Reviewed by Christy
Paleobotanist Molly has two young children, four-year-old Viv and baby Ben, who run her ragged day in and day out. With her husband out of town for a few weeks, Molly is essentially a single mother until he gets back. She has her baby sitter who watches them during the day while she works but the evenings are just her. No extra hands to give her a break or even just to help. She’s all alone.
Until one night, she hears sounds coming from her living room. Scooping up her children, she lurks in the dark trying to convince herself she’s hearing things but at the same time searching for a glimpse of the trespasser.
This is how the novel opens up, and I’m hesitant to say more than that because it’s hard to describe the plot in any detail without getting too deep into spoilers which I don’t want to do. I will say that there is an interesting speculative element and even with that, I found Molly deeply relatable. She intensely loves her children but she feels overwhelmed and utterly lost in her many daily responsibilities as a mother. She daydreams about the rare times she and her husband can be a loving couple instead of just Mommy and Daddy. She revels in her time at work where she can be an adult and a scientist. I think it could be easy to get distracted and hyper-focus on the slight science fiction component. (It’s never explained which could frustrate some readers but I think it works in the novel’s favor.) Even its synopsis is purposefully vague which makes the reading experience even more interesting. Moreover, Phillps’ writing is sharp and resonates.
I’ve seen this book categorized as a thriller or even a horror, and I don’t really think either of those are an apt description. The book is ultimately a speculative drama about a woman who is desperately trying to balance the demands of motherhood all while trying to find herself again.
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