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A review by contemporarymeepsie
Little Face by Sophie Hannah
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.