Book Review - Cutting Teeth by Chandler Baker

Title Cutting Teeth
Author: Chandler Baker
Genre: Horror
Published: 2023
 
Description: Darby. Mary Beth and Rhea are on personal quests to reclaim aspects of their identities subsumed by motherhood – their careers, their sex lives, their bodies. Their children, though, disrupt their plans when an unsettling medical condition begins to go around the Little Academy preschool: the kids are craving blood.
 
The a young teacher is found dead, and the only potential witnesses are ten adorable four-year-olds. Soon it becomes clear that the children are not just witnesses, but also suspects… and so are their mothers.
 
Review: We follow three mothers, Rhea, Mary Beth and Darby, who all have young children in Little Academy preschool. Trying to balance their life as mothers with their career, social life and relationship with their partners, life is hard enough. When the children at Little Academy start biting people, it feels like they are going through a phase. But eventually they develop an apatite for blood. With that, one of their teachers is found dead on school property. And the only witnesses are the four-year-old kids. But they’re not just witnesses, they might also be suspects. And so are their mothers.
 
The story deals with motherhood and the things that people never tell you before becoming one. It also takes a looks at society with a critical eye. “Cutting Teeth” is first and foremost a very original book, dealing with an actual medical condition that I personally never heard of. Mixing these issues these parents are all dealing with, with a murder mystery, makes for a very entertaining and enjoyable read. And the story was not at all predictable. It took some unexpected turns.
 
The character development was very strong and enjoyed the mystery. Sometimes the story focused on the personal lives and relationships of the three main female characters a bit too much. I wasn’t that interested in that. I preferred reading about the kids and the murder mystery and how these women dealt with that.
 
I am very interested in Chandler Baker’s other work within this horror/ thriller genre, because this was a definite winner.
 
Rating: 4,5/ 5