A Necessary End

“Darkly funny and perfectly twisted. . . . Holly Brown proves herself a master storyteller and an expert of suspense.” —Mary Kubica, internationally bestselling author of The Good Girl and Pretty Baby

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO GET WHAT YOU WANTED?

Thirty-nine-year-old Adrienne is desperate to be a mother. And this time, nothing is going to get in her way.

Sure, her husband, Gabe, is ambivalent about fatherhood. But she knows that once he holds their baby, he’ll come around. He’s just feeling a little threatened. Because once upon a time, it was Gabe that Adrienne wanted more than anything; she was willing to do anything. . . . But that was half a lifetime ago. She’s a different person now, and there are lines she wouldn’t cross, not without extreme provocation.

At nineteen, Leah bears a remarkable resemblance to the young woman Adrienne once was. Which is why Adrienne knows the baby Leah is carrying is meant to be hers. But Leah’s got ideas of her own: Her baby’s going to get a life in California, so why shouldn’t she?

It seems like a small price for Adrienne to pay to get their baby. What could possibly go wrong?

“Irresistibly readable.”—Sophie Hannah, author of Woman with a Secret

“[A] well-constructed psychological drama.”—Associated Press

Holly Brown lives with her husband and daughter in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she’s a practicing marriage and family therapist. She is the author of the novel Don’t Try to Find Me, and her blog, “Bonding Time,” is featured on the mental health website PsychCentral.com.