I went into The Baby with really no expectations, as this was my first A.J. McDine book, but wow! I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the audiobook the entire way through. The beginning obviously grabs you right away. I mean, what would you do if you woke up to a baby in your drawer?! I found myself really enjoying Lucy Quinn in her journey of finding where this baby belongs, and also her own journey of self discovery along the way. The Baby takes you through all of the emotions from confused to devastated to happy to confused again to “good for her!” If you’re a fan of Lisa Jewell, John Marrs, or Catherine Ryan Howard, read The Baby! I will definitely be picking up more books from A.J. McDine as well!

What would you do if you woke up after a night of drinking to find a baby in your house? You can’t go to the police with no memory of how you got the baby. What if you kidnapped it?
This book was gripping, suspenseful, shocking and twisty. There were many points where I was certain there were plot holes and coincidences that could never be explained in a believable way. And yet, I was delightfully proven wrong again and again.
The main character is flawed yet lovable and relatable. Her back story is told in an interesting series of flashbacks that are not confusing to the timeline but cleverly allow the reader to slowly put the pieces of the puzzle together.
The plot moves at a good pace, even up to the last minute.

What an addictive, brilliant and absolutely suspenseful thriller! I couldn’t put this one down! This story was super fast-paced and entertaining. The suspense made for a compelling plot, and the ending gives the reader more intriguing revelations and twists that you don’t see coming. This one is for the thriller lovers out there.

The harsh light streams into the living room. On the worn rug sits an out-of-place wooden drawer and swaddled inside, with rosy cheeks and large round eyes, a baby looks up at me. A shiver runs through me. It’s all I’ve ever wanted, but this baby is not mine…. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🎧 Audiobook is available and an absolutely fabulous narration by Tamsin Kennard

🛑There are trigger warnings- fertility, alcoholism, baby loss



Thank you to Bookature, A.J. McDine and Netgally for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on April 23, 2024. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

This is an excellent domestic thriller with some excellent twists! I couldn't stop listening to this and will definitely check out more by the author, I also liked the narrator which is always a bonus! I will look out for books by the author in the future and would round this up to 4.5 . Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a chance to read and review this arc.

The Baby is a gripping (and highly bingeable) domestic thriller, with a satisfying twisty ending.

Lucy is prone to drinking heavily, and frequent blackouts. One morning she wakes to find a baby in her house, with no recollection of the night before. Desparate for a child, Lucy struggles to solve the mystery of the baby's origin.

I love a good domestic thriller, and while this is the first I have read of McDine's books, it won't be the last. It had a similar feel to Girl on the Train, with an unreliable narrator and a mystery which comes together by threads. Lucy's character development was so subtle that I was shocked to find my feelings towards her change throughout the book. I did pick the ending by about halfway throughout the book, but still thoroughly enjoyed seeing how the different events came to be.

The suspense built well - I listened to this book in a day, and I loved the fast pace. The narration was excellent - the characters were easily discriminated, felt authentic, and I was quickly immersed in the story.

Thank you Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

Wow i was throw straight into this gripping domestic thriller. The premise you wake up can't remember the night before but there is now a baby with you.
It was a binge high quality listen. The pov and character arc pf her rediscovering the truth about her past and now it skilfully fitted into her presand future. The narration was really good and i was sad i didnt have the time to finish it on one setting. Its a true masterpiece that tugs at the heartstrings. The premise is a hook for anyone as its so many questions who is the baby how did it get there and why cant she remember..
Hooked on every word and blown away through all the twists and turns. The final reveal was out of this world. Wish there was a sequel.
Thank yoy so much netgallery and publisher and author and narrator for this highly recommended 5 star listen

Thank you, NetGalley, Bookouture, and A.J. McDine for early access to the audiobook version of The Baby!

The Baby follows Lucy, the wife of a man who spends weeks away working on an oil rig. One day while he is away, she wakes up to the baby in her home. The problem is Lucy doesn't have a baby! Lucy has no recollection of the night before. She goes back and forth about going to the police: part of her is worried about what she did during the time she can't remember, and the other half of her desires to finally live out her dream of being a mother. But her fantasy comes crashing down when Miles returns home from the rig.

I always enjoy a good domestic thriller, and The Baby did not disappoint! It was a good mix between The Girl on the Train and The Couple Next Door, but much more fast-paced! I admittedly found many of the plot twists predictable. I think only one twist actually shocked me, but the interesting storyline and fast pacing kept me engaged, so I still really enjoyed this novel. Highly recommend this novel to anyone who is a big fan of the domestic thriller genre.

Bonus point for mentioning Kurds :)

The Baby by A. J. McDine


Narration was well done by Tamsin Kennard

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the ARC audiobook of The Baby

An addictive, fast paced psychological thriller that I enjoyed. Thought it was well written and the ending was satisfying. Lucy wakes one morning with a massive hangover and finds a baby looking up at her from a wooden drawer. Lucy and her husband Miles have no children. The less said about this the better so no spoilers are spilled.

This is my first book by this author and look forward to reading more from her. She writes dark, domestic thrillers about ordinary people in extraordinary situations.

Audiobook Title: The Baby
Author: A.J. McDine
Genre: Domestic Thriller
Format: 🎧
Audiobook Narrator: Tamsin Kennard
Publisher: Bookouture Audio
Pub Date: April 23. 2024
Star Rating: 3.5
Pages: 318

Lucy and re Miles are married with no children. . Lucy was pregnant once but a fall down the stairs resulted in a miscarriage as well as no longer being able to have children.
Lucy is lonely as Miles is an engineer and works on an oil rig which is a distance so work full time there for two weeks and then is back home. Lucy drinks too much while he is away. Years One morning Lucy wakes up from a night of heavy drinking and she finds a baby boy in her living room. She can’t remember anything. She has no idea if she committed a crime- did she steal the baby - as she has always wanted a child- or did she take the baby to protect him?

Lucy is a mess and I immediately didn’t like Miles as soon as he was introduced into the story,

This story got my attention and the reviews were fantastic.
I love a good audiobook and I like Tamsin Kennard the narrator. But. . . .I have a low tolerance for profanity- I hung in there and although the nasty language took away some of my enjoyment - the story was good! The ending was a surprise!

A.J. McDine] is new to me. So I checked her bio - She lives in Kent, UK, She is married to A.J. Willis, who is also a psychological thriller author, They have two sons, Oliver and Thomas, and three very demanding cats. She writes dark, domestic thrillers about ordinary people in extraordinary situations. When she’s not writing, playing tennis or attempting to run a 5k, she can usually be found people-watching in her favorite café.

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for granting me this early audio Galley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for April 23, 2024.

An infertile woman wakes up with a baby after a night out at the bar and no idea where it came from. Does she keep it, does she go to the police, what about when people start to ask? Addicting, quick read but I must say I figured out what happened rather quickly. If you don’t pick it up I can see where this could be a crazy thriller but if you do it beomes a good read waiting to watch why and how they did it unfold. I would recommed. Narrator was wash to listen to.

This has already been posted to Goodreads.

I was instantly obsessed with this one. What would you do if you found a baby stranger in your house? I loved Lucy and I felt for her.
I do not want to reveal even a single secret but I will say that I instantly did not like Miles and I love stories where I hate the husband.

I love this narrator. She is quickly becoming my favorite. She did perfectly with this one.

If you love these british thrillers give this one a listen. You will love it.

AJ McDine's "The Baby" is a suspenseful page-turner that will have you glued to the pages. The narration is spot-on, keeping the pace perfectly balanced to draw you deeper into the mystery with each chapter.

The book excels at sparking curiosity. You'll find yourself constantly questioning what's happening and piecing together the puzzle alongside the protagonist. But unlike some thrillers that rely on outlandish twists to shock the reader, "The Baby" delivers a satisfying payoff that feels earned within the narrative.

This isn't a case of a twist thrown in just for the sake of surprise. McDine weaves clues and foreshadowing throughout, building towards a revelation that feels organic and genuinely shocking.

If you're looking for a well-paced, intriguing thriller with a well-executed twist, then "The Baby" is definitely worth adding to your reading list.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for advance copy

Absolutely addictive! I could not stop listening to this, the suspense, the pace, the twist, the tension, everything had me hooked! Looking into this authors other books now!
Thank you so much for the opportunity to listen and review!
4 stars from me!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for a pre-published copy of this book/audiobook.
This book has you on your toes at the top of a spiral staircase. Your hands become white knuckled holding the railings until you trip and fall and have an unexpected ending.

I became invested into this story and enjoyed all the twists and turns this book had to offer. The narration was amazing and I enjoyed the storyline given by AJ. I would read more of his books in a heartbeat.

At first you are lead to believe Lucy is "bloody mad" and has stollen a baby, but Wow halfway through, the call Tess makes! As a reader I was already suspicious of Miles for drugging Lucy. The story carries on and you find out all the big secrets that Miles has been hiding.

This was a captivating read. As a mother, I was so invested in this one. It's not hard to figure out who the villain is early on but it's impossible to predict all the twists and turns, because it will not be how you figured. HEA is subjective. Wild ride!

4⭐
Genre ~ domestic thriller
Setting ~ UK
Publication date ~ April 23, 2024
Page Count ~ 318 (65 chapters)
Audio length ~8 hours 5 minutes
Narrator ~ Tamsin Kennard
POV ~ single 1st, present tense
Featuring ~ manipulation, gaslighting, miscarriage, r@pe

Lucy often tips back the drink when she's on her own weeks on end while husband, Miles, is working on an oil rig. But this time she must've completely blacked out because somehow there's a baby just chilling in a drawer in the living room.

You can't help but be invested in finding out how this sweet boy got there and who he belongs to. As the story progressed I did figure it out, along with every other twist, but I still enjoyed listening to this unreliable narrator figure it out on her own. Boy was she unreliable though with her drinking as a coping mechanism, yet she's relatable and I felt bad for her.

Overall, this was a solid, fast paced read with a completely satisfying ending. My first experience with this author was a great one, so I'll for sure read her work again.

Narration notes:
Tamsin does a wonderful job, as usual.

Excellent narrator - flawless switching between characters.
This is an excellent whirlwind spin of a book - highly recommended

The Baby - written by A J McDine and narrated by Tamsin Kennard is stunning. Utterly stunning,

Tamsin Kennards narration is outstanding, from the lightest nuances to the darkest, through accents and personalities, her performance is off the charts. Brilliant

Lucy Quinn wakes up, she has blacked out again and she's not sure how. She's had a drinking problem for a long while but doesn't remember how much she had. The last thing she remembered was talking to an old friend in a hotel bar and now she is back at home, feeling rough as old rags and with a strange feeling that she is not alone.

Lucy is not alone. As she is trying to function, she hears a noise in her living room and when she ventures in there, there is a baby, snuggled in a fleece in the bottom drawer of the dresser and a black changing bag is hung on the chair. However, Lucy cannot have children.

Where did the baby come from? What happened? What will her husband Miles say?

The thing is, when Miles returns from the rig, he doesn't want Lucy to report the baby's whereabouts to the police. Miles wants to keep the baby and insists on calling him Max, not Ren as Lucy has called him since he arrived. Then a phone call from Lucy's friend Jess sets into motion a series of discoveries that changes Lucy's world exponentially.

As Lucy learns more and more and questions her sanity, a flashback spurred on by the smell of sage andonion stuffing blows her world apart and sets her mind to taking action, leading to a twist that blew my mind

A J McDine writes conversationally, in an engaging way, building the suspense and pace, weaving a web of deceit and lies, building a picture of discovery and reaction. Lucy is relatable, Miles is at once unlikable and a dark character and the sisters Shona and Rae have an endearing back story. Very well constructed and utterly compelling, a new favourite thriller author for my list

Thank you to Netgalley, Bookouture Audio, the author AJ McDine and narrator Tamsin Kennard for this outstanding ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

What do you mean this author has written loads of books? Where’ve I been? Plenty for the TBR list!

Wow! I was completely hooked. Which considering I’m struggling with concentration right now is really something. Fast paced, gripping, original and absolutely stunning work. A complete page turner.

Absolutely loved the narration aswell.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in return for an honest review.

This was a fast paced, entertaining popcorn thriller

Lucy wakes up from an alcoholic blackout and finds a baby in her house. She has no memory of the day before and no idea who the baby is!

Her husband is due back from working away, so Lucy quickly begins to investigate. Through her research, she begins to realize a lot about herself, and her marriage

The book is just over 300 pages, 8-hour audiobook and I sped through it so quickly! It was so gripping and I loved Lucy immediately. I loved how deeply and easily we got to know each character, and really appreciated how every word was there for a reason - no flowery descriptions or pointless pages like a lot of suspense books

Tamsin Kennard is a great narrator and new to me, though not a stranger to popcorn thrillers. Her accents are spot on and she definitely added to my enjoyment of the book

I’m usually triggered by gaslighting and there’s a lot in this book, but the pace was so fast, I had faith and kept going. There are a bunch of reveals and twists - some I thought obvious, but one was shocking!

I feel like I struck the popcorn thriller jackpot with both author and narrator and will be going through their backlog asap

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for access to this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review