Caroline Corcoran

I was so intrigued by the premise of this story. Two women living next door to each other, each thinking the other has the perfect enviable life.

The two women are Lexie and Harriet. Lexie lives with Tom and she's desperate for a baby. Harriet lives in the flat next door, on the other side of a fairly thin wall, and she's rather more unstable. In alternating chapters we hear from each one as they simultaneously fall apart.

They say the grass is always greener and never more so than for Lexie show more and Harriet. Each is convinced the other has this sparkly and wonderful life compared to their own and yet nothing could be further from the truth. What works so well in this book is the claustrophobic feel of the flats. They're in a sought after part of London, and are not cheap, but they still live virtually on top of each other. They can hear what the others are up to in the next door flat and it starts to take over their lives.

It took me a bit of getting into Through The Wall, mainly I think because of the similarities between the two women. I kept getting muddled up with who was talking. But once I got into the story I soon got over that and I found this a difficult book to put down. It has short chapters, little bursts of narrative that kept me turning the pages quickly. Towards the end I was dreading what might happen, almost reading between my fingers, and the last word is, well, a bit of a jaw-dropper.

Caroline Corcoran portrays well what it must be like to be stalked, to be made to feel like you're going crazy. She also hits the spot in terms of unrequited love, obsession and desperation. I thought it was a fabulous debut. It's full of tension and is scarier than any murder mystery. I'll be excited to see what this author comes up with next. show less

The one thing that I kept thinking over and over while reading The Baby Group by Caroline Corcoran was that Scarlett is thinking what so many other women out in the world are thinking, but that we don’t say it out loud. Some of it is too raw or would seem too mean to say, but it’s still the truth. Corcoran does a fantastic group really delving into Scarlett’s inner being, ugly parts and all.

I found myself nodding my head in agreement and enjoying Scarlett’s long winded inner show more monologues for most of the book, but when there was about 30% left I had to stop myself from skimming to get to the exciting conclusion that suspense and thrillers are known for. And even though I knew very early on who had released the video, I still enjoyed reading Anon’s thoughts getting more twisted and manic as the book progressed. Even with knowing the person behind Scarlett’s misery, Corcoran still gives a big twist that I didn’t see coming and I really reveled in the psychopathic nature that was shown in this person.

As Michael Corleone said, “ Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.” But what happens when your friends are your enemies… you’ll have to read The Baby Group to find out! show less

What an opening sentence! I went into this book blind, and ended up reading something completely unexpected. Full of drama and dread, this book takes a group of mothers and subverts the idea that all they do all day is change diapers. Instead, they are fully realized people with desires who have to confront the women they were before they had children and their identities changed. I liked how the book highlighted the expectations placed on women, especially when Scarlett returned to work. show more "It's one of the ten thousand or so double standards in our life now," Scarlett says of her husband. The ethical question of posting your child for content is also raised by her blog "Cheshire Mama" which I felt was an important issue to discuss given the nature of the book. I never would have imagined her privacy would have been invaded on her first day back at work, but this book likes its twists! I enjoyed the anon chapters, which really showed a dark jealously and mom-shaming. Other secrets crept out and made for a deliciously suspenseful book! It kept me guessing the whole way through. #netgalley #thebabygroup show less

What an opening sentence! I went into this book blind, and ended up reading something completely unexpected. Full of drama and dread, this book takes a group of mothers and subverts the idea that all they do all day is change diapers. Instead, they are fully realized people with desires who have to confront the women they were before they had children and their identities changed. I liked how the book highlighted the expectations placed on women, especially when Scarlett returned to work. show more "It's one of the ten thousand or so double standards in our life now," Scarlett says of her husband. The ethical question of posting your child for content is also raised by her blog "Cheshire Mama" which I felt was an important issue to discuss given the nature of the book. I never would have imagined her privacy would have been invaded on her first day back at work, but this book likes its twists! I enjoyed the anon chapters, which really showed a dark jealously and mom-shaming. Other secrets crept out and made for a deliciously suspenseful book! It kept me guessing the whole way through. show less