The story is told in three parts through three narratives: Stephanie, Emily, and Emily’s husband, Sean. Because of this, the story goes back and forth, re-telling parts of the story to reveal the truth behind certain scenes and character’s actions, transforming a straightforward and simple plot into one more layered and twisted.

It is a story about lies and manipulation, led by two very different characters: Emily is powerful and confidence, whilst Stephanie is weak and pathetic. They both have secrets in their pasts, but they’ve obviously dealt with their situations in very different ways. But because their characters are such polar opposites, neither are really likeable. Emily is deceptive and uses Stephanie to her advantage, whilst Stephanie is a complete pushover. And neither of them redeem themselves in the end, so it’s difficult to be engaged by their actions.

The main twist is an obvious one but I still didn’t see it coming, so the plot is developed quite well. However, it doesn’t stand out from other female-led thrillers and it all goes downhill after things are explained. After more weird twists and a lack of a decent conclusion, it seems like the plot spent more time trying to shock than make the characters worth rooting for.

But what I did like about the story is the three different perspectives on motherhood. Stephanie talks about how it changes you as a person, the lack of sleep, and the loneliness. She also discusses the division between working moms and stay-at-home moms, which will always be a heightened debate between mothers. Emily then talks about the love that she felt for Nicky when he was born: the shock, the sentiment. And then finally, Sean talks about how Emily fell in love with Nicky and out of love with him. He shows a man’s side to parenting that is often missed out on. He talks about how he misses the warmth, affection, and mutual respect with his wife.

All three perspectives are very relatable and so interesting to see being explored, but it’s such a shame that these conversations are so sparse and only used to get to know the characters a little better before the story gets back to the less interesting mystery. If these conversations around ‘honest parenting’ were more frequent and linked into the story better than this would definitely have given the book a unique standpoint. Unfortunately, the characters just don’t have that much depth to them in the end.