Little Lies

By: Heather Gudenkauf

Narrated by: Kate Rudd

In this riveting prequel to her novel Little Mercies, New York Times best-selling author Heather Gudenkauf explores how even the smallest lies can have far-reaching consequences.

When the body of a woman is discovered in a local park - with her bewildered four-year-old son sitting beside her - veteran social worker Ellen Moore is called in to assist in the police investigation. Positioned beneath a statue of Leto, the goddess of motherhood, the crime is weighted with meaning and, Ellen discovers, remarkably similar to one from a decade past.

Ellen's professional duty is to protect the child, but she's not equipped to contend with a killer. As she races to connect the dots, she knows her time is running out. And the stakes are high: If she fails, another mother is sure to make the ultimate sacrifice.

©2014 Heather Gudenkauf (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, Inc., all rights reserved.

2.75 Stars 🌟

Another first time author for me. Apparently, this is the prequel to another book - Little Mercies - by this author. I have not read the main book so this was my first experience with this author. This is a short story introducing the reader to a social worker Ellen Moore who has been trying to help and save children for many years. She gets called out to a scene of the murder of a mother with the young 4 year old child left alive at the scene that is very similar to a crime that was committed many years ago. The similarities are a bit chilling.

Ellen seems to have a good relationship with the police and there is one detective in particular that seems to be a reliable partner in cases such as this. It is apparent that they are comfortable working together and this particular officer/detective was also around during the first case - which is still unsolved to this day.

I listened to this completely on audio and the narrator was Kate Rudd. Ms. Rudd is an accomplished narrator and I was trying to remember where I had heard her before and I think that it was the Kingfountain series by Jeff Wheeler that her voice reminded me the most of while I was listening to this story.

Honestly, there is not too much to be said about this prequel. It is fairly short - around 2 hours - and this isn't just a prequel but it is a self contained case that is somehow also solved in that short time frame. There was not much character development of the characters that we get to meet and the murderer (as well as the circumstances) just didn't really resonate with me. I thought, "Seriously?" when it is resolved.

I'm not really sure what the purpose of the prequel was. Yes, maybe it was to introduce Ellen as a caring and intelligent social worker and if that was the case, that makes sense since she is really the only character that has any depth. Possibly it could also be to introduce Jonah - the boy from the first murder scene that is still unsolved. I'm not sure.

Will I continue onward and read the next book in this series? Probably not.

Little Lies

I am new to this author and am really loving the stories and emotions involved. There is some scary stuff out there. Will definitely be reading some more. The narration is excellent.

will start the next one as soon as I type this ...

Loved it, can't wait for the next one. Heather Gudenkauf is one of my favorite authors. This is the 4th book I have listened to by her. Five stars for them all!!!

not a lot of story

too short to catch the listener. not the usual work of ms gudenkauf. I will keep her as a favorite author though.

Liked book

I liked the story, but if you pay attention you will know what happens. Super short book.

Excellent short story!

I immediately bought the next book. Trying to think of chores I can do while listening. Want to start it now.

Very sad

The story was like a diary of a social worker. Two cases involving children were covered. Other than choosing a profession to do God’s work, the main character as well as supporting characters lacked depth. The end was okay in one way and blah in others. With such a sad topic, there seemed to be no redemption, even though I was hoping for a break in the sadness.

Too short

This is a short story. The story was okay, but it was absolutely too short to build characters.

Great Read

I really enjoyed her writing style and the vivid pictures she painted. It is evident she lives in Iowa and understands the Midwest.

Kate Rudd does a wonderful job, I listen to her performances every chance I get.

Horrible narrator. Good short story.

This narrator is the worst. She’s robotic and overly emotional. Every time a sentence has the word “to” in it, she sounds like a robot from the 1950s reading it.