the demands of parenthood differently. There are a few wee twists which I certainly didn't see coming, but when they did they made me think ah, now I understand!
I would certainly recommend this book.

I think I liked the idea of this book more than the actual book. The plot is very interesting and the story well written but I just didn't engage with the characters.

An enthralling and thought provoking examination of motherhood, duty and conscience. Sarah Vaughan is a master of understanding and conveying modern life and the human condition. I can’t wait to read what she writes next.

An unusual title for a story about parenting, the limits of friendship and truth mixed with the realistic insight into post-natal depression.

Lots of occasions when I’m shouting “why cover up!!!!” “tell the truth!”.
How close has any parent come to harming their child – accidently or deliberately? How frighteningly easy it is for this to develop in safeguarding and criminal issue.

It seems wrong to say I enjoyed the book given the subject matter but it was a good read.

I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I love books with a central moral dilemma so this one really appealed to me. The story centres around four women - Liz, Jess, Charlotte and Mel - who have been friends since they were all part of the same ante-natal group prior to having their firstborns. When Liz ends up being the doctor who treats Jess’ third child for head injuries, Liz has no choice but to report Jess to social services. Jess insists it was an accident, but not all is at it seems.

Early on, I had a strong suspicion about part of the story and was proved right but that took nothing away from my enjoyment of this novel as I relished watching the other characters working out what had happened. And oh what characters they were. Individual and well built - they all lifted off the page and I particularly loved Liz,. The story was hugely compelling and I read it super fast.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

The plot sounded so intriguing, but the characters did not engage me as much as I had wanted them too and seemed a bit flat. The twist did genuinely surprise though, so I will give it a three and a half.

I enjoyed this book. Liz is a paediatric doctor. One evening she is called to A&E to look at a baby with a head injury. It turns out to be her friend Jess, who is being very cagey about how the injury was sustained. Liz and her colleagues have no choice but to involve social services. This is a story about how coping with a baby is not necessarily all plain sailing. It's a good read with a couple of good twists thrown in. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

Very well written, really atmospheric and believable. Noir featuring mothers and babies is becoming quite a crowded field but the writing and point of view lifts this one above the crowd.

I had high hopes for Little Disasters but it didn’t resonate with me. Perhaps it is more evocative if you are a parent. I thought it started well with a clever hook but the characters weren’t hugely likeable and there were some unnecessary sub-plots which had minimal impact on the overall story. An enjoyable read which would benefit from a some further editing.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for an ARC in consideration of an honest review.

I really enjoyed Anatomy of a Scandal. This is not quite as edgy, but is just as absorbing. Sarah's writing is fluent and she plots the story so well, flowing from past to present and switching points of view seamlessly. The topic of suspected child abuse is handled really well, and as we are privvy to Jess's thoughts from the beginning we understand how such a thing could happen. The complete truth does not come until near the end, and is quite a surprise. Liz is a paediatrician who is a friend of Jess and it is her who uncovers the truth. She has problems of her own as she faces truths about her mother.
I have a couple of criticisms; Maybe Liz is a little too saintly. For me, the ending is a bit too tidied up and a little preachy. I am not sure the title is appropriate - are the little disasters the children? The child abuse disasters are big ones.
However, a thoroughly absorbing read.

What happens when a child is taken into hospital and the injury looks like the child has been hurt by a parent? This book adresses this subject and throws in what happens if you are the doctor and the parent is a friend.

I enjoyed the twists and turns of this book which has shows that parenting is not always easy or not does it always come naturally to mother's and father's.

I think in this age of children being the centre of the family (and rightly so) it's hard to admit that maybe not everything is perfect in a family. Modern pressures to provide are hard to cope with and there is not always someone to turn to.

Thanks to Netgalley and publishers Simon & Schuster for the chance to read this I look forward to Sarah Vaughan's next book.

I didn’t know it was going to, but Little Disasters hit painfully close to home for me, as someone very close to me has struggled with similar issues - and it’s devastating. For this reason it’s rather hard to give an objective view of this book, other than to say it’s very very good. I guessed quite early on what was really going on for Jess - as I said above, it felt sadly familiar - and this was confirmed as the story progressed. It’s very well and sensitively done.

Paediatric doctor Liz is called to A&E to examine a baby who’s been brought in with a head injury - and who turns out to be the daughter of Liz’s close friend, Jess. When doubts arise as to whether the injury was in fact accidental - Jess’s explanation doesn’t quite make sense - it’s the beginning of a nightmarish experience for all concerned.

Vaughan‘s first book, Anatomy of a Scandal, was excellent and Little Disasters certainly lives up to that high standard. Highly recommended.

Sarah Vaughn has done it again! This is another book that is impossible to tear yourself away from. This is a very emotionally charged psychological drama that is beautifully written. The central premise being the difficulties of parenting especially the early months when your baby may not settle and nothing you do stops the crying or even worse, the screams. Liz is a paediatric doctor and is called to A and E when baby Betsey, daughter and third child of her friend Jess, is brought in with a suspicious head injury theta does match with her story. At the behest of her unpleasant boss Neil, the police and social services are called and what unfolds is movingly told from several points of view but principally Jess and Liz. The story goes backwards and forwards from the incident to their meeting at ante natal classes to the incident and beyond.

As you read you feel a range of emotions including sadness and empathy. Liz and Jess are united in that they both had very difficult childhoods but the incident with Betsey tests their friendship. It forces Liz in particular to focus on suppressed memories from her own childhood and on several terrible events and the difficult relationship with her mother. Liz is lucky that she has a rock in Nick, her steady and kind husband. The characters are well portrayed and most are likeable because like all of us they have frailties although Charlotte is not at all easy to like. She is sharp and cold and as the story progresses you realise there is good reason to distrust and dislike her. I especially like the portrayal of the children especially Jess and Ed’s boys. Jess’s mental breakdown is distressing and you feel her pain as she tries to wipe away her problems with antibacterial spray. Her husband Ed is good at earning the beans (and plenty beans) but is content to leave parenting to Jess with disastrous consequences. He does thankfully emerge a better person. I like the exploration of the dynamics of friendship and family as things shift and change and this is sharply observed. There is tension and emotion as the novel builds to a twisty and unexpected climax and thankfully there is reconciliation, forgiveness and professional help for Jess. The end is optimistic which I like.

Overall, a fantastic book that shines a spotlight on how hard and unrelenting parenting can be, that sometimes it is drudgery and very exhausting and at others, great joy. It captures the moments when even the best of parents can find themselves trapped in an endless cycle and it can be overwhelming without support. It’s an excellent psychological drama which I recommend.

With special thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC.

Very well written. I looked forward to picking the book up again and didn’t want to put it down. It was incredibly engaging.

Another compelling page-turner from the author of 'Anatomy of a Scandal.' a book I absolutely loved. I was so excited to read this and it did not disappoint! Vaughan has created another through provoking, tense and compelling masterpiece!

Absolutely recommend.

A hard-hitting psychological thriller that will strike a cord with every reader – especially parents!

Forming a friendship from having children at the same time, supporting each other through sleepless nights, teething and toddler tantrums, Liz and Jess have been friends for years but the events of one night tests that friendship to its very core.

Liz is a paediatric registrar and whilst on shift she is called to A&E to access a baby with a head injury and to her horror it is her friend Jess and her young daughter Betsey. As Liz examines Betsey she follows protocol asking the obvious questions about how it happened, how long ago it happened and any other symptoms. All routine but Jess’s answers are pretty evasive and don’t tally up with the injury sustained. It is also routine for doctors not to treat friends and family so her boss is called in to take over the case. As she relays the information, Liz has to agree with her boss that something isn’t right, that their legal obligation is to the patient and the safeguarding of the child so she has no choice but to involve social service’s and the police.

A choice that goes against everything she knows about her friend and her friends parenting skills. She even looks up to her as an exemplary mother and has more than once gone to Jess for parenting advice, but as much as she wants to believe her friend would never deliberately hurt her child, something is definitely not right.

As the police and Jess’s family try to ascertain what happened that night, how Betsey sustained a fractured skull, lives begin to unravel, secrets are revealed and relationships are pushed to their very limits.

With growing tension and revelation after revelation this book has it all, it skilfully plays on every parents fears and expertly conveys the emotions of both women and their families in this compelling, multi-layered plot. Beautifully written, believable characters and a perfect balance of suspense, tension and emotion, this is by far her best book to date.

Little Disasters will be published on 2 Apr 2020 and is available for pre-order now from Amazon UK and Waterstones as well as your local bookshops.

If you enjoyed her previous book, Anatomy of a Scandal which is a hard book to follow, but she has surpassed that with this book so you really won’t want to miss this one.

A massive thank you to the author Sarah Vaughan, publishers Simon & Schuster, head of marketing Hayley McMullan and NetGalley for my digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest and independent review.

A hard-hitting psychological thriller that will strike a cord with every reader – especially parents!

Forming a friendship from having children at the same time, supporting each other through sleepless nights, teething and toddler tantrums, Liz and Jess have been friends for years but the events of one night tests that friendship to its very core.

Liz is a paediatric registrar and whilst on shift she is called to A&E to access a baby with a head injury and to her horror it is her friend Jess and her young daughter Betsey. As Liz examines Betsey she follows protocol asking the obvious questions about how it happened, how long ago it happened and any other symptoms. All routine but Jess’s answers are pretty evasive and don’t tally up with the injury sustained. It is also routine for doctors not to treat friends and family so her boss is called in to take over the case. As she relays the information, Liz has to agree with her boss that something isn’t right, that their legal obligation is to the patient and the safeguarding of the child so she has no choice but to involve social service’s and the police.

A choice that goes against everything she knows about her friend and her friends parenting skills. She even looks up to her as an exemplary mother and has more than once gone to Jess for parenting advice, but as much as she wants to believe her friend would never deliberately hurt her child, something is definitely not right.

As the police and Jess’s family try to ascertain what happened that night, how Betsey sustained a fractured skull, lives begin to unravel, secrets are revealed and relationships are pushed to their very limits.

With growing tension and revelation after revelation this book has it all, it skilfully plays on every parents fears and expertly conveys the emotions of both women and their families in this compelling, multi-layered plot. Beautifully written, believable characters and a perfect balance of suspense, tension and emotion, this is by far her best book to date.

Little Disasters will be published on 2 Apr 2020 and is available for pre-order now from Amazon UK and Waterstones as well as your local bookshops.

If you enjoyed her previous book, Anatomy of a Scandal which is a hard book to follow, but she has surpassed that with this book so you really won’t want to miss this one.

A massive thank you to the author Sarah Vaughan, publishers Simon & Schuster, head of marketing Hayley McMullan and NetGalley for my digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest and independent review.

A very hard hitting and realistic novel, written well. I was drawn in from the start and finished it quickly. Touching on hard hitting subjects, it deals well with emotion and the fall out.