Wednesday's Child

by Deborah Shlian, Joel Shlian

HARTWOOD'S CHILDREN KNEW A SECRET. A BAD, BAD SECRET...It was Leigh Novak's second chance. She left behind a faithless husband to begin a new life with her young son Jeremyas a family doctor in a small northern California town. But Hartwood held a bitter welcome. Leigh's first patient, a child, died mysteriously in her office. And soon Leigh was too busy to spend much time with Jeremy. It seemed her only friend was Norathe woman who took such good care of the town's little children. When Nora started taking care of Jeremy, he stopped getting angry, stopped crying, stopped telling lies.... Nora taught her children to be very, very good. If they were bad, she punished them. And if a child was very bad, Nora made sure he would never cry again.... "A haunting psychological thriller in the best-selling tradition of Mary Higgins Clark...."--LA Times "The book is eminently readable and as fast-paced, taut and compelling a medical psychodrama as has come along in years."--David Shobin, author of The Unborn "...I devoured it in two sittings! I found myself at the end of each chapter saying, 'well, maybe just one more....' It was spellbinding."--Mark B. Perry, TV writer and producer "Wow! This is dramatic, page-turning stufffull of creepy villains."--George Anders, The Wall Street Journal

Genres: Horror, Mystery

309 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Deborah Shlian a physician, medical consultant, and author of non-fiction and fiction (medical mystery/thrillers). She practices medicine and often co-writes with her husband Joel Shlian.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book read like the script of a Lifetime movie. This IS NOT a criticism. I happen to enjoy Lifetime movies. I could see vividly every character, and feel every emotion expressed. As a mother I just wanted to hold every poor child in the story. And surprisingly, I pitied and despised Nora (the antagonist) all at the same time.
I had figured out the plot a little earlier than I had liked, but it didn't take away from the suspense of the end at all. It was a bit heart pounding to say the least.
I wouldn't put this in the horror category, but there is a true to life horror at hand. Abuse (this story addresses child abuse) is a horrible reality that no human being should ever have to endure.

[Sabra · Rating 1 out of 5]

The truth is that most of us who are abused, get hurt by family members and romantic others in our own homes. Enough with emotionally unstable and immature caregivers/parents looking to scapegoat early childhood educators in an effort to stem their working parent guilt. This book is ridiculous and probably from the sad time of history when Americans were claiming they saw devil worship everywhere. I feel awful for those child care center owners in California who were imprisoned over children's fairy tales claiming outlandish alleged abuse. It was obviously untrue and they have since been released. Yet the lives and the general reputation of early childhood educators have been destroyed nonetheless.

[Leslie Hayden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was probably the most deranged and messed up book i have ever read in my 32 years. It was a really good thriller/suspense but as I write this I'm just mind blown. As a parent I was beyond livid about the abuse and the fact the mother would not believe her own child. The terrifying part is there are plenty of people like Nora in the real world putting on the same act as her. It's a book that you can't stop reading but you also want to throw it at the wall because of the insanity of the story.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leigh Novak is a doctor working in an LA ER when the book opens. Her husband has just walked out for a younger woman and her 5 year old son Jeremy, starts acting out. One of the ways he does is by telling lies. When an opportunity to become a Family doctor in a small town near San Francisco presents itself, Leigh decides that that might just be the solution to her blues and Jeremy's behavior. She never expects what awaits her in Hartwood, California and she doesn't believe Jeremy when he tries to tell her. This was a real page turner. A+!

[Jenifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an interesting read, but I wasn't a page turner for me, and honestly I skimmed through some of the chapters. Story about a mother, who is a physician, moves to a small town to practice medicine, and entrusts her son's care to a women who is mentally unstable, abusive, a result of an abusive past. It's worth a read, but I didn't love it.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeah, this book reminded me of how much I sort of love fast-paced predictable horror fiction. As another reviewer said, this book is a horror Lifetime movie. But I mean that in the best possible way. I read it in two days, didn't have to think very hard about it, and found the read immensely satisfying.

[Tome Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best horror books I’ve read! In fact this was my Horror Book of the Year for 2022! Not your typical “horror” novel because you don’t see gruesome deaths and supernatural beings but the horror is easily imagined (child abuse). This book is excellent! Must read if your into vintage horror.

[AudioBookFans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check out my indepth audiobook review at www.audiobookfans.com

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going in I thought this was going to be a mystery. It is not so much of a mystery as a telling of a story. Quick read on a rainy day. Enjoyable.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this back in high school, and from what I remember, it wasn't that good. I recall the plot being weak and the "horror" being nonexistant.

[Elly Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

gripping but the plot falls apart a few times.c