The Surrogate: A Novel

by Toni Halleen

Overview

“The Surrogate is a thrilling, high-stakes debut centering on a vulnerable newborn and two women who will do almost anything to claim her as their daughter. With a collection of vividly rendered characters, this twisty tale will leave you thinking about the true meaning of motherhood long after you turn the last page. I loved it!”—Patry Francis, bestselling author of All the Children Are Home

Ruth is a no-nonsense fortysomething journalist from the Midwest, desperate for a child with her new husband, Hal. Their hope rests with Cally, a nineteen-year- old who wants to go to college—but doesn’t have the cash. The arrangement seems perfect for everyone.

But within a day of the baby’s birth, Cally has a change of heart—and engineers a harrowing escape from the hospital with the newborn. When Ruth and Hal discover that Cally and their daughter are gone, a whole series of doubts and secrets is revealed, and the difference between right and wrong is no longer clear.

Set in the vast, sparsely populated upper reaches of northern Minnesota in the middle of winter, The Surrogate follows Ruth, Hal, Cally, through a maze of thought-provoking questions about the nature of family, love, and relationships: What would you do for your partner, when the going gets tough? How much is a pregnancy “worth”? And who, if anyone, “deserves” to be a mother?

With its realistic portrayal of surrogacy and motherhood, 'The Surrogate' is a thought-provoking novel that will stay with you long after you've finished reading. Toni Halleen's writing is both literary and suspenseful, making this a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers and domestic dramas.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780063070080
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/01/2022
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	998,765
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Toni Halleen worked for many years as an employment law attorney. She was born and raised in the Midwest and earned a B.A. in women's studies from Mount Holyoke College, and a JD from the University of Minnesota. Toni won a Mentor Prize in fiction from the Loft Literary Center, and her writing has appeared in Wigleaf, Structo, Gravel, the Star Tribune, and elsewhere. She lives in Minneapolis with her family.

Editorial Reviews

"In her novel The Surrogate Toni Halleen does two things brilliantly; she writes a heart-wrenching story of a couple who hire a surrogate to carry their baby - and then turns that story into an unputdownable tale of psychological suspense. An amazing achievement!"

Michael Elias

"The Surrogate is a thrilling, high-stakes debut, centering on a vulnerable newborn, and two women who will do almost anything to claim her as their daughter. With a collection of vividly rendered characters, this twisty tale will leave you thinking about the true meaning of motherhood long after you turn the last page. I loved it!"

Patry Francis

09/13/2021

Set during the winter of 2002–2003, Halleen’s soapy debut sees 42-year-old Minneapolis journalist Ruth Olson and her husband, 48-year-old real estate lawyer Hal, seek out an egg donor and surrogate when Ruth’s doctor deems her infertile. Though Hal already has two teenage sons from a previous marriage, Ruth desperately wants to raise a baby with him, and Hal will do whatever it takes to make her happy. Hoping to earn enough money to finish college, 20-year-old Cally Scott signs a contract with the couple that requires her to relinquish custody shortly after giving birth; when the moment comes, however, Cally decides she needs more time, zipping the infant into a duffel bag and fleeing the hospital via a second-story window. Cally then persuades her ex-boyfriend, Digger Wilkins, to take them north to his uncle’s hunting cabin. Through a rotating first-person narration, Halleen explores the legal and emotional complexities of surrogacy. Tension escalates in tandem with the characters’ exponentially irrational decisions, propelling the somewhat convoluted plot toward a cathartic (if convenient) conclusion. Domestic suspense fans will find enough to like. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"The Surrogate is a thrilling, high-stakes debut, centering on a vulnerable newborn, and two women who will do almost anything to claim her as their daughter. With a collection of vividly rendered characters, this twisty tale will leave you thinking about the true meaning of motherhood long after you turn the last page. I loved it!" — Patry Francis, bestselling author of All The Children are Home

"In her novel The Surrogate Toni Halleen does two things brilliantly; she writes a heart-wrenching story of a couple who hire a surrogate to carry their baby - and then turns that story into an unputdownable tale of psychological suspense. An amazing achievement!" — Michael Elias, author of You Can Go Home Now

From the Publisher

2021-09-01
A contract for surrogacy goes predictably bad in this debut novel told from multiple points of view.

Cally is 20, impressionable, and optimistic in 2001 when she signs the papers to become a surrogate for Hal Olson and Ruth Martin. Cally needs the cash, and Type A Ruth has always dreamed of being a mother. It’s Hal’s second marriage, and he’s only marginally interested in having another child, but Ruth envisions a baby as the glue that will bind her family together. “I believed it would be the ultimate bond,” she says. Days after giving birth, though, Cally splits from the hospital, sneaking the infant out. Cally’s old boyfriend Digger picks them up in his truck and they head north. “When I saw her,” Cally says, “and the way she looked at me, I just…couldn’t [give her away].” She starts daydreaming about a new life with Digger and the infant: “Why couldn’t we be one of those families? Weren’t we just like anybody else?” Hal and Ruth are terrified and understandably angry that she disappeared. Author Halleen’s background as an attorney shines as flashback chapters delve into the minutiae of contract law, but the plot is easy to predict. The story is told from all four characters' points of view, though some of the weaker ones feel like the results of an exercise in Googling cultural touchpoints. “That’s why I play Final Fantasy VII on Playstation,” one of Hal's sons says in a flashback, letting us know he’s squarely in 1997. Cally’s journey away from the hospital, Hal, and Ruth isn’t directed by much of a plan; the search to find her is short. Digger wants nothing to do with Cally’s fantasy of being a family of three; instead, he saw surrogacy as “creepy as hell.” Cally’s journey comes to a mostly inevitable conclusion, forecasted by the chapter where the characters negotiate the contract.

A thriller without many thrills.

Kirkus Reviews