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Little Face (Spilling CID #1)

3.39 of 5 stars 3.39 · rating details · 2,915 ratings · 376 reviews

A creepy, fast-paced psychological thriller from the author of The Wrong Mother and The Other Woman’s House

It’s every mother’s worst nightmare. When Alice Fancourt leaves her newborn daughter at home with her husband for the first time, she comes home to a horrifying discovery: her child has been swapped with another baby. In near hysterics, Alice rushes to call the polic...more

Paperback, 310 pages

Published September 30th 2008 by Penguin Books (first published 2006)

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Jun 14, 2008 Jackie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: mystery and psychological thriller fans

Shelves: work-review-related-reading, 5-star

If you like crime drama and psychological suspsense, don't miss this book. This is a magical onion kind of book--the surface is nothing like the center and there are hundreds of layers making it up. The complexity of the plot will take awhile to hit you, but when it does, you won't be able to put the book down. I literally finished the last 20 pages walking around my apartment because I was too exhausted to stay awake if I sat down but I HAD to see how things wrapped up. The premise: new mother...more

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May 24, 2010 Ian Mapp rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lot to admire in this debut novel.

Alice, a new mother, comes back from the gym and raise the alarm that the baby in the cot is not hers. Cue the investigation.

We have a domineering family with husband Peter and Matriach Vivienne. Peters last wive was mudered and Peter does everything that his mother dictates.

Cue a sympathetic policeman, Simon Waterford and stretched relationships with his female sargeant, Chalie and big boss, Proust.

The book is told in a series of alternating chapters - one set...more

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Feb 28, 2010 Laurel-Rain rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In a nightmarish scenario, new mother Alice Fancourt goes out after her daughter's birth, leaving her two-week-old infant with her husband, David. Returning two hours later, she swears that the baby in the crib is not her child. Despite how terrified and hysterical she is, her husband insists that she is wrong.

Thus begins a convoluted and complicated investigation, with two police detectives, Simon Waterhouse and Charlie Zailer, finding themselves at odds with one another over what is true and w...more

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Dec 31, 2009 Nancy Oakes rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: uk-crime-fiction-and-mystery, mystery-series-first-novel

I was expecting a lot more out of this one considering the teasing and tantalizing blurbs on the back of the book.

The story is told via the use of different narratives, one of them being from the point of view of Alice Fancourt, who has just come home with her new baby Florence. Alice and her husband David, Florence and David's young son from a previous marriage all live at the home of David's mother, Vivienne Fancourt, where Vivienne rules the roost in her lavish house called The Elms. As the...more

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Aug 04, 2011 harryknuckles rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Little Face is a psychological thriller more than anything and not your stereotypical detective crime story. It's refreshing and modern, yet has a gothic feel to it. Though very different to 'Rebecca', this book reminded me of the Du Maurier classic.

First, the brilliant plot: Alice returns home to a baby that she swears isn't the one she gave birth to and brought home from the hospital. Her husband David is equally determined that the baby is their daughter, Florence. Who to believe? Why would e...more Little Face is a psychological thriller more than anything and not your stereotypical detective crime story. It's refreshing and modern, yet has a gothic feel to it. Though very different to 'Rebecca', this book reminded me of the Du Maurier classic.

First, the brilliant plot: Alice returns home to a baby that she swears isn't the one she gave birth to and brought home from the hospital. Her husband David is equally determined that the baby is their daughter, Florence. Who to believe? Why would either of them lie? And, if they're not lying, is it possible that one of them might genuinely be mistaken? This is the gripping mystery at the heart of 'Little Face'.

The story is told in two parts. Firstly, there is the story of Alice and the disappearance (or swapping) of her daughter; Is she mad? Will anyone believe her? Why has her husband David suddenly become cruel and possessive and Why can’t his mother Vivienne (a fantastic character who reminded me of Mrs Danvers) decide who she should believe. The second side of the story is told by the police detectives on the case (Simon and Charlie). They have their own personal issues to contend with, as Charlie is in love with Simon.
I read a lot of crime and thrillers, and I have to say this one blew me away. Very few crime novels are so well written as this one. The writing has a clarity and visual quality to it that places the reader right in the centre of the book - it's almost like being dragged into a painting. The plot is complex and the ending, when the truth is revealed, literally made the hairs on my arms stand up, it was so exciting. I then thought back over everything I'd read and realised how expertly the end of the novel was woven into the very beginning, though of course I hadn't spotted it at the time.
From first word to last, it's addictive; you just know something out-of-the-ordinary is coming. And it does - the tension mounts and mounts and you're desperate to know who you can trust and how the story will resolve. Has Alice's baby been kidnapped or not? You go through the whole book not knowing who the victim is, or the criminal. The denouement is well worth the wait - there's an ace twist, with several mini-twists in the run up to the big one, but it's never overdone or preposterous. The subject matter isn't always comfortable - some of the characters are seriously warped and unpleasant - but to balance that out we have Simon and Charlie, whose interplay/relationship is very engaging.
This book is not violent or gory. It's terrifying in the way that the films 'The Sixth Sense' and 'The Others' are - it's subtle and tense and makes you really frightened without needing to resort to serial killings or dismemberments. How refreshing to read a crime novel where the focus is on mystery and suspense. The characters are complicated and tormented which makes for a gripping if disconcerting read. The writer gets right inside their minds and makes us understand how damaged people work and how dysfunctional people close to us can destroy us simply as a result of their own buried pain. Some scenes (two in particular) between Alice and David will stay with me for a long time, as they were so nasty, in such a plausible way.
It's an edge-of-the-seat, fabulous read, completely scary and unforgettable in terms of both story and characters. I will be haunted by the demonic Vivienne, the sadistic David and identified strongly with the female characters who suffer so badly at the hands of men - Alice and the female cop, Charlie. This is a book about trust, psychological cruelty and, ultimately, how we can only rely on ourselves to break free from terrible situations.
It's a brilliant read, gripping, terrifying and impossible to put down.
(less)

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Aug 18, 2010 Blair rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller-etc, overrated

I bought this because a review quoted on the jacket of Lucie Whitehouse's superb The Bed I Made compared that book to Sophie Hannah's writing. First things first - the comparison is way off the mark. Hannah's writing is good, and I can see certain similarities in style, but she hasn't a fraction of Whitehouse's talent. While compelling and in parts intriguing, this was one of the strangest, most confusing and ultimately frustrating books I've ever read.

I don't normally describe plots in my revie...more I bought this because a review quoted on the jacket of Lucie Whitehouse's superb The Bed I Made compared that book to Sophie Hannah's writing. First things first - the comparison is way off the mark. Hannah's writing is good, and I can see certain similarities in style, but she hasn't a fraction of Whitehouse's talent. While compelling and in parts intriguing, this was one of the strangest, most confusing and ultimately frustrating books I've ever read.

I don't normally describe plots in my reviews, but to explain my feelings about this particular book I will have to, so stop reading now if you don't want spoilers. The story centres around Alice, who believes her newborn daughter Florence has been abducted and replaced with another child, dubbed Little Face. Her husband, David, whose first wife Laura was murdered some years earlier, accuses her of lying, and later in the book proceeds to subject her to quite horrific emotional - and to some extent physical - abuse, apparently with the aim of convincing others Alice is losing her mind. It later transpires that Vivienne, David's mother, killed Laura - a fact Alice had discovered during her pregnancy, making her determined to escape from the family. This is where it gets very confusing. We're asked to believe that Alice was intending to run away with Florence, but for spurious reasons decided to invent the abduction story instead. It is revealed at the very end of the book that there has only ever been one baby, and that Alice has always been aware of this.

All very well and good; the problem is that Alice's part of the story is told in first person, present tense, and right up until the last few chapters she maintains that Little Face is not her child. I get that she is supposed to be an unreliable narrator, but her narrative is not presented as a story being told, rather as her thoughts and feelings as they happen. For example, we observe her horror upon discovering that all her photos of Florence have been destroyed, only to later learn that she did this herself, which simply doesn't seem plausible at all. I think you should be able to re-read a story with a significant final twist again from the beginning and find that it all still makes sense, albeit cast in a different light; this one doesn't. There is also the question of why Alice tolerates David's abuse. She doesn't seem to believe herself to be in danger of physical harm, yet she goes along with his disgusting, humiliating requests almost without question or any attempt to stand up to him. Is this supposed to be part of Alice's 'plan'? Or are we meant to assume the episodes are entirely fabricated? When we discover that Vivienne is the villain of the piece, does this mean she is complicit in David's behaviour, or are the two completely separate? It's never made clear whether David was involved in Laura's murder or not, and he receives no comeuppance for his treatment of Alice. This is particularly disturbing since the abuse scenes are so chilling they made me feel physically sick.

The best thing about the book was that I did find it very readable and constantly wanted to find out what would happen next; this was helped by the narrative structure, with every other chapter from Alice's point of view, and the rest written in third person, observing the police officers investigating Alice's case. I loved the character of Simon, until the end when he too inexplicably changed dramatically and suddenly. There is some proof here that Hannah has promise as a writer, but there were so many holes in the plot and characterisation, so many questions left unanswered, and on the evidence of this book there is no way she merits any sort of comparison to Whitehouse.(less)

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Nov 20, 2012 Katharina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

This will probably include SPOILERS so stop reading now if that bothers you.

I'm torn about this book. I think my actual rating was about 3.5 stars. I couldn't put it down, which pleased me because I came across it by accident, and I'm often disappointed with kindle books I know nothing about. I found the author's narration style interesting: alternating first-person Alice narration with third-person police narration. At first, I was confused by this, but it grew on me.

Ok. Problems with the st...more

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Jan 17, 2012 Pythia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gente-morta, uhm

Fino quasi alla fine gli avrei dato quattro stelle: tiene col fiato sospeso, partecipando dell'orrore della protagonista nello scoprire che la figlia neonata è stata rapita.
La narrazione viaggia su due binari, in due tempi diversi. Da un lato, Alice in prima persona racconta al tempo presente la sua prima uscita dopo il parto, la scoperta che la bimba che trova nella culla al ritorno non è sua figlia, le reazioni di marito e suocera: da brivido. E se mai avessi voluto ammazzare qualcuno, quella...more

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Mar 21, 2013 Rachael Smyczak rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Psychological thrillers have never been my thing. After reading one and listening to one within a month of one another, I am starting to see the appeal. It's in the sheer need to figure out what is actually going on, isn't it? It's very plot driven. I usually prefer character driven stories. Quite frankly, I did not give a rat's backside for any of the characters in this book. If forced to choose a favorite, I would choose Charlie. Actually, I really liked Charlie. She seemed the most human of a...more Psychological thrillers have never been my thing. After reading one and listening to one within a month of one another, I am starting to see the appeal. It's in the sheer need to figure out what is actually going on, isn't it? It's very plot driven. I usually prefer character driven stories. Quite frankly, I did not give a rat's backside for any of the characters in this book. If forced to choose a favorite, I would choose Charlie. Actually, I really liked Charlie. She seemed the most human of all of the characters.

Anyway, what we have here is a detective, Simon, who has issues from women, as far as I can peg it. They just don't seem to live up to his expectations. He is taken with Alice, a pretty mum who reports that her baby, Florence, has been stolen. Only, there's a baby at the house. Her baby has been SWAPPED. Her husband doesn't believer her and the cops think she's daffy too. Eventually, they decide not to pursue the case and Vivienne, Alice's mother-in-law, pays for a DNA test to be done the coming Friday. Except that Alice and Florence's supposed impostor go missing the night before the test.

The reader has a feeling that something is wrong but can't quite pin it down. Is Alice lying? Is Vivienne really as great as Alice makes her out to seem? Would David swap his baby? Chapters alternate between the views of Simon, Charlie, and Alice. Simon and Charlie are trying to piece things together while trying to get over a messy incident months earlier. Alice is being submitted to an odd psychological torture at home. Through Alice we see the events leading up to her disappearance and we like to think that she escaped but we aren't quite sure.

This was one of those books that I almost put down a few times. It just wasn't my thing. But I knew that I needed to know what was happening so I kept at it. I didn't feel that any of the twists were that twisty. In fact, the most surprising parts for me were David's punishments for his wife. By the end I had that feeling that I think readers get a lot more often than nonreaders: that the world is full of messed up people.(less)

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Jan 13, 2013 Batsap rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime, sophie-hannah

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 01, 2012 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Melissa by: A lady in my reading group

Shelves: 2012, crime, ebook

This was a tough book to rate. Little Face is part psychological thriller, part police procedural. The main character, Alice Fancourt, ventures out for the first time after the birth of her daughter Florence. When she returns home, she doesn't recognise the child in her nursery, and is adamant that Florence has been switched with another baby. Half of the book is told in first person from Alice's point of view, while the other half - in third person - follows the two detectives on her case, Simo...more

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Jan 01, 2009 Alex rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009-reads, fiction, mystery-suspense, the-uk, women-authors, browsing

There are two reasons why I didn't like this book. One, within two chapters I was able to correctly guess one of the major plot points. Second, the resolution (really the entire final 100 pages) is full of implausibilities that could induce an eye-roll. There is even that clunky cliche of a scene in which someone in peril confesses their motivation to a crime, laying it out in such detail that no stone is unturned.

Worst of all, this book breaks one of the cardinal rules of the mystery genre. I...more

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May 15, 2011 Ashley Hart rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, mystery

I have mixed feelings about this book. The narration switches back and forth between the woman claiming her newborn was switched with another, and the detectives trying to crack the case. I found this confusing at first, but eventually it worked for the story. This is the first of many books featuring the characters DC Simon Waterhouse and Sergeant Charlie Zailer. Having read the third of this series first, I was shocked at how unlikeable those two characters came off in this one. I really enjoy...more

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Oct 27, 2010 Jennie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller

Sophie Hannah has a gift for making me very, very angry. Little Face is a psychological thriller about a new mother who returns home to a baby she claims isn't hers, and who subsequently disappears with the baby. Told in alternating points of view (which, based on the only other book of hers that I've read, seems to be her gimmick), we see through the mother's eyes the week leading up to her disappearance, and a 3rd-person account of the investigation by detectives.

Hannah's gift really shows dur...more

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Nov 17, 2012 Swanbender2001 rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was well-written and thought out and very hard to set aside so it received my highest rating. However I take issue with the fact the main character wrote off the abuses she endured at her husband's hand by indicating he might have been a different person with another parent.
The man should not be allowed to have any personal relationships.
He physically tortured her and took pleasure in the abuse.
"Poor David. I know how shattered he must be. I feel sorry for the person he might have been, had...more

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May 13, 2010 Kathryn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Sophie Hannah's "Little Face" starts with the nightmare situation when new mum Alice returns from her first outing and finds the baby in the nursery is not her baby. The nightmare continues when no-one will believe her.

The story alternates between first person narration (Alice) and third person narration of the police investigation set ten days later. I was initially confused by this - in the half gloom of my bedtime reading not even noticing the different type-face but as I read more I began t...more

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Nov 22, 2009 Mary JL rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Desperate and patient mystery fans only

Recommended to Mary JL by: Given as a gift

Shelves: mystery-horror

Well the premise sounded good--Alice Fancourt returns home after a few hours out of the house and claims the baby in the nursery is not hers. No one believes her, not even the police....

The book jacket was loaded with rave reviews..."international bestseller" and "translated into nine languages" so I started reading with high hopes.

Well, that will teach me to believe in publisher's hype. I should know better by now.

This book has too MUCH psycho-babble. Every character is overdrawn; and I found n...more

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Sep 15, 2011 Դօրիան (Dorian) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Տեղ-տեղ բլթում էր հեղինակն, իհարկե, բայց գիրքը, միևնույն ա, ավելի լավն էր, քան կարելի էր սպասել կին գրողից (այն էլ դետեկտիվ): Ամենահետաքրքիրն էլ էն էր, որ (ինչպես ցանկացած դետեկտիվ կարդալիս) մտովի փորձում ես վերծանել, մեղավոր գտնել մի հանցագործության մեջ, որը գուցե չի էլ եղել:
Մի խոսքով` լավ սյուժե էր, միայն ՉԱՓԱԶԱՆՑ ուշադիր ընթերցողի կողմից նախապես վերծանման ենթակա գաղտնիք, հերոսների հոգեբանության բավական հաջող նկարագիր ու անկանխատեսելի վերջաբան :)
Թեթև ժանրերի սիրահարներին խորհուրդ եմ տալիս անպա...more

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May 11, 2013 Sarahr rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sophie-hannah

Having read most of Sophie Hannah's other crime thrillers in the wrong order, I finally got around to her first. The narrative formula is essentially the same as all the others, something you will either love (as I do), be completely sick of; or be enthralled by if this is the first you've read. So how does it compare to the others?

Plot development and twists - Pretty good but not her best.

Development of cop characters - Disappointing. I was hoping for exciting insights and scenes where the char...more

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Jul 07, 2009 Christina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009-reads

Talk about physiological; Little Face capitalizes on the fear of every mother (and babysitter) — the disappearance of a sleeping baby. With her husband, David, refuses to believe her Alice’s fear turns into full out paranoia, and Hannah uses the fact that the reader never knows if Alice is telling the truth or not to really propel her story into the physiological world. You’re questioning her while the police are asking their own questions and Alice is questioning herself.

I also really liked the...more

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Aug 16, 2012 Jill rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I think I found this on a list of "if you like..., then you might like ..." Alice Fancourt has had a baby girl, via difficult c-section. Her mother in law encourages her to go out to the health club and leave the baby for the first time. When Alice gets home, she says that the baby in the nursery is not her daughter. Her husband, David, swears it is. The police thing she is nuts and that there is no missing baby. Only one detective believes her and attempts to find out the truth. Does it have so...more

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Dec 30, 2009 Caitlin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009

I really like Sophie Hannah's third book, The Wrong Mother, so I was looking forward to reading this one (her first) and was sorely disappointed. This book was so disappointing that it made me wonder if I should rethink how much I liked The Wrong Mother.

Hannah alternates chapters between first-person narrative of the protagonist and third-person narrative of the cops. In The Wrong Mother this works really well, but in this book it feels too much like a device (which, of course, it is in both boo...more

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Aug 09, 2009 Kenny rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone who loves a good mystery!

Shelves: i-own-this

As I stood, in the middle of the store, reading the back of this book, I was captured. The fact that the story was of teh mystery genre just made it all that much more enticing.

I have to say that the first chapter in which it was Simon's view that we saw, I was a little bored. Although as the story progressed, I found it more enjoyable to read because, partly, of Charlie.

Although it is a great, well written book, I found it very easy to infer what was going to happen. That in itself was not...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was torn between giving this book a 2 or 3. I just finished it, and I'm still a little confused about the fact that Alice knew all along that her baby wasn't abducted, and yet readers are lead to believe that she didn't know. I actually think it would have been more interesting if, in her narrative, she explained that she was lying about the abduction, but readers had to wait to find out WHY. I also didn't realize until I saw someone else's review that Alice destroyed the photos herself...I th...more

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Jun 13, 2010 Tattered Cover Book Store added it · review of another edition

Shelves: jackie-recommends, staff-recommends

Jackie says:

If you like crime drama and psychological suspense, don't miss this book. This is a magical onion kind of book--the surface is nothing like the center and there are hundreds of layers making it up. The complexity of the plot will take awhile to hit you, but when it does, you won't be able to put the book down. I literally finished the last 20 pages walking around my apartment because I was too exhausted to stay awake if I sat down but I HAD to see how things wrapped up. The premise:...more

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Nov 01, 2012 Rosie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was the first Sophie Hannah book I read and I am glad I persevered with her work as this is by far her most disappointing novel (that I have read so far, anyway), it could have put me off forever!

I was interested in the premise but it was seriously slow-going trying to get through it, plus the constant switching of points of view between Alice Fancourt and the police officers Charlie and Simon was irritating. The police bits in particular were very dull, there was far too much jargon and in...more This was the first Sophie Hannah book I read and I am glad I persevered with her work as this is by far her most disappointing novel (that I have read so far, anyway), it could have put me off forever!

I was interested in the premise but it was seriously slow-going trying to get through it, plus the constant switching of points of view between Alice Fancourt and the police officers Charlie and Simon was irritating. The police bits in particular were very dull, there was far too much jargon and information about police practices.

The relationship between Sergeant Charlie Zailer and DC Simon Waterhouse is weird, and in all honesty it seems quite pointless and gratuitous as there seems to be no reasons as to why a strong, independent woman like Charlie would be in love with Simon. He isn't particularly attractive, he shows no interest in her and he is unfriendly and emotionally stilted. They don't even get on very well with each other and share no special connection. In all honesty, this still remains an enigma to me and I am currently reading book 7 in this series ('Kind of Cruel'). It just doesn't make sense that Charlie would care for Simon the way she does.

* Spoiler alert - don't read on if you haven't finished!! *

Finally, the solution to the mystery of the swapped babies in 'Little Face' would be fine if most of the book had not been told from Alice's point of view as a first person narrative. Alice's parts are in a stream of consciousness style so the reader is party to her private thoughts, yet it turns out that Alice knows the answers all along. It doesn't make any sense! Why would her own train of though be playing along with the lie she is trying to get everybody around her to believe? She is fully aware that her baby has not been swapped so it was a bad idea for Sophie Hannah to write her parts in the first person. We would need to hear Alice's story from outside of her own mind for the ending not to be completely nonsensical.

All in all, not the best book, but carry on - the rest of Hannah's books are far better.(less)

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Nov 28, 2012 Rebecca Surgey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 06, 2012 Jenn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this one half on my phone and half on my iPad. It was interesting catching little snippets as I walked from my car into work and to my desk. But, this weekend, I could no longer string along the suspense with these small pieces of novel. I had to finish it. I had to find out the real story. But I have to admit that I was a wee bit disappointed by the ending. I truly had expected a different outcome.

I enjoyed how the chapters had different timelines - some in the present and some setting...more

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Mar 20, 2010 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: top-rated

Well this book had me thinking right up until the end. And I can't say I wasn't shocked by the ending: I totally wasn't expecting it.

Although this is the first book in Sophie Hannah's psychological thriller series, it wasn't the first one I read. My best friend introduced me to Sophie Hannah last autumn, when she told me she was reading the third book in the series, The Point Of Rescue. A few weeks later I found Hannah's fourth novel, The Other Half Lives, and from the moment I started reading i...more Well this book had me thinking right up until the end. And I can't say I wasn't shocked by the ending: I totally wasn't expecting it.

Although this is the first book in Sophie Hannah's psychological thriller series, it wasn't the first one I read. My best friend introduced me to Sophie Hannah last autumn, when she told me she was reading the third book in the series, The Point Of Rescue. A few weeks later I found Hannah's fourth novel, The Other Half Lives, and from the moment I started reading it, to the time I finished it, I couldn't put it down. I then discovered it was in a series, which follows the investigations carried out by the Spilling police force, and in particular Charlie Zailer and Simon Waterhouse, and that Little Face was the first in the series. I decided to go back to the beginning, thinking it wouldn't be as good as The Other Half Lives, and was stunned to find that it was just as brilliant.

The plot isn't as thick as The Other Half Lives, and in some ways this is a good thing, as the complexity of Hannah's fourth novel is hard to get your head around.

Little Face begins with Alice Fancourt coming home from her first outing alone since her daughter Florence was born two weeks earlier, to find that the baby in Florence's cot is not her daughter but a stranger that she is convinced has been swapped with her baby. Alice's husband, David, is confident the baby is Florence, but Alice is adamant she isn't and calls the police.

Throughout the novel, the chapters alternate between Alice's perspective, and Simon Waterhouse's perspective. While Alice is trying to convince the police to start searching for Florence, Simon's perspective is a week ahead of Alice's, narrating the investigation launched by the police following Alice and the 'other' baby's disappearance.

By the end of the novel, the plot has twisted, and you start to ask yourself questions as to what has happened. A previous investigation is reviewed by Simon and Charlie Zailer: the murder of David Fancourt's first wife, Laura Cryer, and as a reader you very quickly begin to ask your own questions when you find things don't add up.

I won't give away the plot, but two things I must say: I found that despite liking Charlie Zailer in The Other Half Lives (the fourth book in the series), I found her annoying in this first instalment. I found myself getting angry with her for letting her feelings towards Simon get in the way of listening to what he had to say about Alice's disappearance, as this is something that eventually leads the detectives to solving the mystery. The other thing is that I was somewhat disappointed with Alice at the end of the book when the plot is finally unravelled.

Still, I thoroughly believe this deserves 5 stars, and as the first in the series of Hannah's psychological thrillers, it certainly raises the bar. As a first novel, even though it is extremely brilliant with all its complexities, I wouldn't normally award it top marks, however, having read this series out of order, I know it is definately just as good as her later work. It's a must for any psychological thriller fan.(less)

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Jul 16, 2011 Anna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The third book in a row I have read about a mother being separated from her child. Alice Fancourt is the second wife of David, and they live with his wealthy and controlling mother, Vivienne. David was separated from his first wife, Laura, before their son was born and when she was brutally murdered, Felix then went to live with him. Now Alice has a two week old daughter Florence and David is enjoying giving bottle feeds because he wants the chance to enjoy fatherhood this time. Alice is persuad...more

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About Sophie Hannah

Sophie Hannah is a bestselling poet and novelist, who regularly performs her work both nationwide and abroad. Her poetry is studied at GCSE, A-level and degree level across the country. She was born in Manchester in 1971 and lives in Low Utley, West Yorkshire.

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