The Surrogate Mother by Freida McFadden

Well, Freida, I must say you kept me up well past my bedtime! The suspense just wouldn’t quit. An absolute rollercoaster of a book, with suspicion shifting back and forth so many times it made my head snap. The Surrogate Mother begins with an opening sentence that wows. From there, author McFadden backtracks to the history behind the main character Abby’s horrific current circumstances.

A year ago, Abby’s life was perfect. A successful career, a loving husband, and a baby on the way. But when the pregnant woman whose baby they were supposed to adopt pulls out of the agreement, Abby, who is unable to have a child herself, suggests that her husband, Sam, use a surrogate. Enter Monica, her faithful work assistant, who is more than willing to provide them with the baby they desperately want. Things are perfect once again. Until they’re not.

As the pregnancy progresses, Abby becomes jealous of the bond that forms between Monica and Sam over the baby that shares their DNA. She convinces herself she is being paranoid with her feelings of being left out. But as the months go by, Abby questions whether using Monica as her surrogate was a wise choice. Does Monica want to keep the baby? Worse yet, does she want Sam? The plot intensifies with each chapter as Abby suspects Monica is not who she claimed to be and that Sam has been having an affair with her.

Abby’s concerns escalate as she wonders just how far Monica will go to take away from Abby what she wants to claim as her own. One shocking revelation after another makes for a pulse-pounding read. Twisty doesn’t even begin to describe this book. The fast-paced plot makes this an easy read for fans of psychological domestic thrillers where things aren’t what they appear to be.