Review by Booklist Review
In conversation with her best friend, Michelle Carvalho, Lucy Mendoza confessed that she regretted having a baby. When, on a sunny day, Lucy disappears from a grocery store parking lot, leaving Emma, her baby, in the cart, the news of a potential abduction slowly morphs into one of maternal abandonment. As a media feeding frenzy leaves the public convinced that Lucy's disappearance was planned, Michelle is the only one who insists otherwise. Meanwhile, a retired detective finds similarities between Lucy's case and that of another mother who vanished many years ago. Freitas (The Nine Loves of Rose Napolitano, 2019) anchors her novel on a taboo subject, regret over having children. The commendable effort of spotlighting a serious and sensitive issue notwithstanding, the story stalls as the same point about the scandal of regretting motherhood is made repeatedly. Still, the lively supporting cast of characters, including a popular podcaster and residents of the small Rhode Island town, do add zest to the mystery, which offers many red herrings. Freitas' tale and bold underlying theme will resonate with many readers.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
At the outset of this deeply felt feminist thriller from Freitas (The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano), gorgeous real estate agent Lucy Mendoza vanishes from a Rhode Island supermarket parking lot, her nine-month-old daughter left wailing in a shopping cart. A few days into a massive statewide search, Lucy's most shameful secret comes out: she's fantasized about faking her own kidnapping to escape the motherhood she never wanted. Social media erupts, pundits excoriate her, and those who actually know her--including her husband Sam and her best friend Michelle--fear the revelation might undermine the full-court press to find her. A similar worry galvanizes retired detective Diana Gonzalez, for whom Lucy's disappearance recalls two cases of missing mothers that bookended her time on the force. Meanwhile, Lucy's plight resonates with artist Julia Gallo, who feels marooned at home with her nine-month-old son, her creative career seemingly torpedoed while her professor husband chases tenure. Freitas nimbly juggles chapters narrated by Michelle, Diana, Julia, and occasionally Lucy, maximizing suspense at every turn. Occasionally, the characters' venting about motherhood feels didactic, but for the most part, this rivets. Agent: Miriam Altshuler, DeFiore and Co. (Nov.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Freitas (The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano) pens a gripping suspense novel with provocative social commentary; it's an emotional roller-coaster. When Lucy Mendoza vanishes from a supermarket parking lot, leaving her infant daughter behind, her husband becomes the prime suspect. Though Lucy used to drop hints about seeking escape, her best friend Michelle knows something deeper is at play. An investigation unfolds, secrets surface, and public opinion turns vicious, casting Lucy as a monster--a woman who dared to regret motherhood. What begins as a missing-person case becomes a searing examination of maternal ambivalence, friendship between women, and society's ruthless judgment of those who don't desire motherhood. The story exposes the impossible standards placed on mothers and the taboo reality that some women struggle with maternal feelings they are not supposed to have. The book's most poignant moment may be the author's note, where she explains her personal struggle with motherhood and how she was afraid to tell this story until now. VERDICT Sure to appeal to book groups, this emotionally charged feminist thriller holds up a mirror to impossible expectations placed on women, inspiring necessary conversations about choice and regret.--Stacy Alesi
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Freitas--whose previous novel focused on one woman's decision whether to have a child--offers the intertwining stories of several young Rhode Island mothers who experience various combinations of satisfaction and regret over their choices. What sets this entry into the genre of motherhood fiction apart is that Freitas has created an engrossing mystery: Was successful real estate agent Lucy Mendoza kidnapped in the parking lot of a Narragansett Beach supermarket or did she abandon her baby, Emma, there? Freitas plants hints pointing in a lot of directions, most of them red herrings, leading toward twisty solutions to not one but several disappearances. At the same time, the novel lays out Freitas' thesis about unfair attitudes toward women as mothers almost too neatly through other mothers' reactions. Diana Gonzalez, a retired detective consulting on the case, notices parallels between Lucy's case and those of two other women, Maeve O'Neil and Joanna D'Angelo. Years ago, Maeve returned eight days after having vanished, only to drown with her child a year later. Joanna has been missing for the last three years but has received little attention thanks to her unsympathetic profile--she was having an affair, among other things. Meanwhile, Lucy's best friend, Michelle Carvalho, faces a moral and emotional crisis. A devoted mother, Michelle doesn't want to believe Lucy would forsake Emma. She puts off telling the police that Lucy confided her wish that she'd never had a baby. When Michelle's husband goes behind her back and tells the press, the public assumes Lucy is a bad mother who ran off. But not graphic artist Julia Gallo, who empathizes with Lucy. Julia loves her baby but hates being a mother. Joining the support group to which Lucy belonged, Julia finds guidance and a solution Freitas seems to like, although it would probably be deemed unacceptable for a male character. (Even decent husbands get short shrift here.) Freitas, who has been public about choosing not to have children, works hard to capture ambivalences in motherhood and marriage. While maternal regret may not be the taboo subject Freitas claims, book clubs should love her satisfying page-turner. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
