New mum in Dubai writes thriller based on her challenges with motherhood

In The Baby Whisperer, an electrifying medical crime thriller that blends suspense, mystery, and the supernatural, Jennifer Aaron-Foster takes her readers on an exhilarating journey that deftly blurs the lines between the earthly and metaphysical realms.

What sets this novel apart is its deeply personal origin, and how a quiet moment of reflection during a new mother’s sleepless nights became the nucleus of a story that speaks of the profound mysteries of life, death, and the unseen forces that shape our existence.

Jennifer said the idea for The Baby Whisperer came when she and her journalist husband, John, returned home from The American Hospital in Dubai, with their newborn, Amber.

Amber was crying excessively, and Jennifer and John were at a loss, unable to figure out what was wrong. Doctors later informed them that Amber was suffering from colic. As inexperienced parents, they had no idea how to handle the situation.

As she helplessly scanned the view of the Dubai Marina from her apartment’s balcony, at Jumeirah Lake Towers, Jennifer realised that her daughter’s cries weren’t just the result of discomfort —they were an attempt to communicate — a cry for help. It was in that moment that the idea for The Baby Whisperer came to life.

As Jennifer tried to calm her daughter, she thought: ‘What if babies could speak, what secrets would they share?’

While reflecting on her thoughts, the idea for Jennifer’s debut novel began to take root.

Spiritual Insights

“During one early morning crying session, I sat on the couch facing the balcony overlooking the Dubai Marina,” Jennifer recalls.

“I looked down at our daughter, Amber, and for a minute I understood that she was crying because she was trying to communicate something to me….I didn't set out to write a story with a political agenda.”

While the novel’s fantastical elements make for an intense thriller, Jennifer emphasises that she never intended to write an ideologically-charged novel. Instead, she said that the story came from a deep-rooted, personal curiosity about what it meant to be spiritually alive before entering the world.

Jennifer said: “If we exist in this realm, and we agree that there is something after this reality, why can’t there be something before? Surely, we would exist in that plane before we came to earth”

Set in contemporary London, where Jennifer spent most of her childhood, the story plunges readers into a world where newborns are not just innocent babies, but are spiritually alive and have a far greater understanding of life on earth.

The protagonist in the novel is Christine Shore, a reluctant ‘Baby Whisperer.’ Christine has the extraordinary, and often troubling, ability to communicate with newborns. However, she views her ability more like a curse than a gift. But as she befriends Tobey Daley — a terminally ill baby on life support — Christine becomes immersed in a conspiracy far greater than anything she could ever have imagined.

The ethics of it all

Through her gift, and whilst grappling with her own demons, Christine learns that babies are cognisant of far more than we adults believe. They see things that she cannot even fathom. The story delves into themes of medical ethics, torment, sorrow and the societal pressures that unreasonably impact the most vulnerable, especially the unborn.

As Christine’s relationship with Tobey deepens, a chilling and twisted conspiracy begins to unfold within the hospital, revealing a diabolical plot involving a ruthless global pharmaceutical company.

What transpires is a heart-pounding race against time as Christine attempts to thwart a series of infanticides that are part of a far-reaching, sinister conspiracy. Her quest for the truth is fraught with danger, as she and her allies face threats from those hell-bent on silencing her.

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