Review | LITTLE LOVELY THINGS by Maureen Joyce Connolly

A mother’s chance decision leads to a twist of fate that is every parent’s worst nightmare.

Claire Rawlings, mother of two and medical resident, will not let the troubling signs of an allergic reaction prevent her from making it in for rounds. But when Claire’s symptoms overpower her while she’s driving into work, her two children in tow, she must pull over. Moments later she wakes up on the floor of a gas station bathroom-her car, and her precious girls have vanished.

The police have no leads and the weight of guilt presses down on Claire as each hour passes with no trace of her girls. All she has to hold on to are her strained marriage, a potentially unreliable witness who emerges days later, and the desperate but unquenchable belief that her daughters are out there somewhere.

Little Lovely Things is the story of a family shattered by an unthinkable tragedy. Played out in multiple narrative voices, the novel explores how the lives of those affected fatefully intersect, and highlights the potential catastrophe of the small decisions we make every day.

An incredible debut novel!!!

I had seen many positive comments on this book and knew I had to see what all the buzz was about. Did it live up to those rave reviews?

It’s 1991 and Dr. Claire Rawlings, on her way to work, with her 2 daughters in the back seat, is having a severe allergic reaction to a vaccine she received and has no choice but to stop due to her severe symptoms. After passing out in a gas station’s bathroom, she comes to but realizes that her car has been stolen with the 2 girls inside.

With feelings of extreme guilt, Claire and her husband Glen, try getting through each day in the hopes that their children will be returned.

The writing was fluid and so descriptive that I was pulled in from the first page. The type of book that had me so engrossed that I became one with the story. At times, the suspense was so taut that I found myself holding my breath. I could create vivid imagery of both the characters and scenes and feel the emotions of each member of the cast from the amazing descriptive narrative.

Was all the buzz about this book correct? Absolutely and then some!!! Putting this author on my radar!

A book that was hard to put down!!! Compelling and captivating that left me breathless! A story that will stay with me for a very long time!

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