This book defines a parent's worst nightmare. Your child has been harmed, but nobody knows how.. Your child is then taken away from you, and you are accused of the crime.

The novel is a brilliant exploration of some of the darkest times in the life of this family, told from the perspective of each member. It is a thoroughly captivating and engagting story, told with a perfect balance of realism and respect for this event which causes such diffuculty in so many families' lives. I would highly recommend this novel.

A good thriller, and the first I had read by Joanna Barnard it will not be the last. I questioned all the characters trying to work out who was the main protaganist, to no avail! Just the way I like a book to be!

Woah!
This was such a well written book that I actually felt as though I were holding my breath the entire time. I read it in one sitting because I seriously could not put this book down!
The characters are very strong and believable and the description of the medics, social services etc seemed completely true to life so I'm pretty sure that Joanna Barnard thoroughly researched this before putting pen to paper. I can honestly say that, even wracking my brain throughout, I just couldn't pin down what had actually happened to Oliver........then the plot twist blew me away.

This definitely gave me similar feelings to those I experienced with another domestic suspense book, B A Paris' Behind Closed Doors and I'm sure that anyone who enjoys this genres will count this one up there with the best

This was a very in-depth story about the effects on a family, following a momentary loss of control. Very well written book about what could have been a real story. Good, well described characters, who made the story come alive. Great read.

Such a gripping read! Kept me on the edge of my seat. Real page turner. Highly recommended

A claustrophobic domestic drama. Sally and Richard have a baby son, Oli and are also looking after Richard's daughter from his first marriage, Martha. They are a functionally dysfunctional family in the way that most families are - there are tensions, secrets and hidden feelings bubbling just below the surface, but for the most part they muddle along together. Then Sally goes out for the evening, leaving Oli in the care of her husband and step-daughter. She is woken early, nursing a piercing hangover to find Richard distraught and Oli screaming and hurt. The hospital confirm a non-accidental break in his arm and before they know it, Oli is removed from their care, handed to Richard's parents and the best Sally and Richard can hope for are supervised visits. Martha, semi neglected, is in her own downward spiral and as secrets and tensions come bubbling to the surface, the family all turn on each other. But what is the truth... is Oli's abuser living in the family home or was it truly just an unlikely accident? A tense, dark novel full of suspense and highly recommended.

Thanks to Net Galley & Penguin Random House for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review. Another fast paced read.
What happened baby Oliver? How did his tiny little arm sustain a fracture.
Mum Sally is out for the evening with work colleagues, already feeling guilty at having escaped for the evening. Has several missed calls on her phone from their home phone. Arrives home slightly drunk only to be wakened by her husband Richard, the crisis then begins to unfold as they take Oliver to the hospital in the middle of the night. Social Services become involved the next day and to Sally's horror her precious son is placed in the care of his grandmother until an investigation can be carried out.
Richard assures Sally he was home all evening and has no idea what happened to Oliver. Sally feels he is hiding something.
The other person at home that evening is Richard's daughter Martha from his previous marriage. Martha is also very vague about the events of the evening and is very economical with the truth.
The story unravels at a quick pace, it would seem all three of them are hiding something.
Super read well deserving of 4.5 stars

When Sally and Richard bring their new baby son Oliver home from hospital they are full of love, wonder and hope for a bright future for their new family. Living with them is Richard’s daughter Martha who came to live with them when her artist mother ‘needed a break’. Martha is ambivalent about her tiny brother, he cries furiously and the house smells of his dirty nappies. She is glad to spend time alone in her bedroom, but she also feels like a bit of an outcast both at home and at school. She longs to be one of the popular girls and at fifteen-years-of age she feels disengaged, confused and pretty hopeless altogether.
Sally is soon due back at work after her maternity leave from the hospital where she is a pharmacist. Her colleagues arrange a night out and she is invited along to help her ease her way back to work. She feels exhausted with all the trials and tribulations of new motherhood and as she relaxes she sadly overdoes the drinking. When she arrives back at home it is very late and she soon falls into a very deep sleep, only to be woken by Richard who is frantic as baby Oliver screams angrily, sobbing and red in the face. It is obvious something is wrong with him as his screams are even more frantic than usual. They race him to hospital where he is found to have a broken arm.
When Social Services are called in the fireworks begin. There are suspicions about his injury not being accidental and the case worker decides that Oliver must be taken away from his parents to a place of safety. Sally and Richard are adamant that they have not hurt Oliver and are understandably shocked and distraught to be under suspicion of injuring their much wanted son. Oliver is placed with his paternal grandparents with an order for supervised visitation rights; a mere hour a day whilst the investigations are ongoing. Sally is totally exhausted, deeply shocked and misses her baby terribly. Richard engages a solicitor and is very angry that they have been put in this unwanted and heartbreaking position. Martha withdraws even further. This couldn’t have happened at a worse time for her as her exams are coming up and she cannot bear to see her father and step mother worn down by the pressure they are under and their marriage under threat. The investigation that follows is long and drawn out, the stress of the interviews eventually taking their toll.
‘Hush Little Baby’ is the disturbing story of what happened next as the secrets of the past are gradually uncovered and the story finally unwinds. With issues of post natal depression, OCD, eating disorders and self harming disclosed Richard shows his hand. I did not like any of the characters much at all, although I felt compassion for Richard and Sally when Oliver was taken away from them. They felt so powerless and impotent. I thought Richard was self seeking and menacingly angry at times. He was a serial adulterer who lied easily and often. Sally was overwrought and needy, her sad past overshadowing her thoughts and actions. Martha suffered from low self esteem and made questionably choices. This was a truly dysfunctional merged family. The final plot twist was a total shock to me and I did not like the method used to deliver it at all.
I would like to thank NetGalley and publisher Ebury Digital for my copy of this novel, sent out to me in return for an honest review. I was engaged by the story initially and enjoyed reading it, but I did not like the ending at all.

Description:
When baby Oliver breaks his arm, no-one can (or will) say how it happened.

His mother is exhausted.
His father is angry.
His older sister is resentful.
And they all have something to hide.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it quickly. Baby Oliver's arm is broken in unknown circumstances and he is taken into care while the accident is investigated. I liked that the story was told from the alternating points of view of the mother, the father and the big sister. I found it very engaging and easy to read, my attention was held for the duration of the book and I was desperate to know who had hurt him - I kept changing my mind on this as I progressed through the book. I liked the style of writing and would be keen to read more from this author. Thanks for the opportunity to read an advance copy and give my honest opinions.

Wow, this book kept me reading late into the night. Baby Oliver breaks his arm at 10 months old. A definite non-accidental injury. Sally had been out for the night and comes home to Richard holding Oliver who is so distressed they take him to hospital where social services start to investigate. They are not allowed to take him home and he must live with Richard's mum. So who broke his little arm? Was it Mum, Dad or older half-sister Martha? What is so good about this story it's not about violence as such it's about all the stresses and strains of family life. Especially a family who don't exactly like each other or trust each other. Especially if it's a melded family.

A baby has mysteriously fractured his arm - was it his father Richard, mother Sally, half sister Martha or someone else? Better get hold of a copy of this book to find out, but be prepared to be dragged into it from the very first page! The story is told in turn by the family members and we discover what these people are really like - not too nice it has to be said. I didn't like Richard and Sally at all - selfish pair! The anguish of what happens when Social Services become involved comes across very clearly. It was nice to read a book which was set in Surrey and it made a change from the usual locations. Great story, well told.

Ooh, I rushed through this, desperate to know what had happened. Great book but hated the ending as it made no sense to the story as it had unfolded. *spoiler* there was no reason for her to keep quiet about what had happened!!! At the risk of losing her son for good? I don't think so. Think it would have been better not to admit to the reader what had happened, as, by then it didn't really matter.

This had all the ingredients for a really good read but I just didn't get on with it. I persevered with it more through a sense of duty than my normal compulsion to pick up my book at any and every opportunity.

I've seen some people have classified this as a thriller. As an avid thriller reader this fits firmly in the mystery/fiction category.

I loved the cover, was intrigued (and sucked in) by the slightly vague synopsis and enjoyed the switches between the three main character's POV.

Thanks to Penguin Random House UK, Ebury Publishing for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Hugely enjoyable. This novel kept me riveted to my seat. I particularly enjoyed Martha's story. More please.

I loved this book from start to finish. It is a very disturbing subject to write about and could be quite upsetting but I thought the author dealt with and handled this very well. It is very well written and I enjoyed the ending. Would definitely recommend this book.

I found this book a bit slow and I wasn't desperate to pick it up. It was also difficult to like any of the characters

Absolutely loved this book, a real page turner and I didn't want to come to the end.

A disturbing but gripping read. A baby crying and found to have a broken arm. The rest of the family are all under suspicion but no-one seems to know how this happened. Each family member provides their version. However as the plot develops each seems to have a secret. The story covers some tough subjects and is very sobering when you realize how easily you could lose a child to the system and be unable to stop the horror of this despite it being in the best interest of the baby. A very good ending!

I was really looking forward to reading Hush Little Baby as that blurb sounded so intriguing to me but I was concerned it was going to be a challenging topic to read about and approached it with caution. Would the theme of child abuse (if that was indeed the case!) prove too much for me, even in a work of fiction? But I needn’t have worried – Joanna Barnard handled the subject with just the right amount of sensitivity and empathy for her characters to convey the life changing experience they are facing, and I devoured the whole book in a matter of hours.

Told via three viewpoints, those of Sally the mother , Richard the father and Martha the half -sister, each of them have secrets they are hiding from the rest of their family. How did baby Oliver break his arm? Which of them knows more than they are letting on? As the story unfolds we are given a glimpse into their emotions as well as their whereabouts on the day of Oliver’s injury and have to decide who to believe and maybe who to forgive? But there is never ANY excuse for what happened to baby Oliver so for the author to actually evoke sympathetic feelings for this fragmented family shows how well crafted her storyline is.

But it was tough reading at times. The involvement of Social Services had me totally on edge right from the start. How many times as a parent do you make silly little remarks or share FB memes about your kids? I bet you will think again after this! Once social services start asking questions of Sally and Richards friends and family, little things they thought were insignificant throw away funny remarks are intricately examined under the microscope of authority. There are some other very topical issues tackled here too, and again they can make for uncomfortable reading at times, but the author handles them with an intelligent understanding of how these events can affect an ordinary family and how one little catalyst can cause that family to implode.

My emotions were played perfectly by this well developed and observed domestic suspense and after the ending I found it difficult to turn them off. The circumstances surrounding what happened and the outcome kept going around in my head and I was left wondering what became of the family and had so many alternative endings playing in my mind!

This is a thought provoking read where you may not particularly like many of the characters but you will be able to relate to some of the situations they find themselves in and care enough to want a happy resolution for them all.

Highly recommended by me.

Well I can certainly say that this book was thought provoking .Joanna Bernard has cleverly written this novel in three perspectives which I felt were all real and heartfelt and gave us ,as readers a sense of what each character is feeling at various points in there life and in present time and made them seem like real people who we could know personally ..true everyday people . Anyone anywhere could face this trauma and the acts that follow and I loved how the author has wrote this novel in this way, a beautiful ending to a truly horrific time in a family's life.
I highly recommend this book to all.
Thankyou