Publishers Weekly
03/11/2024
The mercurial dynamics of female friendship take center stage in this disappointing standalone from Lovering (Can’t Look Away). Thirty-five-year-old travel consultant Billie West is devastated by her fraying bond with her childhood best friend, Cassie Adler. Though Billie makes regular attempts to mend their relationship, Cassie often ignores her, and blames her new roles as a social media influencer and mother to three-month-old Ella for the distance. When Cassie’s husband, Grant, throws her a birthday party at their New York City penthouse, they have no idea an uninvited Billie is pet-sitting for her boss in the apartment downstairs. After hearing a baby scream upstairs, Billie climbs the fire escape to find Ella alone on the Adlers’ terrace, and brings the baby into her boss’s apartment. Soon enough, she hears sounds of panic from the floor above—and is pleasantly surprised to be the first person Cassie calls for help, leading her to consider whether Ella might be the bargaining chip she’s needed all along. Toggling between Billie and Cassie’s perspectives, Lovering doles out details that reveal the disturbing truth behind the women’s estrangement. Though Lovering’s stylish prose keeps things moving, she never generates convincing stakes for Cassie and Billie’s fallout or reconciliation. Given the author’s past successes, this is surprisingly limp. Agent: Allison Hunter, Trellis Literary. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
"Suspenseful to its core...impeccable." ––New York Post
"In this captivating, page-turning tome, Carola Lovering once again pins us in place while we frantically read to find out how exactly this could've happened… and if it could happen to us." ––Zibby Owens
"Memorable characters, toxic friendships, shocking twists…Carola Lovering’s newest novel has it all." ––Woman's World
"The suspense is a shapeshifter until the very last page." ––Booklist
"Carola Lovering has hit the ball out of the park, again. Her latest is a gripping novel of suspense that explores the complexities of a female friendship, bound by childhood secrets, that is simultaneously life affirming and toxic. I could not put it down." ––Greer Hendricks, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Golden Couple
"Powerful, relatable and crazily addictive, Bye, Baby takes an unflinching look at the battling forces of toxicity and love which define so many female friendships. I couldn't put it down." ––Rosie Walsh, New York Times bestselling author of Ghosted and The Love of My Life
"A shocking, emotionally-charged look at a dysfunctional friendship and the aftereffects of a split second decision that had me on the edge of my seat. Completely immersive with writing that is propulsive, vivid and rich, Bye, Baby is all-consuming. Once you start reading, you won't be able to stop. I'm a fan!" ––Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of Local Woman Missing
"Bye, Baby is a searing, intense thriller about friendship, relationships, and motherhood. Lovering has a unique ability to create such realistic characters, it’s hard to let go of them. And every twist packs a wallop." ––Samantha Downing, international bestselling author of A Twisted Love Story
"Compulsively readable and highly relatable, Bye, Baby will have you on the edge of your seat. Lovering’s best book yet explores the dark space that can open up when close friendships grow, change, and fracture. This novel is both suspenseful and indelible—I devoured it in a day and am still savoring its themes months later." ––Avery Carpenter Forrey, author of Social Engagement
"A twisty novel about the dark side of love and the reverberating effects of childhood trauma, Carola Lovering’s Bye, Baby is tense and suspenseful with secrets and surprises at every turn." ––Jill Santopolo, New York Times bestselling author of The Light We Lost
"Lovering unspools a taut, twisty, humdinger of a plot that encompasses the vagaries of true friendship as well as those of true love." ––Kirkus (starred review)
"Lovering’s nuanced characterizations and interweaving of different voices and timelines add depth to her story of obsession. Fans of Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins will enjoy this one." ––Publishers Weekly
