Little Broken Things

Author: Nicole Baart
Genre: Women's Fiction
Type: Trade Paperback
Pages: 368
Source: TLC Book Tours
Publisher: Atria Books
First Published: November 21, 2017
First Line: "The little girl's hair is fine as cornsilk."

Book Description from GoodReads: “If you liked Big Little Lies, you’ll want to crack open this new novel by Nicole Baart.” —Southern Living

An engrossing and suspenseful novel for fans of Liane Moriarty and Amy Hatvany about an affluent suburban family whose carefully constructed facade starts to come apart with the unexpected arrival of an endangered young girl.

I have something for you. When Quinn Cruz receives that cryptic text message from her older sister Nora, she doesn’t think much of it. They haven’t seen each other in nearly a year and thanks to Nora’s fierce aloofness, their relationship consists mostly of infrequent phone calls and an occasional email or text. But when a haunted Nora shows up at the lake near Quinn's house just hours later, a chain reaction is set into motion that will change both of their lives forever.

Nora’s “something” is more shocking than Quinn could have ever imagined: a little girl, cowering, wide-eyed, and tight-lipped. Nora hands her over to Quinn with instructions to keep her safe, and not to utter a word about the child to anyone, especially not their buttoned-up mother who seems determined to pretend everything is perfect. But before Quinn can ask even one of the million questions swirling around her head, Nora disappears, and Quinn finds herself the unlikely caretaker of a girl introduced simply as Lucy.

While Quinn struggles to honor her sister’s desperate request and care for the lost, scared Lucy, she fears that Nora may have gotten involved in something way over her head—something that will threaten them all. But Quinn’s worries are nothing compared to the firestorm that Nora is facing. It’s a matter of life and death, of family and freedom, and ultimately, about the lengths a woman will go to protect the ones she loves. 


My Rating: 3 stars

Disclaimer: This ARC was generously provided to me by TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.

My Review: Little Broken Things is a domestic drama that reveals secrets and angst-filled drama within a dysfunctional family.

I enjoyed the tension surrounding the identity of a certain character and how the story was told by multiple points of view. But for a book that's deemed a suspense read, Little Broken Things was weak with its predictability (right up to the expected ending). 

This family drama has darker subjects, complete with a nefarious 'baddie', but even with these issues it continued to feel like a 'lighter family drama with a side of suspense'. While the topics were interesting, I didn't feel that the issues were explored enough and the writing suffered from the dreaded 'too much telling and not enough showing' issue. It's in the showing that I connect with characters.

Overall, this domestic drama was an easy read that brings up serious familial issues but I didn't find it as suspenseful as I was expecting based on its blurb (which likened it to Liane Moriarty's work). For readers who enjoy a lighter read that still approaches some big issues fraught with family drama this may be a book for you.