The voice in her head says he’s guilty. She knows he’s innocent.Devon Burges is in the throes of a high-risk birth when she learns of her dear friend’s murder. The police quickly name another friend as the chief suspect, but Devon doesn’t buy it—and despite her difficult recovery, she decides to investigate.Haunted by postpartum problems that manifest as a cruel voice in her head, Devon is barely … her head, Devon is barely getting by. Yet her instincts are still sharp, and she’s bent on proving her friend’s innocence.
But as Devon digs into the evidence, the voice in her head grows more insistent, the danger more intense. Each layer is darker, more disturbing, and she’s not sure she—or her baby—can survive what lies at the truth.
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With a killer twist I didn’t spot from a mile away, Little Voices is a catchy political/white-collar crime thriller about a woman who’s recently given birth and is determined to find her friend’s murderer. There are some huge topics here for books clubs—postpartum depression, money laundering, white collar crime—as well as a strong female protagonist who is intensely unreliable, all wrapped up in a surprising plot that blew me away. Lillie is definitely an author to watch!
Meet Devon, a mom to be, lawyer with a reputation of following the money trail and getting results, wife to Jack and a past she deals with daily. The scariest part at the beginning of the book is as she passes out while in late pregnancy and goes through her mind and realizes it is the placenta rupturing and breaking away.
If you are in a high risk pregnancy, skip this book for now. Devon is an observer of her life, her marriage and her new baby Ester.
Jack is there but rarely says much as Devon decides after a long recovery to take on a case. Because the day Devon collapsed, Belina, her friend, was killed and her other friend from college, Alec is the suspect. Jack is there in the background encouraging Devon to get out and see friends and her therapist and helps her put Ester into a baby wrap for carrying her out of the house.
It seems Devon is a bit OCD and is like a dog with a bone when working on crimes. As a lawyer she can follow the money and the white collar crimes and connect the dots when few others can. She wants to convince the cops, especially Detective Ramos of Alec’s innocence. She deals with the case while trying to convince herself that Ester is a fine healthy baby as she keeps hearing voices saying she is a bad mom and wife.
You meet Rick, Stefano, Uncle Cal and Gillian, all with their own motives and secrets. I worried as Devon took Ester to meet the people involved in financial crime and maybe murder. Later on, the truth comes out and you are shocked into re- reading and deciphering what is really going on.
The middle of the book is a bit hard to enjoy as it is deep into the laws, corruption schemes, the boat industry, and money laundering. But Devon and her relationship with her daughter continue as do the voices telling about her childhood trauma. I felt the middle was done on purpose so you could experience what it would be like to be around Devon when she is obsessed with a case.
Take a few days and read this book as it is exhausting at times as Devon tries to calm her baby, worry about her marriage, and deal with a case that brings danger into her own home.
I loved this psychological thriller. It’s really a unique plot with the author’s engaging voice and the main character experiencing mental health issues.
A big eye opener.
This story kept me guessing until the end. I got a little emotional with the last few chapters. A must read.
It’s not easy to hit me with a twist I don’t see coming, but Vanessa Lillie did just that in her smashing debut, Little Voices—a murder mystery, political thriller, and psychological suspense wrapped into one sensational story. Lillie doesn’t shy away from big topics—postpartum depression and money laundering and child abuse—deftly weaving the layers into a twisty and surprising plot. A clever and addictive read from a bright new talent.
Stunning debut you’ll think about long after you’ve finished it.
Little Voices is Vanessa Lillie’s debut novel. It’s a murder mystery, political thriller, and psychological suspense wrapped into one. Then throw in a blazingly intense family drama of a new mother suffering from postpartum psychosis. Devon, the protagonist, is a strong woman who is also a white-collar crime lawyer. Despite problems with herself, her husband and their marriage, Devon still manages to investigate the murder of one a friend while trying to save another friend from being charged with that killing.
Little Voices is full of plot twists and has a twisted and surprising ending. Devon’s back story is slowly revealed, and its ramifications color her present. Overall, a fast-paced, unputdownable book.
This book does a great job keeping the reader guessing. The story is of a mother who develops a severe case of post partum depression while attempting to solve a murder mystery.
Her attempts to overcome the “voices in her head” are realistic and heartbreaking. The author captures the Ainu of trying to take care of someone else when your self care is failing.
The book is a great one for those with small children. A good read.
I don’t tend to read thrillers, but a friend recommend this one, and I loved it–maybe (I’ll own it!) because it differed from some of the other domestic thrillers I’ve read in recent years–following GONE GIRL and GIRL ON A TRAIN–with narrators I wouldn’t be friends with in real life. In some cases I have felt the shifty, annoying woman narrator who makes bad choices has now become a trope of the genre–and is used by the author just to ramp up the “Oh, God, what will she do next?” suspense.
Lillie’s debut novel still had the suspense, but because the narrator Devon was relatable–and because her grief was so profoundly and legitimately rooted in the present–the tragedy and the mystery felt as though they were brought close. I don’t want to spoil the twist, but I will own that 3/4 of the way through the book I could NOT tolerate the seeming disjunct between the reliable authorial voice and Devon’s actions … and I read the ending. I just had to know. Don’t judge me 🙂
Fast-paced, intricate and twisty, with an original ending I didn’t see coming – at all! Very much looking forward to Vanessa Lillie’s next novel.
While Devon is in critical condition during a high-risk birth, her friend Belina is murdered. After a lengthy recuperation, Devon ventures out of the house with Ester, her newborn, to visit her longtime friend, Alex. Belina was working as the nanny for Alex’s son when she was killed. When Devon learns Alex is the prime suspect in Belina’s murder she dives into an investigation, using all the skills she learned working as an attorney to try to dig up what really happened, or at least enough to point investigators away from Alex.
Devon’s efforts are complicated by new mother issues, like too little sleep and needing to schedule breaks to pump breast milk, as well as serious postpartum problems that include a cruel voice in her head.
Little Voices is fascinating, unnerving, devastatingly sad, and hopeful. I love that Devon has a brilliant mind and adores research. Devon’s a complex character with a lot of layers that the author exposes slowly throughout the book. There is a major reveal near the end which will shock some and not surprise others – I wasn’t surprised but that in no way altered my enjoyment of the book. The mystery was well-plotted and fast moving.
I recommend Little Voices to anyone who enjoys character-driven mysteries, suspense, or psychological thrillers. I’m looking forward to the author’s next book.
Content Warnings: SPOILERS postpartum depression; postpartum psychosis; rape; incest END SPOILERS
The opinions in this review are honest and my own. #LittleVoices #mystery #suspense
Love this book on so many levels. It grabbed me from the first pages and I had to know how it ended, which left me gasping out loud. So looking forward to what the author has in store for us next!
A fantastic debut novel that kept me up till I finished it! I requested a ARC from Netgalley and was so excited that I got this book from KU before I was approved! I was so shocked and hooked by this book and it’s many relatable character real life issues I couldn’t put it down and read in almost a sitting ! I heard the many voices Abd was unsure of which of those were the real ones. I absolutely was shocked by the ending ( which is a delight to be for someone who loves suspense!) and I highly recommend this book to everyone! Totally amazing writing and I can’t wait to read more by this amazing author! Thank you amazon and Netgalley and the author and publisher for my copies! A must read thriller!
Happy ending but loved the “voices”
Couldn’t put it down. Twisted ending
Wow!!!! A fantastic story. Vanessa is a truly gifted storyteller. A fast-paced page-turner that surprises you at every page.
This book was a great thriller that kept me guessing until the very last page. Devon finds out her friend is murdered while she is labor. Devon starts hearing voices again after the birth like she did after her traumatic childhood. Devon wants to figure out who killed her friend but it’s difficult with a newborn daughter. As Devon digs into her friend’s life she realizes nothing is as it seems. This book has so many twists that I couldn’t quit reading even to sleep!
I loved this legal thriller. Despite active (but hidden) psychosis, the analytical brain of the protagonist keeps working on overdrive. One hole in the plot – nobody forgets pantyhose in the frigid Providence RI winter. Or was that a hint of just how much her brain was excluding?
An engrossing debut novel, part political thriller part murder mystery. I loved this unique unreliable narrator—a new mom, struggling to keep it together while trying to catch the person responsible for her friend’s murder. The setting is great and after reading the book I feel like I truly know Providence, RI—it’s politics and people—as if I’d lived there. And the ending, I never saw that twist coming. Great read, impossible to put down.
A chilling, gripping, shocking, and incredibly smart political mystery, Little Voices hooked me from the first page to the last. The protagonist, Devon Burges, is so well-written and well-developed that I couldn’t tear myself away from her journey. Vanessa Lillie has penned a stunning debut that you won’t want to miss.
This was an interesting book. It was different and unique. I liked how it all came together for me at the end. It showed how someone could have post-partum depression in a psychotic sort of way. I was amazed at what she went through and how she could still solve a crime that was so complicated! I want to read more from this author.