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Small Sacrifices
Be careful what you wish for.
She wanted to be famous. But not like this.
Ellen Gibson always dreamed of being a star. At a young age those dreams were shattered.
Discovering she holds the winning ticket in a 55-million Powerball jackpot, Ellen sees it as her opportunity to be in the limelight. But at what cost?
Detective India Hargreaves and her small team are called in to investigate the disappearance of five- year-old Joshua Gibson, but the investigation is taken over by the big guns from Police Headquarters when it turns out to be a kidnapping.
When the media and the lead investigator suspect Ellen of being behind the kidnapping, her fame disintegrates into a nightmare and she seems powerless to stop events spiralling out of control …
Small Sacrifices is set in Australia and is the third book in the Detective India Hargreaves series.
She wanted to be famous. But not like this.
Ellen Gibson always dreamed of being a star. At a young age those dreams were shattered.
Discovering she holds the winning ticket in a 55-million Powerball jackpot, Ellen sees it as her opportunity to be in the limelight. But at what cost?
Detective India Hargreaves and her small team are called in to investigate the disappearance of five- year-old Joshua Gibson, but the investigation is taken over by the big guns from Police Headquarters when it turns out to be a kidnapping.
When the media and the lead investigator suspect Ellen of being behind the kidnapping, her fame disintegrates into a nightmare and she seems powerless to stop events spiralling out of control …
Small Sacrifices is set in Australia and is the third book in the Detective India Hargreaves series.
388 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2020
12 people want to read
About the author
L.E. Luttrell
7 books105 followersL.E. Luttrell was born in Sydney, Australia and spent the first 21 years of her life there before moving to the UK. After working in publishing (in the UK) for a few years she went on to study and trained as a teacher. From the 90s she spent many years working in secondary education, although she’s also had numerous other part time jobs. A frustrated architect/builder, L.E. Luttrell has spent much of her adult life moving house and wielding various tools while renovating properties.
L.E. Luttrell currently lives in Merseyside England, but also spends time travelling between Liverpool, Wales (UK) and Australia when there is not a Covid crisis.
L.E. Luttrell currently lives in Merseyside England, but also spends time travelling between Liverpool, Wales (UK) and Australia when there is not a Covid crisis.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 13, 2020
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This book makes a good compelling reading, and surpassed my initial expectations.
As I have not read the previous 2 books in the series, my initial impression of the story line was a normal mystery thriller. However, the book adds quite a few shocking unexpected twists. I really enjoyed the theme where someone catches a lucky break, only to face their worst fears. In fact, these twists and turns make the plot more gripping. The author deserves an appreciation for making it dark and realistic. You also realize that not everything turns out the way you want it to. Similarly, even the second half of story is very thrilling as the protagonists try to pin down the suspects who kidnapped Josh. I honestly enjoyed the buildup and execution to the storyline.
However, the only reason I didn’t give this 5 stars was because of Ellen and India’s characters. For the most part, both the main characters in the story remain weak. Ellen is self-centered, selfish, and cares more about money than the welfare of her child. At times, India looked like a weak detective luckily stumbling on the clues rather than going out to her way to investigate. In fact, I loved the supporting characters like Max, Jimmy and Jacko. More so, I would have loved the story if the leads were stronger.
Apart from that, this was a gripping, shocking, and an emotional mystery.
October 2, 2020
This is a surprising and emotional read! I just wasn't expecting it to go down the route that it did. But Im glad it did because it really did capture my interest.
Despite my initial shock to the outcome of the story, I enjoyed the plot very much.
Ellen and Max are about to live through any parents worst nightmare when their little 5 year old son Joshua is taken from the garden.
This story explores how we change as people when money is no object. It begs the question, does wealth really matter if the one thing that you truly care for in your world, is gone?
Loved the plot. Enjoyed the darker moments with the bad guys '
Detective India Greaves has her own story to tell inbetween solving crimes, her story interested me as well as the main plotline.
Despite my initial shock to the outcome of the story, I enjoyed the plot very much.
Ellen and Max are about to live through any parents worst nightmare when their little 5 year old son Joshua is taken from the garden.
This story explores how we change as people when money is no object. It begs the question, does wealth really matter if the one thing that you truly care for in your world, is gone?
Loved the plot. Enjoyed the darker moments with the bad guys '
Detective India Greaves has her own story to tell inbetween solving crimes, her story interested me as well as the main plotline.
October 1, 2020
This is the second Australian crime novel, or outback noir, that I’ve read this month and I must say that I’m really warming to this genre and I thoroughly enjoyed this story. This is the third book in a series featuring Detective India Hargreaves but it is definitely a standalone novel.
Set in Windsor in New South Wales we are introduced to unhappily married Ellie and Max Gibson and their five-year-old son Joshie. Money is tight in the Gibson household and Max keeps a tight reign on the household spending much to Ellie’s dismay. They always buy tickets for the Power Ball Draw and when Ellie hears on the news that the $55,000,000 jackpot has yet to be claimed she wonders whether Max put a ticket on that week. When she eventually finds Max’s mislaid ticket, her and Joshie go to their local store to check their numbers and sure enough, against all odds, they are the lucky winners!
Ellie can’t help causing a joyous scene at the busy store which attracts the press to her sensational story. When Ellie was young she was a very talented dancer and it was expected that this would bring her fame, but an injury snatched away her chance to fulfill her dreams and she has been longing for the limelight ever since. This motivates Ellie to lap up the attention caused by her big win and as such, she agrees to several press interviews at her home and glams herself up for photos of her with Joshie. Unfortunately, she never stops to consider the unwanted attention such publicity could attract.
When Max returns from work to a media frenzy outside his home, he wonders what on earth in happening. He is a completely different character to Ellie so when he realises what is happening he can see straightaway how foolish Ellie is in courting so much attention at their home and especially featuring Joshie in the newspapers. Unfortunately, neither of them could possibly imagine the dire sequence of events that Ellie had unwittingly set into motion.
Ellie dismisses Max’s fears and the next day, when he has gone to work, Ellie accepts another press interview. She sends Joshie out into the yard to play so that she can speak to the journalist in peace and this is when Joshie disappears and Detective India Hargreaves steps in to lead the investigation into what turns out to be Joshie’s kidnapping.
As we follow the investigation we see that Ellie’s actions drive a wedge between her and Max and they become more distant as they blame each other for Joshie’s disappearance. While Ellie’s desire for fame causes her to come under suspicion, the media turn against her and it’s interesting to read how the media behave in such situations and the influence they have on public opinion.
There were lots of different intriguing characters here and I admired The Detective as a strong female lead in this story, she is committed to her career and doesn’t let her emotions or personal life interfere with her job. At times I thought that the writing was so clean and to the point that it was missing some emotion. I thought Ellie’s reaction to the disappearance of her son was underplayed and although she was a strange character, it didn’t seem quite right to me, but it absolutely didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book.
This is a cleverly plotted and well written novel and I thoroughly enjoyed following Detective Hargreaves and her team through the Australian outback, as they tried to piece together exactly what happened to Joshie. The story has a great pace to it and it took me no time to finish as I couldn’t put it down and it comes highly recommended from me.
Set in Windsor in New South Wales we are introduced to unhappily married Ellie and Max Gibson and their five-year-old son Joshie. Money is tight in the Gibson household and Max keeps a tight reign on the household spending much to Ellie’s dismay. They always buy tickets for the Power Ball Draw and when Ellie hears on the news that the $55,000,000 jackpot has yet to be claimed she wonders whether Max put a ticket on that week. When she eventually finds Max’s mislaid ticket, her and Joshie go to their local store to check their numbers and sure enough, against all odds, they are the lucky winners!
Ellie can’t help causing a joyous scene at the busy store which attracts the press to her sensational story. When Ellie was young she was a very talented dancer and it was expected that this would bring her fame, but an injury snatched away her chance to fulfill her dreams and she has been longing for the limelight ever since. This motivates Ellie to lap up the attention caused by her big win and as such, she agrees to several press interviews at her home and glams herself up for photos of her with Joshie. Unfortunately, she never stops to consider the unwanted attention such publicity could attract.
When Max returns from work to a media frenzy outside his home, he wonders what on earth in happening. He is a completely different character to Ellie so when he realises what is happening he can see straightaway how foolish Ellie is in courting so much attention at their home and especially featuring Joshie in the newspapers. Unfortunately, neither of them could possibly imagine the dire sequence of events that Ellie had unwittingly set into motion.
Ellie dismisses Max’s fears and the next day, when he has gone to work, Ellie accepts another press interview. She sends Joshie out into the yard to play so that she can speak to the journalist in peace and this is when Joshie disappears and Detective India Hargreaves steps in to lead the investigation into what turns out to be Joshie’s kidnapping.
As we follow the investigation we see that Ellie’s actions drive a wedge between her and Max and they become more distant as they blame each other for Joshie’s disappearance. While Ellie’s desire for fame causes her to come under suspicion, the media turn against her and it’s interesting to read how the media behave in such situations and the influence they have on public opinion.
There were lots of different intriguing characters here and I admired The Detective as a strong female lead in this story, she is committed to her career and doesn’t let her emotions or personal life interfere with her job. At times I thought that the writing was so clean and to the point that it was missing some emotion. I thought Ellie’s reaction to the disappearance of her son was underplayed and although she was a strange character, it didn’t seem quite right to me, but it absolutely didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book.
This is a cleverly plotted and well written novel and I thoroughly enjoyed following Detective Hargreaves and her team through the Australian outback, as they tried to piece together exactly what happened to Joshie. The story has a great pace to it and it took me no time to finish as I couldn’t put it down and it comes highly recommended from me.
October 9, 2020
Small Sacrifices by L.E Luttrell is the third book in the series featuring Detective India Hargreaves. I have read none of the previous books but found this book to be a worthy standalone. Set in New South Wales a place called Windsor we join Max and Ellie Gibson and Joshie, their five year old son. A household similar to a lot of others these days, purse strings are tight, with Max keeping them tight as well.The one luxury they do keep to is the Power Ball Draw, Ellie hears on the news that the jackpot has been won and is unclaimed, it piques her interest. She hopes Max has put the ticket on for the week and goes in search for a ticket. Upon finding it she takes Joshie to the store to check the numbers. Miracles never cease! They are the winners of the unclaimed jackpot.
Upon receiving the brilliant news Ellie takes ot upon herself to grab the limelight for once. This does create a massive press attraction, she allows them to take pictures of herself and Joshie. This is done without thought of what the outcome maybe. Max gets home to a flurry of media outside his home and is puzzled as to whats going on. He immediately sees the downfall of allowing all the press around and letting them have pictures of Joshie as well as Ellie.
Ellie pays no heed to Max, and arranges an interview the following day. She send Joshie to play in the yard to play while she does the interview. Little does she know that she will regret this move from this time onwards. Joshie is kidnapped and Detective India Hargreaves is brought in to investigate the case.
I thoroughly enjoyed India's character, a strong female Detective who lets nothing interfere with her career. The characters where intriguing and an interesting if rather weird bunch. Ellie with her need for being the main attraction alongside Max, a pretty normal bloke made for a stressful relationship and created a tension in the story that built up nicely.
A very skilfully plotted and beautifully written story. I loved feeling like I was a part of India's team out in the Australian outback, as they attempt to fit the jigsaw puzzle together that is Joshie's kidnapping.A fantastically paced story that had me glued to the book till I got to the last page.
Thank you to Rachel's Random Resources and L.E Luttrell for the copy of the book to write this review today.
Upon receiving the brilliant news Ellie takes ot upon herself to grab the limelight for once. This does create a massive press attraction, she allows them to take pictures of herself and Joshie. This is done without thought of what the outcome maybe. Max gets home to a flurry of media outside his home and is puzzled as to whats going on. He immediately sees the downfall of allowing all the press around and letting them have pictures of Joshie as well as Ellie.
Ellie pays no heed to Max, and arranges an interview the following day. She send Joshie to play in the yard to play while she does the interview. Little does she know that she will regret this move from this time onwards. Joshie is kidnapped and Detective India Hargreaves is brought in to investigate the case.
I thoroughly enjoyed India's character, a strong female Detective who lets nothing interfere with her career. The characters where intriguing and an interesting if rather weird bunch. Ellie with her need for being the main attraction alongside Max, a pretty normal bloke made for a stressful relationship and created a tension in the story that built up nicely.
A very skilfully plotted and beautifully written story. I loved feeling like I was a part of India's team out in the Australian outback, as they attempt to fit the jigsaw puzzle together that is Joshie's kidnapping.A fantastically paced story that had me glued to the book till I got to the last page.
Thank you to Rachel's Random Resources and L.E Luttrell for the copy of the book to write this review today.
October 11, 2020
Have you ever imagined what you would do if you won the jackpot on one of the lotteries? My list would probably go something like help others, books, go on the trip of a lifetime, books, buy a house, books.... you get my drift! Ellen Gibson's first thought is to use it as her ticket (no pun intended) to fame, to live the life of the celebrities she reads about in her glossy magazines. Unfortunately, this lottery ticket is someone else's ticket to fortune too, as is her 5 year old son.
When young Josh is snatched from his home as his mother gives another interview inside, Detective India Hargreaves and her team begin to investigate. Everyone is a suspect, and no stone is left unturned. I enjoyed the pace of this novel and the characterisation. I was torn between feeling sorry for Ellen Gibson and feeling frustrated at her shallow opportunism but ultimately, my empathy won out. I liked Detective Hargreaves' no-nonsense approach and the way she had to put her own judgements of Ellen aside to do her son justice.
I found myself a little confused a couple of times by how old Josh was, as sometimes he seemed closer to a toddler than a child and at others, he was mature enough to make me think he was an older child. It wasn't a deal breaker for me though, and I lapped this story up. I enjoyed the interactions between characters, which I felt revealed more depths to them as the plot thickened.
I would recommend this for those who like a police procedural with a little less grit and a bit more cosiness than some in the genre and I'm definitely interested in reading more by this author.
When young Josh is snatched from his home as his mother gives another interview inside, Detective India Hargreaves and her team begin to investigate. Everyone is a suspect, and no stone is left unturned. I enjoyed the pace of this novel and the characterisation. I was torn between feeling sorry for Ellen Gibson and feeling frustrated at her shallow opportunism but ultimately, my empathy won out. I liked Detective Hargreaves' no-nonsense approach and the way she had to put her own judgements of Ellen aside to do her son justice.
I found myself a little confused a couple of times by how old Josh was, as sometimes he seemed closer to a toddler than a child and at others, he was mature enough to make me think he was an older child. It wasn't a deal breaker for me though, and I lapped this story up. I enjoyed the interactions between characters, which I felt revealed more depths to them as the plot thickened.
I would recommend this for those who like a police procedural with a little less grit and a bit more cosiness than some in the genre and I'm definitely interested in reading more by this author.
October 7, 2020
As a mother myself this is one of the scenarios I fear about. I scares me the idea of losing a child or them being taken. So reading through this book heightened my maternal instincts to hold on tighter.
The book centres around the Gibson family, highlighting even before the kidnapping the tension between the couple and the differences in dreams. Ellen just wants to feel important for a day, feel the spotlight on her as she never got the chance due to an injury. Max just wants the simple life, one of habit where everything has a place. Josh just wants what every 5 year old wants, his parents love and affection. But a lottery win soon brings their lives tumbling down.
The story develops with Joshua’s kidnapping and it becomes clear that soon there will be no turning back for any of them. There was no turning back for me either. Its writing style was fast paced and gripping, the main detective, India Hargreaves was empowering, a machine: but most all I enjoyed the journey the book took me on.
This thriller is original, addictive and knows how to make a parent hurt. I would definitely recommend this to all my crime loving friends. I can’t wait to dive into more by this author.
The book centres around the Gibson family, highlighting even before the kidnapping the tension between the couple and the differences in dreams. Ellen just wants to feel important for a day, feel the spotlight on her as she never got the chance due to an injury. Max just wants the simple life, one of habit where everything has a place. Josh just wants what every 5 year old wants, his parents love and affection. But a lottery win soon brings their lives tumbling down.
The story develops with Joshua’s kidnapping and it becomes clear that soon there will be no turning back for any of them. There was no turning back for me either. Its writing style was fast paced and gripping, the main detective, India Hargreaves was empowering, a machine: but most all I enjoyed the journey the book took me on.
This thriller is original, addictive and knows how to make a parent hurt. I would definitely recommend this to all my crime loving friends. I can’t wait to dive into more by this author.
October 25, 2020
Review:
Small Sacrifices is an emotional read that easily captured my interest. I really enjoyed the plot of this novel. This story explores how people who are wealthy change. How does wealth make people look at the world. It is very interesting and made me think.
I think the characters ate really well developed. I think it was interesting to watch them go through this journey. Their five year old son is taken from them and they are cast into a dark, emotional journey.
Overall, Small Sacrifices was an interesting read. I would recommend giving it a read. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Rating:
4/5☆
*I received a free copy of this book from Rachel’s Random Resources in exchange for an honest review on the blog tour. All opinions are my own and unbiased.*
Small Sacrifices is an emotional read that easily captured my interest. I really enjoyed the plot of this novel. This story explores how people who are wealthy change. How does wealth make people look at the world. It is very interesting and made me think.
I think the characters ate really well developed. I think it was interesting to watch them go through this journey. Their five year old son is taken from them and they are cast into a dark, emotional journey.
Overall, Small Sacrifices was an interesting read. I would recommend giving it a read. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Rating:
4/5☆
*I received a free copy of this book from Rachel’s Random Resources in exchange for an honest review on the blog tour. All opinions are my own and unbiased.*
September 18, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews