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contemporarymeepsie's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Little Face tells the story of Alice Fancourt who returns home one day to find her baby has gone missing and in its place is an exact look-alike copy. Alice informs the police but no one believes her as her husband David swears she is the same baby, except Detective Simon Waterhouse who takes on the confusing case.
This book was your classic mystery bullshit. I'm not a fan of mystery which is a bias I'm aware of. I'm also aware me giving it a low rating because of this bias is unfair. It's not poorly written. The story is interesting and well-written grammatically. It's just really not my cup of tea. And I found the reveal predictable when I thought there could've been a much more interesting solution to the murder subplot. My main issue with the story is both Simon and Alice are unlikeable characters, they are also unreliable narrators and because Alice's chapters are written in first person, we hear her inner monologue, so why oh why does she suddenly flip her opinions at the end? It's annoying to suddenly be told that's how she felt the whole time when that was not explored at all earlier in the novel. Just a personal gripe with mystery novels in general. I might recommend this book to mystery fans specifically but I won't be reading it again.
This book was your classic mystery bullshit. I'm not a fan of mystery which is a bias I'm aware of. I'm also aware me giving it a low rating because of this bias is unfair. It's not poorly written. The story is interesting and well-written grammatically. It's just really not my cup of tea. And I found the reveal predictable when I thought there could've been a much more interesting solution to the murder subplot. My main issue with the story is both Simon and Alice are unlikeable characters, they are also unreliable narrators and because Alice's chapters are written in first person, we hear her inner monologue, so why oh why does she suddenly flip her opinions at the end? It's annoying to suddenly be told that's how she felt the whole time when that was not explored at all earlier in the novel. Just a personal gripe with mystery novels in general. I might recommend this book to mystery fans specifically but I won't be reading it again.
alicemichelle's review against another edition
2.0
I can't review this and explain my absolute disappointment in this story without spoilers.
Well. Where do I start. A good premise that gripped me but oh my gosh did it dissapoint.
SPOILER WARNINGS BELOW
It started so well.
It ended with me feeling stunned and not in a good way.
As a domestic abuse survivor I am disgusted that such vile abuse was totally unpunished. Did she not tell Simon some of that? Simon has sympathy for him!
She is criticised and threatened with potential legal consequences for "taking Simon's" daughter- HER BABY. At no point did the vile abuse she had endured be taken into account no consequences for the abuser. Deeply unsatisfying and hard to read.
And the twist....it felt like it had come out of nowhere- no foreshadowing, not even a tiny hint. It was so abrupt it left me feeling I had been fed a false narrative for 90% of the story. The ending felt like a last minute decision.
Really didn't enjoy this at all and I don't usually leave such negative reviews!
Well. Where do I start. A good premise that gripped me but oh my gosh did it dissapoint.
SPOILER WARNINGS BELOW
It started so well.
It ended with me feeling stunned and not in a good way.
As a domestic abuse survivor I am disgusted that such vile abuse was totally unpunished. Did she not tell Simon some of that? Simon has sympathy for him!
She is criticised and threatened with potential legal consequences for "taking Simon's" daughter- HER BABY. At no point did the vile abuse she had endured be taken into account no consequences for the abuser. Deeply unsatisfying and hard to read.
And the twist....it felt like it had come out of nowhere- no foreshadowing, not even a tiny hint. It was so abrupt it left me feeling I had been fed a false narrative for 90% of the story. The ending felt like a last minute decision.
Really didn't enjoy this at all and I don't usually leave such negative reviews!
sarah1001's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
melissakuzma's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this, but I had a few issues with it. I did not figure it out early on, as some other reviewers did, but I was slightly let down by the conclusion. And there was one major plot point that was never adequately explained, in my opinion. But I still liked the way it was written and the characters, so I'd probably try another one in the series.
wassail's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
janiemcpants's review against another edition
3.0
I gave this three stars because it was a real page-turner, and I read it in two sittings because I just had to know what happened. The book has a great concept that deserved a better execution.
The blurb on the cover said “for fans of the Dublin Murder Squad”, and I can see that. The dysfunctional family and the asshole cops (complete with solitary female cop who they all treat like crap) did remind me of the DMS books, except the DMS books have more depth and more multidimensional characters.
I have three big issues here:
1. As has been said in many other reviews, the final twist makes no sense. We’re right there in Alice’s head for half the book, so if she knew all along that Little Face was Florence, we should have known, too.
2. There was no closure for David’s plot. David subjects Alice to some pretty horrific abuse, and then we just...never hear about it again. Simon doesn’t even mention it, and you’d think, even if Simon wasn’t really in love with Alice (and I didn’t buy that he was for one second), he’d at least menace him a little bit, or something. I just wanted SOME kind of karma to get him. I think what we were supposed to take from David’s behavior was he was so under his mother’s thumb that he got off on controlling Alice, because that was the one thing he was able to control, but I wish it was more interesting than that. I actually wish David had been involved in the murder plot, or the babies really had been switched and David and Vivienne had been in it together, just because It’s All The Rich Controlling Mother’s Fault has been done to death.
3. There was no closure for Charlie’s plot. I still have no idea what that was all about.
All in all, it did a good job of portraying Alice’s growing panic and frustration, but the characters and motivations could have used a LOT more development. They all just sort of do things for some reason, and then plot happens.
The blurb on the cover said “for fans of the Dublin Murder Squad”, and I can see that. The dysfunctional family and the asshole cops (complete with solitary female cop who they all treat like crap) did remind me of the DMS books, except the DMS books have more depth and more multidimensional characters.
I have three big issues here:
1. As has been said in many other reviews, the final twist makes no sense. We’re right there in Alice’s head for half the book, so if she knew all along that Little Face was Florence, we should have known, too.
2. There was no closure for David’s plot. David subjects Alice to some pretty horrific abuse, and then we just...never hear about it again. Simon doesn’t even mention it, and you’d think, even if Simon wasn’t really in love with Alice (and I didn’t buy that he was for one second), he’d at least menace him a little bit, or something. I just wanted SOME kind of karma to get him. I think what we were supposed to take from David’s behavior was he was so under his mother’s thumb that he got off on controlling Alice, because that was the one thing he was able to control, but I wish it was more interesting than that. I actually wish David had been involved in the murder plot, or the babies really had been switched and David and Vivienne had been in it together, just because It’s All The Rich Controlling Mother’s Fault has been done to death.
3. There was no closure for Charlie’s plot. I still have no idea what that was all about.
All in all, it did a good job of portraying Alice’s growing panic and frustration, but the characters and motivations could have used a LOT more development. They all just sort of do things for some reason, and then plot happens.
caroparr's review against another edition
3.0
A real page-turner, but when the bad guys turn out just to be crazy, the story loses any depth it might have had. I'd like to meet Simon again, however, and it turns out that I can and will!
thebookishgem's review against another edition
3.0
A decent read but I was quite disappointed with the ending
aliceyy's review against another edition
4.0
This is so far my favourite out of the books I've read by Sophie Hannah. It's much shorter than most of them, and I think it has a more direct resolution to the mystery.
The premise is very attention grabbing - Alice comes home to find that her baby daughter has disappeared, and instead another baby is in her place. Meanwhile her husband is certain that the baby is in fact their daughter. Other people couldn't be sure either because babies grow so fast so only the parents would know. So Alice tries to get the police to search for her daughter but the police don't take her seriously, until she and the baby both go missing soon after. So then the mysteries are gradually uncovered. I really liked the pace of this book. The only problem would be Alice's absolutely neurotic paranoia that felt a little too repetitive.
As for the characters, I do not like Alice and her husband. Or anyone else really apart from Simon and Charlie (the two main detectives we follow with all of Sophie Hannah's Spilling CID books). Usually I don't think about whether I like them or not that much because they just exist to solve the crime. But in this book their personalities really stood out for me.
The premise is very attention grabbing - Alice comes home to find that her baby daughter has disappeared, and instead another baby is in her place. Meanwhile her husband is certain that the baby is in fact their daughter. Other people couldn't be sure either because babies grow so fast so only the parents would know. So Alice tries to get the police to search for her daughter but the police don't take her seriously, until she and the baby both go missing soon after. So then the mysteries are gradually uncovered. I really liked the pace of this book. The only problem would be Alice's absolutely neurotic paranoia that felt a little too repetitive.
As for the characters, I do not like Alice and her husband. Or anyone else really apart from Simon and Charlie (the two main detectives we follow with all of Sophie Hannah's Spilling CID books). Usually I don't think about whether I like them or not that much because they just exist to solve the crime. But in this book their personalities really stood out for me.