The Baby is a quite a ride full of questions, uncertainty, gaslighting, poor decisions…and twists. Discovering the multi-faceted parts of Lucy’s past and present was intriguing. This was a fast-paced psychological thriller that was a page-turner to the end. The narrator enhanced the story, mastering all the characters’ voices. Don’t skip this on audio!
Thanks to #NetGalley and #Bookouture for this ARC.

This book kept me super interested all the way through and I am very excited to recommend it my thriller loving girlies! I did guess part of the plot twist about half way through and there were many twisty aspects that I did not see coming. I am so glad I read this book, and I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys a mystery thriller. It was a fun read!

“The baby” by AJ McDine was an excellent book.
Lucy wanted a baby especially after losing her baby. Lucy wakes up one morning having a baby in her home. Upon investigation she finds her husband Miles has been keeping secrets.
While the story is makes it easy to guess what is going to happen this had me wanting to know what happens to the baby.

Oh my gosh! This has been one of my fav thrillers I have read this year!
The plot twists and the way it is written is intense and gripping. It was hard to put this book down, a must read!!!!
I have to tell everyone about it!

Lucy, a middle aged childless woman who has a tendency to drink a little bit too much wakes up one morning to a noise from downstairs, but who could it be? Her husband is away for work and not due home for several more days. She goes downstairs to find a 4 month old baby sleeping in a drawer in her living room that she knows nothing about. Did she steal this baby from his mother? Did someone give him to her? She has no memory of the previous night.

The Baby was a griping story and I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. The twists and turns were plentiful and the narrator was very enjoyable to listen to. Overall the story kept me very engaged and I would definitely read another book by this author.

Thank you to the publisher Bookoutureaudio, Netgalley and the author for an audio ARC in exchange for my feedback.

Thank you @netgalley for the audiobook of The Baby by AJ McDine.

The narration for this book was well done. This was a twisty thriller with some surprising turns that all fit together at the end. My biggest criticism was that the whole premise of the book was based on that the MC blacks out so she thought she stole a baby. I did like that the story was unpredictable

A childless married woman wakes up with a baby in her possession after a history of blocking out. When no one claims a missing baby, she then freaks out and instead of going to authorities, pretends that the baby is her own. This was an odd, twisted read with unexpected turns around every corner. The MC was not reliable at all, even to herself. She often questioned what she had done in the past because she had blacked out too many times. A fast-paced read that kept me invested because I had to find out where the baby came from. The ending was satisfying and worth reading. I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator portrayed a character that was unreliable and somewhat unlikable.

The Baby starts off with bang and keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time! Lucy wakes up one morning to find a baby in her living room. With absolutely no idea how it got there, she begins a search for answers. The answers get deeper and darker the more she searches. This book had so many twists and turns, I couldn't wait to see what would happen next! Although I knew little about this book going in, it more than met my expectations. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my opinion.

I found this to be a gripping read. The twist just kept on coming right from the first chapter to the very end. I loved the fact that you were straight in the from the very beginning and there was no build up to what had happened, it had me hooked from the get go.
A. J. McDine is a new author to me and i will deffo be reading more of her work. I felt this story was that of a sharp unique unexpected plot that had a stratifying conclusion. The more the story went on the darker it got.
The choice in narrator was very good as well as I find that a massive tho g with audiobooks. If I can’t latch on to the narrator it can make the book a different experience for more, but this one was fab.
Due for publication on 23rd April 2024
Thankyou to Bookoture Audio, Nettgalley and A. J. McDine for sending me a copy of this audiobook to review.

The Baby by A.J. McDine is one of the quickest reads I've had in the past year in less than 48 hours from start to finish - but it was also one of the easiest reads that I have ever had. The story begins with our protagonist, Lucy, awaking to a heck of a hangover - and a baby in her house. What could very well be an unbelievable concept becomes very believable throughout the course of this story. McDine's style of writing is so unique - it is natural and almost conversational. McDine does not over-explain nor under-explain, but they do make us love Lucy more and more throughout the course of the novel. The epitome of a true human, perfectly imperfect, Lucy has quickly become one of my favorite book characters. The motifs that McDine explores throughout the novel - shame, second-guessing, imposter syndrome, femininity, deception, and longing - all make for an incredible representation of the true human experience within the realm of fiction which is not an easy feat. Taking the journey of this novel alongside Lucy as she tries to find out where this baby came from and where the baby should go shows us that things are NOT as easy or as simple as they often appear from the outside - it takes a phenomenal idea - a nearly unbelievable one - to show us that we are all capable of almost anything.

Thank you to Bookouture, A.J. McDine and NetGalley for the opportunity to receive my first ever Advance Reader Copy of this book. This book is slated to be released on April 23, 2024.

This book had me from the start. I couldn’t stop listening and finished it in one day. Definitely a book where you think you have it figured out only to be surprised you were wrong literally until the end of the book. Great read and this was the first book I have read from AJ McDine!

I opted for the audio version of this instead of the book and I’m so pleased I did. A great listen which kept me guessing to the end. Fab twists and turns and highly recommended

New author for me and wow, I’m glad I dipped my toes.
This book is exactly as it says on the tin! A gripping thriller that is impossible to put down. Finished in one weekend!
Just when you think you have the plot sussed, you are whipped away in another direction. Great read!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this novel in return for a honest reveal- made my weekend!

Once I started this audiobook, it was difficult to press pause. The story of the baby coming into Lucy’s life, her unfortunate past and present struggles, plus the twisty unraveling of a parallel storyline had me hooked!
I really enjoyed the pacing, and the tense atmosphere McDine created - although not in the way I initially expected. Some aspects felt a touch repetitive and I think it made a couple plot points less surprising for me. But overall still a very compelling listen.
I would recommend, and look forward to more from this author!

The baby was a thrilling read that I was immediately sucked into, a mystery was quickly presented and the rest of the book consisted of getting to the bottom of it. I loved the portrayal of the characters, they were written so you easily got attached to them and I loved the main character, despite her flaws. Due to the attachment of the characters, it was easy to convey the moral decision which should have been clear as difficult due to the background of the main character and her internal monologue. The empathy felt by myself as the audience caused me to hope that there was a happy ending for the main character, Lucy. Another comment regarding the characters was that I loved the portrayal of a character who was easily disliked by the reader and multiple characters was shown as charming to other characters, displaying the complexity of the character and toxic relationships as a whole as the red flags were clear but ignored by those taken in by them. While I felt some of the twists were clear and obvious, others presented along the way to add to the overall twist, created an enjoyable and shocking twist nevertheless! I loved this book and can’t wait to discover more by the author!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!

The Baby, by AJ McDine, was my first ready by the author and definitely won’t be my last. I was hooked from the very beginning and engrossed until the very end. This fast-paced domestic thriller about a woman named Lucy who wakes up one morning to a baby in her home is riveting with plenty of twists and turns to keep you enthralled until the final conclusion.

Narrator Tamsin Kennard did an outstanding job bringing these characters to life. Her pacing was on par and kept me engaged throughout the entire book.

If you are looking for a gripping, edge of your seat thriller that you won’t want to put down then I highly recommend The Baby.

Thank you Bookouture Audio, author AJ McDine, and NetGalley for this Advanced Listening Copy.

This book has you whispering WTF to yourself constantly. Lucy has an issue with alcohol…and blacking out. This time she awakens to find A BABY , with no idea where it came from or why it’s in her home. Her husband works out of town, and despite a happy marriage, she has always wanted kids while he has not. Lucy is afraid to go to the police about this child she has found because what if she kidnapped him?
This story gets twisty and things come out of left field for both us the readers and our lovely unreliable narrator main character.
Lucy has some issues with putting 2 and 2 together. I saw the big twist coming and was yelling at Lucy to just get her crap together and figure it out. Highly entertaining read, 3 stars!
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture audio for this fun listen!

Book Review - The Baby by AJ McDine

Within a few minutes of waking up after yet another night of over drinking, Lucy walks into her living room to find a baby lying atop an overturned dresser drawer. The first problem? She doesn’t have a baby. With her husband Miles away, she frantically searches for clues and racks her brain trying to figure out how the baby got there. With horror and dread, she questions whether she has taken the baby and forgot about the whole event in her drunken haze…and that’s when all of the other problems begin to surface. This fast-paced thriller hooked me right from the start, and that momentum continued for the entirety of the book. I found the characters to be well-developed and believable and the story line the same.

The narrator, Tamsin Kennard, did a beautiful job giving voice to each of the characters, pacing the story well throughout. This was evidenced by the intentional pacing of the storyline, keeping the listener fully engaged and wanting to know more. The main character, Lucy, who, though making some really poor choices, remained believable. There were times in which some of the characters’ actions were questionable but the story flowed well and came together nicely at the end. I am a huge fan of psychological thrillers and LOVE a good twist at the end and felt as though the author accomplished just that.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, AJ McDine, and Bookouture Audio for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for my review.
This was a fast paced, entertaining “who done it”. I enjoyed it more than expected and would definitely recommend it to friends

This book gripped me right from the start! An intriguing story of a baby found by a troubled woman. Couldn't stop listening and absolutely loved the way the story flowed with lots of twists. Love this author. TW for baby loss and birth trauma