Thank you to #Netgalley and #AJMcDine for the advance reader copy (audiobook version).

Lucy! What have you done!?! Waking up after a bender and finding a baby you have no recollection of ever seeing before this moment is not a good way to start the day. Then you find you’ve missed 4 calls from your husband Miles, who is a hundred miles away from you on an oil rig.

Where did this baby come from? What can you remember? Maybe it’s your baby? Maybe it belongs to someone who gave her oh wait, him to you.

We go along with Lucy as she seems to come up with every possible (not necessarily plausible) way that she ended up with this baby. If she stole it, she will spend the rest of her life in prison. She shamefully loves this child.

Then, Miles comes home. That’s not going to go well.

There were times during the middle of the book where I just wanted to shake Lucy and cut her off, dumping all of her alcohol down the drain. But I’m glad I stuck with it. There were plenty of twists in the end that I hadn’t seen coming.

"The Baby" by A.J. McDine is a compelling thriller that most female thriller readers will likely enjoy. Lucy McKinley wakes up with a massive hangover and finds a baby boy in the living room tucked into a bureau drawer. She has no idea where he came from. Did she steal him from someone else? She doesn't know, but she gets to work taking care of him. He seems to be about 4 months old. She names him Ren (or Wren? I was listening to the audiobook.)

Lucy has always wanted to be a mother. She was pregnant a few years ago and miscarried from an accident. Lucy's husband, Miles, has said he never wants to be a parent. He is very mercurial. Sometimes, he's very sweet and like a knight in shining armor. Other times, he is very mean and hurtful. He is away 4 out of 6 weeks, working on an oil rig in the sea.

The most likable character in the book is the baby. He's a perfectly behaved baby. The main characters are well described but not likable.

The narrator, Tamsin Kennard, did a good job with the voices and acting out the story.

Trigger warnings: anger, miscarriage, r@pe, gaslighting, alcoholism

The ending is pretty exciting and a good one. I highly recommend this book for lovers of psychological thrillers, as long as you like babies.

Characters - 5/5
Writing - 4/5
Plot - 5/5
Pacing - 5/5
Unputdownability - 5/5
Enjoyment - 4/5
Narration - 5/5
Cover - 5/5
Overall - 4.75/5

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture Audio, and A.J. McDine, for providing this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Since Lucy and her husband Miles had to move from Dubai, Lucy drinks to drown out the loneliness she feels. And while Lucy’s husband works out of town on an oil rig she is left to her own torture of how she lost her baby.
After Lucy wakes up after another blackout from drinking, she finds a baby in her living room. Where did it come from, did she steal it or is it hers?
Your significant other should be the one you trust and love “till death do you part.” But Lucy has been living in an alcohol fog for a while and will she start to realize that death might be better than the alternative?

Overall rating 5/5
I really enjoyed the originality of this book. I resonated with Lucy’s struggle with wanting to become a mother. McDine has a way of wrapping the reader in from beginning to end with multiple great twists. The narrator Tamsin Kennard voiced these characters so well and made me feel like I was truly there with them.
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for this ARC.

The Baby 4.2


I would highly recommend checking triggers for this book as there are multiple difficult subjects that are discussed (such as alcoholism, pregnancy and child loss, and rape)

All Lucy wants in life is to be a mother and to have a family of her own. But her husband refuses to be a father. So when Lucy wakes up and finds a sleeping baby in the house, she struggles with not only confusion but also wondering if this could be a blessing in disguise.

The story continues on with Lucy looking back on various points of her life and trying to understand how things ended up the way they did. As she begins to piece everything together, she learns about not only what happened to her but who the parents are of this baby and what she needs to do.

I found myself feeling for Lucy. How things one minute seemed to go so well but then suddenly get struck down leading to her need to use alcohol as a crutch. The way she had ideas of what she always wanted, but in a quick relationship to marriage with Miles, learns that she won't get to be a mom because Miles doesn't want children.

Once she discovers the baby, it was easy to empathize with her and watch all the different emotions and feelings she was struggling with. Plus adding the fear of how her husband would even react. But no matter what knowing that this child still needed to be taken care of. I found myself needing to get to the next chapter to figure out what happened next. Who did the baby belong to? How did the baby get there? Thankfully these questions were answered but not in the way I expected. I enjoyed listening to this book and want to thank NetGalley for letting me listen to this audio ARC.

a solid 5 stars from me!

Lucy wakes up from a long hangover and she cannot believe what she sees - a baby in her house!
But how did the baby just appear in her house? She has always wanted kids, but due to a complication from the past she cannot get pregnant.

She cannot remember if she saved the baby or stole the baby from someone - and as she tries to put the pieces of the puzzle together she learns some unexpected facts from the past which includes some bitter truths about her partner - she still doesnt want to believe that her memory might be right.

When she figures out what really happened, she must risk everything to save the baby from the one person she trusted the most!

This heart pounding thriller was very good, and I could not stop listening to the audio ARC till the end!

Thanks to netgalley, bookouture audio and A J McDine for approving the audio ARC in exchange for honest review.

Ok bye I need to make more time in my schedule to read all the other books by this author :)

I received this book (audiobook format) through NetGalley. This book was a surprising breath of fresh air for a domestic thriller with unpredictable and *believable* twists!

A.J Mcdine has quickly became one of my go to authors with The Baby being my new favourite book she’s written. The plot keeping my interest through smiling at relatable inner dialogues, & eventually hooked on the twists and jaw drop turns when least expected

It was an easy and compelling listen, wearjng my earbuds to bed so I could continue listening (the equivalent to wearing a neck flashlight gizmo to read into the wee hours of the morning until drifting asleep, lol)
Audiobook had a good flow on narration, I typically speed audio to 1.5x but I listened to The Baby at 1.25x and felt like even normal speed would have been enjoyable with how well the narrator kept with inner flow and dialogues.
Despite personal preference to read paper/ebook formats when an audiobook narrator has an accent, I was drawn into the book so fast, by the end of chapter one I was hooked and couldn’t stop listening.

Wow!!!! With every single page, tensions mount. So much suspense and uncertainty. Lots of twists and turns. This was my first book by this author and it won’t be my last!

This book was really good but I did guess the end pretty early on. Although that didn't take away from me wanting to finish the book quickly.

Overall I thought this was a good read! The storyline was captivating and I was kept on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what had happened. The characters were relatable and the story was well thought out.

4.5/5 stars
I went into this listen blind and I'm so glad I hung on for the wild ride! Where the story started at the beginning is not at all where I saw it ending. At first, I didn't care much for the main character, Lucy, but as the story went on, I could see how she got to the point that she did and I just felt so strongly for her. It first seemed like Lucy either stole or was somehow left in the care of this baby after a drunken night, but of course it wasn't that simple. As the story goes on, more and more information is revealed that puts the puzzle pieces together. I'm surprised at how easy to was to follow this story with all of the information to keep track of, but it fits nicely.

There are several trigger warnings to be aware of so please check before reading. These include miscarriage, alcoholism, rape and gaslighting.

Thank you to Netgalley, AJ McDine and Bookouture Audio for this ALC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book had so many twists and turns that I was shocked in the end. This was a great thriller and had me guessing throughout because the narrator was so unreliable. I really enjoyed this thriller and could not wait to find out how it would all end.

Lucy wakes up with an awful hangover, no recollection of the previous night, and finds a baby in her living room. Her biggest dream has always been to become a mom, and now there's an adorable baby looking up at her. But it isn't hers, and she can't remember where she got him from. Did she steal him?? Is there a mom out there panicking over her missing child??

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book u guys! Damn 😮‍💨 I listened to the audiobook in less than 24 hours. It had me hooked listening while I was cooking because I couldn't hit pause. && I was rewinding to make sure I heard every detail correctly! I mean, from page 1, I was on the edge of my seat trying to find out where this baby came from. My jaw dropped so many times! All the plot twists and shocking revelations were perfect! I highly recommend this one if you love a good, suspenseful psychological thriller!
I can't wait to get a physical copy of this one! 😍

Pub date: 4/23/2024 ♥︎

Thank you so much to the publisher, author and Netgalley for the ALC ❤️

I went into this with no expectations other than a glowing review from a trusted book friend.

I was drawn to the unique premise, a woman wakes up in a haze from a night out, only to discover a baby in her living room. So many questions? Not least whose is it and did it get there?

This is that rare psychological thriller that gets better and better as is progresses, it gets darker, the numerous twists get sharper and it absolutely finishes on a high.

Being critical, one of the characters could have been a little more well-rounded but that’s my only quibble.

Unexpected, sharp, a unique plot and a very satisfying conclusion. The voice acting was very good too.

Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio

Crazy, crazy story! I mean, what would you do if you woke up from a drunken stupor to find a baby in your house? Yet, this story goes beyond that suspenseful headline to questions of how a woman can survive an abusive relationship that is not overtly abusive to the outside world, but also one in which she is gaslighted into believing that it is not as bad as she might think. The story is complicated because it is about more than finding a baby, it is about a woman finally coming to terms with the reality of the person she married.

WHOSE BABY IS THIS?!?

That was literally me for 3/4ths of the book 😩

Reveal after reveal up until the very last page of the book. I really enjoyed this.

Can I just say that I haven’t hated a spouse in a while so much as I HATED the gaslighter, Miles. T-Raaaaaaash 🙄

This is a pretty gripping audiobook - gaslighting and narcissism being 2 very prominent themes!

The protagonist Lucy, gave up her own career to marry off-shore worker, Miles, and move to Dubai. Lucy has a fondness for the drink, which she is able to indulge freely while Miles is doing his stints off-shore. Imagine her surprise to wake up after one such drunken night to discover a baby (of whom she has no recollection whatsoever) in her home. This is the scenario that welcomes us in this book.

This book is well worth a listen, travelling as it doesn't between Kent, Dubai and the Scottish Highlands. it features distinct timelines, and. different storylines which converge for the great reveal (one of which follows the story of a missing young woman).

The narration was superb - so easy to listen to!

Overall, an audiobook I enjoyed, and on the basis of which I would absolutely look for further work from this author.

My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this audiobook in exchange for an advanced copy.

This is a good domestic thriller that keeps you guessing all the way through.

I struggled to like Lucy at first and couldn't really connect with her, but once I started to learn more about her past, I could really empathise with her.

The story was paced really well! It started off gently, easing you into the story and background of the characters. But I rushed through the second half because I just couldn't put it down! The shocks kept coming!

I'm excited to see more from this author!

I really enjoyed this audiobook. It drew me in and kept my attention. It had good twists and the characters were likable (for the most part) and relatable. It surprised you with a hidden character POV which was pivotal to the story and added depth to it. I would recommend this to all my bookish friends for sure!

I love the narrator on this audio book and have listened to others with her. It makes it nice to listen to.
The story itself was good with lots of twist and turns! It keeps you guessing the whole way through.

This was extremely far fetched story but never the less entertaining and gripping. I did find the main character frustrating at times and her behaviour was unsettling but the story had a good narrator and I was invested in the book to find out how it would end and all come together