Day: March 1, 2022

S. E. Lynes has written excellent psych thrillers and The Baby Shower is no exception. This author has produced everything I love in a psych thriller.

There is a prologue that consists of a news article. Right off the bat, the author lets us know (in a clever way) that there is going to be one heck of a culmination of events in this book.

Well-done setups like this instantly grab me.

Chapter One is a mystery narrator. Those are always good for intrigue. If you’re paying attention, you will notice that both the newspaper article and Chapter One are set in May.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to take a careful look at when each chapter is set. The author lays out the plot clearly. But if you aren’t looking at when each event takes place you could get lost.

And you don’t want to do that.

I generally am not a fan of “girl power/friends” tropes. In this case, however, it works perfectly.

Jane has just enough going for her, and just enough against her, that her friend circle is vital to her well-being. This is why the rest of the story is so good.

As usual, I am not going to give away plot points here. But believe me when I say the author has written a tightly woven story that had me turning pages literally into the wee hours of the morning.

That’s not hyperbole. I’m not one to gush or throw out typical platitudes. But I stayed awake until 3 am to finish this one because I was totally enthralled by the plot.

I did guess a couple of the “surprises” but (as I have mentioned before) I like to challenge myself to guess where the author is going.

However, there are several twists that I did not figure out. One of them (no spoiler) made me doubt everything that I believed up to that point. I thought maybe I had it all wrong.

That’s another thing I love in a good psych thriller. Keep ‘em guessing is a great rule of thumb.

Sometimes psych thrillers have a backstory that only serves as a jumping-off point. That is not the case here. Jane’s backstory is specific and gives insight to her frame of mind while also providing an underlying current of dread (also felt by Jane) to current events.

There was a point at the end that felt like it verged on preachy about how bad women have it sometimes, but I understand why the author included it. That being said, the whole friendship angle is blown out of the water when one character gets what is coming to her.

Once again, not a spoiler. But that twist provides a cutting commentary on the danger of being carried away by material things and the “reality” presented on social media.

I am a big fan of S.E. Lynes, but The Baby Shower may just be my favorite one yet. Be sure to check out her other psych thrillers: The Lies We Hide, The Housewarming, Can You See Her, Her Sister’s Secret

Author Bio:

Former BBC Producer, S.E. Lynes is the Amazon best selling author of ‘intelligent and haunting’, ‘beautifully written’ psychological thrillers, VALENTINA, MOTHER, THE PACT, THE PROPOSAL, THE WOMEN, THE LIES WE HIDE, CAN YOU SEE HER? and her latest novel, THE HOUSEWARMING, available for pre-order NOW.

After completing her MA, Lynes taught creative writing at Richmond Adult Community College for over ten years. She now combines writing, mentoring and lecturing.