You would think that every mother would instinctively know her newborn even though all newborns seem to look alike. Well, when Alice Fancourt came home one day after a short trip out, she found the front door open and subsequently, a little stranger in her two-week-old baby's cot. She was adamant that the baby in the cot was not her newborn. Her husband, David, did not believe her and thought she had lost it. All at once, it became a case of David's word against Alice's. Needless to say, with her husband acting all weird and unsupportive, how can Alice make anyone believe her baby had been abducted? More importantly, the question is, to what lengths would a mother go to save her child?
Everyone who is a mother will feel for Alice Fancourt and root for her because it is every mother's nightmare to lose a child. I reckon this book is flesh-crawlingly gripping especially the scenes between David and Alice where "the latter seems to understand the former's pain better than the former will ever understand the latter's." Hannah cannot be more accurate about portraying a dysfunctional family than the Fancourts and as the review by Scotsman read and I quote part of it, "...a terrifying mystery of manipulation, counter-manipulation and finally, astounding revelation..." Manipulation is certainly the key word to this story and it is cleverly written throughout. Enjoy it if it is your cup of tea.
Little Face (published in 2006) was longlisted for the Theakston's Old Peculiar Crime Novel Of The Year Award in 2007 and the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 2008. This is Hannah's first psychological crime novel and my first introduction to Hannah's writings. She lives in Cambridge, UK, with her husband and two children. Her latest book, Lasting Damage, was recently released in February 2011. To find out more about Hannah and her other books including the first chapter of Little Face, do visit her official website.
Rating: 3/5
No comments:
Post a Comment