This is Chandler Baker’s second novel, and, as with her first, has a strong feminist voice.
Nora is a mother of one (soon to be two!) and I struggling to carry out all of her motherly duties as well as trying to make partner at her law firm. Her husband is well meaning but completely oblivious to how much she actually does to keep their day to day lives on track.
After looking at a house in an affluent neighbourhood, Nora is welcomed into the group of powerful, career driven women who live there, all of whom have husbands that put the Stepford Wives to shame. She begins to see that things aren’t as they appear when she takes on an insurance case for one of the women, and has to decide what’s more important to her - her career or her family.
I really enjoyed this read. I suspect that Nora’s difficulties will resonate with so many mothers out there! This is definitely more of a thriller than Whisper Network, and although some of the ending becomes more obvious as the book goes on, the final twist is still a good one. I only dropped a star because it did feel a bit rushed and I wanted more!
I’m looking forward to Baker’s next book already.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC, in return for a fair review.

Nora is overwhelmed with her life. She constantly juggles between her marriage, daughter and thriving career. On top of all that, she is also pregnant. She is also convinced that her husband absolutely doesn't participate enough in their household. Well, not so much as Nora.

House-hunting lead them to an affluent community, where the wives thrive in their careers and husbands care for children and homes. And gladly so.

As a lawyer, Nora is quickly involved in a a wrongful death case involving one of the local residents and dark secrets start to appear all over the neighbourhood.

Well written, the reader is almost instantly immersed in the story, full of twists and turns, even though is very similar to The Stepford Wives. The topic about wife - husband role in a marriage is inexhaustible and always appealing to read.

A brilliant follow-up from the author of The Whisper Network; this time about the extra labour mothers and wives have to juggle. Loved the mystery at the heart of this, and the twists were solid. It was a bit slow to pick-up in the first half but when the plot gained momentum it was a great read - with an inspired ending!

3.5 rounded up


Like women, men come on all shapes and sizes and degrees of helpfulness and initiative especially in terms of the home and childcare. Nora is juggling a very demanding boss and job as a personal accident lawyer, she has one daughter Liv and a second on the way and husband Hayden leaves a great deal to be desired. Nice guy but Hayden, come on, get a grip! They view a house at Dynasty Ranch where high powered women led by Cornelia seem to have their working and home life neatly sorted. Nora is impressed but notices a property that has been ravaged by fire which also took the life of owner Richard Marsh.

First of all, this is a funny, if not satirical debate on feminism, motherhood, family dynamics, gender roles and yada, yada, men are from Mars etc etc. In places it makes me laugh and some things so resonate - can you please tell me why when dinner is on the table that’s when HE goes to the bathroom/ shower!!!! The plot is domestic noir, it’s definitely over the top and a good twist in the Stepford Wives. There is some tension between Nora and Hayden whose neck I could cheerfully wring (!!!!) and growing tension between Nora and the devious controlling witches of Dynasty Ranch from which I’d run a mile and then some. The book starts slowly but the pace picks up and by 50% were zipping along nicely.

However, in the second half the pace drops again and then becomes a very slow burn and the plot gets lost in a number of ways such as incidents that don't actually lead anywhere, nor is it as funny in this part of the book. Some of the blog posts that intersperse the narrative also put the brakes on pace. The end is very abrupt and I’m not sure what to make of it as once you cotton on to what’s going on it becomes predictable and a bit bizarre. I think there’s too much Hayden and Nora and I’d have liked more of the bigger picture surrounding Dynasty Ranch.

Overall, though I did enjoy the book and it’s worth reading. My advice? Don’t even consider living in Dynasty Ranch!!

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Little Brown Book Group for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

This is the author's second adult novel following The Whisper Network and it was a mixed read for me. It started off very promisingly with an original and clever plot, intriguing characters and an underlying sense of tension. For me, it lost its way a little about a third of the way in and I lost interest. It did pick up again with a satisfying ending. I feel that the author had some great and original ideas that were beautifully written but the plot needed tightening up. 3.5 stars.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC.

I liked this book a lot but something held me back from loving it. Maybe the ending. This book examines the pressure women are under to have/do it all. Whilst also looking at how man view parenting and domestic responsibilities. I really enjoyed the writing style.