March 5, 2024

BYE, BABY

Carola T. Lovering

St. Martin's Press

3/5/24

Thriller

Hardcover, 352 pages

"Powerful, relatable and crazily addictive."

-Rosie Walsh


"A gripping novel of suspense."

-Greer Hendricks

Every friendship has its shadow.


On a brisk fall night in a New York apartment, 35-year-old Billie West hears terrified screams. It's her lifelong best friend Cassie Barnwell, one floor above, and she's just realized her infant daughter has gone missing. Billie is shaken as she looks down into her arms to see the baby, remembering—with a jolt of fear—that she is responsible for the kidnapping that has instantly shattered Cassie’s world.


Once fiercely bonded by their secrets, Cassie and Billie have drifted apart in adulthood, no longer the inseparable pair they used to be in their small Hudson Valley hometown. Cassie is married to a wealthy man, has recently become a mother, and is building a following as a lifestyle influencer. She is desperate to leave her past behind—including Billie, who is single and childless, and no longer fits into her world. But Billie knows the worst thing Cassie has ever done, and she will do whatever it takes to restore their friendship…


Told in alternating perspectives in Lovering’s signature suspenseful style, Bye, Baby confronts the myriad ways friendships change and evolve, the lingering echoes of childhood trauma, and the impact of women’s choices on their lifelong relationships.

Dear Reader,


For a while, I’ve wanted to write a book that centers on a complicated—and yes, toxic—female friendship. The plot is fictional, but the emotions in the book are very real to me—particularly the nuanced pain of drifting apart from a lifelong friend you’d been close with forever. I’m thirty-five, and a shift has occurred in this decade that I’ve been paying close attention to, that I’ve come to believe is relatively universal: our thirties are a period in life when certain friendships change or simply stop sticking, and just like in a romantic breakup, it’s often more painful for one person than the other. This shift is at the heart of Bye, Baby, and I explore the reason in the book’s pages, while interweaving themes of motherhood, women’s choices, childhood trauma, and social media.


 As always, thank you for reading.


Carola Lovering

Book Club Menu

Grant's Rum Punch: Grant's signature rum punch features a Mount Gay floater—it's a sweet, strong cocktail that's dangerous because it goes down so easily. Best enjoyed on the deck of the Adler's villa in St. Barts.


Chicken Milanese: Dusted with panko bread crumbs and complete with a twist of lemon, this delicious, cozy recipe is one Billie learned from her mother.


Kale Caesar Salad: Inspired by the Kale Caesar from Sweetgreen, a tried and true favorite of Billie and Cassie's over the years.


Carola Lovering

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