Review: 'The Baby Group' by Caroline Corcoran
Pub. Date: 17/9/2020
Publisher: Avon Books
Her life was perfect. Until the video.
Scarlett’s golden life suddenly unravels when someone sends a shocking video of her to everyone she knows. The only people who claim they haven’t seen it are the friends in her new mothers’ group: Fiona, Emma and Asha.
Scarlett is forced to delve into her past to discover who is out to get her. But as her circle of trust gathers around her, she has to ask – are her friends as innocent as they seem?
What I didn't expect from The Baby Group was a surprisingly nuanced exploration of revenge porn and female sexuality. Scarlett's life falls apart when a sex video of her is released and after the first few pages I was low-key concerned that this would turn into a major yikes. Caroline Corcoran, however, really manages to both depict Scarlett as a flawed human who has made mistakes and as a woman who should not be shamed for having a sexual past. It is a very difficult line to walk, especially in a thriller where everyone is suspect and messy, but Corcoran manages it. I don't have personal experience with revenge porn, but as a woman I have of course experienced and witnessed how the mere suggestion of female sexuality makes people uncomfortable and cruel. Any kind of past is immediately weaponised and this becomes especially true when a woman becomes a mother and is suddenly meant to be a paragon of virtue and excellence. So I give The Baby Group bonus points for being both a thriller full of insane twists and nonsense turns and a book that addresses this topic with nuance.
Scarlett has very carefully curated her life, from how much she hides of her past to her mummy blog which is slowly gaining traction. Her return to work after maternity leave is ruined, however, when her colleagues and family members all receive a video of her having sex with two men years ago. Now, her past is rushing in and Scarlett slowly begins to fall apart. The only people who haven't received the video are the three women in her baby group, Emma, Cora, and Asha. The women bonded in the rush of new motherhood, baby vomit, and stress, but now they are all Scarlett still has. But how strong is their bond? And how much can she trust her husband, who has kept his distance ever since the video? To figure out who is trying to ruin her life, Scarlett has to dive deeper into her own past and confront some of her own darkest fears and secrets. Scarlett is a complicated woman, which I always enjoy, and many of her actions and choices post-video release need to be understood as emerging from something of a breakdown. With this in mind, I was able to enjoy how wild certain parts of this book are. With the nuance discussed above put aside, The Baby Group is an utter rollercoaster ride full of babies, glasses of wine, and disappointing spouses. There are reveals and twists and plot insanity throughout and if you're happy to turn your brain off slightly you'll have an excellent time.
This is my first thriller by Caroline Corcoran and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for future ones. The book is well paced, has a good concept and plan, and as it moves through its plot it is highly entertaining. As said above, enjoying The Baby Group does require a high level of suspension of disbelief, especially towards the end. Many of the twists and reveals are well-earned, but I also have to say that the ending, specifically the last two chapters, did not really work for me. It felt a little too neat to me, despite the chaos. The novel is narrated mostly by from Scarlett's perspective, but every once in a while a chapter from Anon comes in, who is plotting Scarlett's demise. As a reader, the suspect pool becomes very narrow pretty early on, but I think Corcoran does a good job keeping us somewhat guessing. In the end I was mostly right in my suspicions and the motives behind it. Also, while I'm not a mother myself and doubt I ever will be, I did think The Baby Group worked in the complexity of motherhood pretty well. It is a chaotic time in a woman's life where everything changes, at least for a little bit, and where figuring out who you actually are becomes more difficult. While I don't think the title actually suits the book entirely, I do think it emphasises this aspect of story well.
I give this novel...
3 Universes!
The Baby Group is a fun thriller about motherhood and womanhood, about your past haunting your present. Its nuanced handling of female sexuality elevated this slightly above the usual thriller for me, although it definitely is bonkers as well.
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