Julie's Review: Hush Little Baby

Summary: DON'T SAY A WORD. Not if you want to live or you want your children to live. In a game of ultimate stakes, Jillian Kane struggles to save herself and her two children from her extremely cunning abusive husband. Gordon Kane, Jillian's husband, is a good guy – at least that's what everyone thinks. Handsome, a recognized hero, an involved father, a respected coach. No one would suspect that beneath the flawless veneer lurks a man capable of unspeakable cruelty. Jillian, on the other hand, has her faults. She works too much, lacks maternal instinct, misses teacher conferences, and doesn't bring cupcakes to the school fair. Perception is everything in the high stakes game of child custody and Gordon has the upper hand. And when all hope is lost of keeping her kids, Jillian is left with the question of how far she'll go to save them. A chilling story of abuse and marital warfare, Hush Little Baby is a cautionary tale about how easily a reputation can be destroyed, a mother's children can be taken from her, and the terrifying choices she's left with to get them back. ~suzanneredfearn.com

Review: Hush Little Baby is an intense, heart-breaking novel. As a reader you tend to hold your breath at points in the book. Jillian isn't the easiest of characters to read. As a woman, you want to know why she hasn't run. As a mother, your heart breaks for her and her children because of how they have to live.

Jillian has closed herself off to everyone, even her kids. She's a brilliant architect and business woman but can't get the day-to-day parenting down. Even though you might not understand Jillian, you root for her at every turn. You want her to collect herself and run, taking the kids with her. You want Gordon to get his comeuppance and the sooner it happens the better. You want justice to be served but perhaps not the one that happens in a courtroom. I can't imagine being in Jillian's shoes. Years of torture and abuse finally coming to light. Having a whole community not believe you because of what Gordon's job was there.

I loved the fact that Michelle never gave up on trying to befriend Jillian. I loved that Connor had her back no matter how crazy it got. Most of all I loved her relationship with her father. I understood her guilt in his circumstances and how she needed to take care of him. I especially loved her trip to Washington and finding herself content living there. Do I think she could have lived there long term? No, but I think it helped to center her.

For a debut, Ms. Redfearn easily found her voice. She has a heroine who is not at all times likable but is real and honest. She could be your neighbor, sister or friend. Writing about abuse has to be hard and emotionally taxing on an author. I know it was emotional taxing on me as a reader. All of the characters jump off the pages and Gordon makes your skin crawl every time he is mentioned. He is a true villain.

October is Domestic Abuse month and Hush Little Baby highlights the struggles that these women go through to try to survive and to possibly leave. Abuse affects all socioeconomic classes and is something we should all be aware of.

Final Take: 4.75/5


Thank you to the author for a copy of the novel. Google+