Little Disasters: the compelling and thought-provoking new novel from the author of the Sunday Times bestseller Anatomy of a Scandal

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But I could sympathize with the way their lives are overrun once the ball starts rolling on the investigation.

Here we have a group of mothers who bond at their local prenatal classes for their first-borns and become long time friends. The central premise being the difficulties of parenting especially the early months when your baby may not settle and nothing you do stops the crying or even worse, the screams. Sarah Vaughan’s latest release offers a candid glimpse into motherhood, parenting, child rearing, childhood injury, friendship and blame.Women have written to Vaughan, saying that Disasters helps explain these deep and alarming shadows of motherhood.

There is tension and emotion as the novel builds to a twisty and unexpected climax and thankfully there is reconciliation, forgiveness and professional help for Jess. The way she handled the material made me appreciate this more as a straight fiction read rather than one in the mystery or thriller genre. Reading Beowulf may not have helped me become a novelist but reading and thinking about writing for three years undoubtedly did. The baby’s injuries leave authorities, as well as Jess’s friends and family, wondering if Jess herself could have harmed her baby. Dark thoughts and carefully guarded secrets surface—and Liz is left questioning everything she thought she knew about her friend, and about herself.After a few months and 66,000 words, Kremer had a manuscript for The Art of Baking Blind, about motherhood and the impossibility of perfection. Jess suggests this must have caused the injury, which she hadn't noticed before bringing the baby to the ER. Overall I thought this was an average suspense novel with a good message about giving mothers the assistance they require. The female friendships at the heart of the book and the way mothers judge each other make this a hugely universal and relatable subject and we are thrilled to have the chance to bring Sarah’s characters to the screen.