This book is TREMENDOUS. What a weekend read, and with such a great twist at the end. Sarah Vaughn deserves all her success, and I suspect this will also make a wonderful movie. The research, the humanity of the characters and the thrill of the read, all top notch.

A new emotionally charged, psychological suspense thrill ride from Sarah Vaughn.

Dr. Liz Trenchard is a pediatrician working in the pediatric ward. When she is asked to take a look at a baby in the emergency room who has a suspicious injury and the mother is being evasive. 

When she arrives she finds a good friend of hers through baby group and her baby girl. Liz is shocked at both Jess's condition and the baby's. This isn't the same woman she knows. Jess is the one who makes motherhood look effortless, but this woman is nervous, on edge, and very cagey about what happened and when.

While the police investigate, Liz is dealing with issues of her own as she learns of secrets in her own childhood that will leave her stunned and wondering about another baby.

Full of mystery and suspense! A very real look at post-partum illness and how much more we need to learn about it.

Outstanding and very well written.

NetGalley/ August 18th, 2020 by Atria/Emily Bestler Books

this is a grim, honest book—and i liked it more than i expected to. it was a four-star read for me until it began to fall apart in the second half, but still, i think it holds its own.

little disasters follows dr. liz trenchard, an ER physician, as she tries to figure out what happened to betsey, her friend jess's baby, whose severe injuries point to a reality liz doesn't want to face.

a chilling examination of motherhood and postpartum depression, little disasters leaves you with a persistent unease in your belly. it's told from multiple points of view, and in a way i think this fell short, especially given that liz's chapters were the weakest of them all; to that end, i didn't find liz especially interesting as a character, and the switching into first-person was jarring. the side characters—minus, i think, ed—are pretty feebly-written.

was this novel a successful endeavor? yes, i absolutely think so—there was never a time when i no longer cared about what happened to betsey, and jess's unraveling really was heartrending. but i found the ending insubstantial; it was predictable arguably in part, again, due to the somewhat weak character-building. overall, solid 3 star read.

*arc received from netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC.

This was a really tough read for me. Before I had a baby, I could not stomach anything about animal abuse, because my dog was my baby. After having my son, I can’t stomach an abused child. This book, while well written, made me squirm. The deep, dark flashes of postpartum and violent thoughts scared me. It was something I worried about as a new mother. We all have doubts, we all fear we aren’t doing the right thing. I truly hope the author did not struggle with postpartum, because these descriptions seemed very real.

Despite the difficult read, this was not a bad book. I would recommend it, yes, but maybe with a trigger warning.

I have to say, I really didn't like this one. I thought I would be reading a real gripping thriller but instead I found some of the themes to be quite sad and heavy. Not one I would be in a rush to recommend and a little disappointed.

This book was a little dark for me. It was well written but, never having experience with post partum depression I struggled with how awful it must be. I think it took courage and strength to write this and with that kudos to Sarah.

Sarah Vaughn is a new author to me, and she did not disappoint! I love thrillers, and this one had twists I did not see-I love that! I hope Vaughn continues to write thrillers. Thank you to Ms. Vaughn and Atria Books for giving me the opportunity to read this great novel early!

I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Not a thriller or a mystery but a sort of dark look at motherhood and it's pitfalls and dramas. It was very focused on postpartum depression and anxiety and honestly was a little anxiety-producing to read. There was a lot of speculation about what actually happened to the child to cause her injury and there was a bit of a reveal at the end. I felt like it dragged a little in the middle but overall it was a good, if not terribly relaxing read.

Pediatrician Liz Trenchard doesn't know what to think when her friend shows up in the ER with her injured baby girl. Jess has always been the perfect mom, and yet her story of how Betsey suffered a skull fracture doesn't add up. Vaughan's new book was a difficult one for me to read. My heart broke for a mom who so obviously was having mental health problems unnoticed by her friends and family. With a slower pace, Little Disasters is a drama with a hint of mystery instead of an edge-of-your-seat read. Although probably only a three-star read for me, I think it would make a great book club choice to spark a conversation on postpartum depression.

Such a good story! Captivated me from the start. I just had to find out what really happened. The obvious choice was just too obvious. Loved the red herrings and the suspense of it all.

As someone who has experience postpartum anxiety, this story really hit home. The fact that this is not a topic that many writers venture into was amazing. I felt the anguish of Jess, as well as her family and friends especially after they realized what was going on with her. The scary thoughts and the searches, then it turns out she didn't harm her baby at all...wow!

Thank you to #Netgalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for an advanced copy of Little Disasters by Sarah Vaughan.

I was quite looking forward to a good mystery/thriller but this is neither a mystery nor a thriller. It is a sad story that covers very serious and emotional topics. It is well written but I found the story slow and I just cannot say I enjoyed it. Not for me.

This book delves into the world of mental illness and post partum depression. Two uncomfortable topics, but important topics that need to be addressed and discussed. At the heart of the story is a pediatric doctor who attends to her friend's infant daughter brought into the ER with symptoms associated with vomiting, etc. It is a difficult decision, but ultimately the doctor knows she must report her friend for suspicion of child endangerment. What transpires is the story of actions and decisions and dealing with friendships and consequences.

Thank you to Net Galley and AtriaBooks for an advanced copy of the novel.

I enjoyed this one. The story itself was brilliantly told. I identified with and could mentally picture each character. The writing was strong. I did feel, however, that I knew where the story was going the entire time. I also felt the pacing was somewhat inconsistent.

But, I loved that this was a fairly straightforward story told well. There was nothing outlandish about the ending. The characters were authentic.

Overall, a solidly good read! Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a free digital copy.

*May contain spoilers

I found this novel took alittle bit of time to get into but when I got into I couldn't put this down. The character development was great. You could really see the breakdown of Jess, the moral dilemmas of Liz and the confusion of Ed. I really liked the parallel between Jess and Liz's mom, it really showed the actions but the different outcomes. I think Vaughan did a great job capturing post partem and the struggles that come with it. I did not expect the twist at the end at all. I really liked this novel and would recommend it.

I loved the twists and turns of this book. The author deals with the topic of mental health in a real and raw way and with much empathy.

I've been reading one ebook after another during my nightly Kindle binges, staying up far past my bedtime. The last one I flew though was Sarah Vaughan's upcoming novel, Little Disasters. Truthfully, I never looked at the description when I requested this from NetGalley, just knew I needed it after loving her last book. Based on only the title and cover art, I mistakenly assumed this would be a thriller. Little Disasters is instead, an emotionally charged domestic suspense dealing with post-partum mental illness, the lasting effects of childhood trauma, and the ways relationships are affected by each. This was an excellent read and so well written.

Genre: Mystery and Thrillers
Publisher: Atria
Pub. Date: August 18, 2020

Mini-Review

I was pleasantly surprised to find that this book is not a mystery (though this might be upsetting if you had your heart set on one). You may be able to call this a thriller but only because you will wonder about the fate of a nine-month-old baby. The novel is actually about examining mental health issues concentrating on postpartum depression at its most severe. The author does a wonderful job of showing how shocking the illness can be. This is also a story about female friendships being tested. A doctor is faced with the dilemma of abiding her Hippocratic Oath when her good friend’s baby is in the emergency room. The baby is there with a head trauma and there is reason to doubt the mother’s explanation of how the accident took place. The author does an excellent job writing on the baby's mother's feelings of shame, anxiety, and trying to keep her baby safe from herself—Heartbreaking. However, I was disappointed when the author throws side stories about the two women’s childhoods with abusive parents. It is the author’s attempt at writing on the differences between actual abuse and thoughts. Insight into mental illness is always good, but this came off as obvious. As if the reader couldn’t figure out the differences on their own.

Loved this, I'm a big Sarah Vaughn fan and this book was exciting! I devoured it so quickly as I need to know what happened....so will you!

This is the second book I have read by this author and once again she has incorporated a tough subject into the story. It was an uncomfortable read but I say that as a positive thing. The way she handled the material made me appreciate this more as a straight fiction read rather than one in the mystery or thriller genre. For me it was a compelling story without the twists or turns.

Liz first met Jess years ago while they were both pregnant and attending birthing classes. Liz is a doctor at a hospital and one day Jess brings in her daughter. After the examination of the child, Liz has more questions than answers. And that's all you are getting from me as this is a story that you just have to let it unfold without knowing too much ahead of time. The story alternates between different characters, mostly Liz and Jess, and also goes back in time quite a bit so you get the full picture.

I'm not a parent but I challenge anyone to read this book without feeling some type of uneasiness regarding the storyline. There are just certain things that are hard to read about but it's also why it was easy to feel invested in the story. I had this need to find out what happened that led to the child being brought to the hospital.

The ending for me was the weak spot of the book. Up until that point it felt like fictional story with substance but then it veered into messy territory. A good word to describe it would be uninspiring. I was really impressed with the story up until that point. However, I might be completely in the minority with that opinion. Regardless, this is still a worthwhile read just based on well the author covered an important topic.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an advance reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!