The Surrogate Mother

The Surrogate Mother by Freida McFadden is a psychological thriller that was first published in 2018. The novel follows Abby Adler, a woman who is desperate for motherhood after years of unsuccessful fertility treatments and a failed adoption attempt. Abby’s hopes are reignited when her assistant, Monica, offers to be her surrogate. However, Abby uncovers unsettling truths about Monica’s past as the pregnancy progresses. McFadden is the international best-selling author of psychological thrillers such as The Housemaid (2022), Never Lie (2022), and The Coworker (2023). She is also a practicing physician specializing in brain injuries. Her narratives frequently explore the dark side of the human psyche, examining deception, psychological manipulation, and the complexities of human relationships.

This guide refers to the 2018 e-book edition published by Hollywood Upstairs Press.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death, graphic violence, pregnancy loss, suicidal ideation, ableism, and substance use.

Plot Summary

Thirty-six-year-old Abby Alder loves her job in advertising, has a substantial trust fund, and is happily married to handsome math professor Sam Adler. The only thing that she feels is missing from her life is a child. Unable to conceive naturally, Abby has faced the repeated disappointment of failed fertility treatments. Furthermore, the Adlers’ adoption of a baby boy collapses when the birth mother decides to keep the baby. Abby is painfully aware that Sam could have a biological child with another woman—for example, one of his many love-struck students. Fortunately, Sam appears devoted to her.

Abby’s 23-year-old personal assistant, Monica Johnson, offers to become a surrogate, using her own eggs and Sam’s sperm. Abby hired Monica after her former assistant, Gertie, broke her hip and did not return to work. Monica is intelligent and efficient and resembles a young version of Abby. She proposes that the Adlers pay her graduate school tuition fees in exchange for carrying their baby. Monica promises to leave the advertising company before her pregnancy shows so that Abby cannot be accused of abusing her seniority.

Sam is uneasy about the surrogacy, arguing that they should adopt an older child. However, Abby persuades him, swayed by her desire to become the mother of a newborn as soon as possible. She ignores warnings from her mother and best friend, Shelley, who point out the dangers of allowing an attractive young woman to have Sam’s baby. Abby is reassured after speaking to Monica’s mother and her roommate, Chelsea Williams, who both confirm that Monica is reliable and altruistic.

Monica becomes pregnant shortly after Sam’s first sperm donation. However, as the pregnancy progresses, Abby is increasingly unsettled. Monica makes decisions about the pregnancy without consulting Abby, arranges hospital appointments when only Sam can attend, and fails to correct the hospital’s staff when they assume that Sam is her husband. As Monica’s demeanor changes, so does her appearance. She exchanges her natural look and modest clothing for red lipstick and low-cut outfits.

Abby makes uncharacteristic mistakes while working on an important project for Cuddles, a baby product manufacturer. The errors exacerbate Abby’s strained relationship with Denise Holt, her boss. Meanwhile, Denise praises Monica, describing her as a “rising star.”

When Monica’s pregnancy can no longer be concealed, Abby suggests that it is time for her assistant to quit. However, Monica reveals that she has changed her mind about leaving her job. Abby is forced to tell her employer about the surrogacy arrangement, further damaging her professional reputation. She expresses unease about Monica to Sam, but he dismisses her claims as paranoia.

Abby is fired when methamphetamines show up in her routine drug test at work. Even Sam disbelieves Abby’s claim that she is innocent, observing that a drug addiction explains his wife’s paranoia and insomnia. While searching her drawers, Sam finds a bag containing crystal meth. When Monica suggests that Abby is not a suitable adoptive mother, Sam tells his wife that she must attend a drug rehabilitation program. Abby refuses, sharing her belief that Monica has been drugging her coffee at work and also planted the crystal meth. Sam does not believe her, stating that he intends to remain a part of his child’s life, even if the adoption does not go ahead.

Abby reunites with her former assistant, Gertie, believing that Monica may have been responsible for Gertie’s accident. Meanwhile, Denise calls Abby, admitting that she made a mistake in firing her. Denise reveals that she found medication in Monica’s desk drawer and believes that she was drugging Abby. Abby arranges to meet Denise in her office that evening. When she arrives, she finds Denise dead at her desk.

While being questioned by a detective, Abby learns that Denise was stabbed with the engraved letter opener that Sam gave her on their wedding anniversary. The detective also shows her an email threatening Denise that was sent from Abby’s work account. As the number-one murder suspect, she potentially faces life imprisonment. Abby’s attorney encourages her to accept a plea bargain, reducing her sentence to 15 years. Abby refuses, imagining Monica and Sam raising their baby together while she is in jail.

Abby discovers that Monica hired Chelsea to pose as her roommate. She speaks to Monica’s real college roommate, who suspects that Monica murdered a former boyfriend. Realizing that the woman she talked to was not Monica’s mother, Abby tracks down her real mother, Louise Johnson. Louise confirms that Monica has always been “unstable” and likely killed her best friend in high school after they argued over a boy. She also reveals that she has been estranged from Monica since her daughter began an affair with a married math professor named Sam.

Abby concludes that Sam and Monica have been jointly plotting to dispose of her so that they can be together. While alone in the apartment, she receives a visit from Gertie, who insists on cooking breakfast for Abby. When Monica also arrives, Abby learns that Gertie spiked her breakfast with a potentially lethal dose of sleeping pills. Gertie is Monica’s biological mother, while Louise is her stepmother. Monica and her mother have been plotting together since Gertie worked for Abby, and they decided that Sam was the perfect match for Monica. Gertie knew that Abby would agree to the surrogacy since she was so desperate for a baby. They intend to pass off Abby’s death as a suicide.

When Sam enters the apartment, frantically searching for her, Abby realizes that he knows nothing about Monica’s plot and is not romantically involved with her. Monica has a gun and wounds Sam before accidentally shooting Gertie dead. Realizing that Sam will never love her, Monica shoots herself.

Abby is rushed to the hospital and survives. Meanwhile, Monica survives her suicide attempt but is left in a comatose state. The baby is delivered safely, and the Adlers adopt the child, calling him David.

A year later, Louise gives the Adlers a yellow blanket, stating that it was Monica’s favorite. Abby is about to put the blanket in the trash when David cries, demanding to have it. David buries his face in the fabric, which smells of Monica’s lavender perfume.