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Little Girls Tell Tales
The gripping, atmospheric new crime thriller from the author of The Flood
Unknown Binding
First published January 20, 2020
324 people are currently reading
484 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Bennett
2 books26 followersRachel Bennett currently lives on the Isle of Man (home of fast motorbikes, tailless cats, and very changeable weather). Rachel shares their home with two kids, one angry cat, and an exceptionally patient husband.
Other books by the same author are published under the name Rakie Keig:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Other books by the same author are published under the name Rakie Keig:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
May 27, 2020
As a child Rosalie got lost on the curraghs near her home on the Isle Of Man. While wandering the marshes trying to find her way home she stumbles across a skeleton. When she finally finds her way out a police search is conducted for the bones, but nothing is found.
Fast forward fifteen years and we find Rosalie living the life of a recluse in her childhood home after the death of her wife. Then her estranged brother Dallin reappears, with a friend, Cora, in tow. Cora thinks the skeleton Rosalie found may have been her sister, who went missing twenty years ago. As the two women set out to find the truth they discover that the truth may not want to be found, and someone is willing to go to great measures to stop them.
I found Little Girls Tell Tales to be a relatively easy book to read, though it did get bogged down at times. The characters were okay, though not truly memorable, yet the setting on the curraghs and around the Isle Of Man was interesting and intriguing. I certainly didn't know there is feral wallabies that make their home in the curraghs! The plot was enjoyable enough, though it could have been made a bit creepier, but it's a novel that worth a read, maybe on a rainy day.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Fast forward fifteen years and we find Rosalie living the life of a recluse in her childhood home after the death of her wife. Then her estranged brother Dallin reappears, with a friend, Cora, in tow. Cora thinks the skeleton Rosalie found may have been her sister, who went missing twenty years ago. As the two women set out to find the truth they discover that the truth may not want to be found, and someone is willing to go to great measures to stop them.
I found Little Girls Tell Tales to be a relatively easy book to read, though it did get bogged down at times. The characters were okay, though not truly memorable, yet the setting on the curraghs and around the Isle Of Man was interesting and intriguing. I certainly didn't know there is feral wallabies that make their home in the curraghs! The plot was enjoyable enough, though it could have been made a bit creepier, but it's a novel that worth a read, maybe on a rainy day.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
May 29, 2020
Set in the Isle of Man. When Rosalie was a child, she got lost and found a skeleton. But when the searchers entered the curraghs, there was no skeleton to be found.
It's now fifteen years later and Rosalie's estranged brother, Dallin returns with a woman named Cora, to see her. Cora has been looking for her sister who had disappeared 20 years ago. She now believes the skeleton Rosalie had found was her missing sister.
This is a it of a slow burner to begin with ut the pace does pick up. We get some backstory of all the characters. Rosalie, Dallin and Cora try to find out what had happened to Simone. We then learn the truths Rosalie has kept to herself. The story jumps from the past and present day. I liked Rosalie but I didn't like her brother, Dallin. Her neighbours were also a bit odd. Cora was a it hard to fathom out. Indid feel,the ending was a bit rushed and far fetched. I did enjoy this book.
I would like to thank NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and the author Rachel Bennett for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
It's now fifteen years later and Rosalie's estranged brother, Dallin returns with a woman named Cora, to see her. Cora has been looking for her sister who had disappeared 20 years ago. She now believes the skeleton Rosalie had found was her missing sister.
This is a it of a slow burner to begin with ut the pace does pick up. We get some backstory of all the characters. Rosalie, Dallin and Cora try to find out what had happened to Simone. We then learn the truths Rosalie has kept to herself. The story jumps from the past and present day. I liked Rosalie but I didn't like her brother, Dallin. Her neighbours were also a bit odd. Cora was a it hard to fathom out. Indid feel,the ending was a bit rushed and far fetched. I did enjoy this book.
I would like to thank NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and the author Rachel Bennett for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
September 25, 2020
Fifteen years ago Rosalie stumbled over a body. Having lost track of her brother, Dallin, it's hours before she is found. Rosalie has a history of telling stories, so on one believes her story of the body in the pond.
Her brother has been estranged from the family so it's a surprise when he shows up out of nowhere and in the company of a woman named Cora. Cora's sister went missing fifteen years ago and she thinks Rosalie was telling the truth .. and the body was that of her sister.
As dangerous secrets are unearthed, Cora and Rosalie start asking questions about a girl who some would rather keep buried…
Well-written with a steady pace throughout. The characters are deftly drawn amid t he swirling mystery of the Isle of Man. There were some twists and turns that kept the suspense in high gear, leading to an unexpected conclusion.
Many thanks to the author / Harper Collins UK / One More Chapter / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
Her brother has been estranged from the family so it's a surprise when he shows up out of nowhere and in the company of a woman named Cora. Cora's sister went missing fifteen years ago and she thinks Rosalie was telling the truth .. and the body was that of her sister.
As dangerous secrets are unearthed, Cora and Rosalie start asking questions about a girl who some would rather keep buried…
Well-written with a steady pace throughout. The characters are deftly drawn amid t he swirling mystery of the Isle of Man. There were some twists and turns that kept the suspense in high gear, leading to an unexpected conclusion.
Many thanks to the author / Harper Collins UK / One More Chapter / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
July 11, 2020
3.5 Stars. Little Girls Tell Tales is a mystery novel set in the Isle Of Man. As a child, Rosalie stumbles across a skeleton in the curraghs (marsh) behind her home. After an extensive search by police and local residents the body isn't located and they believe Rosalie made it up. Years later Cora turns up looking for her sister, Simone, who went missing many years ago. Could Rosalie have told the truth all those years ago and the skeleton in the curraghs be Simone? Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy.
May 28, 2020
Little Girls Tell Tales is Rachel Bennett’s second thriller and although it was an okay read it was painfully slow which made it difficult to become immersed in the story. However, books are so subjective so if this tickles your fancy give it a go as you could thoroughly enjoy it. It is by no means a bad book but it needs a bit of a rework and I'm sure it would then be well received by fans of the genre. Many thanks to One More Chapter for an ARC.
June 3, 2020
I struggled a bit with this one. It didn't capture my imagination as much as I hoped it would. It's a slow burner but burnt a bit too slow for me. That's probably more my reading preferences as other people have enjoyed that aspect. The story is split between past and present which I did like as we start learning more about what happened in 2004 and eventually the two halves come together. Sadly not one for me but it was by no means horrible.
April 30, 2020
This book is slow, even more so in the beginning, but if you stick with it, leads to an exciting and satisfying ending. The story centers on Rosalie, who stumbled upon a skeleton in the curraghs (note, a curragh is a flat open plain in Ireland- I was unfamiliar with the word) behind her house as a 10-year old child, but it couldn't be found again and everyone determined she either made it up or had a wild imagination. Fast forward 20 years later, and Rosalie is living in isolation, mourning the death of her wife, Beth, when her estranged brother, Dallin, shows up with a woman who believes her sister is the body that Rosalie found all of those years ago. Cora has been searching for her sister Simone for 20 years now and has tracked her to that area. Rosalie tries to put her differences with Dallin behind to help Cora in her search of the curraghs.
Though the last quarter of the book makes it worth it, it is a really slow story to start- I kind of understood why Rosalie hid herself away from the world after Beth's death, but I had a little more trouble understanding the depth of the negative dynamic between her and Dallin, or really what made Dallin tick at all. There are a lot of really descriptive passages throughout the book that give the reader a good visual of the environment, but contribute to the overall slowness of the read,
I had a hunch as to who was hiding something, but I didn't know why and the reasons I came up with in my head differed from what I eventually found out. I thought that the mystery was twisty and well thought out, and it greatly improved my liking of the book which I had not been that excited about previously. I thought the loose ends were tied up well and what happened was believable.
All in all, I'd recommend this book who those who like mysteries, and suggest you stay with it if you think it starts out too slow. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Though the last quarter of the book makes it worth it, it is a really slow story to start- I kind of understood why Rosalie hid herself away from the world after Beth's death, but I had a little more trouble understanding the depth of the negative dynamic between her and Dallin, or really what made Dallin tick at all. There are a lot of really descriptive passages throughout the book that give the reader a good visual of the environment, but contribute to the overall slowness of the read,
I had a hunch as to who was hiding something, but I didn't know why and the reasons I came up with in my head differed from what I eventually found out. I thought that the mystery was twisty and well thought out, and it greatly improved my liking of the book which I had not been that excited about previously. I thought the loose ends were tied up well and what happened was believable.
All in all, I'd recommend this book who those who like mysteries, and suggest you stay with it if you think it starts out too slow. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
May 17, 2020
3.5 Stars
*An absorbing mystery with less than pleasant characters and some inconsistent pacing*
ARC provided by HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Little Girls Tell Tales caught my eye on Netgalley. I was drawn to the setting of the curraghs on the Isle of Man.
When Rosalie was a girl, she got lost in the curraghs and stumbled across a human skeleton. Although she found her way out, she was never able to find her way back to the skeleton. Most people thought she made up the story. But jump ahead fifteen years, and Rosalie's estranged brother shows up with a woman claiming that the skeleton might belong to her lost sister. But someone doesn't want them looking for answers.
I liked the overall story. The mystery of it was good. And although the story took a while to gain moment, the pace was mostly good. It kept me engaged and guessing what the outcome would be.
My biggest problem with Little Girls Tell Tales was that I didn't care for any of the characters. Rosalie is mourning the loss of her wife and has cut herself off from the world both emotionally and literally. While I empathized with the general sense of loss, it never led to any deeper emotion. I've had similar disconnects with other stories where the reader is plunked down in front of a grieving character and expected to be weepy about it. But that doesn't happen when I have no history with the characters. Am I supposed to engage weepy mode just because you told me to be sad? Nope. And it is even harder to gain emotional attachment to that character when their grief is their one and only defining characteristic. By the end, I didn't feel any empathy or sympathy for Rosalie because she was so self-centered and narcissistic. People do grieve at different rates, but Rosalie was too determined to wallow in self-pity. So she didn't need any more pity from me.
Of the entire cast of characters, none of them were likeable. Rosalie's mother was literally the only character that didn't annoy me. Everyone else was selfish, over-dramatic, and carrying some sort of dark secret. It bordered on nihilistic which I'm never a fan of. You can only have so many manipulative people with random dark secrets before it all starts getting tedious. And to make it worse, the narrative does that gimmick where it makes repeated mentions of The Secret but drags on forever before reveling it. That just is not a tactic that I enjoy.
That being said, I liked the overall story. I just couldn't get into it more without having some sort of connection to the characters. It's hard to root for unsympathetic characters.
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars
*An absorbing mystery with less than pleasant characters and some inconsistent pacing*
ARC provided by HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Little Girls Tell Tales caught my eye on Netgalley. I was drawn to the setting of the curraghs on the Isle of Man.
When Rosalie was a girl, she got lost in the curraghs and stumbled across a human skeleton. Although she found her way out, she was never able to find her way back to the skeleton. Most people thought she made up the story. But jump ahead fifteen years, and Rosalie's estranged brother shows up with a woman claiming that the skeleton might belong to her lost sister. But someone doesn't want them looking for answers.
I liked the overall story. The mystery of it was good. And although the story took a while to gain moment, the pace was mostly good. It kept me engaged and guessing what the outcome would be.
My biggest problem with Little Girls Tell Tales was that I didn't care for any of the characters. Rosalie is mourning the loss of her wife and has cut herself off from the world both emotionally and literally. While I empathized with the general sense of loss, it never led to any deeper emotion. I've had similar disconnects with other stories where the reader is plunked down in front of a grieving character and expected to be weepy about it. But that doesn't happen when I have no history with the characters. Am I supposed to engage weepy mode just because you told me to be sad? Nope. And it is even harder to gain emotional attachment to that character when their grief is their one and only defining characteristic. By the end, I didn't feel any empathy or sympathy for Rosalie because she was so self-centered and narcissistic. People do grieve at different rates, but Rosalie was too determined to wallow in self-pity. So she didn't need any more pity from me.
Of the entire cast of characters, none of them were likeable. Rosalie's mother was literally the only character that didn't annoy me. Everyone else was selfish, over-dramatic, and carrying some sort of dark secret. It bordered on nihilistic which I'm never a fan of. You can only have so many manipulative people with random dark secrets before it all starts getting tedious. And to make it worse, the narrative does that gimmick where it makes repeated mentions of The Secret but drags on forever before reveling it. That just is not a tactic that I enjoy.
That being said, I liked the overall story. I just couldn't get into it more without having some sort of connection to the characters. It's hard to root for unsympathetic characters.
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars
March 13, 2020
In 2004, young Rosalie becomes separated from her brother, Dallin, and friend, Beth, while walking through the wetland on the isolated Isle of Man. Having strayed from the path, it’s hours before she’s discovered shaken and exhausted, and reporting she found a dead body. Rosalie is known for telling tales, so when the police are unable to locate the body most believe it's just another tall tale.
Fast forward to 2019. Over a year since Rosalie's wife, Beth, died, Rosalie is still struggling mightily with grief. She's shocked to find Dallin, who has long been estranged from their family, on her doorstep unannounced with a woman named Cora. Cora’s sister went missing many years ago and she believes Rosalie found her in the wetland all those years ago. Rosalie becomes wrapped up in Cora's plan to find the body and confirm it's Cora's sister. When disturbing things begin happening to Cora it seems someone doesn't want them to keep searching.
Rosalie is a fantastic character. The setting is intriguing and a character itself. I don't know if this book is intended to be the first in a series or a stand alone, but I look forward to reading whatever the author publishes next. Recommended for fans of character-driven mysteries. 4.5 Stars
Content Warnings: SPOILERS statutory rape (not on page); homophobia; child abuse END SPOILERS
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own.
Fast forward to 2019. Over a year since Rosalie's wife, Beth, died, Rosalie is still struggling mightily with grief. She's shocked to find Dallin, who has long been estranged from their family, on her doorstep unannounced with a woman named Cora. Cora’s sister went missing many years ago and she believes Rosalie found her in the wetland all those years ago. Rosalie becomes wrapped up in Cora's plan to find the body and confirm it's Cora's sister. When disturbing things begin happening to Cora it seems someone doesn't want them to keep searching.
Rosalie is a fantastic character. The setting is intriguing and a character itself. I don't know if this book is intended to be the first in a series or a stand alone, but I look forward to reading whatever the author publishes next. Recommended for fans of character-driven mysteries. 4.5 Stars
Content Warnings: SPOILERS statutory rape (not on page); homophobia; child abuse END SPOILERS
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own.
December 16, 2020
My first by this author and to be honest, I doubt I will seek her out again. LITTLE GIRLS TELL TALES had a promising premise but it was so slow moving that it failed in the delivery.
2004: Ten year old Rosalie is walking with her brother Dallin and friend Beth when she becomes lost in the wetlands behind her mother's home on the isolated Isle of Man and stumbles across the skeletal remains of a body. But having strayed from the path and lost her way, it's hours before she is found. Shaken and exhausted, Rosalie tells authorities about the remains but when searchers scoured the marsh, there was no skeleton to be found. Additionally, with her penchant for "telling stories" many do not believe Rosalie's claims about the body in the curraghs.
2019: Fifteen years later, Rosalie now lives in the house that was her mother's, grieving the loss of her partner Beth when her estranged brother Dallin arrives unannounced with a woman named Cora. If she is shocked to find her brother on her doorstep, she's even more so when she discovers that Cora believes the remains that Rosalie found all those years ago were those of her sister Simone who has been missing for 20 years. After all these years, Rosalie can't believe that someone actually believes her story...as they hadn't back then.
Soon Rosalie becomes embroiled in the mystery and Cora's plan to locate the body to confirm it is Simone...but when disturbing things begin happening to Cora, it seems someone doesn't want them to uncover the truth. But will they unravel the truth and find Simon'e remains before it's too late?
The book started off in 2004 when Rosalie was a child and you were immediately drawn in when she becomes lost and comes across the remains. But unfortunately, the following chapters that then move into the present day become slow and largely uneventful for the most part that I didn't much care what happened or if they managed to find the remains again. Throughout the long-winded tale, the reader is then made to guess what happened to Simone as if this were the penultimate climax to the mystery. But in the end, I didn't care what had happened to her or why...despite skimming the rest of it to the end.
Sadly, LITTLE GIRLS TELL TALES was just too slow that I didn't enjoy at all. And I can't say that I would recommend it at all.
I would like to thank #RachelBennett, #NetGalley and #OneMoreChapter for an ARC of #LittleGirlsTellTales in exchange for an honest review.
This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.
2004: Ten year old Rosalie is walking with her brother Dallin and friend Beth when she becomes lost in the wetlands behind her mother's home on the isolated Isle of Man and stumbles across the skeletal remains of a body. But having strayed from the path and lost her way, it's hours before she is found. Shaken and exhausted, Rosalie tells authorities about the remains but when searchers scoured the marsh, there was no skeleton to be found. Additionally, with her penchant for "telling stories" many do not believe Rosalie's claims about the body in the curraghs.
2019: Fifteen years later, Rosalie now lives in the house that was her mother's, grieving the loss of her partner Beth when her estranged brother Dallin arrives unannounced with a woman named Cora. If she is shocked to find her brother on her doorstep, she's even more so when she discovers that Cora believes the remains that Rosalie found all those years ago were those of her sister Simone who has been missing for 20 years. After all these years, Rosalie can't believe that someone actually believes her story...as they hadn't back then.
Soon Rosalie becomes embroiled in the mystery and Cora's plan to locate the body to confirm it is Simone...but when disturbing things begin happening to Cora, it seems someone doesn't want them to uncover the truth. But will they unravel the truth and find Simon'e remains before it's too late?
The book started off in 2004 when Rosalie was a child and you were immediately drawn in when she becomes lost and comes across the remains. But unfortunately, the following chapters that then move into the present day become slow and largely uneventful for the most part that I didn't much care what happened or if they managed to find the remains again. Throughout the long-winded tale, the reader is then made to guess what happened to Simone as if this were the penultimate climax to the mystery. But in the end, I didn't care what had happened to her or why...despite skimming the rest of it to the end.
Sadly, LITTLE GIRLS TELL TALES was just too slow that I didn't enjoy at all. And I can't say that I would recommend it at all.
I would like to thank #RachelBennett, #NetGalley and #OneMoreChapter for an ARC of #LittleGirlsTellTales in exchange for an honest review.
This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.
May 10, 2020
Review for 'Little Girls Tell Tales' by Rachel Bennett
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Harper Collins UK and One More Chapter
Preorder now for release on 29th May
This is the first book that I have read by this author. I wouldn't physically look for anymore but I may pick one up from the library if I came across any.
This book started off in the past and the first chapter sucked me straight in. It then goes to 'present day' and unfortunately between about 10% and 80% it became a very slow burner.
It was very well written with good descriptions and strong characters which you really get to know. They were all strong and realistic.
Throughout the plot the author tries to make you guess what happened to Simone and for quite a while it did make me wonder but sadly it didn't come as a surprise to me when I did find out.
There are a few 'mysteries' throughout the book as well as the main one which kept the plot going and really these are what kept me reading until the end.
Sadly for me the book was just too slow, I can't really say I enjoyed it thay much or was surprised and it took me much longer than it should have to finish it as I just didn't have the pull to carry on with it. Saying that, others may enjoy the slow pace and the descriptions and characters were great. It just wasn't really for me.
If I was to recommend this book it would be to fans of crime.
400 pages
99p to purchase on kindle. I think this is a good price for this book.
Rated 2/5 ( I didn't enjoy it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon.Com and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
Feel free to add me on Goodreads for more reviews
#LittleGirlsTellTales #RachelBennett #HarperCollins #OneMoreChapter #NetGalley #BookReview
https://m.facebook.com/Bookworm1986/?...
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Harper Collins UK and One More Chapter
Preorder now for release on 29th May
This is the first book that I have read by this author. I wouldn't physically look for anymore but I may pick one up from the library if I came across any.
This book started off in the past and the first chapter sucked me straight in. It then goes to 'present day' and unfortunately between about 10% and 80% it became a very slow burner.
It was very well written with good descriptions and strong characters which you really get to know. They were all strong and realistic.
Throughout the plot the author tries to make you guess what happened to Simone and for quite a while it did make me wonder but sadly it didn't come as a surprise to me when I did find out.
There are a few 'mysteries' throughout the book as well as the main one which kept the plot going and really these are what kept me reading until the end.
Sadly for me the book was just too slow, I can't really say I enjoyed it thay much or was surprised and it took me much longer than it should have to finish it as I just didn't have the pull to carry on with it. Saying that, others may enjoy the slow pace and the descriptions and characters were great. It just wasn't really for me.
If I was to recommend this book it would be to fans of crime.
400 pages
99p to purchase on kindle. I think this is a good price for this book.
Rated 2/5 ( I didn't enjoy it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon.Com and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
Feel free to add me on Goodreads for more reviews
#LittleGirlsTellTales #RachelBennett #HarperCollins #OneMoreChapter #NetGalley #BookReview
https://m.facebook.com/Bookworm1986/?...
March 11, 2020
The beginning starts out with Rosalie following her brother and friend into the Bogs, then she somehow gets turned around and lost. While she is trying to find her way out she stumbles across a skeleton. Scared she finally finds her way out but no matter how hard they look or how many people look they couldn't fine the bones. Many assume she made the whole thing up or imagined the bones bc she was scared.
Flash forward to twenty years later Rosalie still recovering after the death of her wife receives an unexpected visit from Her brother and Cora. Cora believes the bones Rosalie found are actually her sisters who went missing years ago. So trying to find the bones Rosalie and Cora open a huge can of worms and they do not know how far some people will go to keep things hidden! Great story. It was slow building but definitely hard to put down at the end of it! Definitely recommend!!
Flash forward to twenty years later Rosalie still recovering after the death of her wife receives an unexpected visit from Her brother and Cora. Cora believes the bones Rosalie found are actually her sisters who went missing years ago. So trying to find the bones Rosalie and Cora open a huge can of worms and they do not know how far some people will go to keep things hidden! Great story. It was slow building but definitely hard to put down at the end of it! Definitely recommend!!
March 19, 2023
Rosalie goes missing in the curraghs in the Isle of Man after losing her brother Dallin, when she is found hours later she tells everyone she found a skeleton but she has a history of telling tales so no one believes her. Some fifteen years later a woman named Cora comes wanting to search the curraghs as she believes the remains are her sister Simone.
This was an average read but I found it very slow and long winded
This was an average read but I found it very slow and long winded
July 12, 2020
I've been reading Rachel's books for some years and thoroughly loving them. But this book is a step up from that and is utterly brilliant! My favourite writers are Mark Billingham and Steve Cavanagh - and Rachel Keig is giving them a run for their money! Love it! More please !
August 31, 2020
The name of the book was LITTLE GIRLS TELL TALES, was a very gripping tale, the characters were interesting , it had a few stories, few mysteries and Rosie found a Skelton when she was ten and nobody believed her and 20 yrs later the mystery starts to unravel. Very good
August 1, 2020
Great!
This well-written novel has a strong main mystery, several minor mysteries, and many interesting characters. Best of all much of it take place I fascinating wetlands or bogs on the Isle of Manx. The bog is almost a maze and rich with
Plants and flowers. I read it one sitting.
This well-written novel has a strong main mystery, several minor mysteries, and many interesting characters. Best of all much of it take place I fascinating wetlands or bogs on the Isle of Manx. The bog is almost a maze and rich with
Plants and flowers. I read it one sitting.
May 30, 2020
Fifteen years ago, Rosalie was just ten years old when she got lost in the curraghs, a stretch of marshland close to her mother’s cottage in a remote part of the Isle of Man. And when Rosalie came stumbling out of the bogs, cold, frightened and babbling about finding a skeleton, nobody really took her seriously because little girls, after all, do tell tales.
Fast forward to today and Rosalie is living in her mother’s cottage as she tries somehow to recoup after the devastating loss of her wife Beth to cancer. She doesn’t want or need her ne’er do well brother Dallin turning up on her doorstep with a stranger in tow, but when she hears Cora’s story, she can’t turn her away. Because Cora believes Rosalie really did find human remains in the curraghs that day… and she thinks they might have been her sister Simone’s.
Simone was only fifteen when she became a teenage runaway. Slowly, throughout the book, via snippets of Cora’s point of view, we find out that Simone had in fact been having an affair with an older (married) man, and it becomes obvious that Cora feels immense guilt for Simone’s disappearance even though she was only nine at the time. And as Cora, Rosalie and Dallin search, it also becomes obvious that someone doesn’t want them in the curraghs, doesn’t want their secrets to be unearthed.
It’s an interesting choice to tell this story primarily from Rosalie’s point of view - the impartial witness, in a way - rather than Cora’s, the family member of the victim. Rosalie’s state of mind plays a big part because she’s deep in grief, but she’s a very compassionate person and she never, ever doubted that she really did find a body that day. Even in the depths of her own trauma, she wants to help Cora get closure.
The writing is beautifully descriptive, but the plot’s a little slow for the first two-thirds of the book. It doesn’t really pick up the pace until close to the end, when the three searchers realise Simone’s killer has been watching all along, misdirecting the investigation and determined to ensure her body is never found. Suddenly it’s suspenseful and there’s real danger; I couldn’t stop reading until I got to the end once things really kicked off. Stick with it after the slow start and you’ll be well rewarded. Five stars for a beautifully written story which had me riveted by the climactic action.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this title via NetGalley.
Fast forward to today and Rosalie is living in her mother’s cottage as she tries somehow to recoup after the devastating loss of her wife Beth to cancer. She doesn’t want or need her ne’er do well brother Dallin turning up on her doorstep with a stranger in tow, but when she hears Cora’s story, she can’t turn her away. Because Cora believes Rosalie really did find human remains in the curraghs that day… and she thinks they might have been her sister Simone’s.
Simone was only fifteen when she became a teenage runaway. Slowly, throughout the book, via snippets of Cora’s point of view, we find out that Simone had in fact been having an affair with an older (married) man, and it becomes obvious that Cora feels immense guilt for Simone’s disappearance even though she was only nine at the time. And as Cora, Rosalie and Dallin search, it also becomes obvious that someone doesn’t want them in the curraghs, doesn’t want their secrets to be unearthed.
It’s an interesting choice to tell this story primarily from Rosalie’s point of view - the impartial witness, in a way - rather than Cora’s, the family member of the victim. Rosalie’s state of mind plays a big part because she’s deep in grief, but she’s a very compassionate person and she never, ever doubted that she really did find a body that day. Even in the depths of her own trauma, she wants to help Cora get closure.
The writing is beautifully descriptive, but the plot’s a little slow for the first two-thirds of the book. It doesn’t really pick up the pace until close to the end, when the three searchers realise Simone’s killer has been watching all along, misdirecting the investigation and determined to ensure her body is never found. Suddenly it’s suspenseful and there’s real danger; I couldn’t stop reading until I got to the end once things really kicked off. Stick with it after the slow start and you’ll be well rewarded. Five stars for a beautifully written story which had me riveted by the climactic action.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this title via NetGalley.
February 23, 2020
Thank you to OMC and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for review consideration.
The title and blurb for this book sounded right up my alley. A little girl gets lost in the curraghs, only to emerge from the woods saying she found a dead body. Nobody believes her, and all is forgotten, until her estranged brother and strange woman show up on her doorstep. Cora is searching for her long-lost sister, twenty years missing, and refuses to leave the small island town until she searches every inch of the curraghs.
This book is a slow burn full of subtle twists and social commentary. Rosalie, the MC, takes us through grief, depression, isolation, and loss on a journey of recovery. She's lost everyone close to her, taken by death and pointed absence, and for that reason, she's shut herself off from the world. Favoring the solitude of her home to just about anything else, Dallin's arrival sends her routine into upheaval, forcing her to relive painful memories and demand answers to questions. As she slowly finds her voice, and her feet, after so many years in the dark, Rosalie finds the courage to admit transgressions and becomes tangled in the mystery of the missing sister.
Bennett's prose is beautiful and descriptive, and the characters are realistic and likeable. This was a nice change for me, as most of the characters in this genre can be a little black or white. Rosalie, Dallin, and Cora have lied. They've misled and bent the truth to suit their pursuits. But they also grow from their mistakes, engaging in important conversations that help them in more ways than they realize. Even the side characters have distinct arcs, which I really appreciated. There was enough development to keep the suspect list varied and plenty of heartbreaking secrets along the path to truth.
I will say that the reveals feel more grounded than fatalistic, so fans of high-octane thrillers or psychologically-heavy plots might not enjoy the quiet fuse Little Girls Tell Tales embodies. However, anyone looking for complex family drama, well-thought out mystery, and insightful questions about how we form relationships, this is the book for you. A beautiful read with a satisfying conclusion.
The title and blurb for this book sounded right up my alley. A little girl gets lost in the curraghs, only to emerge from the woods saying she found a dead body. Nobody believes her, and all is forgotten, until her estranged brother and strange woman show up on her doorstep. Cora is searching for her long-lost sister, twenty years missing, and refuses to leave the small island town until she searches every inch of the curraghs.
This book is a slow burn full of subtle twists and social commentary. Rosalie, the MC, takes us through grief, depression, isolation, and loss on a journey of recovery. She's lost everyone close to her, taken by death and pointed absence, and for that reason, she's shut herself off from the world. Favoring the solitude of her home to just about anything else, Dallin's arrival sends her routine into upheaval, forcing her to relive painful memories and demand answers to questions. As she slowly finds her voice, and her feet, after so many years in the dark, Rosalie finds the courage to admit transgressions and becomes tangled in the mystery of the missing sister.
Bennett's prose is beautiful and descriptive, and the characters are realistic and likeable. This was a nice change for me, as most of the characters in this genre can be a little black or white. Rosalie, Dallin, and Cora have lied. They've misled and bent the truth to suit their pursuits. But they also grow from their mistakes, engaging in important conversations that help them in more ways than they realize. Even the side characters have distinct arcs, which I really appreciated. There was enough development to keep the suspect list varied and plenty of heartbreaking secrets along the path to truth.
I will say that the reveals feel more grounded than fatalistic, so fans of high-octane thrillers or psychologically-heavy plots might not enjoy the quiet fuse Little Girls Tell Tales embodies. However, anyone looking for complex family drama, well-thought out mystery, and insightful questions about how we form relationships, this is the book for you. A beautiful read with a satisfying conclusion.
June 1, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed
Little Girls Tell Tales,
an engrossing tale of mystery, chills and suspense.
The book is narrated by Rosalie, who stumbled upon a dead body in the marshland behind her house as a 10-year old child. Lost and disorientated, Rosalie is found however, there's no sign of the skeleton and everyone concluded she made it up as she has an inclination to tell stories, as well having as an active imagination. Now, 15 years afterwards, Rosalie is living alone when her estranged brother, Dallin, turns up with Cora, a woman who is convinced that the body Rosalie found all those years ago is her sister. Cora has been searching for sister Simone for years and has tracked her to the area, so Rosalie tries to put her differences with Dallin behind her to help Cora in her search.
Rachel Bennett has a very appealing style of writing and the characters she created though not hugely likeable, were very believable. There was a great sense of apprehensiveness and foreboding and I liked the fluidity between past and present. I found Little Girls Tell Tales very readable, the various unfolding events and revelations making the book very gripping. The story-line was fantastic and the suspense was kept at optimum levels, though the pacing was a little slow here and there. In this atmospheric tale of uncertainty and tension the author wrapped everything up very neatly in a swift ending which was rather satisfying.
This was an absolute pleasure to read and even if the plot had been less stimulating I would have devoured these pages with equal gusto and enthusiasm. I’ll certainly be looking out for Rachel Bennett’s next book.
I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel at my request, from One More Chapter via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.
The book is narrated by Rosalie, who stumbled upon a dead body in the marshland behind her house as a 10-year old child. Lost and disorientated, Rosalie is found however, there's no sign of the skeleton and everyone concluded she made it up as she has an inclination to tell stories, as well having as an active imagination. Now, 15 years afterwards, Rosalie is living alone when her estranged brother, Dallin, turns up with Cora, a woman who is convinced that the body Rosalie found all those years ago is her sister. Cora has been searching for sister Simone for years and has tracked her to the area, so Rosalie tries to put her differences with Dallin behind her to help Cora in her search.
Rachel Bennett has a very appealing style of writing and the characters she created though not hugely likeable, were very believable. There was a great sense of apprehensiveness and foreboding and I liked the fluidity between past and present. I found Little Girls Tell Tales very readable, the various unfolding events and revelations making the book very gripping. The story-line was fantastic and the suspense was kept at optimum levels, though the pacing was a little slow here and there. In this atmospheric tale of uncertainty and tension the author wrapped everything up very neatly in a swift ending which was rather satisfying.
This was an absolute pleasure to read and even if the plot had been less stimulating I would have devoured these pages with equal gusto and enthusiasm. I’ll certainly be looking out for Rachel Bennett’s next book.
I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel at my request, from One More Chapter via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.
May 17, 2020
The blurb for this book immediately drew me in! It’s described as “a pacy and atmospheric crime novel…” I found the novel to be more of a slow burn. The beginning of this novel is beautifully written and quite atmospheric as the author describes the curraghs (wetlands) and Rosalie as she gets separated from her brother and subsequently is lost for hours. When Rosalie finds a skeleton in the curraghs she is sad, and i felt so bad for her. Rosalie is found after hours alone but no one believes her when she tells them about the skeleton she found. Subsequent searches never found any trace of the skeleton.
The story jumps from the past to present day and this is when the writing style seemed to change and the plot slowed down. I’d say that until the 80% mark the book was slow. I didn’t feel that anxiety or real concern for the characters I usually do with a suspense. In my opinion this is more a mystery, less on on thriller side. The last 20% of the book things do pick up.
I found Rosalie to be quite likable, despite her struggles. The other characters didn’t really connect for me. Dalin, Rosalie’s brother was quite an unlikeable character and I felt the need to shake him quite a bit.
Overall, this was an easy read, but not the thriller I expected. I rated this one 3 stars. The atmosphere and setting were used quite well to develop the storyline.
Thank you One More Chapter Books, Harper Collins, and Netgalley for an advanced copy of the book for my review.
The story jumps from the past to present day and this is when the writing style seemed to change and the plot slowed down. I’d say that until the 80% mark the book was slow. I didn’t feel that anxiety or real concern for the characters I usually do with a suspense. In my opinion this is more a mystery, less on on thriller side. The last 20% of the book things do pick up.
I found Rosalie to be quite likable, despite her struggles. The other characters didn’t really connect for me. Dalin, Rosalie’s brother was quite an unlikeable character and I felt the need to shake him quite a bit.
Overall, this was an easy read, but not the thriller I expected. I rated this one 3 stars. The atmosphere and setting were used quite well to develop the storyline.
Thank you One More Chapter Books, Harper Collins, and Netgalley for an advanced copy of the book for my review.
May 29, 2020
The blurb of Little Girls Tell Tales is intriguing and I expected it to be quite eerie with the bleak, desolate setting of the wetlands and a small child stumbling across a body. I was actually quite disappointed to find that the part based in 2004 was just a prologue and the rest of the book is set in 2019. Little Girls Tell Tales could possibly have benefited from throwback perspectives just to build the tense, eerie feeling of Rosalie being lost and finding the body and then told what happened afterwards. Instead we see Rosalie as an adult who is already struggling with things that have happened in her current life; nothing that seems to relate back to the discovery of a body when she was a child.
I felt like the characters were a bit flat and the plot dull. I just couldn't get into it and didn't really care what happened. Even at the climax and the big reveal in the book, I still felt it was flat and lacking in suspense. I honestly felt like I could skim read big chunks of this book and still not miss any major detail or plot line.
Unfortunately this book wasn't for me.
Thanks to NetGalley, Rachel Bennett and HarperCollins UK for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I felt like the characters were a bit flat and the plot dull. I just couldn't get into it and didn't really care what happened. Even at the climax and the big reveal in the book, I still felt it was flat and lacking in suspense. I honestly felt like I could skim read big chunks of this book and still not miss any major detail or plot line.
Unfortunately this book wasn't for me.
Thanks to NetGalley, Rachel Bennett and HarperCollins UK for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 26, 2020
A decades long mystery that is solved through a combination of dogged determination, luck and someone getting impatient.
When our main character, Rosalie, is ten she gets lost while out for a walk. She wanders the deserted curraghs on the island for hours, and while walking discovers a skeleton. When she is eventually discovered she tells everyone what happened, but no evidence is found of this body. Twenty years on it’s still an event that bothers her.
Nobody else has thought about this for a long time, but then her brother publishes the story online and is contacted by a young woman named Cora. She tells a story of her sister, Simone, going missing and she wants to search the area to see if there is any truth to this tale.
What follows is a mix of family drama and general mystery. We learn more about the various characters involved and draw closer to the secrets held in the area. Eventually we get answers, though they’re not necessarily the answers we were expecting.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this in advance of publication.
When our main character, Rosalie, is ten she gets lost while out for a walk. She wanders the deserted curraghs on the island for hours, and while walking discovers a skeleton. When she is eventually discovered she tells everyone what happened, but no evidence is found of this body. Twenty years on it’s still an event that bothers her.
Nobody else has thought about this for a long time, but then her brother publishes the story online and is contacted by a young woman named Cora. She tells a story of her sister, Simone, going missing and she wants to search the area to see if there is any truth to this tale.
What follows is a mix of family drama and general mystery. We learn more about the various characters involved and draw closer to the secrets held in the area. Eventually we get answers, though they’re not necessarily the answers we were expecting.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this in advance of publication.
May 25, 2020
I don’t do synopsis/recap reviews, as I figure you can read the blurb. I’d rate this book 2.5 Stars, rounded up to 3.
The good stuff: Fine character writing, along with nice descriptive passages about the island kept my attention, along with the family relationships and tensions.
The not as good: I thought at 400 pages it was too long, and the same story could have been 150-175 pages shorter. And I grew numb reading about the MC’s grieving process. Too slow for a “slow burn.”
But the good did outweigh the bad, so all is ok.
I received an e Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for this opportunity to read and review the book. #LittleGirlsTellTales #NetGalley
The good stuff: Fine character writing, along with nice descriptive passages about the island kept my attention, along with the family relationships and tensions.
The not as good: I thought at 400 pages it was too long, and the same story could have been 150-175 pages shorter. And I grew numb reading about the MC’s grieving process. Too slow for a “slow burn.”
But the good did outweigh the bad, so all is ok.
I received an e Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for this opportunity to read and review the book. #LittleGirlsTellTales #NetGalley
February 28, 2020
Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC.
This one started a little slow but picked up in the end. I loved the ending, especially the way it was spun out to be someone you wouldn't have expected it to be. I liked the way this author went about telling the story of Simone. Leaving things out until the end made for a good mystery.
I was kind of annoyed at Dallin, especially when he started questioning Cora and Rosalie's discoveries. Also not sure why Beth was such a huge part of the story other than the fact that her wife was stricken by anxiety (which didn't seem to hinder her helping a stranger at all).
This one started a little slow but picked up in the end. I loved the ending, especially the way it was spun out to be someone you wouldn't have expected it to be. I liked the way this author went about telling the story of Simone. Leaving things out until the end made for a good mystery.
I was kind of annoyed at Dallin, especially when he started questioning Cora and Rosalie's discoveries. Also not sure why Beth was such a huge part of the story other than the fact that her wife was stricken by anxiety (which didn't seem to hinder her helping a stranger at all).
October 8, 2020
I bought this book because it was advertised as a good mystery set in Scotland. Halfway through the book I quit reading it. There might have been a mystery there, but the first half of the book was an extremely melodramatic narrative. It is written in 1st person, which I don't care for normally. The main character is a self centered neurotic from a dysfunctional family. Just not my cup of tea. I don't recommend this author to those interested in good mystery/crime solving genre.
February 23, 2020
SO I requested this book because it sounded really intriguing. Unfortunately, for me, it wasn't. ALthough well written, I found the endless descriptions and exposition too much. Not one of my favorites so far this year.
March 25, 2020
Really good book. The characters are well written. The story line was good. I really enjoyed reading it.
June 18, 2020
Seems like it dragged out, till the final reveal in the last 20 pages. Keeps going on and on about her dead wife. That is it.
February 7, 2021
This one was a lot of nothing. Extremely longwinded with nothing happening. Just dragged on and on. I kept waiting for something to happen throughout the book. It gets two stars for a decent ending.
December 14, 2025
Overall, this is a good novel. The premise intrigued me, as I’m sure it does many readers. While I think certain aspects of the premise’s execution fully developed, it still had merit.
Suspense
The book opens with young Rosalie becoming lost in the curraghs (boggy wetlands). She falls behind her brother Dallin and his friend Beth, and finds herself alone. Then she finds the skeleton.
The opening is beautifully written: the descriptions of the curraghs are appropriately eerie; there’s good tension between the siblings, partially due to their divorced parents forcing them to live apart; and the sense that the marshy land might swallow young Rosalie as she becomes increasingly disoriented. Rosalie is sympathetic here. When she finds the skeletal remains, she feels sad. But when a search team finds her hours later, no one believes her story about the human remains. The police search and find nothing. She and Beth search and find nothing.
When the story transitioned to the present day, the plot became bumpy. Rosalie was mourning the loss of Beth, who had been her wife, and has withdrawn from the world. But we didn’t know all that for quite a while, as the story focused on her need for routine and structure to keep going from some unknown past event. She had withdrawn from the world.
All of this makes sense. I got the sense that Rosalie was a woman struggling to keep her head above the waves of grief overwhelmed her. But it was slower paced in this section than many suspense novels are.
In fact, all the sections that focus on Rosalie emerging from her protective cocoon of routine are slow. It was beautiful writing. But there was a certain lack of tension that made these sections feel extraneous, as if they weren’t fully interwoven in the fabric of the story. They seemed to focus on character development at the expense of the plot. Or maybe the character arc at the expense of the story arc, if that makes sense.
By 40% of the way through the book, I still wasn’t feeling much suspense, and other than some odd threatening letters, I didn’t feel like the characters were in danger. Even the increasingly violent threats against their search didn’t grip me very much.
It wasn’t until about three-quarters of the way through the book that things clicked into place for me. Then it truly felt like a suspense novel. After that, the story raced, steamrolling everything in its path until I turned the last page for a satisfying, if abrupt, ending.
Characterization
I found Rosalie immensely likable. As the years between the skeleton’s discovery and the present, she had developed a habit of “talking” to the skeleton’s ghost. She named her Bogbean, after the flowers that she’d seen around the gravesite. There’s something rather sweet about this. Rosalie was a socially awkward, seemingly shy woman with few friends, and it was understandable that she might feel a bond with the dead Bogbean that no one besides her had seen and no one besides Beth believed that she had seen.
She tended to believe the best of people, but she didn’t comes across as naive, gullible, or stupid, in my opinion.
Cora was instantly likable, too. She was prepared to search the curraghs and determined to search every square inch of them. (She has measured it out on the map!) While she was obsessed over finding her sister Simone, she also longed for normality. She and Rosalie both needed closure.
Dallin, as Rosalie’s older brother, was a complicated and not always (or often) likable guy. He left town under a cloud, hasn’t spoken to their sick mother in years, and lies about, well, almost everything. Half the time I wanted to shake him and the other half of the time I wanted to smack him, and his sister apparently shared my feelings! He did get a small moment of redemption toward the end, though.
Narrative Style
One odd thing popped up in the narration. Bennett wrote most of the book from Rosalie’s 1st person point of view. But at random moments, short passages appeared in an unnamed person’s point of view. We read someone addressing the missing Simone as “you” and referring to an unknown man as HIM. It was easy to guess that these were from Cora’s point of view. But as she addressed “you” (Simone), the narration felt stylistically different from the rest of the book. It was also written in that deliberately ambiguous manner that is often used in current suspense novels.
I don’t think these passages served the story well. Sure, I got to know Simone a bit. But other than that, they came off as superfluous to the main story. Cora covered most of the information when she talked to Rosalie, and reading about “HIM” didn’t pique my interest.
Also, the use of “you” was off-putting to me. I’ve had some bad experiences with the 2nd person POV–don’t ask–and while this wasn’t technically 2nd POV, it flirted with it. This might just be my personal biases at work, and other people might find these passages suspenseful and intriguing.
Kudos to Rachel Bennett for experimenting with a different method of narrative storytelling, though. It’s always better to take the risk of trying something different in writing than to stick with the tried-and-true; even if it doesn’t quite work, you’ve still tried. The rest of the storytelling was well executed. Rosalie’s point of view felt natural and unforced.
Setting
All of this may sound as if I disliked the book. Au contraire. I did enjoy it. I read it in one day! It felt more like a mainstream novel with a strong suspense element, though, than a suspense novel.
I particularly liked the way Bennett uses the setting to develop the story.
This book could not take place anywhere other than the curraghs. Like the skeleton half submerged in the boggy land, every character struggles to stay on solid ground. Life threatens to suck them under, swallow them whole. Alone, they are like little girl Rosalie: wandering, searching for footholds, and fighting off panic.
Each of the major characters struggled to reach out to others. Dallin hid behind lies. Cora took shelter behind her maps and obsession Rosalie took refuge in her rigid schedules and isolation. Yet only working together could they be strong enough to make it through to the other side of the curraghs.
Recommended
This is a solid effort from Rachel Bennett. I’d recommend Little Girls Tell Tales to those who like slow-burning suspense novels rather than the high-octane, big-twist version. 3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4.
Trigger warnings: bereavement, homophobia, missing persons, child abuse, murder.
Thanks to One More Chapter Books, Harper Collins, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This review will appear on my blog on May 18, 2020.
Suspense
The book opens with young Rosalie becoming lost in the curraghs (boggy wetlands). She falls behind her brother Dallin and his friend Beth, and finds herself alone. Then she finds the skeleton.
The opening is beautifully written: the descriptions of the curraghs are appropriately eerie; there’s good tension between the siblings, partially due to their divorced parents forcing them to live apart; and the sense that the marshy land might swallow young Rosalie as she becomes increasingly disoriented. Rosalie is sympathetic here. When she finds the skeletal remains, she feels sad. But when a search team finds her hours later, no one believes her story about the human remains. The police search and find nothing. She and Beth search and find nothing.
When the story transitioned to the present day, the plot became bumpy. Rosalie was mourning the loss of Beth, who had been her wife, and has withdrawn from the world. But we didn’t know all that for quite a while, as the story focused on her need for routine and structure to keep going from some unknown past event. She had withdrawn from the world.
All of this makes sense. I got the sense that Rosalie was a woman struggling to keep her head above the waves of grief overwhelmed her. But it was slower paced in this section than many suspense novels are.
In fact, all the sections that focus on Rosalie emerging from her protective cocoon of routine are slow. It was beautiful writing. But there was a certain lack of tension that made these sections feel extraneous, as if they weren’t fully interwoven in the fabric of the story. They seemed to focus on character development at the expense of the plot. Or maybe the character arc at the expense of the story arc, if that makes sense.
By 40% of the way through the book, I still wasn’t feeling much suspense, and other than some odd threatening letters, I didn’t feel like the characters were in danger. Even the increasingly violent threats against their search didn’t grip me very much.
It wasn’t until about three-quarters of the way through the book that things clicked into place for me. Then it truly felt like a suspense novel. After that, the story raced, steamrolling everything in its path until I turned the last page for a satisfying, if abrupt, ending.
Characterization
I found Rosalie immensely likable. As the years between the skeleton’s discovery and the present, she had developed a habit of “talking” to the skeleton’s ghost. She named her Bogbean, after the flowers that she’d seen around the gravesite. There’s something rather sweet about this. Rosalie was a socially awkward, seemingly shy woman with few friends, and it was understandable that she might feel a bond with the dead Bogbean that no one besides her had seen and no one besides Beth believed that she had seen.
She tended to believe the best of people, but she didn’t comes across as naive, gullible, or stupid, in my opinion.
Cora was instantly likable, too. She was prepared to search the curraghs and determined to search every square inch of them. (She has measured it out on the map!) While she was obsessed over finding her sister Simone, she also longed for normality. She and Rosalie both needed closure.
Dallin, as Rosalie’s older brother, was a complicated and not always (or often) likable guy. He left town under a cloud, hasn’t spoken to their sick mother in years, and lies about, well, almost everything. Half the time I wanted to shake him and the other half of the time I wanted to smack him, and his sister apparently shared my feelings! He did get a small moment of redemption toward the end, though.
Narrative Style
One odd thing popped up in the narration. Bennett wrote most of the book from Rosalie’s 1st person point of view. But at random moments, short passages appeared in an unnamed person’s point of view. We read someone addressing the missing Simone as “you” and referring to an unknown man as HIM. It was easy to guess that these were from Cora’s point of view. But as she addressed “you” (Simone), the narration felt stylistically different from the rest of the book. It was also written in that deliberately ambiguous manner that is often used in current suspense novels.
I don’t think these passages served the story well. Sure, I got to know Simone a bit. But other than that, they came off as superfluous to the main story. Cora covered most of the information when she talked to Rosalie, and reading about “HIM” didn’t pique my interest.
Also, the use of “you” was off-putting to me. I’ve had some bad experiences with the 2nd person POV–don’t ask–and while this wasn’t technically 2nd POV, it flirted with it. This might just be my personal biases at work, and other people might find these passages suspenseful and intriguing.
Kudos to Rachel Bennett for experimenting with a different method of narrative storytelling, though. It’s always better to take the risk of trying something different in writing than to stick with the tried-and-true; even if it doesn’t quite work, you’ve still tried. The rest of the storytelling was well executed. Rosalie’s point of view felt natural and unforced.
Setting
All of this may sound as if I disliked the book. Au contraire. I did enjoy it. I read it in one day! It felt more like a mainstream novel with a strong suspense element, though, than a suspense novel.
I particularly liked the way Bennett uses the setting to develop the story.
This book could not take place anywhere other than the curraghs. Like the skeleton half submerged in the boggy land, every character struggles to stay on solid ground. Life threatens to suck them under, swallow them whole. Alone, they are like little girl Rosalie: wandering, searching for footholds, and fighting off panic.
Each of the major characters struggled to reach out to others. Dallin hid behind lies. Cora took shelter behind her maps and obsession Rosalie took refuge in her rigid schedules and isolation. Yet only working together could they be strong enough to make it through to the other side of the curraghs.
Recommended
This is a solid effort from Rachel Bennett. I’d recommend Little Girls Tell Tales to those who like slow-burning suspense novels rather than the high-octane, big-twist version. 3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4.
Trigger warnings: bereavement, homophobia, missing persons, child abuse, murder.
Thanks to One More Chapter Books, Harper Collins, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This review will appear on my blog on May 18, 2020.
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