Until You're Mine by Samatha Hayes

3.5 Stars

ARC from NetGalley

After years of struggling with infertility, Claudia finally seems to almost have it all.  She has a career as a social-services supervisor, a loving spouse, twin stepsons, and the little girl she has always dreamed of is due in just a few weeks.  With so much on her plate, it is now time to hire a nanny who can get used to the run of the house before the new baby arrives.  At first Zoe seems perfect, yet Claudia can’t escape the nagging feeling that something is lurking just beneath the surface.  Those uneasy feelings soon get combined with the fact that local pregnant women have been brutally attacked, and Claudia is left trying to decide whether she truly has a reason to be afraid or if it’s just her own paranoia.  Told from rotating perspectives of three female leads – Claudia, Zoe and Lorraine (the police detective assigned to the pregnant women cases), “Until You’re Mine” will leave you guessing until the end. 

As my first ARC, I was TERRIFIED to begin reading this novel.  After all, what if it absolutely stunk and I had to give it a bad rating?  (Note:  I am not a person who would be capable of passing off utter garbage to others in hopes of continuing to receive free books, so I was shaking in my boots that my first reviewer copy would be my last.)  I chose “Until You’re Mine” because my gut told me it would be good.  My gut didn’t lie.  Not only was the mystery/thriller part of this book something that grabbed my attention right away, the underlying personal stories of the three main women really thickened the plot.  Instead of just actionactionactionaction that left me reeling and wishing the book would hurry up and end, Hayes takes you into the private lives and behind the scenes drama that does not involve the “whodunit” part of the book whatsoever.  It was a nice change of pace and I was so pleasantly surprised to find some twists and turns added to the mix as well.  In a summer filled with hits and misses in the mystery department, this is one I will recommend to others who like the genre.