Before Mars

What I really enjoy about Newman’s writing is that she gives her protagonists involved personal stories in the midst of the sci-fi thriller/mystery setting. In this case, our main character is a woman who has suffered from postpartum depression, I’d say, though it isn’t named. And the shame and guilt caused by the fact that she doesn’t experience motherhood with much joy or excitement. I found the first book of this series more well done plot-wise, however. I don’t know how mysterious the plot was supposed to be for this book, but if you’ve read the first two you know where this one is going pretty early on. It sucked a lot of the suspense and tension out of this book. I’m still interested in reading the next one to see what else she comes up with.

I complained several times about the mother-stuff in this book. After finishing the book, I read the afterward, which mentions postpartum depression, and I feel bad for having done so. I get that it was a major part of this character, but it went on too long for my tastes and was just generally not that pleasant to read. But it’s important and I’m glad it’s there.

Anyway, I liked a lot of the other aspects of this book, even if I also found the main “mystery” to be entirely too predictable. It was still interesting, and definitely a fast read.