The Surrogate
Iain Maitland
290 pages
Inkubator Books
published March 16, 2025
About the book
Lucy will carry Sophie’s child. But she does want something in return…
Sophie should be the happiest woman in the world. A good job. A nice home. Best of all, married to Matt, the love of her life.
But there’s one thing she doesn’t have–a baby. She knows that without a child of her own to love, she will never feel complete. This emptiness at the center of her life is driving her to the edge of madness.
Then Lucy, her best friend forever, comes back to live in their home town-and offers to have a baby for Sophie.
Which sounds wonderful. But Sophie doesn’t realize that Lucy has a sinister agenda of her own. And together they are about to take a journey to the innermost circle of hell.
My Review
This was quite the wild ride. I did not see any of that coming.
Sophie and Matt don’t have a lot of money, but they have each other. They desperately want a baby. This is their twisty story. It is not a pulse pounding or adrenaline filled, but it is a character driven suspenseful ride.
I liked how it was set up. There were parts that at the end of each part there was a twist that set the stage for the next one. So instead of the twists at the end, they were spread throughout the book always preparing the next section.
What started out as likable and relatable characters, the more I learned about them the more I thought better of that. And the more I read, the darker it became.
I really like the author’s writing style. It made the book so easy to read and between that and the plot, I did not want to put it down.
I’d be remiss not to add that this ends on one heck of a cliffhanger. Not sure if it is meant to let you use your imagination or if there is a sequel on the way, but I read the ending twice to make sure I didn’t miss anything.
It’s a quick, dark tale for anyone that loves domestic suspense.
About the author
Iain Maitland is the author of The Girl Downstairs, The Soulmate and What Lies Inside.
Iain is also the author of two memoirs, Dear Michael, Love Dad (Hodder, 2016), a book of letters written to his eldest son who experienced depression and anorexia, and (co-authored with Michael) Out of The Madhouse (Jessica Kingsley, 2018).
He is also an Ambassador for Stem4, the teenage mental health charity. He talks regularly about mental health issues in schools and colleges and workplaces.
This is Iain’s sixth psychological thriller with Inkubator Books.
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Zoé
Thank you so much for being a part of the tour x