Charlie and Dillon's life is nearly perfect — successful careers, a beautiful home, and after years of trying, Charlie is finally pregnant through IVF. Then the FBI shows up at her door. The sperm donor? A serial killer on death row. Suddenly, Charlie's miracle pregnancy becomes a media nightmare, and she's forced to decide: terminate the pregnancy, or raise a child with a murderer's DNA while the world watches and judges. Mitchard (author of *The Deep End of the Ocean*) turns what could be a lurid premise into something far more interesting — a taut exploration of maternal instinct, genetic determinism, and the question of whether evil can be inherited. The pacing is relentless, the ethical dilemmas genuinely thorny. For readers who like their domestic drama with a dark psychological edge and no easy answers.
