The Surrogate

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.)