The birds in the morning don't sing anymore: LITTLE DISASTERS.

Little Disasters by Sarah Vaughan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A compelling and emotional thriller about motherhood

Liz and Jess have been friends since they met in a prenatal group over ten years ago. So Liz, a doctor in a pediatrics hospital ward, is of course anxious when Jess brings her youngest daughter, baby Betsey, in with a head injury. But the worry turns to further concern when Betsey's injury appears suspicious and Jess's explanations of how it occurred are insufficient. The incident in the ward sets off a series of events that will change the two women's friendship--and lives--forever.

"A voice singsongs in her head, like a child desperate for attention--You're a bad, bad mother--and she tries to shove it away."

Vaughan gives us an excellent read here--powerful, sad, and real, covering a variety of serious topics that are not always discussed. Child abuse, postpartum depression, martial strife: it's all here, in a heartbreaking novel that is, surprisingly, a compelling thriller that keeps you guessing until the last page. Little Disasters is captivating, offering us front row seats into family tragedy and strife. Secrets are uncovered as the pages turn--not only for Jess and her husband, Ed--but also for Liz, as we learn more about her past and her own troubled mother, who had a dark history as well.

Vaughan expertly weaves the past and present together, giving us a taunt and compelling narrative, part mystery, part insight into relationships and motherhood. This wasn't always easy to read, given the difficult subjects, yet I found myself desperately wanting to know what happened to Betsey and what would become of the two women. Overall, this is a well-done thriller and enjoyable in its original plot and emotional realism. 4 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Atria/Emily Bestler Books and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.

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