Until You're Mine

Starred review from February 3, 2014
Terror lurks just below the surface in this excellent psychological thriller, the U.S. debut of British author Hayes (Someone Else's Son). Claudia Morgan-Brown, a Birmingham, Englandâbased social worker who's happily married and is the doting stepmother of four-year-old twin boys, finally has her lifelong wish: she's pregnant, and it's a girl. With her due date weeks away, Claudia needs a nanny; she doesn't want to give up her job, and her husband's work requires him to be at sea for weeks or even months at a time. Zoe Harper, the applicant Claudia hires, appears to be the perfect nanny, with glowing references and a way with children. But Claudia comes to distrust Zoe, who leaves the house at odd hours and has blood stains on her clothes. Meanwhile, Det. Insp. Lorraine Fisher and her fellow police detective husband are investigating vicious attacks on pregnant women. A sense of menace grows as the point-of-view shifts among Claudia, Zoe, and Lorraine. The twisty plot builds to a surprising and unnerving finale. Agent: Oli Munson, A.M. Heath (U.K.).

February 1, 2014

In British author Hayes's (Tell Tale; Someone Else's Son) wonderfully creepy thriller, a serial killer is targeting pregnant women and no one can understand why. The only clues lie in the killings themselves--pregnant bellies slit open, the mother left to perish--leaving the police to believe the killer wants a baby. Through the use of three female narrators--Claudia, the happily married, pregnant social worker; her nanny Zoe; and Lorraine, the harried detective and mother of two teen girls--Hayes not only delivers a splendid mystery, she offers insights into the inner lives of today's women and mothers in particular. Society's idea of a woman being able to "do it all" makes Lorraine barely able to hold anything together, from her investigation of the murders to raising her daughters. Claudia is in the final days of her pregnancy and worries about how motherhood will affect her life. And Zoe is obsessed with getting pregnant and becoming a mother--or is she? VERDICT Readers will find it hard to put this title down. A well-written, compelling plot, great characters, and a feminist viewpoint all add up to a satisfying read.--Marianne Fitzgerald, Severna Park H.S., MD

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2014
Social-worker Claudia Morgan-Brown has just surrendered to necessity and hired Zoe Harper to care for her stepsons and help her slog through her third trimester of pregnancy while her husband is away on British naval maneuvers. Although Zoe's references are excellent, Claudia has a disturbing feeling that Zoe's hiding something dangerous. Can she trust her instincts, or are pregnancy hormones making her paranoid? When Claudia is visited by Birmingham detectives investigating two brutal attacks on pregnant women, the doubts about Zoe turn to fear. One of the victims is on Claudia's child-welfare unit's caseload, and the detectives clearly believe that Claudia's pregnancy could make her the killer's next target. After the visit, DI Lorraine Fisher becomes convinced the attacks are linked to Claudia and Zoe, and she circles them both, determined to expose the connection. Hayes manipulates the contradictions in Claudia's, Zoe's, and Lorraine's narratives to thrilling effect while weaving in a creepy-to-beautiful spectrum of maternal love. Skillfully plotted, with several red herrings that make the satisfyingly twisted conclusion even more of a surprise.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)