COULD YOU TELL ? (Little Face - Sophie Hannah)

Member Name: thingywhatsit

Product:	Little Face - Sophie Hannah
Date:	22/05/07 (332 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A well woven story.

Disadvantages: May not suit those that like heavier reading.

I bought this book with no idea of what the works of Sophie Hannah had to offer, though what intrigued me was the mystery that lay behind the cover picture, which was incidentally very well chosen indeed. Often stories don't live up to the covers, though we as buyers are still pulled into buying books based on what they seem to be offering. The words upon the cover were tempting too that quoted "It's every mother's nightmare". I wanted something gripping, something that would hold my interest, and it showed promise.

The Story

This is a very well constructed piece of literature. The story revolves around the lives of Alice and David Fancourt, who live with a rather intimidating Vivienne, the matriarch of the family who is David's mother. The adventure begins when Alice decides to leave her child to go on an outing, returning to find that the child in the crib is not the child that she left.

The premise of the story is quite well presented, though to give too much away would indeed spoil the read, though some of the written style can be explained without spoilers. For example, the relationship between wife and husband is almost cruel, making Alice look quite timid and almost obsessive in places, and the reader is left wondering how real the world that Alice sees really is, balanced against circumstance. Vivienne is one of the strongest characters in the book, though here, you are never quite convinced of where the story is going, or what part she plays in it.

The mystery element of the book is kept together pretty well, enticing you chapter by chapter into the web of intrigue, making the book a temptation that's hard to put down in places. I also liked the way in which each chapter alternates between being narrated by Alice herself and Simon, the detective put on the case of the missing child.

Set in modern day times, there are little vignettes of people introduced into the story to give it substance rather than padding, and each is believeable. As a reader, you feel yourself taking sides, and then with the flip of a page, changing your mind about the whole scenario's possibilities. It's a clever work and what the author has done is balance David's past marriage nicely with what is happening in the present, tying the bundle up with murder, mystery and a good element of suspense.

Such was the clarity of the picture painted in words that a reader could imagine what the characters looked like and felt familiar with the types of character, as little characteristic traits were subtly portrayed in such a manner as to widen the readership possibilities. I believe it to be a good book for wide range of readers that enjoy romance, mystery, suspense and crime thrillers, as well as having an element of temptation to those who enjoy books about pregnancy, psychological illness and that the package includes little snippets of each element that hold the story together nicely.


Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd; New Ed edition (24 Aug 2006)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0340840323
ISBN-13: 978-0340840320

At the paperback price of 3 GBP from Amazon, it's a bargain and certainly a book that I shall keep and read again at a future date, which is rare these days. It has also tempted me to look further into other works by the same author.

Would you know if that baby you left behind in the morning was the one that greeted you in the evening ?

Perhaps the answer is not as obvious as you think.

Summary: A great story pulled together with panache and imagination.