An realistic interpretation of what a dysfunctional family goes through when their child is taken away from them by Social Services When they have been accused of hurting their child. The distress of it all and how the system works. It also delves into the lives of the three characters Sally, Richard and Martha. The story keeps you guessing who actually hurt Oliver. Although I read this book quite quickly I couldn't put it down and I didnt see the twist coming at the end.

Hush Little Baby is a chilling tale of how you can so quickly lose control of a situation and how everything you try to do seems to make it worse. Who hasn't made a throwaway comment or posted online about how they'd kill for a bit of sleep... and who out there hasn't said that kind of thing without even thinking of how it could be interpreted if something bad happens? Not many of us, I bet.

Sally and Richard's nightmare begins when baby Oliver is found to have a badly broken arm and the spotlight turns onto them while the police and social services try to determine how the injury occurred, and whether or not he is safe to return to them. Sally has been on her first night out since having Oliver, and Richard has snuck out somewhere and left his teenage daughter from his first marriage 'minding' the baby. However Richard chooses to lie to both Sally and the police about his whereabouts, thus making us wonder where he was, and what he was up to?

Richard's daughter Martha has a difficult relationship with Sally, the woman her Dad left her Mum for, and suddenly discovers that she has her own escalating situation to deal with, all the time covering up for her Dad – was she involved in Oliver's injury? Sally's case is not helped by the fact that she's hungover, stinks of booze and has had only a few hours sleep when they are interviewed by the hospital and police personnel.

This is a fast paced read, and it's scary how fast things happen and at the same time, frustrating how the red-tape means that absolutely nothing happens for ages. Baby Oliver is removed to a 'place of safety' and yet then weeks pass before any further action is taken. Sally and Richard are going out of their minds, and also are facing the cracks in their own relationship; has Richard been unfaithful to Sally as he was with her? Is he planning on leaving? What happened in those drunken moments that Sally can't remember? Was Martha involved? What was she doing in the house that night? There are so many questions to be answered, and this book really keeps you on the edge of your seat – right until the very last chapter.

Hush Little Baby was such a brilliant read, I found it hard to put my kindle down! really enjoyed it.

This story tackles the huge child protection issues that face everyone who works with children. A baby is injured and the parents are accused. I gave it 3 stars but only just. I felt that it was rather flat and single dimensional. It raised other parenting issues but only tangentially. I am interested in the development of child protection services having worked in the NHS children's services for many years but I found it a little difficult to believe in the behaviours of the main characters. The loneliness of a new parent and the development of new friendship groups was another theme but it too felt thin and under developed. I would only recommend this book with reservations.

I always like books with a story told from multiple perspectives and this was no exception -outlining well the effect of a child's non accidental injury on a family; all of whom have a secret to hide.
However, I only feel able to give it 3 stars as I wasn't convinced by Richard's need to confess to the crime and there seemed to be so many issues covered - child abuse, post natal depression, anxiety, OCD, cutting, eating disorders, drug abuse, alcoholism, internet porn, adultery to name a few- that I felt in the end it was almost like a catalogue of conditions.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Sally and Richard live with their small baby son and tichard's daughter. One night baby Oliver is injured but all 3 claim they never hurt him. The story unfolds over their three points of view and follows their ups and downs, pain, hurt and distress. It started slowly for me and before I knew it I was finished. If you love Jodi Picoult then you will enjoy this

A well written, pacy book with an excellent twist in the tail. Presented from three different viewpoints, this is an emotionally charged novel exploring very real issues amidst the harsh realities of modern day parenting,

I found the pace changed half way through the book

Told from the viewpoint of Sally, Richard her husband and Martha her step daughter. Sally comes home from a rare night out to discover her baby Oliver is unwell. When they take him to hospital he is put on child protection register due to his broken arm. Right at the end we discover the truth, which was unexpected. A really good read.

An unsettling subject to read about, but the characters and plot development are excellent. A bit of a slow burner, but it cranks up chapter by chapter. I love a book that throws you off the trail like a rodeo bull. I spent several chapters liking some characters, but then disliking them intensely. Flawed people, realistically written. The mother in law is pure genius. A worthy read.

Excellent relevant story. I found it interesting and scary at the same time.

I would like to thank Penguin Random House UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Hush Little Baby’ by Joanna Barnard in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Sally leaves baby Oliver at home with husband Richard and step-daughter Martha while she meets work colleagues for an evening out. On her return home Sally finds Oliver screaming in pain and when they rush him to hospital the doctor says his arm has been broken. Social workers and the police become involved and Oliver is removed from their care.
Is Sally responsible for harming Oliver, could it be Richard, or even Martha?
This story is about a mother’s fear that something or someone has caused harm to her child and is written with empathy and sensitivity. The true account of that evening becomes apparent but not until the last page of the book.

A rather clever book focusing on the dynamics of a very dysfuctional family. Richard had an affair with Sally while he was married with Zoe, he then left Zoe to marry Sally. Martha is the daughter of Zoe and Richard and now lives with Sally and Richard. She has serious problems involving self harming and she is friendly with a drug dealer. Sally and Richard have a 10 months old baby called Oliver who one night was found in his cot with a broken arm.

The baby is then taken away by social services while they try to understand what happened and if the baby is at risk. Baby Oliver goes and live with Richard's mother, another strange and quite unsavoury character.

I liked this novel, not a thriller as such and not even a domestic noir. There is not that sense of ongoing danger that you find in your typical thriller. The dirty deed happens at the beginning of the book and the rest of the book is about the psychology of the characters and how they interact with each other. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading this book, I thought it was rather good and the characters were interesting with a mixture of deep flaws and redeeming qualities.

An absolute gem of a read. The emotional complexities of a new mother are dealt with so beautifully. A very good read indeed!

An easy read with different perspectives that really makes you think. When baby Oliver breaks his arm, who if anyone is to blame? I enjoyed the different sides to the story, and it really does make you aware that any comments can be taken in so many different ways.

A tense story that takes right to the very end for the truth to come out. Excellent !

Baby Oliver is found with a broken arm in his cot but nobody will say what actually happened and what caused it. Told from the point of view of the mother, father & the teenage half-sister. Naturally, social services get involved. Each family member has something to hide, which is revealed bit by bit, layer by layer during the book. Disturbing subject matter, making for a difficult read. One however to recommend. My thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book it was very well written, it grabbed me and kept my interest. It is a great read.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publishers. What a thought provoking book and it makes you think how different people see different things and the book had a great twist

First I just want to specify that there will be no spoilers in my review, so read at will!

Thanks go to NetGalley for facilitating, and to Ebury Press for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a review. And finally, a thank you to Joanna Barnard for this very honest and frankly terrifying read.

Before I start with the actual book (characters, plot etc) I'd like to start with the author because something I read in the bio at the start of this book has kept coming back to me throughout. That is that Joanna works as a counsellor. Firstly, what a fantastic calling - it's something that I have wanted to train in for quite a long time and once my little ones are not-so-little I intend to follow that path. But what is more interesting is that as I was reading the book I was continuously throwing my hands up saying "Yes!" or "Exactly!" - Joanna has taken her skills outside of her work as a writer and ploughed them into this book. of course I didn't relate to the entire story but the feelings that were felt by the main character in places were so true that they could have been mine - the things she said... my words... verbatim. That in itself is something that I guess a lot of writers do because they research their subjects fully, but this was more than research - this was the counsellor within Joanna Barnard coming out and empathising with her character, and speaking my mind perfectly. So instantly I connected with the book and our leading lady, Sally.

I was so on the fence about reading this book. I have a 2 year old daughter and am 9 weeks away from my due date with Baby number 2... and am very hormonal. So I've found that any news articles, fictional stories, films, ANYTHING that relates to a child in distress seems to set me off. Even reading a headline without delving into any details can make me cry for days on end. So I sat staring at this book on my Netgalley dash for a few days before requesting it. And then it was a couple of days before I had the courage to read it.

The story line - as expected from the synopsis - was absolutely horrifying... Although I was so relieved that the focus was mainly on Sally, Richard, and his Daughter, Martha, and how Baby Ollie's injury affected them, Reading the short paragraphs describing his distress at wanting to be with his mummy though... those completely broke me. And Sally's emotions were so raw and so real that I could feel them radiating from the pages.

Obviously, as a woman and a mother, I related to Sally more than the other main characters. Things she said about seeing danger everywhere - in particular the stairs - EXACTLY how I felt with my newborn daughter.
Eating disorders are also highlighted within this book and again, how accurate "If you do tell them, knock off a few pounds" - scarily this is exactly how that type of illness works and I was quite stunned that Joanna Barnard had not only managed to capture my emotions as a new mother, but also in my younger years when I struggled with my eating habits, those thoughts were not some that I thought were shared by many... but perhaps this book has highlighted how normal my feelings were in the first place. Either way, it was such a relief to be reading those words. And later, touching on social anxiety "...even the postman, dropping off a parcel, can send me into spasms of worry" - once again, something that I was unaware was a shared feeling has been printed on the page as a reassurance that "you're not alone". So as much as I was nervous about reading this book, and it did cause me some tears, it was also hugely comforting to read and be able to relate so much to the characters.

There are so many plots and sub plots running through this book that you cannot fail to be entertained by it. Every chapter brought a new twist with it that kept me reading "just one more page" ... until of course I finished the book in one sitting because I couldn't stop. So if you're reading this review and thinking the book is simply about an injured child (simply indeed - HA!), then you are in for a pleasant surprise because the book is far far more complex than I can even explain. And to be honest I don't want to try to explain it, the mystery and the tangled web is what keeps you reading and I wouldn't want anyone to go into it with more information than I did in case it lessens their experience. Just... trust me - it is not something you want to miss!

I don't know where in my review to place this next part, it doesn't really fit in anywhere and isn't relevant to a general book review at all... but I have to say it because it was a part of the book that seriously choked me up. Probably the most genuinely loving moment I've read about in a long time (because we all know that actual love is not flowers or romantic getaways, or candles leading you up the stairs - actual love is something else entirely). SO without giving away the moment (I did say spoiler-free), but to anyone who has read this book, and to Joanna Barnard herself... that moment between Richard and Sally in the garden - where she is trying to tidy it up - the way he deals with that situation is the epitome of love and it gave me such a rush of emotion to read it. Beautiful beautiful moment, perfectly written with such simplicity, and my favourite paragraph in the whole book. I couldn't leave my review without saying that because it deserves to be highlighted.