Little One

By: Sarah A. Denzil

Narrated by: Claire Storey

Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

"Take my hand, little one."

Fran finds her standing by the swings. A little girl, Esther, no older than seven years old, by herself in the dead of night, her pretty but old-fashioned yellow dress covered in grass stains and her hair dishevelled. She says she's waiting for Father, and that strikes Fran as particularly odd.

After Esther is reunited with her family, Fran can't stop thinking about this pious child whose imaginary friend is God. Fran's instincts tell her something is very wrong. Why does Esther keep running away from home, and how did she get that bruise on her leg?

Fran's husband warns her not to get too close, but one morning, Esther and her family disappear. Where did they go? Why did they leave their furniture behind?

Fran knows in her gut that something terrible is going to happen to that child, and she can't stand by while it happens. No matter the cost.

After all, she found her. But can she save her?

©2021 Sarah Denzil (P)2021 Audible, Ltd

unexpected twist!

This story held my interest from beginning to end. The only thing I had a hard time swallowing was how a child of Esther's age could think and reason the way she did. Her thoughts should have been a bit more juvenile. All and all good book, and good narrator.

Interesting take - unique perspective

Honestly it was a bit far fetched, thinking a retiree would have the money for … this. But when you take practicality out of it…. I liked that it was different. Unlike other stories the twist was truly unexpected. Wish they had a bit more detail of the post twist action but overall - glad I stuck it through!

Fizzled 3/4 of way in

This book started out very well. I liked the characters, and was enjoying the story. However, after the first half of the book, the story started to fizzle out. It became a chore to listen to it.

In merry old England we have the inhabitants of a small town where everyone knows everyone. Out of the blue, a young couple move in the neighbourhood. They have a little girl. The talk of the town of course focuses on 'Who are they, and what are they doing here?' When it's discovered that they are (GASP) Americans, one of their new neighbours becomes obsessed in finding out more.

Just to insert this quickly- the narrator tried her best at an American accent but truly failed miserably. My goodness. It was bad.

The young couple and their daughter live a very simple lifestyle and it's assumed they are Mennonite or Amish. However, when they disappear in the middle of the night, one nosey neighbour goes on a quest to find out where they've gone and why they've left.

This is the point where the story gets.. well... just stupid.

Disappointing..

-Wendi

OMG! What a story

I absolutely loved this book. could not stop. I was so shocked at the revelation in the latter part of the story! Highly recommend this book!

Interesting

The book begins well enough. The ending is surprising & phenomenal. It's the in between. I almost didn't finish it. I reached a point where I didn't care about the characters. After awhile Fran's reason for hunting the Whitakers grows tiresome & isn't strong enough to go around the world traipsing after them.

I understand the surprise the author wanted to bring but I think she should've put some of the ending at the beginning to keep us reading. Or cut out a lot of the middle. The suicide of Noah does nothing for the story. It has no bearing what so ever & all that drama should've been edited out. You skip right through all that & never miss a thing in the story.

Because it's so bogged down in the middle I'd hesitate to get another book from this author. 13 hours is a lot of time to invest in what is about an 8 hour story. However, the surprise ending almost makes it worth it. She does an excellent job of concealing it. That is the reason I'm giving it 3 stars instead of 2. The ending is masterfully done.

Great story but narrator obviously had not been to

Great story but obviously the author had not been to Arizona and especially Tucson. It is not so rural or country and most people do not speak with a country accent.

Loved it

Excellent read. American accents and pronunciation of some words were a bit off. It did not deter from the story.

Good Story-The TWIST=EHHHH!

Overall the story kept my interest. I loved the reader's British Accent, however her Southern Twang was comical, to say the least! There was a very unexpected twist towards the end that made me rewind to be sure I heard, correctly! I even thought Fran was having a bad dream. But, NOPE! This particular twist was a little too far fetch and silly! I would recommend this book, if you have 9 hours to kill. I mean, it does keep your interest!!!!!

It was good till it wasn’t

The narrator was alright although she miss pronounced a few words. I got all into the story and was was really hooked… then the story started to sound familiar. By the end I was so very disappointed. It was basically a retelling of a story that has been told over and over again both through fiction and in real life. BOOO!!!!

Great Twists

Overall, this was a pretty interesting story. it just dragged on in spots. Great Twists!