Until You're Mine: A Novel
Social-worker Claudia Morgan-Brown has just surrendered to necessity and hired Zoe Harper to care for her stepsons and help her slog through her third trimester of pregnancy while her husband is away on British naval maneuvers. Although Zoe’s references are excellent, Claudia has a disturbing feeling that Zoe’s hiding something dangerous. Can she trust her instincts, or are pregnancy hormones making her paranoid? When Claudia is visited by Birmingham detectives investigating two brutal attacks on pregnant women, the doubts about Zoe turn to fear. One of the victims is on Claudia’s child-welfare unit’s caseload, and the detectives clearly believe that Claudia’s pregnancy could make her the killer’s next target. After the visit, DI Lorraine Fisher becomes convinced the attacks are linked to Claudia and Zoe, and she circles them both, determined to expose the connection. Hayes manipulates the contradictions in Claudia’s, Zoe’s, and Lorraine’s narratives to thrilling effect while weaving in a creepy-to-beautiful spectrum of maternal love. Skillfully plotted, with several red herrings that make the satisfyingly twisted conclusion even more of a surprise. --Christine Tran