Cutting Teeth

With devourable writing and pitch-perfect humor, Cutting Teeth is a sharp, original, wickedly astute look at the sting of modern motherhood. -- Ashley Audrain, author of THE PUSH
Deliciously dark, Baker's novel exposes all the little horrors of motherhood. Cutting Teeth will make you question what's expected of the "perfect" mom-and have you wondering just how much you're willing to give. -- Kirsten Miller, author of Good Morning America Book Club pick THE CHANGE
Bestseller Baker takes readers on a stomach-dropping emotional roller coaster in this suspenseful and darkly comic tale of motherhood and murder... Baker's descriptions of the joys and trials of raising children bolster the mystery at the book's core. With winning cynicism, she delivers a wicked thriller that doubles as a glimpse at motherhood's dark underbelly. * Publishers Weekly *
Complex and gripping, featuring a brutal murder and an eye-opening look at suburban motherhood and the competition among the moms to be 'the best' ... Dark secrets, retribution, and the lengths a mother will go to to protect her child all feature in this twisted, disturbing story that will keep readers off balance from beginning to end. * Booklist *

What could be a more perfect and hilariously dark metaphor for privileged modern motherhood than Baker's invention of "pediatric Renfield's syndrome"? Any parent who has imagined that their young children are draining the life out of them will both get the joke and feel the (piercing) pain....In keeping with the ruthless satirical tone, though, what they want to protect their kids from most isn't bodily harm-it's a bad reputation.
Red herrings abound and clues are dispensed tantalizingly. The building social tension is so good that the murder mystery can feel almost unnecessary. Will it come back to bite readers in the end? In the meantime, Baker limns the fascinating ways parents in a community can be simultaneously at odds with
and bonded to each other and how the pressure of parenthood makes crisis hard to define. Gruesome, funny, jam-packed, sharp as baby teeth.