Little Monsters

By: Adrienne Brodeur

Narrated by: Jason Culp, Matt Pittenger, Cassandra Campbell, Joy Osmanski, Allyson Ryan, Sura Siu

A National Best Seller!

“Juicy…simmers with tension as secrets explode out into the open.” —The Washington Post * “So alluring…I raced happily through the pages.” —The New York Times Book Review * “Compulsively readable.” —Vogue * “An absolutely captivating read.” —Elin Hilderbrand

From the author of the bestselling memoir Wild Game comes a riveting novel about Cape Cod, complicated families, and long-buried secrets.

Ken and Abby Gardner lost their mother when they were small and they have been haunted by her absence ever since. Their father, Adam, a brilliant oceanographer, raised them mostly on his own in his remote home on Cape Cod, where the attachment between Ken and Abby deepened into something complicated—and as adults their relationship is strained. Now, years later, the siblings’ lives are still deeply entwined. Ken is a successful businessman with political ambitions and a picture-perfect family and Abby is a talented visual artist who depends on her brother’s goodwill, in part because he owns the studio where she lives and works.

As the novel opens, Adam is approaching his seventieth birthday, staring down his mortality and fading relevance. He has always managed his bipolar disorder with medication, but he’s determined to make one last scientific breakthrough and so he has secretly stopped taking his pills, which he knows will infuriate his children. Meanwhile, Abby and Ken are both harboring secrets of their own, and there is a new person on the periphery of the family—Steph, who doesn’t make her connection known. As Adam grows more attuned to the frequencies of the deep sea and less so to the people around him, Ken and Abby each plan the elaborate gifts they will present to their father on his birthday, jostling for primacy in this small family unit.

Set in the fraught summer of 2016, Little Monsters is a “smart, page-flipping novel…[with] shades of Succession” (The Boston Globe) from a writer who knows Cape Cod inside and out—its Edenic lushness and its snakes.

©2023 Adrienne Brodeur (P)2023 Simon & Schuster Audio

Lovely story and great readers

Adrienne Brodeur is a wonderful writer - a lovely story with well drawn characters and strong sense of place. I didn’t want it to end!!!

Great family drama

Knowable characters, mystery involved enfolded in the mystery of what makes us family in this century on the backdrop of women thinking we are on the cusp of something great for womankind. There's a lot more there in the subtle folds and shadows and themes of this story than the story itself. Great writing and introduction of an imagination like Ann Patchett and even Pat Conroy in her ability to articulate "family" and make it him like whale song.

Tedious, tendentious conclusion

The narrative is compelling, the characters’ tribulations credible, and the readers are wonderful. Four of us on a car ride listened for hours with great pleasure. But the novel has a didactic line that expands over time, but nothing prepared us for the ending. And, as sympathetic as I am with Brodeur’s politics, I think that in the concluding episode she let politics overwhelm the characters’ storylines, and I could barely force myself to listen to the end.

Interesting story

Great character development,told very
we’ll and performed by a good
reader. An enjoyable story that
was unique but believable.

Wow

Full of life
Enjoyed each character from start to finish
Looking for others by this author

Discovering Cape Cod

I listened to the NPR interview of the author and her brief description of her book. I was fascinated by her details and how she described the “broken” character. I was hooked by the interview! I quickly searched and found the audiobook. The author painted the scenes beautifully. I felt like I was there in Cape Cod and discovering it for the first time. I do agree by some of the review when it comes to character development and depth. The family issues and complex dilemma felt real however the character’s lack luster of emotions and dialogue pushed me to finish the book to see if it would develop more. Instead it left me hanging. The ending felt incomplete…unless that was the author’s point. One storyline, from the beginning, was strong and powerful through out the book …it captures all the raw emotions and confusion of discovering a family secret…however it’s ending was flat and uneventful. It left me asking why all the trouble of building such a strong storyline. But perhaps that was the intent; that not all family secrets are meant to be powerful instead some make you feel powerful that you overcame them.

Really enjoyed it!

I was struck by the finely drawn characters and complicated relationships of the siblings and their interactions with a larger-than-life-father. A very enjoyable read by one of my favorite authors.

It was good ,could have been great !

This story was really interesting and emotional and touched on true family issues and secrets .The characters were very compelling and complicated but the author missed a few really poignant and powerful moments that would have made this book a 5star read in my humble opinion.I don’t want to say too much but some of the characters needed desperately to have a painful moment and conversation with each other and the other decided to skim over the meat of the book.It was unfortunate and hurt the read for me .The author took so much time ,effort and research explaining Oceanography,painting techniques,the descriptions of the Cape ,food served at parties yet she missed so many opportunities for clarity between all the characters.It was very disappointing because she had a gold star book but then it turned silver due to lack of “ those really heart to heart moments “and conversations,admittances and ownership between these characters.The ending was very unemotional and it should have been so very emotional.So much for the reader to know in the beginning and middle and to not know in the end .The author needed to understand the reader wanted more character interaction and less about the shells etc…. Do both then I say ,tell us all about the whales ,ponds,sand,and ocean floor but then give us real details and depth about the characters.

So disappointed!

I was so interested in these characters and how the drama would play out at the big birthday bash. What a disappointment! There was so much energy and possibility for all these hidden conflicts to come to a head at the party and the author goes with contractions! Where’s the fury over the painting being harmed? Never a face to face conversation even between brother and sister. I loved the first 2/3 of this book and couldn’t wait to see all that could happen at Adam’s 70th birthday party but the author dropped the ball and went on vacation herself. No effort put into the ending. Just a disappointment. A time capsule? Really? So many possibilities. Just a really dumb ending.

Nobody's Perfect

A brother and sister bond, what broke it and their unstable father all come together in this interesting story with realistic characteristics.