Claire Rawlings is suffering from what she perceives to be an allergic reaction, but because she is a medical resident, she still has to go in for rounds. While driving to work—with her children in the vehicle—she is forced to pull over when her symptoms become unbearable. What seems like only moments later, she wakes up on the floor of a gas station restroom only to discover that her car, and her daughters, have been taken.
With no leads and no trace of her little girls, Claire is losing hope with each passing hour. A witness comes forward but proves to be unreliable and their hopes are dashed. The unspoken guilt and blame start to fracture Claire's marriage and she is barely keeping it together.
Little Lovely Things is a study in tragedy and how even small decisions can have a great impact on life's trajectory.
This book was completely captivating from the first chapter and had so much potential. The depiction of Claire's anxiety and sheer panic over her missing children was emotionally wrought and incredibly tense.
One of the more interesting characters is Jay White, a Native American with the gift of sight. He has feelings and visions of what happened to Claire's girls. Although dismissed by the police, Claire keeps in touch with Jay as he is a source of hope. The Native American folklore also provides a compelling dynamic to the story that would otherwise be flat without it.
Connolly's contemporary offering is told from multiple points of view that was stalled by the nonsensical secret language of the Irish Travelling Gypsies that kidnapped the girls. Not only was this hard for the reader to understand, but it completely detracted from the narrative. Claire's perspective was where she excelled—the writing was heartbreaking and fervent. Where the narrative completely lost momentum was with Moira's (abductor) point of view and unfortunately, by extension Andrea/Colleen's (the eldest daughter) which should have been a more pivotal role.
MAUREEN JOYCE CONNOLLY is a former owner of a consulting firm that helped specialty drug companies to develop medications for ultra-rare diseases. Her background in science and love of the natural world informs and inspires her writing.
Little Lovely Things is her debut.
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