Genres: Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction
Format: Audiobook, Kindle, Paperback
Little Lovely Things: A Novel
Maureen Joyce Connolly (women’s fiction (artisan)
Synopsis:
A mother’s chance decision leads to a twist of fate that is every parent’s worst nightmare
It is the wrong time to get sick. Speeding down the highway on the way to work, her two little girls sleeping in the back seat, medical resident Claire Rawlings doesn’t have time for the nausea overtaking her. But as the world tilts sideways, she pulls into a gas station, runs to the bathroom, and passes out. When she wakes up minutes later, her car―and her daughters―are gone.
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.
As hopeful and uplifting as it is devastating, Little Lovely Things is the story of a family shattered by unthinkable tragedy, and the unexpected intersection of heartbreak and hope.
Little Lovely Things: A Novel by Maureen Joyce Connolly is a heart piercing, touching story, encouraging readers to travel on a suspenseful, soul-stirring journey, which will linger on, long after the last page is devoured.
As a medical resident, Claire Rawlings is subjected to a mandatory vaccination that causes her to become severely ill. While driving her two young children to day care, she pulls into a service station, leaving her children in the car, she enters the restroom, becomes violently sick and blacks out. When she comes to and reappears, her car and two daughters are nowhere to be found. They have been abducted! This is only the beginning of the nightmare that Claire and her husband Glen, must endure. The disappearance of their precious daughters, have left them filled with fear and guilt – especially Claire. The police are without clues. But then hope arrives when Jay White, a Native American transient, who has the extraordinary gift of insight, provides the investigators with critical information concerning who kidnapped the Rawlings two little girls. For Claire and Glen, hope comes and hope goes. But Claire believes, without a doubt, that her older daughter is still out there, yet to be found. In this suspenseful debut novel by Maureen Joyce Connolly, there are many intriguing twists and turns, as the investigation continues on for three, plus, long grueling and mystifying years.
Little Lovely Things is written with a clever original voice as Maureen Joyce Connelly grabs the attention of the reader with her brilliant plot, and way of bringing rays of hope amidst, what appears to be, a hopeless situation. The unique and interesting characters she has created are complex, multi-layered and perfectly understandable, given the horrific circumstances they have been forced to endure. She has done an exemplary job of keeping a smooth flowing, fast paced plot with more than one engrossing, thought-provoking story-line going on. With each character evoking emotional tension and intense relatable feelings, I found myself even understanding the “gypsy” kidnapper’s attitudes and impulses.
In Little Lovely Things, Maureen Joyce Connolly eloquently offers readers an unspoken glimpse into the essence and heart of grief, while having the ability to also experience faith, hope and illumination. The complexity, coupled with the deep and heartfelt meaning, put forth within the dialog, the intimate thoughts and the intense actions of the author’s various characters, shines through flawlessly and captivated me from start to finish. The story is told by a few of the main characters, allowing readers to hear what their points of view and motivations are. In the end, everything comes together in one deeply profound conclusion. This fabulous story shows readers that there are ramifications to everything we do, no matter how large or small. This is one of the best page turners that I have read in a long time. Artisan Book Reviews highly recommends Little Lovely Things: A Novel by Maureen Joyce Connolly to all women readers.
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