This book takes the term “fast-paced” and ratchets it up a notch or two! The action starts on the first page, and never lets up. The multiple POV strategy carries you through the current police investigation and back to the weeks leading up to the moment in which Nicole thrusts her baby into a stranger’s arms, and then steps away. While I had figured out the culprit about halfway through, it did not affect my enjoyment of this book.

TW for suicide, postpartum depression and psychosis, and anxiety.

This debut novel from Samantha M. Bailey, Woman On the Edge, captures you right from the first page. What would you do if a woman you'd never seen before approached you at the train station, handed you their baby, and jumped to their death? This is Morgan's reality when Nicole, a well known CEO of a successful company, does just that. Morgan's life is in shambles after her husband committed suicide amid a huge scandal, leaving her with no money and no children. How can she prove she's innocent?

While I had figured out quite a bit of this from the beginning, it was still thrilling to continue reading and put together pieces I had missed. I liked the multiple POV between Morgan and Nicole, getting insight into both of their lives and what drove them to make the decisions they did. While the trope of 'mentally unstable woman goes crazy' is a little tired and overused, this book had a little more than that with other storylines tied in. This was a great debut novel from an author local to me and I'm excited to read more of her work!

I was so excited to finally get my hands on this one after all the hype! I definitely wasn’t disappointed! I sat down and read most of this short read in one sitting and found myself needing to know which person had tried to set up Nicole to think someone was after her. I loved all the twists and I really was rooting for Morgan and Ben to solve this crime! I adored this novel and would definitely recommend reading it if you haven’t already!

Woman on the Edge is a twisty thriller that is actually incredibly sad. This book kept me guessing until the last few pages! Our main character, Morgan, is kind of an idiot at times (she puts herself in some dangerous situations!) but she’s also very brave and selfless.

The chapters from Nicole’s perspective become more disorienting and sad as the book progresses. You can’t help but feel for her, and for sweet baby Quinn.

This is a quick read, perfect for devouring in a sitting or two. I would recommend having something light on hand as a follow up - although it’s a pretty standard thriller, it’s likely to leave the reader slightly emotional at the end.

I look forward to reading more from this author!

Thank you Simon & Schuster for the NetGalley ARC.

Really enjoyed the book!

I just wish the villains were given more depth. Tessa made sense, there felt like groundwork placed for her. She felt really clingy and too involved with Nicole. But Greg as a bad guy felt like an after thought. It's like Tessa said about it always being the husband, it was an easy out for him to also be bad. I would have loved to have had a chapter where it flashes back through all the evil stuff that happened, or at least shown how Greg was involved. He just up and leaves, which in and of itself was for sure bad for Nicole's mental stability, but even that isn't really emphasized.

Also personally not a fan of the added romance at the ends, it would have meant more if Morgan and Ben stayed friends or something. It could have been two people facing loss as friends and confidants, but this made it seem like they were only lonely for love, not connection. Again just my opinion as someone who doesn't love romance in thriller type books. Also some of the dialogue can be cheesy, but it's very sporadically so.

My favourite thing about the book was how well the perspective changed. I thought the length of chapters and content given in each chapter was really well done. One character was not overshadowing or more interesting than the other, there was equal investment and time put in them. While reading one chapter I wasn't just hoping to get back to the other story, there was enough excitement for me personally within both stories. Also I don't know if this was a conscious choice of the author or if I just wasn't super observant, but I really liked how there was minimal description. There was enough where I knew exactly what was happening and knew what different environments looked like, but flowery words weren't wasted on describing things I was gonna ignore anyways. For context, one thing I tend to ignore is character descriptions and use my own head canon in 99.99% of books (barring important factors), and here I didn't even know one of the girls had black hair until closer to the end.

In conclusion, definitely recommend this book and look forward to reading more from a fellow Torontonian.

Thank you @simonschusterca and @netgalley for a copy of Woman on the Edge by Samatha Bailey. This fast paced thriller is available November 26/19!

I’m going to preface this review with a few trigger warnings. Suicide, postpartum psychosis and anxiety as well as a few other baby related issues. Please feel free to DM for more information!

I can see how the Woman on the Edge has received so many good reviews. It is fast paced, starts right from the middle of the action and works out, but also has the viewpoint from the past so we see how everyone got to that point as well. That being said, this one did not work for me personally and I think it was the postpartum storyline again. I am still not able to read those in thrillers without remembering my own struggles and how those are still not 100% out of my life and that just does not allow me to connect or escape into the story. I just find myself skimming over them. And the other timeline was not enough to carry this book for me. I found Morgan to be unlikable and the storyline a bit jumpy.

But, like I said, there are many many great and amazing reviews for Woman on the Edge. So if postpartum storylines do not affect you in the same way, I highly recommend giving this one a chance. It was sadly just a miss for me,

It took me a little while to become invested in the plot and the characters but once I did I was hooked! This was a book that I could not put down and stayed up all night to finish. It was such an easy read with a fast paced storyline, that it kept me engaged and made for a compelling read.

The two main characters, Nicole and Morgan, live worlds apart but share the same emotional turmoil of their past which brings them together in a peculiar way. Bailey really dives deep into the two extremes of motherhood, one with a child and mentally ill with paranoia of not being able to take care of her, and the other childless and putting her life at risk to protect a baby that isn't hers. It shows what women would sacrifice to protect a baby that they believe to be in danger. And also, what others would do if that baby had a huge inheritance.

The mystery is how does Nicole know Morgan and how did she get to the point of suicide. I found the mystery to be exhilarating and constantly found myself unsure of who to trust. There seemed to be so many twist and turns that I never would have guessed the ending.

An utterly compelling and exhilarating quick read that will have you fighting to put the book down.

Ashlea at The BookCosy