Little Lovely Things: A Novel

Maureen Connolly weaves together a story that's at once frightening, heartbreaking, and hopeful with unforgettable characters and a fast-paced plot. I could not put this book down. I can't wait to see what Connolly has in store next!

This was such a great read! The storyline flowed seamlessly as this tragic, yet hopeful tale was unfurled. Connolly gives an intimate look into the heart of grief, and how even in your darkest hour you can feel hope and light. I would definitely recommend this book!

Little Lovely Things is a book that demands discussion. When the last of Author Connolly’s beautiful words had faded, the gripping story continued to echo within me. Readers, I need to discuss this book with you. (So spell-bound was I- I sent the author amateurish questions and she kindly answered them. Let’s spare her. You can all talk to me instead. Or discuss it with your book club.)

Why did this book affect me? The book blurb, and many reviewers, tell the beginning of the story. Claire is driving with her children when she is overwhelmed by sickness. She pulls into a gas station, leaves her kids in the running car, and the car is taken while she’s in the bathroom.

Moms, how many sleep-ending 3 am panic attacks begin with, “What if someone took my kids?” But this is just the start of the story. The point of view shifts throughout the rest of the book so that we see the aftermath through the eyes and hearts of the other characters. The kidnappers, the interested witness, and a young girl are vivid, colorful and deep characters.

There are many “little, lovely things” in this book. The kidnapped children, a dress with special charms, a stone from Lake Michigan, the legends of the Lakota and Irish, a child’s drawings, a memory of bubble bath, isn’t this what fills a life? Author Connolly is a masterful storyteller, who blends lyrical metaphors and similes with grim passions and uplifting sweetness to create a story you can’t put down, and can’t forget.

In some ways, this book reminds me of What was Mine by Helen Klein Roth, which also focuses on the kidnapper and the years after. Like this book, the point isn’t so much on who is good or who is bad, but rather on how we all manage to keep going day after day. And how, once the dust settles, we still have our little lovely things.

I’m glad I overcame my mommy anxieties and bought and read this book. Highly recommend.

Glen, Claire, Andrea, and Lily had the perfect life until the day Claire had to pull off the road because of dizziness, leave the car running with her daughters in it because of the heat, and then return to find the car and her daughters gone.

Could anything worse have happened? Of course the answer is no. A missing child is a parent's worst nightmare.

We follow the Rawlings family as they move through the heartbreaking days as the police investigate with no luck. As you read you will feel their pain as they remember their daughters and special occasions.

An interesting twist is another story line that will have you guessing how both stories connect.

For a debut novel, Ms. Connolly definitely knows how to put words together to make a fast-paced, tense, unable-to-put-down read with memorable characters.

Even though the subject isn't pleasant, Ms. Connolly did a superb, creative job with the topic and with pulling you into the story line and connecting with the characters.

LITTLE LOVELY THINGS is heartbreaking, heartwarming, and has 98% likeable characters. 5/5

This book was given to me as an ARC by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lindas Book Obsession Reviews “Little Lovely Things” by Maureen Joyce Connolly, Sourcebooks Landmark, April 2, 2019

OMG! 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.

I received this arc copy from and Netgalley and the author for honest review.

SoLittle Lovely Things by Maureen Joyce Connolly

#littlelovelythings
5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Will be on Amazon on Release Day!
I received this copy from @netgalley honest review.
Thank you so much!
What a great thrill and suspense it was to read. What a great psychological thrill! This novel had everything in it. The thrill, the suspense, the psychological, and the twist is crazy. This novel will keep you thinking and guessing. When you think you right, well let me just say that you might be wrong. This had me all over the place. My heart beating so fast! I couldn't believe what I was reading. If had me in shock. Every page, every chapter was a page turner. I couldn't believe my eyes what I was reading. I highly recommend everybody get this book and read it. It will surprise you in every way.
#Netgallery
I highly recommend!
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Claire Rawlings, mother of two girls and a medical resident is driving to work when she starts to feel ill; the next thing she knows she has to pull over at a gas station and go to the restroom. Her daughters are asleep in the back and she does not want to wake them. She rushes to the bathroom and the next she she remembers is waking up from passing out from her illness. Upon exiting she realizes not only is her car missing but so are her daughters; a mother’s worse nightmare… Jay White a Native American drifter has the gift of extra sensory perception and is able to provide the authorities with some crucial evidence on who has take Claire’s daughters. This book had me biting my nails as a mother wanting this children to be found ASAP. Maureen has written this story so well that you cannot put it down until you have answers. This is Maureen’s debut novel and I cannot wait to see what she has next for us.

Claire Rawlings is experiencing every parents worst nightmare, She was on her way to work at a Chicago hospital where she is a resident when she starts to feel sick. Her two daughter Andrea and Lily in the car with her. Claire knows she is never going to make it to work before she gets sick so she pulls up the highway into a gas station. If is not in the best part of town but Claire has not choice. She pulls bu the bathrooms, the girls are sound asleep, she leaves the door slightly opened so she can keep a eye on the girls and also hear them of they call her.
Before long Claire pass out when she wakes up the bathroom is dark and the door is closed. She gets to the door when she opened it both the car and the girls are gone. She asks for help, the police and her husband Glen are both called. But there is no sign of either girl. Each passing day and the girls are not found. What happened t0 Andrea and Lily?Who took them and why? Will Andrea and Glenn ever be reunited with the girls?
This is a suspenseful book that pulled me. I kept turning pages and staying up late read. This is the author debut book and I am looking forward to her next one.

For a debut novel this book is a finely crafted beautifully detailed read. Life is just plain hard sometimes and the decisions we make on a daily basis, whether we know it or not, do change the direction of our journey. Unbearable heartache, guilt, and hope are interwoven through the lives of these lovable characters. The author's love of nature shines through in her descriptive prose. I actually read it twice just to be sure not to miss a thing! Loved it. Highly recommended..

I read this book in one sitting for a blog tour I’m participating in. I was flying home from vacation and reading this book definitely made my flight feel short. This book grabs you right from the beginning and keeps you hooked until the end. Claire is driving her children to day care so she can get to work at the hospital where she is in her residency. En route Claire becomes violently sick and pulls over to a gas station. She parks right outside the restroom door and props the door open so she can keep an eye on the children. She is so incapacitated by her illness that she doesn’t realize the door has been closed and the car and children are gone. Now we follow Claire as the horror hits her that her children have been abducted. Compounding this is the fact that Claire is extremely sick and needs a great deal of medical care which hinders her in helping to ascertain and help in what has happened. As time passes the nightmare that Claire and her husband Glen face continues. There are no signs of the children or any idea as to who could have taken them. We also read about the captor’s lives and what the children are enduring. I don’t want to give away too much except to say this story is very raw and heartbreaking. Another important figure, Jay, comes into the story and I loved his character. As I said I found this book captivating from the beginning and couldn’t read fast enough.