Woman on the Edge

At the start of Bailey’s nail-biting debut, new mother Nicole Markham approaches social worker Morgan Kinkaid on a Chicago subway platform and urges Morgan to take her baby. Morgan, whose husband, Ryan, recently committed suicide after being convicted of embezzlement, doesn’t recognize the woman, yet Nicole calls her by name. Just after Nicole tosses the baby into Morgan’s arms, she jumps to her death in front of a moving train. Morgan, in her effort to understand what motivated Nicole to kill herself, discovers that a baby died under Nicole’s care when she was working as a nanny. The baby’s mother, blaming Nicole, sent her threatening letters, even though the coroner ruled it was a case of sudden infant death syndrome. Meanwhile, Det. Karina Martinez, who earlier investigated Ryan’s suicide and always believed Morgan conspired in Ryan’s embezzlement, investigates Nicole’s death; Karina suspects Morgan of pushing Nicole onto the tracks because Morgan was desperate for a child of her own. The tension becomes unrelenting as Morgan unravels Nicole’s story. Fans of psychological suspense are in for a treat. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency. (Mar.)