For a debut novel, Woman on the Edge, by Samantha M. Bailey is overall decent thriller.
First off, it starts with a climax. On a busy train platform, a stranger shoves an infant into Morgan’s arms, begs her to take care of it, and jumps in front of the incoming train.
Although it begins with that explosive scene, and you think, ‘Ok, where is it going to go from here?’ the book keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. The short chapters alternate between “Morgan”, happening in the present, and “Nicole”, the stranger who jumped, happening in the past. There are back stories to both women, involving Morgan’s diseased husband, her estranged mother, Nicole’s husband, best friend, brother, a woman from her distant past and her meteoric success as the founder and director of a great company.
The real heroine of the story is Morgan. From the moment the infant, Quinn, is thrust into her arms, she feels affection for her. Although she’s under suspicion by the police, and has no one to lean on except her lawyer, she bravely, single-mindedly and doggedly pursues the puzzle and does her own detective work to find out if Quinn is okay and why this total stranger chose her to take care of her little daughter. She encounters opposition, suspicion and danger every step of the way, but never gives up.
Nicole, on the other hand, starts off as a successful owner and director of a company, but after having her baby, when she keeps getting threats from a woman in her past who holds a grudge against her, starts losing her mental balance. Although she has a few close people who offer to help her, she refuses help and gradually deteriorates to the point of no return.
True to thriller-style novels, Bailey makes you doubt everyone as the culprit of Nicole’s demise. A red-haired woman attacks Morgan, leaves threatening notes and objects for Nicole and her brother. A woman from Nicole’s distant past who used to send her nasty notes is also a red-head, but she lives in a different town. There are other women with red hair connected to various characters in the book.
The “Morgan” chapters grow to be more and more interesting as the book goes on.
The “Nicole” chapters however, become harder to read as the story progresses. They start off with a normal degree of post-partem depression and worry for a new mom. But they gradually become more agonizing and annoying to go through. This reader found them somewhat over the top as Nicole becomes more and more paranoid, dysfunctional and addicted to her anti-anxiety pills. “She grasped the arm of the couch and heaved herself up, dropping her chin to her chest until the wooziness passed…her arms aching…Nicole barely had the energy to make it up the stairs…She’d draped black silk sheets over all the first-floor windows, so her house felt as dark as she did inside.” “Voices rang in her ears…She shook her head back and forth to get rid of them.”
To her credit Bailey keeps up the tension until almost the very end.
However, the ending is too abrupt and clean. The book suddenly changes its tone: the psychological thriller suddenly becomes an action thriller, the puzzle is quickly solved, the loose ends are too conveniently tied and delivered in a neatly wrapped package with a bow on top.
The change of tone at the end is too jarring and doesn’t match the rest of the book.
Alternate Perspective 