Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton

St. Martin's Press - Minotaur Books
Pub Date May 19, 2015

The first thing that emerges from this book is the atmosphere of a private island, where everyone knows each other, where no one is truly free. This oppressive atmosphere that makes people to always stay within the bounds of what is acceptable in the community, where everyone knows the lives of others, their story, their past, their mistakes...

So naturally when something horrible happens, the community tends first to deny the evidence because otherwise their lives would break into pieces. Then, at some point, it's no longer possible to deny the facts and there, Sharon Bolton reproduced perfectly the suspicion, the looks, the whispers, the gossip that follow the disappearance of children. She writes with love and a lot of insight on these small communities. It's very well done.


The characters are very well written and quickly become members of our own community, we feel included, we know them. The author, in the same way she describes the community is very good to make us feel the emotions of her characters. We understand Catrin's distress and sometimes hatred, Rachel's  guilt, Callum's love. After the disappearance of her children Catrin locked herself in her despair, while her husband, got a new life. And the way those two survived the loss of their children is very realistic, very fair and humane.

As for the story, no complaints. Suspicion falls on different characters, we believe in it every time, reasons abound. The creeping insanity in the population and among the tourists on the island are very realistic (unfortunately I would say). Some scenes reminiscent of those that we have all seen on the news and bring weight to the plot, well played Sharon! The end is really unexpected, I never discovered the identity of the culprit.

The blurb

In such a small community as the Falkland Islands, a missing child is unheard of. In such a dangerous landscape it can only be a terrible tragedy, surely...

When another child goes missing, and then a third, it's no longer possible to believe that their deaths were accidental, and the villagers must admit that there is a murderer among them. Even Catrin Quinn, a damaged woman living a reclusive life after the accidental deaths of her own two sons a few years ago, gets involved in the searches and the speculation.

And suddenly, in this wild and beautiful place that generations have called home, no one feels safe and the hysteria begins to rise.

But three islanders--Catrin, her childhood best friend, Rachel, and her ex-lover Callum--are hiding terrible secrets. And they have two things in common: all three of them are grieving, and none of them trust anyone, not even themselves.

In Little Black Lies, her most shocking and engaging suspense novel to date, Sharon Bolton will keep the reader guessing until the very last page.

In a nutshell

A great novel, as oppressive as small communities, well-written characters, it's a 4/5 for me.

Disclaimer: An e-galley of this title was provided to me by the publisher. No review was promised and the above is an unbiased review of the novel.

Lost Girls by Angela Marsons

Bookouture (Nov. 6 2015)
442 pages

Everything seemed promising, from the story really that intrigued and horrified me, I must said - what would I do in such a situation? - to the cover, worrying at will.

I did not know this English author who seems to know a growing success (her books are very popular on GoodReads) and I wasn't against the idea of ​​reading a story with a female cop... written by a woman (yep... the last female characters I've read were written by men!)

So what dit I think of it?


I found that some stuff annoyed me:

- Sometimes I didn't understand what the author meant, either because Kim was telling something that she alone had to understand or that only she and her team had to understand... but not us. I don't know but I got the impression that I was put aside. I read the text several times to try to understand, could not do it, I tried to translate the text... it didn't make sense either... which hinders the flow of reading.

- The somewhat gratuitous violence bothers me. I'm not against it (in books !!) but I don't care for unnecessary violence. In Lost Girls, a man is particularly cruel and one can understand it in a few lines. He is evil incarnate and Marsons was great at making that clear. But it was not enough for Marsons who adds to the cruelty up to include a completely useless and violent scene with a young gay. It's only so-so in my opinion.

- Kim... Yes, I know, it's a shame as she's the main character! But I admit that her rudeness towards others tired me. She obviously has a very heavy past and something horrible happened in her childhood (which may have been explained in the previous two books) but that does not excuse the fact of treating people like shit.

Otherwise the story is good, the plot well done, the outcome well brought. The tension between the families is very realistic, the secrets revealed are very clichés but the reactions to these truths are very well written. Marsons know how to describe the relationships between people and the reactions of people facing various situations.

The author also knows how to play with our nerves and the more we advance in the plot, the more there is concern for the little girls, I feared for their lives and at a time, I wished that Kim and Bryant would accelerate. The end is great, Kim is no superhero but eventually becomes more human.

The blurb

Two girls go missing. Only one will return.

The couple that offers the highest amount will see their daughter again. The losing couple will not. Make no mistake. One child will die.

When nine-year-old best friends Charlie and Amy disappear, two families are plunged into a living nightmare. A text message confirms the unthinkable; that the girls are the victims of a terrifying kidnapping.

And when a second text message pits the two families against each other for the life of their children, the clock starts ticking for D.I. Kim Stone and the squad.

Seemingly outwitted at every turn, as they uncover a trail of bodies, Stone realises that these ruthless killers might be the most deadly she has ever faced. And that their chances of bringing the girls home alive, are getting smaller by the hour…

Untangling a dark web of secrets from the families’ past might hold the key to solving this case. But can Kim stay alive long enough to do so? Or will someone’s child pay the ultimate price?

In a nutshell
The story is good but sometimes too violent, the main character is not always friendly, it's a 3/5 for me.

Disclaimer: An e-galley of this title was provided to me by the publisher. No review was promised and the above is an unbiased review of the novel.