The New Mother

I can think of very few people I’d feel more sympathetic to than a new mom. A tiny human now relies on you for everything, and you’re trying to do it with chemical and hormonal changes, sleep deprivation, societal and family pressures, and all the other demands of life that don’t stop just because you gave birth. It’s rewarding beyond measure, but let’s be honest … it’s HARD!

So, having said all that, this puts me in the very awkward position of saying this is one of the most miserable books featuring motherhood that I’ve ever read. Yes, there’s a murder storyline that shows up around the 60% mark, but up to that point it’s really a lot of anger, whining, confusion and snark from the MC, first-time mom Natalie, as she struggles to care for her colicky newborn, Oliver, while essentially never sleeping.

Despite his repeated offers of help, Natalie treats her husband, Tyler, like an irritating nuisance at best, while she views her neighbor, Paul, a stay-at-home dad and virtual stranger, as a baby whisperer on whom the sun rises and falls. It was annoying and served to make me more sympathetic towards Tyler than Natalie! I’m not sure that was the author’s intent.

Speaking of “perfect” Paul, he’s basically a polite, charming, diabolical narcissist who manipulates Natalie continually but is somehow still a stellar dad to his daughter and a baby savior to Natalie’s constantly crying son. The two sides of him don’t add up to a real human.

Bring in the late-stage murder storyline and a comically unbelievable investigation featuring a female detective who Natalie and Paul use as the human equivalent of a ping-pong match (She did it … no, he did it … no, look at her … no, look at him! …), and my eyes rolled through the remainder of the book.

I loved Murphy’s debut, The Favor, and I respect her effort in this book to bring attention and awareness to the very real issues of post-partum depression and, in more extreme cases, post-partum psychosis. For the real women who’ve experienced either of those conditions, they have ALL my sympathy. I wish Natalie had been a character that would’ve elicited the same response. It feels like a missed opportunity.

I still think Murphy is a talented author, and I’ll absolutely watch for her next book. This just wasn’t the right book for me.

★★ ½

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and author Nora Murphy for this ARC to honestly review. It’s due for publication on May 30, 2023.