Thank you NetGalley! The characters in this book were intense. I was quickly drawn into the story and drama surrounding the pregnant mothers. It was definitely an r emotional read for me as a mother

First, thank you Netgalley and Joffe Books for the ARC!

What can I say? Some people are just sort of insane. Even when they might have some sort of reason for it. Also, the book made me feel like you really can not trust anyone anymore in today's world. It was dark, full of twists and really creeped me out more than once.

I also really did not really like Darcy and Alex as people, but that did not keep me from wanting to continue reading. Overall a solid debut novel, even when it seemed a little predictable at times. I do still really recommend it!

3 stars – A slow-burn domestic suspense

I received a copy of The Baby Group from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The story follows Darcy, who relocates from the London suburbs with her boyfriend just months before giving birth. Hoping to make new connections, she joins a local baby group. At first, things seem normal—until unsettling events begin to unfold.

The premise had potential, and the writing itself was solid. However, the suspense never fully hooked me the way I like my thrillers to. While there were a few intriguing moments, the pacing felt slow, and I found it hard to stay fully engaged. It was just okay for me overall.

This was a great read! There were so many twists and turns and kept me on the edge of my seat! I couldn’t put it down!

Darcy is pregnant and due to her partner’s cheating has moved down and away from everyone she knows to the village of Rock. She joins the antenatal group and finds it very hard to cope with a particularly flirtatious member who is very interested in Darcy’s partner Alex.

I thought when I started this book that it would be a tense thriller with some claustrophobic moments and instead I read a book that had unexplained tension, very repetitive writing and an ending that was impossible to suspend belief for. Absolutely bonkers.

I’m not keen on books that don’t have a semblance of sense in them so, this was not for me.

This was a fast-paced read that was really creepy at times. It centers on Darcy, who moves out to the suburbs with her boyfriend just months before her first baby is born. She joins a baby group so she can make some friends- this seems to be going great initially, but then weird things start happening and she isn't sure if she can trust all of her newfound confidantes.

It took me a little bit to figure out who everyone was in the baby group, but once I did, their voices seemed distinct. Darcy got on my nerves a bit, and I thought she was really naive at times to not see some of the stuff that was happening around her. That being said, the book was filled with twists and many of them were surprises to me, so it kept me engaged even when I didn't see eye to eye with the protagonist. The author did a good job of creating a whole slew of believable red herrings, and there is a tense vibe throughout as the stakes keep getting higher. Once the biggest twist is revealed, a couple others fell easily into place, but the story was action-packed the whole way through. I liked the way it ended and thought it worked well with the rest of the story.

Overall, I thought this was a good read with fast pacing and lots of surprises. I'd recommend to those who enjoy psychological thrillers. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

While some of the twists were predictable, a lot of them were not and it was a very thrilling read. the epilogue gave me chills as well. I would have liked more closure on one aspect of the story though, but other than that, it was a great read.

Great debut book from author Jade Lee Wright. I couldn’t put it down.I loved the look of the cover of this book and it had short chapters which I always love. Short summary of the storyline:-

Darcy who is pregnant with her first child decides to move away from the City with her partner Alex who previously cheated on her, hoping for a fresh start and to make new friends.

Darcy joins an ante natal group where she hopes to find a new friendship group in other expectant mothers.

The story then centres around how the friendships build and the relationships they form, all is not what it seems.

This story is full of surprise and mystery leaving you wondering which direction the story will take. Thanks to netgalley and Joffe books for this ARC.

I love thrillers. It is by far my favorite genre. When I read the premise of this book, I was super excited to see how it was written and to see if it would satisfy my love of thrillers.

The premise of the book hooked me from the beginning. A couple moves to this place away from London and in order to make friends, they join an antenatal group. Of course, things take a turn for the worse as the twists unfold.

The book was well written. I liked the depth that the writer put into the story as everything unfolded. There was such an underlying unease as things went along and the writing had a lot to do with that. It definitely kept me turning the pages to find out what was going to happen. I know some reviewers said they figured the twist out but I didn’t figure out the first twist. Once that was out of the bag, I figured the second one out pretty quickly.

Unfortunately, the characters really bothered me. Darcy was hard to connect with. Alex was horrible and Lucy well was Lucy. I knew I should be rooting for Darcy but I found myself rolling my eyes at her. The ladies from the antenatal group were pretty cool. I liked a couple of them a lot. The action at the end was a bit over the top and the thing (don’t want to spoil anything) with the cop wasn’t necessary to the story. I felt a tad let down when I got to the last page.

All in all if you’re looking for a book a long the lines of Freida McFadden that is an easy, quick read this would be a good one. I give it a solid three stars. Thank you to Joffe Books and NetGalley for the Arc.

Twisted, chilling and terrifying at times. The characters are unlikeable but the plot omg I love it. It keeps you on your toes sensing danger but not knowing when it will come. I could feel the darkness and it gave me chills.

Darcy and her fiance Alex have just moved to start a new life and look forward to the arrival of their first baby. When Darcy convinced by Alex to join the antenatal clinic as a great way to meet and make new friends she hoped that at last she would fit in. She had always wanted someone that she could have a good old moan about her partner if needed.
Things are alright at the start but Darcy's past soon begins to catch up with her and threatens everything that she ever wanted.
A fantastic book that I soon read. Hoping this story will continue with another book.

Wow, this book was a non stop thrill ride. It was full of twists and turns. I really enjoyed reading it! I will definitely be recommending this to all my fellow book club readers and friends. A+++++

This was an enjoyable read that was twisty, dark and at times quite chilling. I thought the writing was good, the pacing was perfect and the characters were well developed. I will definitely be looking for more by the author

The Baby Group by Jade Lee Wright is a psychological thriller that explores the darker side of pregnancy, postpartum and motherhood. When a new mom joins a local antenatal group, she hopes to find support and friendship - but what she finds instead is deceit, manipulation, and danger lurking behind smiling faces. Unfortunately I was able to predict the twists with great accuracy prior to them being revealed so for that reason I am giving the book a lower rating despite being entertaining. I would recommend this book to fans of domestic suspense and mother’s who enjoy reminiscing about this particular season of life.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. The Baby Group is set for publication July 31, 2025.

The Baby Group started out with all the makings of a chilling, twisty domestic thriller — a pregnant woman, isolated in a new town, trying to find connection while suspecting danger lurks behind friendly faces. I was hooked early on. The setting (a quiet Cornish coast), the creeping sense of paranoia, and the dynamics between the six soon-to-be mothers promised a juicy, suspenseful ride.

For the first half, it delivered. The tension built slowly but effectively, and I enjoyed the unsettling clues that something wasn’t quite right — especially around Lucy, and I was ready for a big, shocking payoff.

Unfortunately, the second half didn’t live up to the setup. As the plot progressed, it started to spiral into melodrama and implausibility. Characters made baffling choices, and the twists — instead of being clever or satisfying — felt forced and over-the-top. By the time the final reveal came, I found myself more frustrated than thrilled.

I really wanted to love this book. The premise was strong, and the early tension was genuinely gripping. But somewhere along the way, it lost its focus and became too chaotic to enjoy. Still, for fans of twisty thrillers who don’t mind a bit of messiness, it might be worth a read.

Many thanks to netgalley, the author and Joffe books for approving my request to read this book.

I absolutely loved this deliciously dark, twisty psychological thriller which had me hooked from the first page to the very last.

This book is so well crafted with a tight, suspenseful plot that racks up the tension perfectly with each chapter and I really enjoyed the twists, some of them I definitely didn't see coming.

I highly recommend this book if you enjoy this genre, you will not be disappointed!

FANTASTIC!
This book was unputdownable from the very first page! It held my attention throughout & what a PHENOMENAL twist at the very end! Amazing!

Nail biting edge of your seat thriller you will not want to put this book down until you have finished the last page which is what I did because it was just that good

This book deserves all of the stars. I was sucked in from the first page and didn't come up for air until the last page was read. The twists and turns in this book were well executed and I had to remind myself that this was a fictional story! Congrats on a great debut!

Darcy and her fiancé Alex are looking for a fresh start when they move to the seaside town of Rock, preparing to get ready for their first child together. Joining an antenatal class seems like a good way to make new local friends going through the same experience and while Darcy struggles to connect with the women, she can't help let past insecurities and paranoia get in the way.

This was a very fun, gripping and well-paced thriller that sucked me right in from the start! It definitely helped (in some ways) that I'm currently 36 weeks pregnant and very familiar with a lot of the things Darcy is going through in this book, and could empathise a lot with the way she second guessed her own mind at times and hormones as yes sometimes pregnancy can make you think some crazy things. Darcy is an insecure person and it really highlights the fractures in her relationships with people from Alex to Carmen and Lucy.It can be hard to read at times especially when Darcy's insecurities makes her internally judge the other women in different ways.

As the story progresses and the pregnancies get bigger (and babies begin to arrive) we see shifts in relationship dynamics and personalities and tensions really rise up. I would have loved even more in some of the ways we see Darcy spiraling about things from the wedding dress to the attempted break-in - would love for subtle things like this to have happened from the start of the book versus the last part.

As for the last part which included the birth and subsequent events, I was literally gripped - I told myself I was going to read only to a certain part and then I'd go to sleep but I could not put the book down until I'd finished it. The scenes were so visceral and written so well. I do think afterwards, maybe because this part was so tense, the pace slowed down a bit ahead of the story wrapping up but I still enjoyed the ending. And the epilogue left me like !!