Woman on the Edge

Starred review from January 27, 2020
At the start of Bailey’s nail-biting debut, new mother Nicole Markham approaches social worker Morgan Kinkaid on a Chicago subway platform and urges Morgan to take her baby. Morgan, whose husband, Ryan, recently committed suicide after being convicted of embezzlement, doesn’t recognize the woman, yet Nicole calls her by name. Just after Nicole tosses the baby into Morgan’s arms, she jumps to her death in front of a moving train. Morgan, in her effort to understand what motivated Nicole to kill herself, discovers that a baby died under Nicole’s care when she was working as a nanny. The baby’s mother, blaming Nicole, sent her threatening letters, even though the coroner ruled it was a case of sudden infant death syndrome. Meanwhile, Det. Karina Martinez, who earlier investigated Ryan’s suicide and always believed Morgan conspired in Ryan’s embezzlement, investigates Nicole’s death; Karina suspects Morgan of pushing Nicole onto the tracks because Morgan was desperate for a child of her own. The tension becomes unrelenting as Morgan unravels Nicole’s story. Fans of psychological suspense are in for a treat. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency.

March 1, 2020
Waiting for her train home, Morgan Kincaid is confronted by a disheveled, distraught woman who calls her by name and thrusts the baby she's carrying in Morgan's arms before falling to her death on the track. The victim turns out to be Nicole Markham, founder and CEO of Breathe, a successful athletic apparel and wellness company, who had a dreadful secret. As a 17-year-old nanny, Nicole fell asleep and found the infant in her care dead in the crib. For years thereafter, the grieving mother sent Nicole threatening notes. After Nicole gave birth to daughter Quinn, she was so fearful for her child's safety that she went into a postpartum tailspin, unable to return to work. Now, Morgan, who lives with her own difficult past, finds herself under suspicion in Nicole's death, a woman she had never met. Bailey alternates flashbacks detailing Nicole's life with an account of what happens to Morgan in the aftermath of the tragedy, revealing misplaced trust and danger increasing to a violent ending. A suspenseful debut centered on the strength of maternal love.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)