Single White Female meets The Perfect Nanny in this taut, psychological suspense novel about a perfect couple and their seemingly perfect roommate—that is until she threatens to destroy everything they’ve worked so hard to create.
Marisa and Jake are a perfect couple, and Kate, their new lodger, is the perfect roommate–and not just because her rent payments will give them the income they need to start trying for a baby. Except no one is perfect. Sure, Kate doesn’t seem to care much about personal boundaries and can occasionally seem overly familiar with Jake, but Marisa doesn’t let it concern her. Kate will soon be gone, and it will just be her, Jake, and their future baby.
Conceiving a baby is easier said than done, though, and Jake and Marisa’s perfect relationship is put to the test through months of fertility treatments and false starts. To make matters worse, Kate’s boundary-pushing turns into an all-out obsession–with Jake, with Marisa, and with their future child. Who is this woman? Why does she seem to know everything about Marisa and Jake?
In her quest to find out who Kate really is, Marisa might destroy everything she’s worked so hard to create: her perfect romance, her perfect family, and her perfect self. Jake doesn’t know the half of what Marisa has created and what she stands to lose. Magpie is a tense and twisting novel about mothers and children, envy and possession, and the dangers of getting everything you’ve ever dreamed of.
Praise for Magpie:
‘A pacy, stylish thriller in which suspense is accompanied by fist-pumping feminism and, perhaps toughest of all, hope.’
THE OBSERVER
‘Pulse-quickening-tale’
STYLIST
‘Scintillating’
THE SUNDAY TIMES, THRILLER OF THE MONTH
‘A compassionately crafted psychological drama’
HARPERS BAZAAR
‘I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough’
PRIMA MAGAZINE
‘A genius twist that left me reeling’
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
‘Be prepared for a sleight-of-hand-twist that will leave you gasping’
RED MAGAZINE
‘Utterly engrossing’
REFINERY 29
‘Sharp and sinister’
MAIL ON SUNDAY
‘Impossible to put down’
DAILY MAIL
‘A rich plot that also delves into meaty topics’
GRAZIA
My Review:
It’s intense when you really want to have a baby, but there are hurdles to overcome. Whether those hurdles are physical, financial, about timing, or don’t fall into any of those categories, it can be hard for women to silence that biological clock that just keeps ticking. And many women, will stop at nothing until they hold their cherished newborn in their hands.
Jake and Marisa are expecting a baby, but have taken on a lodger, Kate, in order to make more money. It’s a bit peculiar to me. Having had three children, the last thing I can imagine wanting to do is to have someone I don’t know staying in the house to witness all the crazy. Not only that, but Kate kind of becomes a problem and Marisa is super confused about what to do.
This is really one of those books I can’t say too much about. But I can say that three’s a crowd and just wait until Jake’s mother gets involved….
Special thanks to Netgalley and and Simon and Schuster for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review.
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