Dorie - Cats&Books :) 's Reviews > Little Darlings

FANTASTIC HALLOWEEN READ!!!

Well this one is going to be difficult to write. I would have to classify this as a psychological thriller with the addition of folklore or the supernatural. At any rate it was a truly creepy, turn the pages quickly read. While at first I thought it would be something that wouldn’t be believable, by the first third of the book I was truly scared at what the outcome of this story would be.

As a mom of four I remember the sleep deprived feelings, forgetting what day it even is, never having time for a shower or to read even a magazine or newspaper and the constant needs of a newborn. I can’t even imagine the exhaustion of this new mother of twins.

The story begins shortly after a very traumatic delivery of twin boys to Lauren Tranter. During her hospitalization Lauren is sure that she sees and hears a dirty, rag covered woman showing her a basket of what looked like baby rats and singing an unusual song. After a bit of talk the woman says, “Let’s deal, Let’s change one for another”. “Give me one of yours and I’ll take care of it, You have one of mine and treat it like your own” The woman grasps Lauren’s arm and she struggles to get away, Choose one, said the woman, “choose one of I’ll take them both. You’ll never know the difference, I can make sure they look just the same”. What could be more horrific, she grabs the twins trolley and locks herself in the bathroom and calls the police. The hospital security and police arrive only to find just a very scared woman locked in the bathroom with her babies.

Well that is the set up for the rest of the story which I found to be engrossing. No one believes Lauren, they just chalk it up to exhaustion and sleep deprivation, plus the difficult delivery and medications. After she returns home, she refuses to leave the babies alone for even a few minutes. Finally her husband urges her to go outside. She is finally out in the park with the babies and falls asleep on a bench only to have someone or something take the twins. When they are found and returned to her she is certain that they are not her babies but something other, more sinister, a changeling perhaps?

There is only one person, DS Jo Harper, who believes her and even goes so far as to look up the history of the small town and folklore attached to another incident which sounds a lot like what is happening to Lauren.

To quote the publisher of Crooked Lane Books “I bet you’ll delight in this sinister supernatural thriller that challenges our understanding of modern motherhood and the myths that shape our lives. Folktales do not spring from whimsy, they serve as a warning.”

I had so many ideas of what was truly happening, who was behind the kidnapping, etc. but in the end I was wrong. At least I think I was wrong, because the ending leaves one guessing!

It’s amazing that this is a debut novel. While thinking about this book again and realizing how much of the story has stuck with me over the last few days I’ve decided to change my rating to 4 ½ rounded up to a 5. This was a Traveling Sister read with Mary Beth and Heidi.

I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through Edelweiss.