by Heather Gudenkauf
Genres: Mystery
Source: Purchase
Purchase*: Amazon *affiliate
In this riveting prequel to her novel Little Mercies, New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf explores how even the smallest lies can have far-reaching consequences. When the body of a woman is discovered in a local park—with her bewildered four-year-old son sitting beside her—veteran social worker Ellen Moore is called in to assist in the police investigation. Positioned beneath a statue of Leto, the goddess of motherhood, the crime is weighted with meaning and, Ellen discovers, remarkably similar to one from a decade past.
Ellen's professional duty is to protect the child, but she's not equipped to contend with a killer. As she races to connect the dots, she knows her time is running out. And the stakes are high: if she fails, another mother is sure to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Little Lies by Heather Gudenkauf is the prequel to her novel Little Mercies and while short, it offers a full murder mystery and an inquisitive social worker.
Espresso Review:
A body of a woman is discovered at the local park beneath a statue of Leto, the goddess of motherhood. Sitting silently alongside her is the dead woman’s four-year son. Ellen Moore a social worker, recently back from maternity leave is called to assist with the young child. The crime scene immediately reminds her of a similar unsolved case that happened almost a decade ago. The tale that unfolds is fascinating as Ellen pieces together events, looks out for the interest of the frightened young boy and tries to protect one from the past. Gudenkauf delivered a well-paced, easy flowing mystery with realistic characters that the reader can identify with. Despite its short length the tale is developed and kept me on edge as we along with Ellen pieced together clues. Little Lies does not rely heavily on procedure but on old-fashioned detective work. As Ellen pieced together clues she took on one heck of a ride. Suspects, clues and links fell into place and never felt forced. I am looking forward to reading Little Mercies and more of Gudenkauf’s brand of mystery and suspense.
Little Lies is the perfect short story to enjoy on a rainy afternoon with a nice cup of flavored coffee.
About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram
Teddyree
Little Lies was a nice quick introduction to Ellen, I enjoyed it and Little Mercies I loved, a fave for the year.
kimbacaffeinate
I have Little Mercies coming up, and I’m really enjoying this author!
Maggie
Too scary for me! I have 2 toddlers.
kimbacaffeinate
When my children where small this type of story freaked me out a little too Maggie.
laura thomas
I just went to Amazon and grabbed my copy. I didn’t realize it was a free download. Thanks so much Kimberly!
kimbacaffeinate
Sweet,enjoy Lauren!
laura thomas
Sounds perfect for reading by the pool. Thanks for sharing. This will be a good way to sample the author and I suspect I’m going to like it. Have a great weekend!
Christy
I’m not always a fan of shorter stories like this, but I am when they’re thorough – actually something to them. This sounds like it is.
kimbacaffeinate
It was good Christy, and I am looking forward to the full length novel.
Tanya M
This sounds really good. I haven’t read any of Heather’s books.
kimbacaffeinate
She is a new to me author, and I am happy I discovered her. 🙂 Thanks Tanya
Katherine
I’ve been curious about Little Mercies so this may be a good way to see if her writing style works for me. Plus I’m all about some old fashioned detective work!
kimbacaffeinate
Agreed, I will share my thoughts on LM in October.
LuAnn Braley
Sounds like an intriguing book. It rained cats and dogs, as well as a few lions, tigers and bears here earlier. So, what type of flavored coffee would go best with this book, do you think? :O)
kimbacaffeinate
Oh we finally have sun, but I was tempted to build a boat LuAnn. As for coffee how about some chocolate mocha coffee with this and a sugar cookie!
LuAnn Braley
Works for me! :O)
Tanja
These books for rainy days are just what I need as it’s been raining for days now. I haven’t heard of it but it sounds really interesting. I’m really glad you enjoyed it 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
Yes Tanja..perfect for a quick afternoon read on a rainy day..just add coffee or cocoa.
Lupdilup
I ran over here when I saw the title, then I took a closer look at the cover and realized it wasn’t Big Little Lies..LOL There’s too many lies in books! LOL Anyway I’m just dying to see your review of that book. Now This here sounds good too, this is a genre I hardly ever read or listen to, but now that I’m trying to prevent burning out on romance I might give it go.
Thanks Kimba 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
I loved, Big Little Lies, but no this is an excellent book though 🙂
Angela Adams
Thanks so much for the review!
kimbacaffeinate
You are welcome, enjoy your day!
Braine Talk Supe
A short sleuthing novel that managed to pull it off. That’s good in itself, unveiling clues and putting it all together usually takes time. I guess the author cut some of the fat but at 3.5 cups maybe Little Lies could’ve benefited from a few more pages to make it more solid.
kimbacaffeinate
It was a good novella and a great intro to her work. I am looking forward to sharing Little Mercies.
kindlemom1
Sounds like a great introduction to the author’s writing and the next book!
kimbacaffeinate
Thanks Ali, enjoy your weekend 🙂
Candace
Thanks for the reminder about this, I need to read it. My mom just read Little Mercies when she was visiting me and started rereading all of Heather’s books cause she was reminded how much she loves her. So I’ll have to be sure to let her know to grab this on her kindle too.
kimbacaffeinate
That is awesome Candace. I really enjoyed it.
Rita
I read Little Mercies but skipped this prequel. I suppose as a novella it would be less expensive to download, so maybe I would read it in the future. It sounds good and I enjoy all Ms. Gudenkauf’s books.
kimbacaffeinate
Yeah, I snagged this out of curiosity I think it was .99 cents.
Laurel-Rain Snow
I read and LOVED this one just before diving into Little Mercies, an awesome read that brings out all of Gudenkauf’s talents with characters and plots. Enjoy!
kimbacaffeinate
I am so glad, i have Little Mercies on the schedule for October.
Michelle
This looks like an interesting mystery. I am impressed that she packed a full mystery into a shorter book or novella. That is pretty impressive.
Glad you enjoyed it Kimba 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
It was really well done for a novella Michelle.
Jenea
Sounds like a lot in fit into this prequel, but it sure does sound like a good setup for the book. Great review, hope you enjoy Little Lies too.
kimbacaffeinate
I enjoyed it, thanks Jenea!
Melliane
It’s always so interesting to have a good prequel like that. I didn’t know this one I confess.
kimbacaffeinate
Thanks Melliane, I will be sharing Little Mercies in October.
Trish
I love old fashioned detective style work! I’m not big into novellas but this sounds like one I would really enjoy and a handy way to sample this authors style. I think I’d like her books.
kimbacaffeinate
I enjoy them too Trish, and agree perfect way to sample the author.
Red Iza
The blurb is different from what I’ve been reading lately (and I need a change !), so I’ll give this one a try, thanks for sharing 🙂
kimbacaffeinate
Iza, this was well done and perfect for fall.