Mine by Susi Fox

MINE 

by SUSI FOX

I think this book has one of the most chilling, eye catching covers and one of the most unsettling blurbs I've come across recently. As a mother of three, this immediately sent shivers down my spine and plays on any mother's deepest fear. 

Imagine waking up after an emergency caesarean, desperate to see your new baby whose life you have been imagining for the last nine months but when you are handed your baby, you know it is not your child. 

No one believes you. Your husband insists he was with the baby the entire time from the moment of birth. The hospital have a strict policy and procedure - it's impossible to accuse them of losing a baby or mixing them up, perhaps it's the after effects of your operation and the pain killers making you groggy and confused? 

But a mother's instinct is a powerful thing. You need to find your own child before it's too late. 

This was certainly an intense read. It's a powerful, emotive narrative that is not afraid to tackle difficult topics about birth, pregnancy and post natal depression. Throughout this dramatic story of Sasha's struggle to find her own baby, Fox also explores the rollercoaster of emotions that come with giving birth and she conveys this overwhelming, confusing and terrifying time with absolute conviction. Sasha's journey to motherhood has been traumatic and again, Fox tackles IVF, miscarriages and mental health issues. There are scenes that are heartbreaking, grim and sad, yet they are handled in a way that compounds the suspense and emotional tension which is taut from the first line until the last. 

For me, I was impressed with how well the author sustained the tension. The story happens over a short space of time which compels the sense of urgency. Sasha has to find her baby before she is discharged with the baby everyone insists is hers, and every minute counts. Sasha's desperation, frustration, fear and sense of reaching breaking point, keep the reader turning the pages and drives the intensity of the story. Most of the scenes take place within the hospital as well which also compounds the oppressive atmosphere and claustrophobic nature of the story as the doctors, and Sasha's husband, continue to refuse to believe her. 

Sasha is an interesting character. She is fragile, vulnerable yet determined. She is insistent that this baby is not her child and even as her back story is revealed and she is challenged by the medical staff,  and a loving husband, somehow the reader believes her. I sympathised with her, I emphasised with her, I worried for her and although sometimes it was tempting to question her reliability, I didn't. I cared about her. 

I think what is really powerful about this novel is that it tackles quite a controversial area. Fox writes about a woman who is at her most vulnerable, at a life changing moment where her expectations and hopes do not match the terrifying reality she finds herself facing. The story is set within an institute that we should trust implicitly. Fox has created a story which both thrills, grips and captivates the reader as well as raising challenging questions about the mental health of mothers and the thoroughly complex emotions that affect women during any stage of pregnancy or childbirth. Fox's ability to sustain the high level of fear and anxiety is impressive and admirable. Her ability to capture and convey the feelings of Sasha is very real and utterly convincing. Her ability to write a story which is anyone's worst nightmare, that pulls in the reader so they are part of this terrible nightmare and then continues to haunt them after the last page is also very impressive. 

It's been a long time since I was in hospital with a new born baby, not that one ever forgets this experience, but perhaps there was enough distance between my own personal experiences and those of Sasha that I could cope with this intense narrative. It is psychologically thrilling and very well written but it may well be too upsetting for some. 

Mine was published on June 14th by Penguin. 

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the novel.