This was the first book I've read by Sarah Vaughan, and I enjoyed it. I liked the different viewpoints throughout the book, and was surprised by the story. When I started the book, I got a little confused by the timelines and what was happening, but as I continued, everything started to click into place and I understood what Vaughan was trying to get across to the reader. The first half of the book was a little slower than I typically like for a "thriller", but it picked up about halfway through and was quite enjoyable. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for a digital arc of this title.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

For Dr. Liz Trenchard, it's supposed to be a typical January night in the ER, but when her friend Jessica Curtis arrives with her youngest child, Betsey, Liz can immediately see that something is not right. Betsey has severe injuries that don't match up with Jess's narrative. Why won't Jess just tell Liz or anyone else at the hospital what happened? As the police and the social workers get involved, so do Jess and Liz's friends and the truth just might be a lot scarier than anyone imagined.

I have to hand it to Sarah Vaughan, I was so fixated on a certain vein of the storyline that I was thinking this was pretty much a 3 star. A classic domestic contemporary and it would all just boil down to a very simple reason. However, a reader should never underestimate the lengths that an author will go to keep you muttering " Oh my!" over and over again. Although both Liz and Jess share narrating power with the other characters thrown in from time to time, I must confess that Jess was by the far the most fascinating character. I felt a lot of empathy for and I really enjoyed the way Vaughan writes this stay at home mother character. This is the type of book that will certainly keep you up at night.


Goodreads review published 24/07/20
Expected Publication 18/08/20

I did not finish this book. I made it to about 40% and had to stop because I was really bored with the characters The premise sounded pretty intriguing and it did sound like a mystery/thriller in the write-up which is why I requested it, however, I found this to be more a womens fiction/drama which isn't my type of book. I was waiting to see where it would go but I could not relate to any of the characters and I could not get into the child abuse/motherhood thing.
I definitely would not classify this as a thriller/mystery as that is misleading. I do wish the author much success with this book.

Thank you for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

How far would you go to protect your child? Or someone else's child? Little Disasters primarily follows Liz, a pediatrician, and her friend Jess, a stay at home mom of three. When Jess brings her youngest to the ER one night, Liz quickly suspects something sinister at play and takes action. As Jess' life begins to unravel, we learn that everyone has their dark secrets to hide.

Phew. This book is pretty dark and disturbing. I'm not usually too bothered by books that feature child abuse (wow, that sounds bad. What I mean is that i'm not overly sensitive. Hopefully someone else gets it!) but this one just felt so REAL. Little Disasters is really a book about motherhood, which isn't something that I have personal experience with. I'd assume that some mothers would really struggle to get through this one, but some might also be able to relate to some of the dark and terrifying thoughts that can occur in the minds of new mothers who are struggling to connect with their babies.

Although the synopsis might make you think this is a thriller, it's really a domestic drama that examines the struggles and secrets of a handful of people and families. And it's disturbing just how many adults fail in this book - fail to communicate, fail to care for children, fail to own up to their mistakes.

Little Disasters is an uncomfortable read but it's good. I would just caution readers before picking this up - be prepared to be sad and angry and disturbed.

Content warning: child abuse/neglect, traumatic birth experience, PPD, OCD, alcoholism, infant death/SIDS

I really struggled with this book when I began to read it. The first few pages were very slow and I kept losing interest. I put the book down for a few days and when I finally picked it back up, I pushed through the first few pages and this ended up being a 4 star read for me. I’ve never read anything quite like this. Usually the thrillers I read take place around someone death, but this story begins with a child brought into an emergency room. There’s themes of neglect, PPD, and child abuse so this may be triggering for some. Liz is an ER doctor who is used to seeing all kinds of traumas, but when Betsey is brought in the hospital when a fractured skull, Liz needs to put aside her loyalty to a friend and call social services. This begins a snow ball effect that unravels past trauma while trying to piece together what really happened to Betsey. This dark psychological thriller will have you on the edge of your seat.

Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for the ARC, which I received in exchange for my honest review. I expected Little Disasters to be a thriller, it is not. The novel is actually an exploration of motherhood particularly the early months where women are expected to make life and death decisions despite sleep deprivation and the physical toll that childbirth has taken on their bodies. While I didn't find this to be an easy read due to the subject matter, it was very well written and heartfelt.

The author does an excellent job of highlighting the challenges all women face and the shame heaped upon new moms even by well meaning family and friends when they don't fit the ideal portrait of motherhood painted by society.

If you are looking for deft and compelling women's fiction look no further. However, if you are seeking a thriller or lighthearted mystery, this may not be the book for you.

Motherhood is not easy, and when you are a stay-home mother of 3, it is really challenging,
I liked it, but I found it a bit slow and maybe to many medical details?
I need to read even "The anatomy of a scandal" which is waiting on the badroom shelf.
Thank you Netgalley for this book.

Little Disasters is hard to put down. You won’t be able to tear yourself away. Well written with developed characters and a shocking reveal at the end. A horrifying tale of the struggles of motherhood, the stigma attached to mental illnesses and family secrets.

Set to publish on August 18,2020.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

DNF after 28% read

I was given a ARC of this by NetGalley for a review, but it’s in no way coloured my opinion of this book.

I think I enjoyed her ‘anatomy of a scandal’, and on PAPER, thought this was an interesting premise. But when what I thought the book was a sour happened in the first chapter, I’m not sure where I expected it to go.

I didn’t find any of the characters relatable - all a bit cliched if I’m honest.

TW for mental health, child abuse.

‘What would you do?’

Paediatrician Liz Trenchard and Jess Curtis met when they were both part of a group preparing for the birth of their first babies. They have remained friends, and Liz is surprised when she is called to the ER in the London hospital where she works to see that Jess’s baby daughter (and third child) Betsey is the patient. Surprise quickly becomes concern when Liz’s examination of Betsey reveals a head injury. And there is something about Jess’s explanation that just doesn’t make align with the injury.

Liz has known Jess for a decade. She sees Jess as a capable stay-at-home-mother-of-three. Surely not a woman likely to harm her baby.

But the Jess Liz (and their friends) see is not the way Jess sees herself. Jess is overwhelmed. She has two sons aged eight and ten, and her husband Ed works long hours to support the family. Jess has set impossibly high standards for herself, and when she cannot meet those standards, she punishes herself.

Liz, and the other doctors involved, can only act on what they have seen. Social Services are called in, and Jess’s contact with Betsey is both limited and supervised. Her sister Martha moves in to help.

We can see the pressure that Jess is under, the intrusive feelings she is experiencing, her need to try to control. It is possible, surely, that a mother under such pressure could harm her child. And what should Liz do?

Ms Vaughan maintains the tension in this story. I turned the pages, wondering how it would end, wondering how Betsey was injured. There is a twist in the end that I have mixed feelings about, but other readers may find this twist more emotionally satisfying.

The novel covers several important issues, and ones that many exhausted mothers of newborn babies will be able to relate to. How do we know when we need help, and who can we ask?

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

I enjoyed this book
I felt it was a little slow in parts and I predicted the ending fairly early on but I liked the characters and sympathised with their situation.
t was a startling account of the pressures on mothers to keep their children safe.

I love this author so I read it in 2 sittings. The book is well written and the characters are relatable. I felt a deep connection with the main character and that doesn’t happen often. Give this brilliant author a go. Can’t wait for the next one by her!

This story is told from the viewpoint of Jess, Ed and Liz. Jess is a stay at home Mom overwhelmed with 3 young children, one of them 3 mos old. Liz is a pediatrician who is on duty when Jess brings her baby in. The baby has a skull fracture and the story Jess gives doesn’t make sense, child services are called in. I found myself skimming reading this book. I was interested enough to want to find out how it turned out. There was a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Given the title, cover, and synopsis, I expected a thrilling read, but halfway through realized that it wasn't very thrilling at all. It seemed like it would fit more in Women's fiction. It was very sincere in it's writing and sparked my emotions as a mother, but didn't provide that jolt of anticipation I've come to love with thrillers.

DNF @ 24%. I really wanted to like this one, but I just couldn't get into it. I was expecting a thriller, but it was much more Women's Fiction. The writing wasn't bad, I think it was just an instance of me being the wrong reader for the book.

This story was not exactly a thriller like I expected but it was thought provoking and realistic.

I am not a mother, but I would hope if I were that I would go to the ends of the earth to keep my child safe. As a pediatric provider who has worked in cases where CPS has had to be involved, this book truly hones in on the empathy needed to handle these cases. It is beautifully written and I would highly recommend it.

A very dark and twisted book with an original story line not what I expected at all.
I really enjoyed this book, gripped straight away, sometimes I found it hard to read and sad at times. Definitely recommend thi book to others.
Thanks netgallery for this advanced copy of this book

Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.

This is an excellent novel about the struggles a new mother has to maintain the image of "good mother". The characters were well developed, with a storyline that felt like it could have happened to just about anyone I know. Recommended for all, not just women's fiction, this story impacts all family members.

*I received a free copy of this novel from NetGalley and Atria for my honest review.*

Liz is a pediatrician on the night shift in the local ER when her estranged friend, Jess, brings in her baby, Betsey. Jess hasn't noticed that Betsey has a severe bump on her head and Jess's story doesn't add up for the injury. Liz's duty is to Betsey and her supervisor requests that she call in protective services to investigate. Liz is also dealing with an alcoholic mother who tells Liz about a baby she lost to SIDS that Liz doesn't recall.

The story unfolds in multiple story lines and from Liz's, Jess's, and several other's points of view. What was going through each of their minds as new information is revealed. The writing was fantastically descriptive and I found myself feeling all of the emotions from Jess and understanding all of Liz's doubts about what she was learning and what she knew about Jess throughout their whole friendship.

I know that some people might not enjoy the split time lines, but they don't bother me at all. When they are done well, I feel like the story unfolds one nibble at a time and it becomes very hard to put the book down. This novel kept jumping back to 10 years ago, 4 years ago, 30+ years ago, and then to the day of the accident and it was always just the right amount unfolding bit by bit to keep me guessing and to make me keep reading late into the night just to find out what really happened!

The only distraction that I found was that the use of the colons and semi colons felt overwhelming. It was a little distracting until I got used to seeing them several times in each chapter. I'm not saying that they were used incorrectly at all, but it was not something that I have seen used so much in fiction. I should add that I mostly listen to audio books and some of my favorite authors use the colon and semi colons frequently but I don't see them while listening. And this will not keep me from reading more from this author.

When paediatrician Liz is called to examine a sick child admitted to her hospital, she is surprised to see that the mother is Jess, a friend from the prenatal group they had attended when expecting their eldest children. Jess, now a mother of 3, has always seemed like the perfect wife and mother, yet she seems edgy and evasive about what is wrong with baby Betsey. When Liz discovers that Betsey has sustained a serious head injury, she comes under pressure from her bullying boss to involve the authorities. Was what happened to Betsey genuinely an accident? Some reviewers who enjoyed Vaughan’s crime/courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Scandal” have been disappointed that this is not more of the same, but anyone approaching it without this expectation will be rewarded with a pacey but sensitive exploration of the pressures modern mothers face, not least bacause of the demands they put on themselves. Jess, a full-time mother, devotes her whole life to being a mother, wife, homemaker and hostess, while her husband does “the fun stuff” and she struggles, unnoticed, with loneliness and postnatal depression. Liz tries to balance her career with motherhood and to be different to her own mother, who was neglectful and unloving and, as she comes to suspect, perhaps even worse. This novel is a reminder that caring for babies can be overwhelming, that we all need strong support systems, and that we should strive to be good enough rather than perfect, but it is also an absorbing and thought-provoking psychological drama that will keep you guessing.