The Other Child - by Lucy Atkins

When her newly married husband, Greg, a high profile paediatric heart surgeon, is offered the job of a lifetime in Boston, Tess reluctantly agrees to move to the US for a couple of years. But once Tess and Joe, her son from a previous relationship, arrive in Boston they don't find settling there very easy.

Strange things seem to be happening at the house they have moved into, and the neighbours are acting weirdly towards Tess and Joe. Above all, Tess has found out that she is pregnant, after having agreed with Greg that they wouldn't want any more children... and the unborn baby triggers different feelings with all three family members. The only one striving in the new surroundings seems to be Greg, and Tess is beginning to wonder why. Then she makes a jaw-dropping discovery.

Reviews

Beautifully plotted with rich, deftly drawn characters, THE OTHER CHILD unfolds in lyric, atmospheric prose. I could not put it down.

Priya Parmar, author of VANESSA AND HER SISTER

I absolutely loved this novel. THE OTHER CHILD is seriously gripping, seriously scary and seriously brilliant. It is beautifully, seductively written. Atkins gives us true domestic noir that perfectly depicts the slippery boundary between pregnancy exhaustion and fearfulness, and the real possibility that your relationship is built on dangerously shaky ground... I read it in terror and fascination.'

Claire Kendal, author of THE BOOK OF YOU

The neck-prickling suspense starts on the very first page, building and building until I wanted to get in the car and drive to Boston to rescue Tess and Joe myself. Atkins perfectly captures the vulnerability that comes with moving overseas, away from friends and support networks, and uses it expertly in this compelling novel. Not just one-more-page gripping but perceptive and beautifully written.

Lucie Whitehouse, author of BEFORE WE MET

Taut, tense, and beautifully written. I held my breath between chapters and didn't sleep until I reached the end

Claire Mackintosh, author of I LET YOU GO

The last book I read in one sitting like this was Louise Doughty’s Apple Tree Yard. Like Louise, Atkins is brilliant at ramping up the tension so that there is no putting it down until the end.

Polly Samson, author of THE KINDNESS

Atmospheric and packed with suspense, kept me on edge from start to finish

Woman and Home Magazine

Dark, unsettling, and at times genuinely chilling, this compelling tale will keep you up half the night, racing to get to the end

Karen Perry, author of THE BOY THAT NEVER WAS

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