Baby Dear by @LindaHuber19 #Psychological #Thriller @Bloodhoundbook #BlogTour

Author: Linda Huber
Published: May 2017 by Bloodhound Books
Category: Psychological, Thriller, Crime, Book Review, Reading, Blog Tour

Caro and Jeff Horne seem to have it all until they learn that Jeff is infertile. Caro married Jeff because her biggest wish was to be a mother, and he had the means to give their children a better life than she’d had. Jeff, who is besotted with Caro, is terrified he will lose her now they can’t have a baby.

Caroline and Jeff Horne desperately want a baby. After a round of fertility tests it transpires Jeff is infertile and their only other choice would be IVF. Jeff immediately dismisses that option and Caroline’s world is shattered. All she wanted was a baby – and it seems Jeff may now be surplus to requirements.

Sharon and Craig Morrison planned to have a family sometime in the future but after a mishap with her contraceptive pill Sharon finds herself pregnant, disgruntled and frightened. After her initial struggles to accept the situation Sharon is getting more used to the idea, anticipating holding her baby. She’s still anxious about the future, more so because it’s obvious Craig is not looking forward to the changes a baby will undoubtedly bring to their lives.

Julie Mayhew is a librarian and a single mother of two. Her circumstances aren’t ideal but her children are everything to her. By chance, she and Sharon strike up a friendship one day which becomes a lifeline for Sharon in the wake of her husband’s inability to accept impending parenthood.

Blinking back tears, Sharon trailed into the kitchen to put the kettle on. Afternoon tea for one, and it would be dinner for one too. Craig had gone to Glasgow for an Opticians Association dinner, and normally she’d have gone with him, wearing a lovely evening dress and feeling glamorous beside her tall Mr Darcy-lookalike husband. Glamorous! That was a bad joke these days, when she barely managed half an hour without rushing to the loo. Posh dinners and networking with Craig’s colleagues was beyond her, so he’d gone without her – but that was typical of their marriage these days.

Three women, initially strangers, all connected by one man’s dangerous infatuation and obsession.

Linda Huber weaves a tangled tale of emotions and drama. The prologue is an immediate and horrific hook. Told in the third person from the perspectives of the individuals, the narrative lets the reader into the minds of each one. A small but diverse set of characters, most of them unlikable. Caro, too self-absorbed and not interested in how Jeff feels, she’s stuck in her ‘poor me’ syndrome despite everything else Jeff has provided for her. Jeff is tormented by Caro’s indifference towards him and refusal to talk about their problem. It was fascinating and alarming to witness the distortion of reality as delusions and mental instability spiral out of control and impact on everyone’s lives, ending in tragedy.

Julie is the steadying presence, the best of them all and the person I felt the most sympathy with. I was rooting for her to find her happy ever after.

Infertility is an emotive subject and I can image how devastating it would be for a couple who desperately want children to learn they were unable to conceive. But what extremes would someone go to, to have the family they so badly want.

I chose to read and review Baby Dear based on an advance reader copy supplied by the author/publisher.

My thanks to Bloodhound Books and Sarah Hardy.

Book links ~ Amazon UK | Amazon US

About Linda Huber

Linda Huber grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, where she trained as a physiotherapist. She spent ten years working with neurological patients, firstly in Glasgow and then in Switzerland. During this time she learned that different people have different ways of dealing with stressful events in their lives, and this knowledge still helps her today, in her writing.

Linda now lives in Switzerland, where she works as a language teacher in a little town on the banks of beautiful Lake Constance.

Her debut novel The Paradise Trees was published in 2013 and was followed by The Cold Cold Sea in 2014 and The Attic Room in 2015. she has also had over 50 short stories and articles published in magazines.

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