Hannah and Christopher Bauer both work in the medical field and have a great life, the only thing missing is a child. When little Janie is found abandoned in a parking lot in nothing but a diaper and clear signs of starvation and long-term abuse, she's brought into the hospital where the couple work. It's not long before Janie and Christopher form a bond and the Bauers agree to take her in as their own. They knew it wasn't going to be easy to settle a child so emotionally damaged and when Janie's behaviour turns violent & downright psychotic, Hannah struggles to cope. Janie's reign of terror escalates and the truth about her past comes all too late.

💭 Thoughts: 

If the movie 'Orphan' and ’The Push' by Ashley Audrain had a twisted cousin, it would be this book. 😱 It is dark, twisted and unnerving, yet utterly addictive. I couldn't hit pause. It's not for the faint of heart with heavy themes of abuse and animal torture/death. It's pretty f'cked. I hugged all my cats for a long time when that scene played out. 🤮

Gosh, I felt for Hannah, she put up with a lot of 💩 (literally). The way Christopher refused to acknowledge Janie's repulsive and disturbing behaviour for what it was, truly infuriated me. Everything Hannah went through, the genuine fear Alison expressed to him when Janie was staying with them, all of the twisted things she did that he continued to minimise... 🤯 Nope, I'd be done. 

A fact I found out after reading this, is that the Author is a former psychologist and leading researcher in childhood trauma. This is evident in her writing and how certain topics were explored and clinically explained. 

The ending is abrupt and if there wasn't already a novella and sequel published for me to read, I would be raging, 🤣 so of course I'll be reading both books ASAP.