A great mystery/suspense novel about adoption, the deep love of a mother...no matter if she gave birth to the child or not, and it's a story about trusting those we know and love. It will keep you guessing as to what really happened, and the "who" behind it! ( )

So many complications in this adoption story---and so cleverly handled by Baart as she leads the reader through all the possible ramifications that can happen with such an unusual mystery mixed into it all. Wonderful book to read about so many issues that can arise in adoption and as Baart explains...she, too, is a mother of adopted children. ( )

This book started out with promise. At first, I liked the characters and I liked the mystery that it began with. I should mention that I listened to the audiobook. I'm not sure if it would have made much of a difference if I'd read it instead. By about half-way through I found I was skipping ahead a lot. I was drowning in the interminable minutiae about Jess's family life, and I was getting tired of all the parenting details, and tired of her misbehaved children. About half-way through I had figured out most of the underlying plot, but then it took forever to get to the reveal, and then even that was drawn out. I was mightily sick of Jess by then as well, as she just didn't seem to make a decision and stick with it, let alone do anything or pursue anything to try to find out what happened to her husband. It was so frustrating. And the cops were totally out to lunch throughout. I don't think that in the real world, the police would take things at face value, and not even attempt to try to figure out what actually happened after a crime has been committed. I did finish the book, so I have given it 2 stars. I still think that the premise of the book was a good one. It touched on the world of adoption and it's many pitfalls and uncertainties. That topic is an important one, and in the hands of a better writer, the topic could have had much more of an impact. For me, I was glad to finally get to the end. ( )

This book!! I had high hopes for this one and it did not disappoint! It was my first Nicole Baart and it won’t be my last. I was hooked from the beginning and it was completely engrossing. I love that it focused on the issue of adoption but it was so much more than that. I loved the mystery about Jessica’s husband and it kept me guessing until the very end. The characters were incredibly detailed and I felt like I could totally connect with what they were going though on this journey of what makes a family and who the people around you really are...Thanks to Netgalley and Atria for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )

4.5 stars. ( )