This twisty thriller had me guessing all the way through. Just when I thought I had it figured out another curveball was thrown at me. The first few pages show us that two people have been found dead in a young couple's house. The rest of this tense novel consists of puzzle pieces that the reader must put together.
Kat and Nick are a young married couple that want a baby. Unable to conceive, they try to adopt, and it falls through two different times. Heartbroken, Kat is desperate for a baby. Enter Kat's old friend Lisa. The reader finds out that they were friends all growing up but haven't spoken for ten years. After they rekindle their friendship, Lisa offers to be a surrogate for Kat and Nick.
We also learn that both Kat and Nick have come from hazy backgrounds of trauma that only become clearer in increments. Kat's distress over her childlessness ratchets up when she becomes suspicious of Lisa's motives. Lisa keeps asking for more and more money. Lisa keeps making excuses for Kat not to come for the scans. When Lisa presents Kat with an audio of the fetus's heartbeat, Kat finds what seems to be the very same audio on YouTube. Kat is never able to actually feel the baby kicking. The reader is left to wonder: can we see everything coming? The answer is a resounding no. At least for this reader.
Each character's motives come into question, and everyone has something to hide. Confessions abound and one is still left to wonder: Is this a story of revenge or of complicated delusions? Many scenes in the book all have some kind of backstory that eventually point to the Butterfly effect. The plot's tangle of past, present, and future, make for an entertaining and engaging read.
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