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    Little Lovely Things
    Little Lovely Things
    Little Lovely Things
    Audiobook10 hours

    Little Lovely Things

    Written by Maureen Joyce Connolly

    Narrated by Elisabeth Rodgers

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    A mother's chance decision leads to a twist of fate that is every parent's worst nightmare Claire Rawlings, mother of two and medical resident, will not let the troubling signs of an allergic reaction prevent her from making it in for rounds. But when Claire's symptoms overpower her while she's driving into work, her two children in tow, she must pull over. Moments later she wakes up on the floor of a gas station bathroom-her car, and her precious girls have vanished. 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. LITTLE LOVELY THINGS is the story of a family shattered by an unthinkable tragedy. Played out in multiple narrative voices, the novel explores how the lives of those affected fatefully intersect, and highlights the potential catastrophe of the small decisions we make every day.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateApr 2, 2019
    ISBN9781980026877
    Author

    Maureen Joyce Connolly

    Maureen Joyce Connolly is a former owner of a consulting firm that helped develop medications for ultra-rare diseases. While she misses her old career, she loves being a full-time writer. Maureen received her bachelor’s degree in physiology from Michigan State University and her master’s degree in liberal studies from Wesleyan University. Her background and love for science and the natural world informs and inspires her writing. Little Lovely Things is her debut novel.

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    Reviews for Little Lovely Things

    4/5

    38 ratings11 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Nice book - a bit predictable but entertaining none the less
    • 5/5
      Heart wrenching but life affirming. Beautifully written and performed. I am left wishing for more.
    • 4/5
      4.5 stars.

      Taking place during the early to mid 1990s, Little Lovely Things by Maureen Joyce Connolly is a heartbreaking, suspenseful novel about two little girls who are kidnapped.

      Almost finished with her residency, Claire Rawlings is a busy mom of two daughters, fifteen month old Lily and four year old Andrea. Husband Glen is a teacher who also coaches to  supplement the family income. While on her way to work with the girls, Claire is suddenly taken ill. Leaving her daughters asleep in the car, she dashes into the ladies' room where she passes out.  During that brief window of time, Lily and Claire vanish.  The police immediately begin searching for the girls, but will any of their scant leads help locate them?

      Native American Jay White is ready to get his life on track. While en route to the place where he hopes to start fresh, he makes a shocking discovery.   After meeting Claire, Jay feels a kinship with her and the two inexplicably remain in touch over the years.  Despite a few struggles, Jay has completely turned his life around when he meets one of  his new neighbor. When his long suppressed intuition  begins speaking to him, will Jay trust the feeling that something is not quite right with his new acquaintance?

      Over the course of four long years after their daughters' disappearance, Claire and Glen never quite get their fractured marriage back on track. Claire has never dealt with her overwhelming guilt for her daughters' kidnapping.  As she and Glen continue to drift apart, is it too late to save their once happy marriage? And will they ever find the answers to the questions that continue to plague them about their children's kidnapping?

      Little Lovely Things is an emotional novel that is quite captivating. The characters are multi-dimensional with true to life weaknesses and realistic strengths.  The storyline is fresh and imaginative and the various settings are vibrantly developed.  Although not a traditional mystery, Maureen Joyce Connolly keeps readers on the edge of their seats as the novel hurtles to a dramatic denouement.  The conclusion is a bit abrupt yet satisfying. An outstanding debut that I truly enjoyed and highly recommend.
    • 3/5
      A special thank you to Edelweiss and Sourcebooks Landmark for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.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.
    • 5/5
      Little Lovely ThingsByMaureen Joyce ConnollyWhat it's all about...Claire is suffering from a reaction to a med but she struggles through it and gets her two very young daughters prepped for school. However on the way she has to stop at a gas station bathroom. She is incredibly ill. When she returns....her daughters are gone. This book is the story of this family and their struggle. My thoughts after reading this book...I started and stopped this book at least three times all the while thinking that I could never read it...the perpetrators...the drug addicted horrible nightmarish perps...were so objectionable and appalling to me...they were sort of drug ridden Irish gypsies...travelers...down and out and unfeeling...especially the male...his partner had dreams of acquiring a baby...a wee precious baby. And so she did...What I loved best...I loved Claire...and Gretchie...the family dog. Claire was sad and fierce and broken. I loved Jay...a chance meeting with him gave Claire something similar to a feeling of hope. What potential readers might want to know...I can’t...or rather I won’t...say much about this book. For me it was an amazing discovery...after the awfulness of the way it began it became for me a beautiful book...one I won’t soon forget. I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. It was my choice to read and review it.
    • 3/5
      I had mixed feelings about this book. On one hand I liked it but on the other hand I was disappointed that I did not "love" it. In regards to how thrillers go, this is a book worth picking up and checking out. What I had issues with is that the beginning of the story started out great. It accomplished what it should have by getting me hooked and wanting to read more. The story is broken out into the "incident", and than, the "aftermath". The "incident" part had me. It was the latter half of the story where it lost some of its luster for me. The intensity I felt had taken several steps backward and moved slowly. I would say that the last third of the story is where it picked up speed again. While, I felt for Claire; the other characters in this book were fine but I did not have as much of an attachment as I did Claire. This is unfortunate as I wanted and this type of book needs that emotional connection to really make it strong. As I said, I might not have "loved" this book but I would read another one by this author.
    • 5/5
      This story reveals how a simple decision can turn into a tragedy. So hard to believe this is Maureen Connolly’s debut novel. It reads like a seasoned author had written it. Totally riveting! Suspenseful! So hard to put down! A heart-breaking story of child abduction and its aftermath, the fast-paced story pulled me in and refused to let go until the final breath-taking scene. Claire Rawlings is the mother of two lovely little girls and a medical resident, thus lives the typically chaotic life of all women in her situation. One morning as she is rushing to get the girls ready to take to daycare she ignores the rash on her stomach that is a reaction to a vaccine. But as she drives to work she is gripped by severe nausea and dizziness and is forced to pull into a gas station. A short time later she awakens on the floor of the gas station’s restroom and finds both her vehicle and daughters gone. Thus starts the frantic search for her precious little girls. Claire beats herself up for leaving them even for a moment, and her guilt seriously strains her marriage. Claire and her husband must now find a way to keep their hope alive while trudging through each day.The story is relatable with well-developed, memorable characters. We have all made quick decisions that could have gone wrong. We can all understand the extreme guilt a mother would feel if her decision resulted in harm to her children. Every day marriages fall apart from the tragic loss of the children. The story delves a bit into the Native American and Irish Travelers cultures. At first I didn’t buy into throwing in these two cultures, but it worked really well. I look forward to more fantastic books from this author.
    • 4/5
      I was sent an early copy from the publisher. What a ride! I had heard great things about Little Lovely Things, but I was not prepared for this one. Within the first 20 pages, my heart was pounding with what was going to happen to Lily and Andrea. When the girls are kidnapped, I thought that was the end of their story (from their POV). I was wrong. The author was genius as you continue to following the children as they were with the kidnappers. There is even the perspective through the eyes of Andrea at four years old.This story is told in three parts. Part one was so intense and a non-stop ride. The author was not scared to take different directions with the story. It will leave you shocked. If I had to rate this off of part one, it would be five out of five stars. It was amazing. However; the intensity of the story does calm down in part two and three.Part two took a different turn than the first, and did not live up to the exceptional first part. I was starting to lose interest and I wanted to skip ahead. There was a lot of details that really were not needed. Same with part three. I wish there was more around the ending. I feel it could have been just as intense and impactful as part one, but I was left feeling underwhelmed.Again, I give part one 5 stars. I give part two and three, three stars. I am giving this 4 stars overall.
    • 4/5
      Claire Rawlings becomes violently ill while driving with her two young daughters and pulls into a gas station. She leaves the sleeping children in the car and keeps the bathroom door open. But she passes out and when she awakens, her car and her daughters are gone. The police are unable to find the children and a witness who appears several days later may be lying. What happened to Lily and Andrea Rawlings?Well-drawn characters populate this gripping narrative. Told from several points of view, the story of the girls’ abduction unfolds amid mounting tension as the gut-wrenching story spins out its secrets and surprises. As the tale unfolds, guilt consumes Claire and readers discover how the tragedy affects the family. The pace is relentless, with unexpected plot twists and unforeseen reveals. Packed with emotion, the compelling story offers readers a gut-wrenching look at unintended consequences as it lays bare the struggles, the heartache, and the grief forced upon the parents of stolen children.Highly recommended.I received a free copy of this eBook from Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley #LittleLovelyThings #NetGalley
    • 5/5
      This debut novel by Maureen Connolly will keep you on the edge of your seat as you keep turning pages fast to find out how the story ends. It's every parent's worst nightmare about the abduction of their children and the way a family shatters after such a terrible event.Claire and her husband have two little girls - 4 year old Andrea and 15 month old Lily. Claire was in medical school with the end in sight where the family would have enough money and time to be able to enjoy their lives together. As Claire takes her children to day care, she gets violently ill. She stops at a gas station and leaves the car running because the girls are asleep but when she goes into the ladies room, she passes out. When she stumbles outside, her car with her daughters in it is gone. The police have no leads and Claire feels guilty and blames herself. As hours and then days pass with no sign of the girls and no witnesses, all she has to hold onto is her strained marriage and her belief that her daughter are alive somewhere out there. This was a difficult book to read because any book about children is difficult but it is definitely worth reading. The characters are so well written that the reader feels Claire's pain and guilt along with her. How will she learn to live her life again and cope with the differences in the way that she and her husband are grieving without feeling anger towards him? This is a family drama definitely worth reading. It's a debut novel for this author and I am looking forward to her future books.Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
    • 5/5
      Lindas Book Obsession Reviews “Little Lovely Things” by Maureen Joyce Connolly, Sourcebooks Landmark, April 2, 2019OMG! WOW! Maureen Joyce Connolly, Author of “Little Lovely Things” has amazingly written an intense, thought-provoking, intriguing, emotional, riveting, page-turning, captivating, and suspenseful nightmare for any parent. The Genres for this novel are Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, and Thriller. The timeline for this story starts in the past and goes several years into the present when it pertains to the characters or events in the story. The author describes her characters as flawed, complex and complicated possibly due to the events and circumstances in the story.Claire Rawlings has two young children and is a medical resident. Claire has about 5 months to finish her residency, and hopefully we be on the track to making her family financially secure. Being a medical resident requires that the staff is given certain vaccinations to prevent them from catching communicable diseases. After Claire receives the vaccination, she starts to get a rash, and then starts to exhibit terrible symptoms. Claire has her two young children with her as she is driving them to daycare, so she can go to the hospital to work. Leaving her car running, she runs to the nearest public bathroom by a public-garage, feeling really sick. Claire blacks out. When she becomes concious, the car and both are daughters are missing.The Paramedics and Police are surrounding her. Claire has had a rare allergic reaction to the vaccination and is hospitalized. Meanwhile a phone line is set up and alerts are as well. The police are looking for her two young daughters.There are twists and turns and ups and downs. Some of the characters that are involved are good and some are evil. The investigation takes place over a few years.I love that the author brings animals into the story with interesting personalities. I also appreciate that the author discusses how a tragedy can bring the best and worst out in people. Also discussed as having hope, faith and love.I was literally sitting at the edge of my seat, as I was reading this. I couldn’t stop reading. Kleenex warning: Be sure to have tissues available. Maureen Joyce Connolly has written a masterpiece of suspense, that will leave you speechless. I would recommend this novel for those readers who enjoy mysteries and suspenseful thrillers.