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Somebody's Baby
Thirty-one-year-old Snow Devane is shocked to discover that the woman she believed to be her mother is an imposter and that she had been stolen from a supermarket as an infant.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
6 people are currently reading
170 people want to read
About the author
Charlotte Vale Allen
60 books40 followersCharlotte Vale-Allen was born in Toronto and lived in England from 1961 to 1964 where she worked as a television actress and singer. She returned to Toronto briefly, performing as a singer and in cabaret revues until she emigrated to the United States in 1966.
Shortly after her marriage to Walter Allen in 1970 she began writing and sold her first novel Love Life in 1974. Prior to this book's publication she contracted to do a series of paperback originals for Warner Books, with the result that in 1976 three of her books appeared in print.
Her autobiography, the acclaimed Daddy's Girl, was actually the first book she wrote but in 1971 it was deemed too controversial by the editors who read it. It wasn't until 1980, after she'd gained success as a novelist, that the groundbreaking book was finally published.
One of Canada's most successful novelists, with over seven million copies sold of her 30+ novels, Ms. Allen's books have been published in all English-speaking countries, in Braille, and have been translated into more than 20 languages.
In her writing she tries to deal with issues confronting women, being informative while at the same time offering a measure of optimism. "My strongest ability as a writer is to make women real, to take you inside their heads and let you know how they feel, and to make you care about them."
A film buff and an amateur photographer, Allen enjoys foreign travel. She finds cooking and needlework therapeutic, and is a compulsive player of computer Solitaire. The mother of an adult daughter, since 1970 she has made her home in Connecticut.
Shortly after her marriage to Walter Allen in 1970 she began writing and sold her first novel Love Life in 1974. Prior to this book's publication she contracted to do a series of paperback originals for Warner Books, with the result that in 1976 three of her books appeared in print.
Her autobiography, the acclaimed Daddy's Girl, was actually the first book she wrote but in 1971 it was deemed too controversial by the editors who read it. It wasn't until 1980, after she'd gained success as a novelist, that the groundbreaking book was finally published.
One of Canada's most successful novelists, with over seven million copies sold of her 30+ novels, Ms. Allen's books have been published in all English-speaking countries, in Braille, and have been translated into more than 20 languages.
In her writing she tries to deal with issues confronting women, being informative while at the same time offering a measure of optimism. "My strongest ability as a writer is to make women real, to take you inside their heads and let you know how they feel, and to make you care about them."
A film buff and an amateur photographer, Allen enjoys foreign travel. She finds cooking and needlework therapeutic, and is a compulsive player of computer Solitaire. The mother of an adult daughter, since 1970 she has made her home in Connecticut.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
May 4, 2010
At first, it was a bit entertaining but for the 100 pages I put a lot of time and effort to read during midnights, the pages were innocuous, boring, and long-winded. She (the author) could have wrote the first 100 leaves for five pages. It was really not just what I would like it to be and what the reviews are stating. Sorry, but Allen wrote a tedious job with this book. I loved the plot, it's just how she wrote it that I am not in favor of.
July 30, 2015
This was a very interesting novel, about a young woman (Snow Devane) in her early 30's who finds out when her mother dies that she is not really her daughter but a child she had stolen from a supermarket in NYC at the age of seven months. This story deals with the feelings, Snow and friends go through when the truth is exposed and also deals with why she is the way she is, from having grown up with an overprotective mother. Good mystery and character study. I really enjoyed this read.
January 30, 2012
The writing was good, interesting and flowed well, but the ending wasn't. An ending I mean. It seems like in most books you expect the story to be wrapped up. Otherwise it seems like the
contract you had with the author that you would read the story and they would tell it to you is
not being fulfilled.
contract you had with the author that you would read the story and they would tell it to you is
not being fulfilled.
Read
August 11, 2012A woman's entire life is turned upside down by her mother's deathbed confession: Snow Devane was stolen as an infant and is someone else's baby.
When I finished this book I felt it was 'fair'. The characters were okay. Overall, I thought the book moved too slowly and sections were wordy. It bothered me that Snow's 'mother' was never identified.
When I finished this book I felt it was 'fair'. The characters were okay. Overall, I thought the book moved too slowly and sections were wordy. It bothered me that Snow's 'mother' was never identified.
May 19, 2025
3.5-star read
March 23, 2015
I didn't like the book. There were too many loose ends at the end, and the main question: 'why did Anne Cooke kidnap Snow' wasn't answered. That was a big disappointment.
February 22, 2015
I really liked the plot but was disappointed when the book ended abruptly, I felt like the whole story hadn't unravelled yet.
October 31, 2019
This book had a great start: Mother tells daughter, as she is about to die, that she is not her mother....good start right? Between the emotional ups and downs of the main character, SNOW, a best friend (female) who calls her "BABE" (really? and no she isn't), not to mention the agonizing quest to find out who was her biological mother....it was exhausting and my least favorite book that I've read this year. Sorry Charlotte.
April 24, 2021
On her deathbed, Snow's mother reveals that she kidnapped her as an infant. The search for her real parents leads Snow to examine her own life and brings her new friends and relationships. Characters are rounded, well-developed and engaging and the plot intriguing.
August 30, 2023
Maybe if you find out you were kidnapped as a baby, you don't make a joke about kidnapping a baby you find adorable? And good grief that first half trying to find her mom's tax returns dragged! The only thing I enjoyed about this book was the biological mother. DNF'd
June 12, 2025
for how old this book is I enjoyed it. This is my first older book and I’m happy I read it, it would be a 4 star if we were able to figure out more on Anne Cooke, other than that this story was very easy to follow along and had me wanting more.
August 8, 2017
un livre sympa mais dont la fin me laisse sur ma faim!
January 17, 2018
her mom on her deathbed tells her shes not her mom. she had stolen her in a market when she was a baby. she finds out who her real mom is and contacts her.
she really likes her real mom. she cant figure out who the mother that stole her was. she is very rich now.
she really likes her real mom. she cant figure out who the mother that stole her was. she is very rich now.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 28, 2018
I very much enjoyed this book, very intriguing story and written very well. The written did a good job with putting the right amount of detail. I would look into more books from Charlotte Vale Allen.
September 24, 2018
This is one of the most unusual plots I’ve ever read. First time with this author also. Couldn’t put it down and didn’t want it to end.
July 26, 2019
J'ai beaucoup apprécié. Il y a du suspens et des surprises
February 13, 2020
A photographer learns that she was kidnapped as a baby.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2021
j'ai bien aimé lire ce livre, avec une bonne intrigue et facile à lire
April 24, 2021
July 21, 2017
Published in 1995, Charlotte Vale Allen’s Somebody’s Baby was in my TBR pile for a long time.
This book is not a romance, although it certainly could’ve had more of a romantic bent without diminishing the story. It’s more of a suspenseful mystery and a character study. The plot involves a 30-31 year old woman who is a photographer in New York City. Suddenly, our heroine — Snow Devane — learns that her mother has had a heart attack and she must rush to a hospital in Rhode Island before it’s too late.
Snow’s mother was a widow who raised her daughter without a father. She was super protective and although loving, very prim and proper regarding her standards for her daughter. As a result, Snow privately rebelled, running off to do things her mother would be humiliated over, like having affairs with married men while still a teenager. Once an adult, Snow went off to art school and then moved to New York. However, her personal dynamic doesn’t change much and she still has relationships with men who are unavailable.
Back to her mother’s bedside, Snow reaches her just in time for a death bed confession that rocks her world. Her mother admits that she is not Snow’s true parent but stole her out of a supermarket cart 30 years ago, while her true mother had gone down another aisle to pick up a grocery item. Although in shock, this confession explains so much to Snow, and she and her best friend start a search for who Snow’s actual parents are, who this woman who raised her was, and how this woman attained so much money for which Snow is now the beneficiary.
This story kept me turning the pages because I couldn’t wait to see if Snow would find her real family, find out who the woman who raised her actually was, and how this woman managed to accumulate such a fortune. Along the way, we get a lot of self analysis by Snow and we come to know some of her friends and new acquaintances who either help her or impact her feelings about it, but when we finally get to the answers, I was disappointed in the time spent on them and the lack of impact. In terms of the big unknowns in this story, I thought they were watered down and handled in a namby-pamby way. Not only that, but the author introduced side stories that really didn’t add much to the central plot-line, including a new romance that I found to be part and parcel of the main character’s previous problems.
The author built up a terrific story and then just whiffed it! Ugh. I’ll be generous and give it a “C.”
Published in 1995, Charlotte Vale Allen’s Somebody’s Baby was in my TBR pile for a long time.
This book is not a romance, although it certainly could’ve had more of a romantic bent without diminishing the story. It’s more of a suspenseful mystery and a character study. The plot involves a 30-31 year old woman who is a photographer in New York City. Suddenly, our heroine — Snow Devane — learns that her mother has had a heart attack and she must rush to a hospital in Rhode Island before it’s too late.
Snow’s mother was a widow who raised her daughter without a father. She was super protective and although loving, very prim and proper regarding her standards for her daughter. As a result, Snow privately rebelled, running off to do things her mother would be humiliated over, like having affairs with married men while still a teenager. Once an adult, Snow went off to art school and then moved to New York. However, her personal dynamic doesn’t change much and she still has relationships with men who are unavailable.
Back to her mother’s bedside, Snow reaches her just in time for a death bed confession that rocks her world. Her mother admits that she is not Snow’s true parent but stole her out of a supermarket cart 30 years ago, while her true mother had gone down another aisle to pick up a grocery item. Although in shock, this confession explains so much to Snow, and she and her best friend start a search for who Snow’s actual parents are, who this woman who raised her was, and how this woman attained so much money for which Snow is now the beneficiary.
This story kept me turning the pages because I couldn’t wait to see if Snow would find her real family, find out who the woman who raised her actually was, and how this woman managed to accumulate such a fortune. Along the way, we get a lot of self analysis by Snow and we come to know some of her friends and new acquaintances who either help her or impact her feelings about it, but when we finally get to the answers, I was disappointed in the time spent on them and the lack of impact. In terms of the big unknowns in this story, I thought they were watered down and handled in a namby-pamby way. Not only that, but the author introduced side stories that really didn’t add much to the central plot-line, including a new romance that I found to be part and parcel of the main character’s previous problems.
The author built up a terrific story and then just whiffed it! Ugh. I’ll be generous and give it a “C.”
April 4, 2009
Quite an interesting story of a girl named Snow, kidnapped as a baby from a grocery store. On her mother's (kidnappers) deathbed, she reveals to Snow that she had stolen her from another woman. Snow and her friend Katie set out to find her real identity, her biological mother and the real name of the woman who raised her.
From back cover:
"A woman's entire life is turned upside down by her monther's deathbed confession: Snow Devane was stolen as an infant and is someone else's child.
At thirty-one, Snow believes she has everything she wants-a successful career as a photographer, an uncomplicated life in Manhattan, good friends and some necessary distance from the mother who stifled her with caring concern.
Now, suddenly, everything has changed. Snow must find answers. Who was this woman she thought she knew? What drove her to steal another woman's child? What happened to the woman who, thirty years before, turned around in a supermarket to find her baby gone? And, most importantly, who is Snow Devane?"
From back cover:
"A woman's entire life is turned upside down by her monther's deathbed confession: Snow Devane was stolen as an infant and is someone else's child.
At thirty-one, Snow believes she has everything she wants-a successful career as a photographer, an uncomplicated life in Manhattan, good friends and some necessary distance from the mother who stifled her with caring concern.
Now, suddenly, everything has changed. Snow must find answers. Who was this woman she thought she knew? What drove her to steal another woman's child? What happened to the woman who, thirty years before, turned around in a supermarket to find her baby gone? And, most importantly, who is Snow Devane?"
November 28, 2009
This book would make a great 'Lifetime For Women' movie. I did like it, though it was a little sappy in places. It was not, however, a romance as the title may imply. A young lady finds out at the age of 30ish, that the woman she thought was her mother was, in actuality, her kidnapper. While much of the remainder of the story is about the main character finding her real family, it is also about being confronted by life changes. While she does find her birth mother, she also finds that the woman she thought to be her mother actually has over 20 different identities and the truth remains a mystery even in the end. The story is not as much about finding the truth, but about dealing with those huge life changes that don't always end the way we wish they would. I completely enjoyed the book though it may have been a bit unrealistic and. as I mentioned, sappy in places. A good read for a rainy day.
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August 9, 2015Snow Devane's life is turned upside down when her mother, Anne Cooke dies suddenly. Just before she died, she told Snow she had kidnapped her in a New York supermarket as a baby.
Snow and her best friend Katie start a search to discover who Snow is and where her family is, and to discover who Anne was. Snow is fairly easily able to find news clippings about the kidnapping and is reunited with her mother. The other search doesn't go as well - ultimately they discover over 30 aliases/identities but never who Anne truly was.
Along the way, Snow emerges from several childhood issues, makes new friends and lovers and discovers herself.
Interesting book even though her promiscuousness bothers. No overtly sexual scenes.
Snow and her best friend Katie start a search to discover who Snow is and where her family is, and to discover who Anne was. Snow is fairly easily able to find news clippings about the kidnapping and is reunited with her mother. The other search doesn't go as well - ultimately they discover over 30 aliases/identities but never who Anne truly was.
Along the way, Snow emerges from several childhood issues, makes new friends and lovers and discovers herself.
Interesting book even though her promiscuousness bothers. No overtly sexual scenes.
June 23, 2009
Even though I enjoyed this story overall, I still believe that the author left a lot of loose ends after the story ended. Since this is only the second book that I've read by Vale Allen, I don't know if this is her "trademark" or not, or if she is setting us up for a sequel.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed learning about Snow Devane's journey into her past. I wish we could have learned more about who Anne Cooke was, and her motivations behind her abduction of a baby girl so many years before. Also, I hope Snow kept her promise of friendship with Julia, as vulnerable girls seems to be a theme in this author's work.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed learning about Snow Devane's journey into her past. I wish we could have learned more about who Anne Cooke was, and her motivations behind her abduction of a baby girl so many years before. Also, I hope Snow kept her promise of friendship with Julia, as vulnerable girls seems to be a theme in this author's work.
May 24, 2011
I love this book. For me, its one of those that I love to read every few years. I dont really read romances, but this is beyond your typical romance.
Snow is a young woman (30-32 forget exactly) who finds out that in 1963, she was kidnapped, and raised by her kidnapper. She always assumed her mother was, well her mother. Her mother dies of a heartacck, and admits the kidnapping to her. This book is Snow's journey to not just finding her family, but finding herself.
Snow is a young woman (30-32 forget exactly) who finds out that in 1963, she was kidnapped, and raised by her kidnapper. She always assumed her mother was, well her mother. Her mother dies of a heartacck, and admits the kidnapping to her. This book is Snow's journey to not just finding her family, but finding herself.
June 3, 2014
First time reading a book by this author, I was pleasantly surprised. The story grabbed me from the first page. Although part of the story line had to be repeated for various characters throughout the story, I was anxious to finish to see how this book ended. It was a good read and I recommend.
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October 9, 2008M All
July 13, 2009
read this review and others at http://readingforsanity.blogspot.com/...
August 1, 2009
I liked, however I did feel that some chapters were all over the place. She could left some of the random stuff out.
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July 9, 2010A woman finds out that she was stolen as a baby and sets out to find her real mother. It is written in a very detached tone and that did not work for me.
March 25, 2012
Enjoyable, quick read. At the end I couldn't put it down. I did not like the main character Snow at all.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews