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theavidreaderandbibliophile's review against another edition
2.0
Little Girls by Ronald Malfi is an unusual novel. Laurie Genarro’s father just passed away. He supposedly got past a padlocked lock and threw himself out of window (that was nailed shut). The poor man had severe dementia at the end of life and it is assumed that he committed suicide. Laurie has not returned to her father’s house since she was a teenager (her parents divorced when she was about ten). Laurie does not really want to go to the house, but she needs to settle her father’s affairs.
Laurie is married to Ted (a playwright) and they have a ten year old daughter named Susan. Susan and Ted like the house (despite no television, radio, or internet) and are looking forward to spending some time in Maryland (they are from Hartford, CT). Laurie hears doors slam when no one is home and says she is hears whispering. Her husband is really worried about her mental state. Laurie had an incident last year while driving. She was found in her car on the side of the highway in a fugue state (according to the doctor). Laurie remembers nothing about the incident. Then Laurie sees the little girl living next door. Abigail Evans is spending the summer with her aunt and uncle while her parents are traveling in Greece. Abigail looks like Sadie Russ who grew up next door to Laurie. Sarah died in the greenhouse belonging to Laurie’s father. Laurie swears Abigail looks just like Sadie (could she be Sadie?). No one else can see the resemblance (Laurie found a photograph of the two of them when they were little).
Laurie starts checking to make sure doors are locked and windows are locked and shut. She will not let Susan play with Abigail because she thinks Abigail is a bad influence. Laurie is going through her father’s belongings and finds photographs of young girls. Who are these girls and why did her father have the photos? Is someone getting into the house? What is going on with Laurie?
Little Girls is a strange novel. I like mystery, horror, and thriller stories, but this book just struck me as weird (and I do not like to use that word). The ending does not really provide closure on the book. I finished this book yesterday and I am still trying to figure out Little Girls. I give Little Girls 1.5 out of 5 stars (I am being generous). Little Girls was just not the right book for me.
I received a complimentary copy of Little Girls from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The review and opinions expressed are my own.
http://bibliophileandavidreader.blogspot.com/2015/07/little-girls.html
Laurie is married to Ted (a playwright) and they have a ten year old daughter named Susan. Susan and Ted like the house (despite no television, radio, or internet) and are looking forward to spending some time in Maryland (they are from Hartford, CT). Laurie hears doors slam when no one is home and says she is hears whispering. Her husband is really worried about her mental state. Laurie had an incident last year while driving. She was found in her car on the side of the highway in a fugue state (according to the doctor). Laurie remembers nothing about the incident. Then Laurie sees the little girl living next door. Abigail Evans is spending the summer with her aunt and uncle while her parents are traveling in Greece. Abigail looks like Sadie Russ who grew up next door to Laurie. Sarah died in the greenhouse belonging to Laurie’s father. Laurie swears Abigail looks just like Sadie (could she be Sadie?). No one else can see the resemblance (Laurie found a photograph of the two of them when they were little).
Laurie starts checking to make sure doors are locked and windows are locked and shut. She will not let Susan play with Abigail because she thinks Abigail is a bad influence. Laurie is going through her father’s belongings and finds photographs of young girls. Who are these girls and why did her father have the photos? Is someone getting into the house? What is going on with Laurie?
Little Girls is a strange novel. I like mystery, horror, and thriller stories, but this book just struck me as weird (and I do not like to use that word). The ending does not really provide closure on the book. I finished this book yesterday and I am still trying to figure out Little Girls. I give Little Girls 1.5 out of 5 stars (I am being generous). Little Girls was just not the right book for me.
I received a complimentary copy of Little Girls from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The review and opinions expressed are my own.
http://bibliophileandavidreader.blogspot.com/2015/07/little-girls.html
calliek927's review against another edition
4.0
Another one I enjoyed by Ronald Malfi! Definitely has a creepy vibe, and a little thrill. The characters were developed perfectly for me, even if sometimes I wanted to slap some of them silly.
indiepauli47's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Touki's club book of the month !
Ho no, what happened, Mr. Malfi ? 😭
I could not get into this book.. it was very slow, WAY TOO SLOW.
I don't mind a character's study, the story slowly unfolding into a great horror.
Except I couldn't care less about the characters, didn't feel any emotional involvement with Laurie, or Susan.. and let's not talk about the useless husband.
This book killed my reading for 10 days and I'm mad about it.
The ending is the reason why I give it 2 stars (and also because it's Ronald Malfi.. I can't give one star to this man 😭)
A shame, but I'm sure others will enjoy it for what it is, a creepy kid/possession story, with a troubled main character trying to decipher what's real from what's in her head.
Ho no, what happened, Mr. Malfi ? 😭
I could not get into this book.. it was very slow, WAY TOO SLOW.
I don't mind a character's study, the story slowly unfolding into a great horror.
Except I couldn't care less about the characters, didn't feel any emotional involvement with Laurie, or Susan.. and let's not talk about the useless husband.
This book killed my reading for 10 days and I'm mad about it.
The ending is the reason why I give it 2 stars (and also because it's Ronald Malfi.. I can't give one star to this man 😭)
A shame, but I'm sure others will enjoy it for what it is, a creepy kid/possession story, with a troubled main character trying to decipher what's real from what's in her head.
babychreez's review against another edition
3.0
3.75 stars rounded down. I had to round down simply because I don’t feel like I can round this up to 4 stars, when I compare it to Malfi’s other novels. This was a reeeeeally slow burn… The pacing felt off the entire way through. One of the twists was creative but came about too suddenly at the ending… The other “twists” were extremely predictable. This was still a good read, but it’s unfortunately the lowest rated on my “read” list of Malfi novels.
leach2225's review against another edition
I'm terrible at book reviews but here goes. This is the first book I have read by this author and I will read another I liked the writing style in this book and enjoyed the way it kept me wanting more to the very end. If you love a good mystery you will love this book.. Very strange happening go on throughout the book and I was quite surprised by the ending, leaves you thinking. Very cool! A great read.
livingdeadbabe's review against another edition
3.0
This one is hard to review. I didn’t like the characters in this book. Yet I liked the story. Not a big fan of the ending being just like cliffhanger let their mind finish it type ending. I also really thought it was weird saying that the forest smell reminded him of seman. I’m not sniff testing that. So idk what I want to
Rate the book. 3.5 ish just because I don’t see how I can rate a book where I hate all the people
I’m it any higher.
Rate the book. 3.5 ish just because I don’t see how I can rate a book where I hate all the people
I’m it any higher.
secretok's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse
mowglii_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
judithdcollins's review against another edition
3.0
A special thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
LITTLE GIRLS by Ronald Malfi is a haunting tale of fear and horror, when a daughter and family are drawn back to her childhood home where unpleasant memories and secrets from the past, are re-surfaced.
Laurie, husband, Ted and daughter, ten-year-old, Susan return to the haunted like house (like The Addams Family), in Maryland to her estranged father’s house, (Mr. Brashear) who has died, after suffering from years of dementia and ultimately committing suicide.
Laurie has bad memories of her childhood. When she was growing up, she was forbidden to enter the room at the top of the stairs (the belvedere). Her father was evil and distant, with many rules. Her parents had divorced when she was not much older than Susan. She and her mother had left the house and Maryland to live with her mother’s family in Norfolk, VA. Even as bad as he was, she feels a little guilt about her prolonged absence from this life. She has not been back in years.
Returning to settle the estate, her dad’s demons are lurking and haunting them. Laurie thinks she is imagining things which memories began surfacing and wonders if she is losing her mind. From noises, spirits, loose boards, passageways, the greenhouse, the well, and strange things. What if his dementia was contagious?
Then there is her daughter’s new friend next door, Abagail, who resembles a little girl from years ago named Sadie Russ, who haunted her. She was friends with the little girl next door until she started having tantrums and fits. She would hit her and pinch her and all sorts of horrible gruesome things, who had like different personalities (some weird stuff). She bullied and threatened her. She died when she was eleven, and she was glad. Could she be returning as Abigail Evans for revenge? She has to protect her daughter.
On top of this, her daughter is giving her problems and her husband is unfaithful. Her husband thinks she has secrets as well, and wants her to come clean. A husband who infidelity forced her to reexamine herself, and a father who black unfathomable secrets were floating to the surface and the only thing which offered her solace at the moment was possibly she was wrong about the neighbor. Had her father done unspeakable things to little girls?
From hidden secrets to horror, as we learn more of the evil and twisted father for a paranormal twist.
Summary: Even though I love mysteries, thrillers and psychological suspense, not a huge fan of ghosts, horror, or paranormal, unless paired with intensity and emotion. Felt this one was lacking. An overused topic; returning to the childhood home. An opportunity to create something unique; however, lost its luster early on and never came together for me. I never felt the edge-of-your-seat suspense, depth, chill, or sizzle--as you would expect, in a novel of this nature; thereby, lacking the page-turner quality.
JDCMustReadBooks
LITTLE GIRLS by Ronald Malfi is a haunting tale of fear and horror, when a daughter and family are drawn back to her childhood home where unpleasant memories and secrets from the past, are re-surfaced.
Laurie, husband, Ted and daughter, ten-year-old, Susan return to the haunted like house (like The Addams Family), in Maryland to her estranged father’s house, (Mr. Brashear) who has died, after suffering from years of dementia and ultimately committing suicide.
Laurie has bad memories of her childhood. When she was growing up, she was forbidden to enter the room at the top of the stairs (the belvedere). Her father was evil and distant, with many rules. Her parents had divorced when she was not much older than Susan. She and her mother had left the house and Maryland to live with her mother’s family in Norfolk, VA. Even as bad as he was, she feels a little guilt about her prolonged absence from this life. She has not been back in years.
Returning to settle the estate, her dad’s demons are lurking and haunting them. Laurie thinks she is imagining things which memories began surfacing and wonders if she is losing her mind. From noises, spirits, loose boards, passageways, the greenhouse, the well, and strange things. What if his dementia was contagious?
Then there is her daughter’s new friend next door, Abagail, who resembles a little girl from years ago named Sadie Russ, who haunted her. She was friends with the little girl next door until she started having tantrums and fits. She would hit her and pinch her and all sorts of horrible gruesome things, who had like different personalities (some weird stuff). She bullied and threatened her. She died when she was eleven, and she was glad. Could she be returning as Abigail Evans for revenge? She has to protect her daughter.
On top of this, her daughter is giving her problems and her husband is unfaithful. Her husband thinks she has secrets as well, and wants her to come clean. A husband who infidelity forced her to reexamine herself, and a father who black unfathomable secrets were floating to the surface and the only thing which offered her solace at the moment was possibly she was wrong about the neighbor. Had her father done unspeakable things to little girls?
From hidden secrets to horror, as we learn more of the evil and twisted father for a paranormal twist.
Summary: Even though I love mysteries, thrillers and psychological suspense, not a huge fan of ghosts, horror, or paranormal, unless paired with intensity and emotion. Felt this one was lacking. An overused topic; returning to the childhood home. An opportunity to create something unique; however, lost its luster early on and never came together for me. I never felt the edge-of-your-seat suspense, depth, chill, or sizzle--as you would expect, in a novel of this nature; thereby, lacking the page-turner quality.
JDCMustReadBooks