I could not finish this book. The description sounded very good, but I just could not get into the story. The characters seemed superficial, and I disliked the description of Nicole's descent into postpartum depression along with what comes across as paranoia. I am shelving this as "did not finish" for the time being and hope that maybe if I come back to it later it may strike a different chord with me.

I just finished reading Woman on the Edge by Samantha M. Bailey. Thank you to Net Galley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with a review copy in exchange for a fair and honest review. The book starts off in a train station with Morgan standing at the train platform. Nicole, a complete stranger, approaches Morgan and hands her a baby before proceeding to jump in front of a train. After having no witnesses that can confirm Morgan’s side of the story, that she was simply an innocent bystander, Morgan becomes a prime suspect in Nicole’s fall. This leads to Morgan’s search for the answers so she can clear her name. Why did Nicole, a successful CEO of athletic brand Breathe, choose Morgan to take her baby? What is her connection to Nicole?

The book alternates between both women’s perspectives. We are taken through Nicole’s (the baby’s mother) point of view and Morgan’s (the woman Nicole handed her baby to) point of view as well. The story moved at such lightening fast speed that I couldn’t find myself able to even take breaks. I was coming up with my own guesses until the very end, and I wasn’t very successful at it because the author made sure to throw us off every time we thought we had it all figured out. There were parts where we as readers were not quite sure of what was real and what was being imagined, too. I really enjoyed the twists and turns. I can also appreciate a good psychological thriller that does without unnecessarily excessive gore and bloody scenes.

I think this book also appealed to me on a maternal level, as someone who is due with a baby girl exactly two weeks from today, I could really sympathize with the protective instincts of motherhood exhibited throughout the book by different characters.

I am so surprised this is Samantha M. Bailey’s debut novel! I feel the book is well-written and sophisticated with a tight plot that engages the reader. I can see this book being adapted into a wildly entertaining movie. Maybe Anne Hathaway as Morgan and Rachel McAdams as Nicole? It’s wishful thinking on my part, but it would be so fitting!

Woman on the Edge is definitely a thriller book. It begins with a woman giving her baby to a stranger on the train station platform then jumping on the track in front of a speeding train. Why? Why would any mother give her baby to a stranger? Why would she then jump?

And so it begins the story of Nicole Markham, successful CEO of her own company who has gone from confident and strong, to frazzled and weak, in such a short time.

I enjoyed the storyline and it's a quick read. Full of lots of suspense and always making you wonder if that person is the bad one. But I was disappointed in the character development and had some trouble feeling connected to them.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC

This book follows two women whose lives converge one fateful day.
Imagine yourself standing on the subway platform on a normal workday, just waiting to catch the train home. Then out of nowhere a stranger comes up to you and hands you there six week old child, and proceeds to commit suicide by jumping in front of a train right in front of you. This is exactly what happened to Morgan, a social worker at a safe house. She comes to find ot later who this woman is; Nicole, a CEO of a successful business, that she built from the ground up.
Morgan can't figure out why this successful woman, who by all appearances, had it all, would do something like this. She also needs to find out how Nicole knew her, because until that day Morgan never lad eyes on her.
Morgan needs to figure it out for her sake, as well as the baby's sake. The question is can she figure it out before it's too late.

I really enjoyed how Morgan and Nicole's story was woven together. Morgan's chapters were present day where she is trying to figure out why all fingers were pointing to her doing something sinister to Nicole. Nicole's chapters took the reader from the time she was about to give birth up to the point of meeting Morgan on the platform at the train station. The story was fast paced and I like that when reading this type of genre. The only thing I thought fell short for me was that I was pretty much able to figure out who was ultimately responsible for Nicole's demise before the end of the book..

All in all, I was happy with this story and gave it 4/5 stars.

Oh my Jesus!!!!!!!!!! WOW this book was amazing!!!!!!!!! Read this in one day and it was sooooo good!!!!!!! This is definitely a thriller you don't want to miss enjoying!!!!!!!!

"Take my baby" those are the words Morgan Kincaid is told by a woman in the train station right before said woman puts her baby in Morgan's arms & jumped to her death!!!!!! Who is this woman & why in the world is she giving her baby to a total stranger??????? You'll have to read to find those answers and trust me........ the answers won't be what you think!!!!!!!!! Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for my honest review

Firstly, I have to say that I have a deep respect for anyone who puts pen to paper, embarking on the thankless task of writing a novel. I admire those who have the stamina and bravery to put something original out there - exposed and vulnerable to critics who cannot possibly understand how difficult it is to be truly original and expressive when so many wonderful things have already been written. I love reading, and appreciate that my own passion could not be fulfilled if others did not take this leap of faith to produce works for my consumption. Unfortunately, occasionally there are times however when I wish a writer had been told by a professional or friend that their output is a mess before releasing it out into the world.

Woman on the Edge by Samantha M. Bailey is a debut novel that badly needed such a voice of reason. Although the premise is captivating and the novel starts out on a promising note, it quickly devolves into a tangle of unsympathetic characters engaged in improbable scenarios in which they make stupendously imbecilic decisions. Morgan Kincaid, a social worker on her way to work one day encounters a desperate woman with a baby in her arms. This stranger somehow knows her name and tosses the baby in her arms to her right before falling backwards onto the train tracks. It turns out that the mother is Nicole Markham, founder and CEO of a famous athleisure company who has been brought to this insane state due to a combination of past trauma, paranoia due to PPD and an insidious plot against her. Despite being in a crowded place, no one witnesses to the event can corroborate Morgan’s version of the tragedy. Morgan has her own storied past which involves a husband who committed suicide after being investigated for embezzlement. For some reason, the same irrationally vindictive detective that believed that Morgan was involved in those financial crimes also is on this case as well, and now suspects her of pushing Nicole to her death. The novel consists of alternating chapters describing Nicole’s unnecessary dissolution and Morgan’s harebrained attempts to clear her name by playing amateur detective while ignoring her lawyer’s advice. These are both women apparently bereft of friends, intuition, social skills-or even a shred of common sense. Any potential empathy or credibility is lost as the reader becomes increasing confused by how the plot unfolds; frustrated by the implausibility of the motives of the ancillary characters; and infuriated by the way Morgan and Nicole are repeated victims of their own bad choices. It is difficult to see all the women portrayed in the novel possessed with so few redeeming qualities, and the baby is the only female character left worth rooting for. What is truly unfortunate is that Woman on the Edge, with a bit more care and editing, might have been an interesting look into the insecurity of motherhood and the devastating effects of postpartum psychosis. Then, it might have had the potential to be mystery worth sinking into instead of one that must simply be endured.

Thanks to the author, Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

I received an ARC of Woman on the Edge in exchange for an honest review. This book starts off with a bang. You don't do a lot of reading to discover what the story is about. Then all of a sudden you ask yourself what is going on as the book takes off in a direction you weren't expecting. The book is a really quick read and will keep you guessing. I like a good psychological thriller and this book definitely started out that way. However, the more the story went on, the less I found the story believable. There were too many characters and situations where everything had to work out perfectly.

Morgan Kincaid wants a child. She’s always wanted a family but after her husbands suicide (brought on by him being guilty of running a fake hedge fund and stealing millions) she doesn’t believe that will ever happen for her. No matter how much she protested her innocence of it all people don’t trust her, not even her own mother. So she lives her life alone in a little apartment working as a social worker. But everything changes one day when she’s waiting for her train home. Suddenly there’s a woman pushing a child into her arms telling her to keep the baby safe. The most shocking part? The woman knows her name. Morgan barely has time to react when the child is shoved into her arms and she looks down at the baby and doesn’t realize what’s happening. When she looks up the woman has jumped in front of the train.

The book jumps between Morgan going through everything after the woman, Nicole, jumps and Nicole’s life leading up to her suicide starting with her last day at work before giving birth.

Nicole runs Breathe a popular business that centers on self help and sells everything from yoga pants to essential oils. She’s the CEO and is happily married but honestly never wanted a baby. It all stems from a tragedy when she was seventeen and a baby she was nannying died while in her care. But she never told Greg, her husband, that.It was always that she was focused on work and didn’t want to have any children until she found out she was pregnant. It was then that she realized everything had to be done to keep her little girl safe. For years after Amanda’s death in her care, Amanda’s mother Donna sent letters blaming Nicole for it but they stopped five years prior until one is delivered the day she’s set to start maternity leave once again blaming her for Amanda’s death.

Woman on the Edge was so good I couldn’t put it down. The book reminded me a lot of The Woman In the Window and I honestly couldn’t wait to find out what was happening. Having it go between two different time lines was a fantastic idea and it added to the suspense of it all. You never knew what was coming and the anxiety that both women feel is so palpable. Every part of their emotions was so carefully written that it was almost as if the author had been through this exact situation was was simply writing from memory which is an amazing way to have a book be done. I would highly recommend it. Of course there is mention of suicide which can be hard for some but it’s not overly graphic in any way. The author does a great job wording things that you never feel like it’s gone too far.

Thank you Net Galley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review
**
Take my baby and love her for me, Morgan
**
Samantha Bailey did not hold back in capturing her readers attention right off the bat. Morgan Kincaid is waiting on a train platform to take her home. While waiting a seriously disheveled and distraught woman grabs her wrist and demands she takes her child and love her. Right after passing off the baby the woman flings herself into the oncoming train. We later learn the woman is Nicole Layton, the founder and CEO of Breathe; a prominent women's athletic-wear clothing company in Chicago. Since giving birth to Quinn, Nicole has been distressed to the point of her seeming unhinged. H
Well that's what Morgan tries telling the police. The problem is no one believes her. There's no evidence to show Morgan didn't in fact shove Nicole form the platform. You see Morgan's already had her run in with this police force before. Not too many years prior she was questioned about her husband's, who committed suicide, involvement in fraud. Many lives were ruined by her husband; and her being the wife clearly she had to know what was going on. Morgan also desperately wanting a child of her own didn't help the police look anywhere but her.
This story is a fast past tale of love and lies. Once at the end you mind will be left spinning trying to play catch up.

This is a thriller about flawed characters. I enjoyed the plot, but I was able to predict the twist pretty early on. That is not unusual for me though, so it did not count against the book. If the twist is good, I still enjoy it. And this twist was pretty well done. I predict that this thriller will be very popular when it comes out in March.

Overall this was a book that held my attention. At times I became frustrated with the poor choices the characters made, but kept reading to see the outcome. In the end, their choices prove to be more rational than I originally thought.

I received an ARC of this captivating book. It grabbed me from page one and I couldn't put it down! Absolutely recommend this thriller!

Overall I definitely found this book engaging and entertaining. The timeline was a bit hard to follow at first but got easier as the book went along. One of the things that I did find difficult was the near hysterical tone of the book. The story of Mr Nobody was suspenseful enough without the crazed tone that carried along throughout the entire story. The father’s story being revealed bit by bit was just too over the top for me. It contributed to the hysteria in a way that did not engage me as a reader. That being said, I found the book a good read and thank the publishers and NetGalley For the ARC.

This read has so many twists and turns...just when you think you have figured something out you hit a wall. It kept me reading far into the night. Told by Nicole, a mother seemingly struggling with postpartum depression who commits suicide at the very beginning, and Morgan, who is trying to unravel why she is involved, this read will definitely hold your interest. The flashbacks help fill in some of the puzzling details but some are dangled in front of you urging you to figure it all out. Loved the ending! Don’t pass this read up. Many thanks to Samantha M. Bailey, Headline Publishing Group, and NetGalley. Keep writing Samantha! I am eagerly awaiting your next book.

I received Woman on the Edge from NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an honest review.
Megan was standing on the subway platform when a women walked up, handed her baby to her and then fell off the platform. Did she fall intentionally? Was this woman pushed? Why did she hand her baby to Megan and ask her to take care of her?
Woman on the Edge is a fast paced story that keeps moving until you can not stop reading until you have solved the mystery and answered all of these questions and more. I will be recommending this book to all my book reading friends!

If Morgan Kincaid was your good friend you would want to slap her silly. She has zero self-confidence, doesn’t properly think things through, overreacts to simple life lessons, isn’t punctual and reliable in her job, and can’t forgive herself for being married to a Ponzi scheming suicidal jerk. Granted, some of her insecurities are justified; she’s surrounded by people and stories of lives her dead husband ruined through his thefts. But past that minor detail, she is really a sad little moving puddle with hair. So she’s probably the worst choice a young mother could pick to thrust her baby to seconds before falling (or was it jumping) in front of the train.
So there she is, immediately falling in love with this sweet little girl in her arms for a few fleeting moments, then she’s raced off to the police station under suspicion of pushing the young mother, Nicole, who turns out to be the complete opposite of Morgan- strong, independent, intelligent and so sure of herself she started a company that shot through the roof, making her worth millions.
So how have their paths crossed before this fateful moment? Nicole obviously knew who Morgan was. She spoke her name when she handed her baby over.
You’ll want the answer to this puzzle and more as you race through this book, watching poor Morgan slowly become a force not to be messed with, a transformation that’s so fun and worth watching, with the constant threat of danger and intrigue, you’re sure she’ll buckle under the stress. You’ll be pulling for her with each page, but is she really worth it? Did her strong desire to have a baby of her own cloud her judgment in a split second? Was it Nicole’s husband or brother, who both wants Nicole’s fortune all to themselves? No spoilers here. You’ll enjoy finding out for yourself!
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for making it available.

I wish to thank Net Galley and the publisher Simon & Schuster Canada for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What a story! This book grabs you in the first page and keeps you guessing until the very end. It has it all and it takes you on a thrilling ride. The story begins when a young mother shoves her baby into a stranger’s arms and throws herself in front of a moving train.

This story is fast paced and chapters go back and forth building the story in an understandable way. I loved all the side stories and could not solve the mystery until just about the end. Even then there were surprises. If you like a good mystery you will love this one.

I will look for more of her books.

Wow! It’s been a while since a thriller hooked me like this one. I knew from the first chapter that I’d have it read in less than I day, and I was right, I could not put it down!

I loved the alternating between both protagonists’ points of view with each chapter. We follow Nicole in the past, leading up to the scene on the train platform when she thrusts her baby into the arms of a stranger and moments later is dead on the tracks. Then there is Morgan, the stranger who has no idea what is going on but suddenly becomes a suspect. I loved that both women had suffered similar yet somehow also completely different tragedies, and both tried to deal with their pasts and unravel the mysteries in the present with one key goal in mind: protecting the baby girl. The author also did an excellent job writing a sensitive portrayal of mental illness, specially postpartum depression.

My only issue with this book is that some loose ends were tied up too neatly, in my opinion. Everything wrapped up in a way that was just too much of one big giant coincidence. I also thought it was a little predictable, but it didn’t ruin the story for me. It was still plenty thrilling, even after having guessed the ending. I would give it 4.5 stars, but since I can’t give half stars, I’m rounding it up to 5 because I just could not put it down!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC. Views and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

#WomanOnTheEdge #NetGalley

Woman on the Edge by Samantha M. Bailey is a fast paced suspenseful read. Morgan is standing on the subway platform when a woman hands her a baby, says Morgan's name, and tells her to love and protect the baby. The woman then falls in front of the train. Morgan becomes a suspect almost immediately and her life is turned upside down. The police are not helping her and they think she pushed the woman. Morgan has to help herself to find out how the woman knew her and why she gave her the baby. She also begins to feel like she is in danger. Who would want to hurt her?

The story is in a dual timeline. It is told in the present by Morgan and in the past by Nicole. The story moves quickly and keeps the reader wanting to know more. I enjoyed the fast pace and could not put this book down.

This book is listed as general adult fiction but it definitely has a suspense/thriller feel as the main character tries to find out what is happening to her.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author. Thank you to Goodreads and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read and review this book.

General Fiction (Adult)
Release Date: March 3, 2020