Little Darlings by Melanie Golding

Hello everyone.

I know I've told you that I have three sisters, younger sisters they would point out. Have I ever told you that they are triplets? They arrived in a world long, long ago...picturing Star Wars opening text scrolling away from me...when multiple births other than twins were highly unusual. No fertility drugs, just bad luck or good luck, depending on if they are driving me crazy or not. My parents wanted a boy, don't ask my why as boys are such problems!  They had me. They tried again and had triplet girls, they quit having kids.

Triplets were so unusual at the time, their birth was featured in the newspaper. I remember the press photographer coming to the house to take photos for the article. At first my mother was told she was going to have twins, so my parents had purchased two of everything. Businesses in the small town I grew up in made a big fuss, delivering a third of everything as a gift. My parents were even given free diaper service. For you youngsters, this is the time of cloth diapers. This is gross, but you likely don't know, with cloth diapers you actually rinse them by hand...BY HAND in the toilet, then wash. In my parent's case, they set aside the toilet water rinsed, wet and smelly diapers for the service to pick up and launder. That is a smell I will NEVER forget. Ick. Aren't you so glad you signed on today? And to think all you wanted was to hear if a book sucks or not.

Yes, having triplets in the family, especially when it was unusual, was a different experience. They would be noticed everywhere, people would come to our table at restaurants asking about them. Strangers would always say "you must be so happy being the big sister."  I should have asked them if they ever smelled dirty diapers times three! Bless my parents, I don't know how they did it. In later years, I remember my dad fake complaining about trying to get in the bathroom and it being a blur of mascara wands. Needless to say, he really loved it. He was a great Dad. I can still see him pushing a stroller with three seats across. Frankly, I think he was proud as could be.

Speaking of babies in strollers, I recently read a great book called Little Darlings by Melanie Golding. This story is part thriller, part mystery with a bit of horror thrown in for good measure. Lauren and Patrick have just had twin sons, Riley and Morgan. One night in the hospital Lauren meets a creepy, insistent woman with two children who wants to swap babies. The next day, the odd lady is gone and the staff maintains they know nothing about this unusual patient.  After it happens repeatedly and the strange woman actually physically grabs Lauren, the police are involved. Even after Lauren takes her new children home, the strange woman reappears. But being a new mom, under stress and completely exhausted, Lauren quickly becomes an unreliable narrator and the reader doesn't know who to believe, especially when the police woman working on the case finds evidence that Lauren might be telling the truth. This becomes even more complicated when Lauren falls asleep while resting after pushing a double stroller through a riverside park. She wakes to find the babies and stroller missing. The children are quickly found, still in the stroller,  looking the same and unharmed but the new mom knows they are not her children.

This story is creepy, atmospheric, and engaging from page one. It moves quickly to a satisfying end staying on topic the whole way, making the book impossible to put down. While I think many of us love psychological thrillers this one may hit home with more people. Thankfully, not many of us have a spouse that kills for sport but oh so many readers are new moms, full of doubt, questions and very low on sleep. This book plays on all those experiences that are so common making this story one to really send a shiver up your spine.

If you are ready for a twisty, suspenseful read, this is a great one. If you are about to deliver your own little bundle of joy, don't pack Little Darlings in your hospital bag.