Review of The New Girl by Harriet Walker

 I received a copy of this title via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

How far would someone go to replace you? A new mother on maternity leave grows increasingly paranoid about her ambitious young temp in this Hitchcockian debut from the fashion editor at The Times (UK) .

Margot is the object of every woman's envy: as an editor at Haute, she has a glamorous job, a beautiful new baby girl, a seemingly perfect life. But when Margot's lifelong friend, Winnie, loses her own newborn boy, their shared dream of pushing strollers together turns to ash. And then there is the matter of Margot's maternity temp: bright, plucky, ambitious Maggie--the young woman Margot chose, but who now seems to be trying to eclipse her in every possible way.

When a cyber-stalker emerges, mocking Margot's façade of perfection and threatening to expose a dark secret she's spent years repressing, Margot feels attacked from all sides. Soon, the innocent preoccupations of motherhood spiral quickly--and perhaps lethally--into a frightening and irretrievable paranoia.

My Review:

5 Stars

The author does a great job of taking a fresh off maternity leave mother and turning her into a frenzied paranoid shell of who she used to be.

Margot has worked hard to get to where she is. Going on maternity leave was supposed to be a walk in the park. Sure she would have some catching up to do, but everything will be as it was in no time. What ensues is not what Margot had planned for. Not even what she anticipated. 

When a threat after threat keeps appearing Margot can't help but think she knows who's behind everything. While Margot's life seems to be spiraling out of control Maggie's seems to be taking off. 

An intriguing and delicious read.  

The New Girl is whiplash-paced, and a harrowing look into the profound sense of insecurity that prowls deep in the psyches of women everywhere.