Little One - Sarah A. Denzil

Reading Challenge Category: Free ARC from NetGalley

Official Blurb:

"Take my hand, little one."
Fran finds her standing by the swings. A little girl, Esther, no older than seven years old, by herself in the dead of night, her pretty but old-fashioned yellow dress covered in grass stains and her hair dishevelled. She says she's waiting for Father, and that strikes Fran as particularly odd.
After Esther is reunited with her family, Fran can't stop thinking about this pious child whose imaginary friend is God. Fran's instincts tell her something is very wrong. Why does Esther keep running away from home, and how did she get that bruise on her leg?
Fran's husband warns her not to get too close, but one morning, Esther and her family disappear. Where did they go? Why did they leave their furniture behind?
Fran knows in her gut that something terrible is going to happen to that child, and she can't stand by while it happens. No matter the cost.
After all, she found her. But can she save her?

My Thoughts:

This was really gripping. I didn’t know what direction the book was going in at first. However, it is written so perfectly that the suspense is there even though not much has happened. It compels you to keep on reading.
Up until about 50% of the way through, Fran’s suspicions aren’t based on a lot. I was wondering if the story had been built on something very insubstantial and I was worried I was going to be disappointed. Then, wham, the book goes in a whole different direction, and there is twist after twist! I really hadn’t seen this angle coming, and it was a bit shocker. I don’t think I’ve read much about the topic being covered, but it still managed to set all of my hairs on edge.
Esther is such a strange little character I was just never sure what to make of her. She certainly seemed a lot older than a seven-year-old, and I had to keep reminding myself that she was still just a little kid.
Fran had a lot of depth, she was still wrecked from the trauma in her past, and I think her character was brilliantly written. I would have liked to know a little bit more about Mary, I know we find out everything at the end but I still felt as if something was missing.
This was a genuinely thrilling, captivating and enthralling read. I didn’t expect to read it this quickly but the pages and time just flew by. We get a good ending as well. The shocks and twists are big and very well done and kept under wraps for the first half of the book.
A brilliant read and one I would definitely recommend. This author has been good to me this year with some fascinating reads and her last release ‘You are Invited’ has made my top five reads for the year! Keep up the excellent work!

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