Little Souls

A Novel

By: Sandra Dallas

Narrated by: Carly Robins

"The narration by Carly Robins is exceptional." - The Reading Frenzy on Little Souls

Sandra Dallas's Little Souls is a gripping tale of sisterhood, loyalty, and secrets set in Denver mid America’s last deadly flu pandemic.

Colorado, 1918. World War I is raging overseas, but it’s the home front battling for survival. With the Spanish Flu rampant, Denver’s schools are converted into hospitals, churches and funeral homes are closed, and nightly horse-drawn wagons collect corpses left in the street. Sisters Helen and Lutie have moved to Denver from Ohio after their parents’ death. Helen, a nurse, and Lutie, a carefree advertising designer at Neusteter’s department store, share a small, neat house and each finds a local beau—for Helen a doctor, for Lutie a young student who soon enlists. They make a modest income from a rental apartment in the basement. When their tenant dies from the flu, the sisters are thrust into caring for the woman’s small daughter, Dorothy. Soon after, Lutie comes home from work and discovers a dead man on their kitchen floor and Helen standing above the body, an icepick in hand. She has no doubt Helen killed the man—Dorothy’s father—in self-defense, but she knows that will be hard to prove. They decide to leave the body in the street, hoping to disguise it as a victim of the flu.

Meanwhile Lutie also worries about her fiance “over there”. As it happens, his wealthy mother harbors a secret of her own and helps the sisters as the danger deepens, from the murder investigation and the flu.

Set against the backdrop of an epidemic that feels all too familiar, Little Souls is a compelling tale of sisterhood and of the sacrifices people make to protect those they love most.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press

©2022 Sandra Dallas (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

Very nice and educational story!

It's a great story. A little sad, and at times slow, but with an inspiring ending!

Could not put it dow

Besides a riveting story, the book was a great historical look at Denver and the pandemic.

amazing, love, sadness, intense, just a good book

it had enough of love, sadness, a little intense to be pretty much a perfect book

Seemed familiar

I usually like books by this author more. However, this book seemed a bit predictable and similar to other books she’s written. I recommend it, but not as highly as her others.

Okay- but predictable

This is the story: Lutie, an artist in the advertising department of a downtown Denver store, comes home to discover her sister, Helen, standing over a dead man, a knife in her hand. The dead man is the abusive father of a little girl the sisters took in after her mother died of the flu.

A Little Disappointed

Sandra Dallas is one of my favorite authors and so I could not wait for this to come out, however I was really saddened by this book. While the story was okay, I felt like I was reading an outline for a novel instead of the novel itself. It seems like she published it before she was done. What made it even worse was the fact that the person reading the story did not do a very good job with the voices of other characters. The characters were very dramatic and unnatural and it ruined some of the book. If you're a Sandra Dallas fan go ahead and read it, but if not I'd stand clear. It's too bad because I love love love her other books.

Loved the Historical View

I live in Denver Co, and reading this book I could actually visualize what it was like 100 years ago.

Predictable but Enjoyable

Sandra Dallas’ stories tend to be a bit predictable, but I love them because they are a stress-free read/listen. Little Souls is no different. It was touching and had a relatively happy ending, and I enjoyed learning more about the time period around WWI and the Spanish Flu.

I wasn’t a big fan of the narrator though. A little too much enunciation for me - it didn’t come across as the way people actually speak.

Great story, horrible narration.

I loved the story, the characters were well written, but the narration ruined it. The vapid, breathy voice sounded like she was constantly out of breath. incorrectly pronouncing "Elitch" might have been funny if it wasn't such a ridiculous mistake.

Sandra Dallas Does It Again!

Sandra is such a gifted writer. I had a friend who lived through the Spanish Flu, her mother did not. Do not skip past this read!