A lifetime of lies, and a truth too painful to tell. When Suzanna Duff was ten years old, she lost her mama, and that’s when the lies began. At first, they were just harmless little fibs, a way to hide her unbearable loneliness and the truth about a daddy who came home rip-roaring drunk every night. But in time, the lies grew bigger and now, when she is a grown woman with a daughter of her own, … woman with a daughter of her own, they threaten to destroy everything she loves.
The irony of this situation is that Suzanna never planned to stay in Georgia, she was simply passing through, looking for a fresh start in New Jersey. Attending that wake with her daughter Annie, was a fluke. An opportunity to enjoy a free meal. It should have entailed nothing more than a solemn nod and a brief expression of sympathy but, Ida Parker, the grieving widow mistook her for her the granddaughter who was carried off as an infant. Too embarrassed to do anything else, Suzanna played along. What harm was there in pretending to be someone else for a few hours? Hours turned into days and days into weeks; strangers became friends, love happened, and before long a year had flown by.
Now the past is standing on her doorstep and Suzanna must decide to leave here and disappear as she has done before, or tell the truth and break the hearts of those she loves most.
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This is a beautiful family love story that will absolutely warm your heart!
“Some people are born into belonging to one another, and that’s their family. But there”s another kind of family, one created by people who love each other and are willing to hold onto what they’ve found.”
Quite by accident, Suzanna finds the grandmother she needs for both her daughter Annie, and for herself.
Who would it hurt to take someone else’s name to finally find happiness?
Will Suzanna’s conscious permit her to continue and actually become the lies and deceit in order to remain with this loving woman she and Annie adore so much?
Fear of being known are almost always present and not making this an easy transition, but Suzanna will do whatever it takes for Annie to find security and joy in her life.
You will no doubt love each character as did I. My very favorite being Annie, with innocence, hope, wishes,
honesty, sincerity and a huge heart of gold!
I truly hope that Bette Lee Crosby will have another novel on this family as they grow!
I cannot wait!
Bette is a master storyteller with stories that most definitely warm your heart. Loved the characters in this one. I’d love to see more of them in a sequel. Great read to take your mind off all the things going on around us right now and get lost in a world of second chances and making of a happy family and new life. Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC
I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review. Sometimes you have to do things to save yourself and your child. That is what is happening here. A million little lies do sum up what is happening but sometimes life protects you, by bringing you to the right place.
Bette Lee Crosby has written another winner. There was never a plan, this just seemed to be happening, and a few times I found myself holding my breath. You know how the past can catch up to you when it was happening here, I would hold my breath because I didn’t want what had been happening to be destroyed.
This was an amazing story, with wonderful characters and a story that just felt so right.
Bette Lee Crosby gives many gifts to her readers: stories with depth, like this one exploring the consequences of lies, stories full of sorrows and joys perfectly described, and plenty of wisdom. This book, like her others, is filled with these gifts: It is an exploration of love, loss, human flaws, the heart and its powers. Character, plot, and pacing are all delightfully well-crafted. Thank you to the author for caring so much for her many readers!
I had a real hard time putting this book down !
Bette Lee Crosby does it again !! What great characters and heartwarming drama, Love , Laughter and Tears and Triumph , The Christmas Tree part was my favorite
I kept yelling at Suzanna to do the right thing, through the entire book lol But was routing for her the entire time, so far she is my favorite Leading Character Bette has written ( i have not read all of Bette’s Books but I am working on reading every single one of her books)
it was very good you won’t be disappointed!!
Good premise and opening. Somewhere along the line, it got humdrum for me.
As much as I read and often figure out the ending beforehand, it was fun to read a story where I really didn’t know how all of the lies were going to affect the ending. It is interesting to see how sometimes we believe something that we know is a lie because we want it to be true.
Crosby weaves a magical story, drawing you into the characters and giving you new friends to treasure.
Crosby at her best! Masterful storytelling. A young Mother builds her new life on a ladder of lies. I read it in one sitting!
I’m sure everyone has told a little white lie, but what happens when that little lie turns into a snowball and there is just no way to get out of it. That is the position that Suzanna Duff and her daughter Anne found themselves in. Suzanna and Annie left Earl from a horrible living situation. Suzanna had very little money and no job. They were going from FL and traveling to NJ to go live with a friend. On the way they stopped in GA and that is where the lie became a snowball. They were both hungry and their stomachs led them to a wake where there was free food. This where they had a chance encounter with Ida Parker changed all their lives forever.
Bette Lee Crosby knows just how to draw you in and feel like you know each and everyone of her characters. This is such a wonderful story and I enjoyed this book as much as all of her books.
Thanks to belonging to Blues Sky Book Chat monthly newsletter I was chosen the winner to read this book. Thank you for a wonderful read.
A Million Little Lies by Bette Lee Crosby
Once again Bette Lee Crosby shows the reader what “being family” really means. Ms. Crosby has a talent for storytelling. Although it is a poignant and heartwarming story, it is not without its edge-of-your-seat moments and nervous twists. In A Million Little Lies, we are introduced to characters that are floating through their lives feeling disconnected and alone. It is story that grows and develops through a series of assumptions and lies. Susanna Duff and her daughter, Annie are hungry. They see a sign for a Memorial luncheon and decide to attend. A quick in-and-out thinks Susanna. Susanna and Annie accidentally meet Ida Parker at the luncheon that is being given for William Parker, Ida’s husband. Assumptions are made and lies are told. And so the story begins.
This is a well written story that uses not only the present but refers to the past to flesh out the characters’ stories. It gave me a better understanding of the characters’ actions and reactions. The characters themselves are complex with many different layers in play.
I am a staunch fan of Bette Lee Crosby because of the gentle southern charm she brings to her stories and her characters. The stories make you feel. I highly recommend this book. It put me through the wringer but in the end I was happy.
Thank you #Netgalley and #BentPinePublishing for approving my request for an ARC of this book. All opinions expressed in this review are solely mine own.
I have been a big fan of Bette Lee Crosby. I didn’t think that this book measured up to the quality of her previous books. (I have read them all!)
Bette Lee Crosby has done it again with a beautifully written book that I devoured in two sittings. A story of hard times for a young girl who had to grow up quicker than anyone should have to. One little white lie was all that it took to snowball into more and more lies. I enjoyed the characters and the setting along with the storyline. The author writes with a southern charm that’s delightful to read.
I’ve never read a book by Bette Lee Crosby that I didn’t like and this one was no exception!
Special thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for granting me an arc at my request. All thoughts in this review are my own and are voluntary.
Loneliness is a powerful thing. We’ve all been lonely but I hope not so many of us have been as heartbreakingly lonely as Suzanna. All her life. No one since her mama has really seemed to care about her. She has the love of her daughter Annie but that is not the same as the love of other adults, having relationships. And lying is a powerful thing, too. When is it okay to lie? Ever? Never? Under what circumstances?
There is such a sense of suspense throughout the book, right up until the very end. Will Suzanna get to be happy? Will her lies be found out and take away the warm feeling now encasing her and throw her back into the cold? And as important – will Suzanna make some downright stupid decisions based on her old understanding of things or how she thinks things “should” be?
I had to remind myself that this was 1960 – if women are restrained and constrained and put down now, picture it then. And I also had to remind myself just how young Suzanna still was and how limited her experience and world view were. No high school diploma, no work experience except for that short time at the snack shack, no freedom, no close friends. Her life had been a virtual prison since the time her mother died. Her father was cruel and heartless, abusive. So was Earl. He may have thought he loved Suzanna but it was a physical attraction, ownership, controlling and Annie meant less than nothing to him. It is amazing that being held down as she was for most of her life Suzanna found the courage to leave at all.
And the lies. She saw Annie happy, loved, content, and she felt the same. But the lies didn’t come easy Her goal, what she hoped to gain was all about feelings, not money or possessions.
A Million Little Lies was Inspiring, heartwarming, and often just plain scary. There is such a strong plot and interesting cast of well-developed, believable characters that I was hooked from the start, not knowing what would happen but sure of what I wished for. Any book by author Bette Lee Crosby is always a treat, and this is no exception. She tells such a wonderful story about people you don’t want to let go of. I received an advance copy of A Million Little Lies from the author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.
A Million Little Lies
Bette Lee Crosby
5 Stars
Wowza!! Amazing!! This is a very heart warming, captivating, and very emotional story! Love how the author was very descriptive on everything! It is very beautifully written!
“The lies would come tumbling out, one atop the other, destroying everything she’d worked so hard to build. She’d be branded a liar and the people she loved would turn away with a look of disappointment or, worse yet, disgust.”
“Lies that sounded as hollow as a tin drum.”
Absolutely perfect!! Grab it today! You won’t be disappointed!
A story of hope, family , new beginnings, though Suzannah tells one lie after another , she’s doing it for the right reasons, giving her daughter a chance for a life with possibilities , that she herself did not have growing up. When Fate steps in , a chance meeting with Ida , two lost souls find their way to forge a family , no matter how many little “white lies” lead them there .
This book had got me from the first chapter. Suzanna lost her mother when she was 10 years old. She didn’t want people to know how irresponsible her dad was due to his drinking, so she started telling lies to cover it up and didn’t it would hurt anyone. As time went on it got easier for her to lie. The when she was a teenager she got pregnant and her boyfriend at the time was more concerned about his education. She ended up not going to school because she was staring to show so she never graduated. Her dad kicked her out of the house and a guy named Earl took her in. She had a baby girl who she named Annie. Things with Earl started to get bad. Suzanna decided she was going to go to New Jersey to start over. She took what money was in Earl’s pocket and woke Annie up and they left. She started hitchhiking and a truck driver picked them up but, he was only going as far as Georgia. Suzanna went to the bus station to buy a bus ticket to New Jersey but, was told the next bus wouldn’t leave until 10:30am the next morning and Suzanna didn’t know what she was going to do. Suzanna saw a flyer for a wake for someone she never met but, there was going to be food at it and Annie was hungry. That is when Suzanna met Ida Parker [the wake was for Ida’s husband Bill] as Ida thought Suzanna was her Grand Daughter [Darla Jean] who she hasn’t seen since she is was an infant. Suzanna was embarrassed to do anything else so, she went along with it as she knew Annie was hungry. Suzanna thought what could it hurt to pretend she was someone else for a few hours. The hours ended up going into weeks as strangers became friends and she find love. Ida decided to rent out 2 rooms in her house and a gentlemen named Gregg rents a room. Suzanna [Darla Jean] and Gregg start to get close. Then during the Fashion show a guy in the audience recognizes Suzanna and tells his brother Bobby [Robert Doherty] who is Annie’s father. Bobby finds Suzanna and tries to rekindle things and Suzanna was thinking about getting back together with Bobby but, then Suzanna finds out by mistake that he is married. Suzanna decided she had to talk to Ida and Gregg. I truly loved reading this book as it kept you wondering what was going to happen. I would definitely recommend reading this book. This book leaves you with not wanting to put it as you need to know what happens. Thank you Bette Lee Crosby for a very well written book!! #AMillionLittleLies #NetGalley
I have read several books by this author, and I must say I believe this one is my favorite so far. A Million Little Lies is a book about lies, loves, sadness and forgiveness. This authors books make you stop and look deep into yourself at times and think what would I do in the same situation. This was a quick and easy read, and one that kept me turning the pages.
I received an ARC of the book from NetGalley and the publisher, and this is my fair and honest review.
Finding a grandmother by accident, but having to tell lies about how she is related to Ida was something (Suzanna) Darla Jean didn’t want to do, but it was necessary.
Darla Jean had to keep up the charade for her daughter Annie’s sake.
Annie fell in love with Grandma Ida the minute she saw her, and Grandma Ida knew that her husband had sent their granddaughter Darla Jean back to her after he passed.
A MILLION LITTLE LIES is another beautiful, heartwarming book by master storyteller, Bette Lee Crosby.
You will LOVE each and every character and hope for the best. The only one you will wish away is Earl.
I didn’t want to stop reading or stop being part of the lives of each character.
What else can a reader say about Bette Lee Crosby’s books, except you need to read every one of them.
Bette’s books make your heart lighter and have you joining in the joy as well as the sorrows of the characters.
LOVED it….be sure to have tissues ready, but for happy tears. 5/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
There is nothing like the feeling you get after reading a Bette Lee Crosby book! She’s done it again with the beautifully written, stunning and heartwarming A MILLION LITTLE LIES!
Suzanna Duff has had enough of Earl Fagen and decides to take her daughter, Annie, to New Jersey. They end up stopping in Georgia, stumble on an opportunity for a free meal but a case of mistaken identity keeps them from leaving. Suzanna has a history of telling little lies that goes back to when she was ten and her mother died. So she decides to go with it for a few days, is struggling with the lie she’s living but she loves her new life & family. What’s she going to do? You’ll love finding out when you go on this journey that will tug at your heart! I loved it and highly recommend it!
Thank you NetGalley and Bette Lee Crosby for this advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.