This book took me by surprise and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am a fan of psychological domestic thrillers and this had me guessing and questioning until the very end about what exactly happened to baby Betsey. I was suspicious of every character and enjoyed coming up with theories about what could have actually taken place. While the ending was a combination of my ideas, I didn't expect the twists to keep building up to the very end. I liked how the other side stories weaved together at the conclusion as well. I know some will find this very triggering especially for new or expecting mothers. While I am not a mother yet myself, I was intrigued by how this story explored postpartum depression and brought to light how it is not discussed enough as a very real and harrowing experience for many women.

A baby girl is hurt, and the question on everyone’s mind at the hospital is: Did her mom purposely hurt her? To add a complexity, one of the doctors, Liz, treating the daughter is friends with the mom.

The book deals with some serious topics including postpartum depression. There were a few twists along the way, but the pace of this book didn’t pick up until after the 50% mark, and by this point, I was already losing my interest. There is a lot of potential that is somewhat squandered by the slow pacing.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the arc.

A baby is injured, and the mother is suspected of hurting her. What really happened? This is the question asked by Vaughan in her latest book Little Disasters. I found this story very difficult to read since it involved a hurt child. Also, the topic of postpartum depression was heavily covered in this book. I didn't enjoy this book because I find it hard to read about hurt children, and it was also hard to read the mother's thoughts as she battled postpartum depression with none of her friends or family realizing it. I'm not sure that I can recommend this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was hard to read, it echoed a lot of fears I had when I was a new mom, worrying about what I would be able to handle and how it would increase my existing anxiety. I think it really captures how overwhelming it can be, and how isolating.

I think the last reveal wasn’t necessary, kind of felt like it was to throw a twist in or to absolve the characters of some responsibility. But in all, a really good (but heavy) story.

I really enjoyed this book from the beginning through the end. Not only did Vaughan develop the characters well, their POV's were just as interesting to read as well.

It was interesting to read this story unfold about a doctor, her close friend and husband that have been accused by the doctor. I find these stories are really about "what would you do?" and the consequences of all their actions.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and honestly review.

This was a difficult, absorbing read. Highlighting post-partum mental health illness, the visceral and overwhelming challenges of new parenthood and caring for infants, this story explores what happens when we hide our struggles, when friendships water-down to half-hearted acquaintances, and the real cost of not supporting new parents, from draconian parental leave policies to the taboo response to mental health issues, particularly post-partum, which results in profound isolation of parents to newborns.

There were enough twists and gaps in information that kept me turning the page, and the interweaving of Jess's struggle with Liz's past added vital emotional depth and nuance to what would otherwise be frankly a disturbing, not-terribly suspenseful read. The success of this book, to me, lies in its layers, a true simulacrum of human reality. Life is not one note; struggles do not arrive out of thin air. Our human breakdowns, needs, and traumas compound from childhood experience, adult pressures, and the real neglect in our society to knit us to each other.

A word on content warnings: for those who have experienced any mental health issues or feel the struggle of new parenthood is fresh, I would advise caution. There are extensive descriptions of anxiety-driven negative fantasies, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, and filicidal ideation.

To me, this was hard but somehow bizarrely cathartic to read. We tell women as mothers that they aren't alone but rarely do art and fiction help us feel seen in our struggle. For me, as a young mother, I battled acute sensory overwhelm, sleep deprivation, and a gnawing sense of loneliness as I said goodbye to my career and delved into the unknowns with the profound sense of failure endemic to most new parents. I grieved that our culture doesn't connect mothers (and parents) better together into supportive, empathic communities; that our economic greed has normalized businesses brutally denying parents adequate time and compensation to recover from the work of birth, the exhaustion of caring for a newborn, and the strain of adjustments necessary for a growing family. We are a society that expects and depends on the continuation of generations and does paltry little to support those brave enough to embark on parenthood.

I commend this book to anyone who feels they can weather the content warnings, who wants to navigate some slight mystery and domestic suspense, feel deeply and if you're like me, revisit and heal a little bit more from the trauma of birth, the delirious shock of new parenthood. Some mothers who have weathered post-partum depression, anxiety, OCD or other related mental health issues may either find this healing to read, or too painful. All I can say is that the reader goes through a slew of emotions as we see Jess struggle, but that the story wrapped up her character arc empathetically, and to me, satisfactorily.

If this book captures anything, it is that things may not always be how they appear, but if we're brave enough, if we love each other well, the truth can be brought to light, and healing can be found.

Wow - I couldn't put this book down. A thriller that not only brooches a difficult topic to discuss, I found this book enthralling. Character development was well done and I found myself rooting for Jess the whole way through. A perfect read for the beach or your back deck.

Liz is a Dr. and is called on to the pediatric floor because she’s the only person available to tend to a serous injury. It turns out the child with the head injury is the daughter of her good friend Jess, and the circumstances appear suspicious.

For me this book dragged on a bit and I figured out part of the twist midway. It is also not so much a thriller as a domestic drama. It’s about mother/parenthood and how difficult it is no matter what your situation is.

What I really found important in this book was how it dealt with post partum depression and anxiety. There was a lot of very raw material that might be shocking to some but I’ve worked with mental illness and the verbiage used is very typical. These are issues that everyone should be sensitive to.
I will say that I did not like Ed at all. Maybe at the end but until then i found him arrogant and supremely useless.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advance copy of this book.
3.5/4 Stars

I don't know where to begin with this book. I have so many feeling about it.
As a mother the highs and lows of this book is a true picture of parenthood.

Jess a mother of three and a stay at home Mom. She takes her baby to the Emergency room when her friend Liz is on duty. They discover that Betsey has suffered a head injury. The concern is the lack of concern that Jess has about the injury. Liz is questioning her friend Jess if she did it or not. How did it happen and Jess isn't giving any good answers to the questions.

Read to find out all of the answers. I hope you enjoy this book

Thank you Sarah Vaughan for a good book

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the ARC.
I've been reading so many mystery's and thrillers I almost didn't read this. But I'm so glad I did!
Jess is the mother of 3 kids but its her youngest that has really done her in. RIght now, the baby (Betsy) has sent her into a world of depression and possibly violence as Betsy is brought to the hospital with a head injury. She is trying to make up for her mother's shortcomings and be the perfect mom and its taking so much out of her that is is possible she may have snapped.
Suddenly her friend Liz from her past shows up and is trying to get to the bottom of what happened.

My heart broke for Jess, after having two ideal babies it was a shock for her to adjust to having a "challenging" baby although no ore o than any others. It was clear that Jess had some PDD going on and her husband didn't seem to help in any way.

There are a lot of unexpected twists in this story as we unravel what had happened to Jess and even to Betsy. What I liked about this book is that it is very character driven and the characters are real. Great book! .

At first I was unsure about the premise of this book. The book follows the story of Liz, an ER doctor, who has a friend bring in an injured toddler, and the mother herself. The baby has an injury on the back of her head which is not congruous with the story given by the mother and the story continues from there.
Do not let the synopsis on the book itself fool you. This book has SO many twists and turns, some coming about 98% of the way through the book!
The author does such an amazing job of weaving such an engaging and interesting story. I had not read anything by her before but I will definitely be seeking out her other novels when I get a few moments.
Even when you think you have it all figured out, you definitely have not. It was a great story and one I thoroughly enjoyed reading and hope you will also pick it up!

This was a good story, though I think it’s more of a study in female friendship than a thriller/suspense novel. The story is told mostly from the perspective of Liz a pediatrician doctor and Jess a stay at home mom to three children. Jess arrives at the hospital late one night with her infant daughter Betsey who she had been unable to settle for the night. Liz is on duty that night and although once she realized that she personally knew Jess and should have a different doctor see her, decides to take a look at Betsey. She soon discovers that Betsey has a skull fracture and that it occurred about 6 hours earlier. Child Welfare and the police become involved, Jess is accused of deliberately injuring her child. She faces losing custody of all three of her children. Some of the backstory is disturbing, especially what Liz and her brother endured. The chapters are short which moves the story along at a good pace. I was interested in finding out what happened and did not see the ending coming, I recommend it. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book as an exploration of post natal depression and a reminder that it can affect anyone. I thought the actual ending and the answer to 'whodunnit' was a little far fetched but this is an enjoyable beach read.

A strong, resonant story about the conflict faced by a do tour when her best friend's child presents at the emergency room with indications that she was injured at her mother's hands The physician's dilemma is sympathetically presented, and the mental distress of of the accused mother and her husband movingly portrayed by a skillful writer. There's little drama or mystery here, but the narrative and characters are well drawn enough so that doesn't matter.

How well do we know our closest and dearest friends? This is the question that rattles Liz when her close friend, Jess, comes in with her baby girl who has sustained a skull fracture. There is some heavy stuff in here, no joke. The mystery relating to the child abuse was hard to read. I was conflicted; I wanted to know how it happened and who was involved, but it was an emotional read. I did like that the author focused so much on mental illness and postpartum depression. I think PD isn’t a topic written about in many books so it was refreshing to see the challenges of motherhood so well articulated. I also did like the twist at the end. Wasn’t expecting that!! Overall, I’m giving this one 3.5⭐️ Thank you @netgalley and @simonandschuster for the ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Recommended!
Liz is a pediatric doctor on call when a toddler is brought in with a suspicious head injury that leads to a call to child services. The mother of the child is a good friend of Liz, and while they haven’t been close as of late, Liz cannot believe that Jess would ever hurt her own baby. There are secrets and truths hiding within both women as they discover motherhood is not always as it seems.
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I truly enjoyed this fast paced drama by @svaughanauthor. She explores the complexities of being a mother and how isolating it can be. Speaking from personal experience, postpartum depression is very common, very scary and not discussed nearly enough. I am glad the author dove into this topic and I hope it sparks some much needed conversations!

This is a story that follows a group of friends who met at a birthing class, and stayed friends after their babies were born. The main focus is on Jess, the mother of three, who has undiagnosed postpartum psychosis, and Liz, a pediatric doctor who treats Jess' youngest when she is brought into the hospital with an unknown head trauma. Several different view points tell the story of what happened to baby Betsey that night, and the dark and twisted details of the mothers mind will make you cringe as the story unfolds.

I wasn't a huge fan of this book, as it wasn't really a mystery like the kind I usually read. There were a few twists towards the end, but I saw them coming a mile away. It took longer to get to the end than it should have, as the characters just kept repeating their same feelings over and over. Overall, not my favorite book, and I would not recommend it to others.

I loved Anatomy of a Scandal so went into this one with high expectations and I was not disappointed. It's both heartbreaking and bittersweet as it revolves around Liz and Jess, two friends who met in their birthing classes. Now Liz is a pediatrician and when Jess brings in her young daughter with a suspicious head injury, Liz is conflicted as she knows Jess is a great mother but the law dictates social services be brought in. Of course this triggers a chain of events that creates its own momentum. In the meantime we see Liz's own past brought into the spotlight as she's estranged from her mother and brother. If you are a mother yourself, you will find some of this painful to read as you will want to constantly cuddle and hug your kids. But ultimately it's a lovely novel that explores the lengths parents go to in protecting and loving their offspring.

Jess is a stay at home mom. Liz is a pediatrician and was in Jess's birthing class. Jess has three children and Liz has two. The mother's used to spend time together after the babies were born but not so much now. Liz is exceptionally busy at the hospital. She doesn't see Jess as much after the birth of her third baby, a little girl.
Maybe if Jess would have been more involved she would have noticed a disturbing change in Jess's behavior.
Jess is feeling overwhelmed. She did great with her first two kids, but this third child has her exhausted. Not only that she is having malevolent and evil thoughts. The only way she can control things is being overly perfectionist in everything she does. Sometimes being a mother takes more than you have to give.
Absolutely Recommended!!!

Sarah Vaughan's latest novel Little Disasters explores how one lie can set off a tragic chain reaction with devastating consequences. Jess is a harried mother of three young children whose life appears to be perfectly happy and gorgeously curated. She and Liz, a busy pediatric doctor and Mom of two, are in the same group of friends who met in a prenatal class. The reader has a front row seat to Jess's extreme anxiety over her children's safety; and her struggle to calm her colicky baby -- all while experiencing extreme sleep deprivation and a workaholic husband (many of us can relate!). Meanwhile, Liz battles repercussions of an abusive mother and a lifetime of family secrets.

Liz is working at the hospital one night when Jess brings her infant daughter in with a head injury. Liz quickly suspects foul play and is required to report Jess to the authorities. Little Disasters considers the very real dangers of post natal anxiety and maternal OCD (content warning!). This would be a great book club pick. Sarah Vaughan made me think about how important it is to support new moms, to have a network of support, and to lift up all Mothers and not tear them down.