Mixed feelings about this one. I expected more about what happened when Abigail was in captivity but it kept me gripped most of the time. I thought during the dramatic scenes there wasn't enough clarification of what was happening and I had to read it a few times.

I enjoyed this book at the beginning however, it started to become quite long-winded and a little predictable. I found it hard to engage with the characters. I'm glad I persevered with the book as I liked the ending. It is very similar to the BBC programme 'Thirteen'.

This was definitely an enjoyable read. The story and characters were engaging and there was an 'unknown situation' all the way through. 

Although sometimes I felt the suspense was so high, it held you in a place where there should have been more of an outcome that what there was. This is not necessarily a negative point, its more about how I felt. 

Very well written and, without a doubt, worth a read if you like suspense novels. 

Highly recommended. 

Thank you HQ and NetGalley.

This is a well crafted, engrossing novel, where the tension builds, gradually from start to end. What would you do if your daughter disappeared at 8 years old? If you had told just a small white lie? But then seven years later she turns up and is brought back home, you wonder if she remembers what happened that day, could you have done anything different?

Anne and Lillian are sisters, Anne is married to Robert and Lillian is married to Fraser. Both sisters had a daughter each within two weeks of each other Abigail and Jess. Abigail is from Anne’s first marriage which ended badly, Anne and Abigail had lived with Lillian, Fraser and Jess for a while and the girls had been inseparable, it was like they were joined at the hip, they liked the same things. But then one day Abigail disappears, leaving Anne and Robert just with the twins who at the time were only 9 months old. 

Eight years later Abigail walks into a police station holding the hand of a 7 year old girl who had gone missing, she was returning her. Only when asking questions did the police realise Abigail was a girl who had disappeared 8 years earlier.

But when she back home with her family, she is wary, what has she been told by her captor. Jess has been waiting for this return, it’s like her life has been on hold for the whole 8 years, she hasn’t’ told moved on either. Anne struggles to deal with her daughter being back, she doesn’t know what to say or what to do. 

The story is told from two points of view from when Abigail is back on the 27th May, from Jess’s view and Anne’s viewpoint. Initially it’s days after her being home going up to the 27th September when the verdict of the trial is revealed.

The characters are relatable, believable. Although at times I wanted to slap Lillian, she is the most dominant character, she has always told Anne what to do and Anne has always followed her instructions. It’s like Anne has no mind of her own. She always has to ask her sister, not her husband Robert. Even Lillians husband Fraser, is reluctant to stand up to her. There marriage doesn’t seem to be the happiest.

With plenty of twists and turns keeping the reader to wonder what the secret is, with more twists afterwards, a complex tale of a family.

But as you near the end of the book the tension just keeps ratcheting up, leading to a heart pounding climax. A definite must read.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #HQ for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, and unbiased review.

I could not put this book down. The story moved along with pace and pitch perfect for the subject matter. Abduction and child abuse are difficult subjects to read about and even more difficult to write if the author is to avoid gratuitous, shocking and tasteless sensationalIsation. The way this story unfolds is  the personification of less  is more..  A teenager just short of her sixteenth birthday  and missing for eight years walks into a police station. A family unable to come to terms with loss, presumed death of their child receive a phone call. Walking on broken glass all those involved attempt to pick up the pieces of a family life thought lost to them  for ever.  The police want information to apprehend the perpetrator; the media are intent on information ensuring press coverage outlining all salacious details whilst those involved and extended family are hell bent on getting life back to their memories of normality. No one emerges from trauma unscathed and we the reader wait with baited breadth as both past and present events slowly emerge in heartbreaking detail. At the core of this story is a young adult trapped in the events of eight years previous trying desperately to understand what why and how she was abducted before she can move on. Balanced against this is a complex family full of good intentions but unable to break the tentacles of past events , good intentioned lies and old family history.  An ARC from NetGalley which has had me totally engrossed and involved from start to finish. An excellent story line extremely well executed and all the more shocking when done with such sensitivity and no exaggerated hyperbole .

This is the first book from this author and I hope it's not the last.  A story told from many points of view with a dramatic twist at the end. Thoroughly enjoyed and I'd really recommend.

7 years ago the White family was devastated when 8 year old Abigail vanished without a trace.  They think they've hit the lottery whenshe turns up alive and reasonably well, but reunification proves much harder than any of them expected, reveals family divisions, and rips open the scars of old secrets. 

The book is suffused through with ominous foreshadowing that creates an oppressive atmosphere. It's tangible and well developed but it bothered me. After thinking about it over night I think I know why; it was entirely unnecessary. The trauma of reunification would have been enough - it made the added foreshadowing feel excessive and gratuitous and like the ending (which I hated) like iteas a tacked on necessity to justify what came before 

The story is told from multiple viewpoints. I liked that choice but I hated Jess - her neediness was rather creepy and never fully justified by exploring her own trauma in a satisfying way. She made me feel very uncomfortable, despite getting adequate chance to explore her viewpoint.

I loved the premise of this book - how does a family cope with the return of a disappeared child and how does the child reintegrate? I also loved the first three quarters of the story and then it all seemed to unravel. 
I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but I think I must have a different moral compass to the author as to me the incident at the station was a lot more than a "little white lie"! Also I felt the identity of the abductor was a very tenuous link, and then the bridge incident seemed tacked on to give a dramatic ending.
I realise this is a debut novel however and will look out for future books by Ms East.

 Thank you to netgalley and HQ for an advance copy of this book

A good plot, a missing child returns after 7 years - and that is just the start. Of course there are going to be complications, secrets and lots of twists and turns. Told from different perspectives the story starts to come out, emotional and shocking - and a very good read.

This book was not as good as I thought it would be from the premise. It was slow paced. Did not grip me at all. Far fetched in parts. Not terrible but not great.. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Little White Lies was a frustrating book for me as I found so much of the narrative unbelievable. Abigail, aged eight, was in London with her family when she got separated from her mother and just disappeared. Seven years later, aged 15, she walks into a police station with a young girl called Tonia.

Hours later, her parents arrive from Lincolnshire to pick her up and then proceed to carry on with normal family life pretty much. Surely Abigail would be undergoing extensive debriefing and psychiatric help at this point. No one in the family seems able to appreciate the trauma that Abigail has gone through and that maybe life won’t just carry on as before. 

The narrative alternates between Anne, Abigail’s mother, and Jess, Abigail’s cousin, with just one chapter from the point of view of Lillian, Abigail’s auntie. Jess is also 15 and the two girls were incredibly close before Abigail’s disappearance. I just couldn’t fathom out how Abigail goes to a music festival, the local fair and other places without an adult while only back for a short time. She is also left in the house alone too. Surely an adult would be keeping a close eye on her in those early days of being back. 

None of the characters were likeable and all the adults seemed to be hiding some big secret. When the secrets finally emerged they were rather underwhelming and I felt mountains were being made out of molehills. I was also not clear why Tonia was in the story as her disappearance was never explained in the context of Abigail's.

The ending was just odd and long and drawn out. I’m still not really sure what it all was supposed to indicate. It was also strange not to hear Abigail’s voice in the story.

With thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin UK for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Abigail went missing in London aged eight. Her mum, Anne, lost sight of her for a moment and she was gone.
Seven years later she is found alive and Anne has to re-connect with her daughter all over again. 
But what really happened all those years ago and what does Abigail remeber.
Who is lying and who is to blame?

#LittleWhiteLies #NetGalley
Suspense thrillers couldn't be made better than this. 
Anne White only looked away for a second, but that’s all it took to lose sight of her young daughter.
But seven years later, Abigail is found. 
And as Anne struggles to connect with her teenage daughter, she begins to question how much Abigail remembers about the day she disappeared...
It's ending was brilliant like I'm seeing a Hollywood movie. After a long time i read such a great thriller. It's starting was slow but overall it's an awesome read. 
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for giving me an advance copy of this book.

I really enjoyed this book not something I’d usually read the beginning seemed a bit slow but it ended up being a really enjoyable book

I really enjoyed this fast paced thriller, it was jam packed with everything great. I couldn't turn the page's quick enough. Fantastic debut, look forward to reading more by this author.

This is a slow burner which never really ignites.  The story is related from two povs:  the mother, Anne who has no backbone and is completely vacuous and the cousin, Jess who is stuck being 8 years old - the age she was when her 8 year old cousin was abducted.  Never do we get the abducted girl, Abigail’s pov, which makes this quite an unemotional book, both in the story and in the reader’s response.

Interesting story
well written
Good characters well developed
Nice twists and turns
Worth a Read if you like this genre

In the early stages it was slightly baffling how as i got further into the book it became one of those books you don't want to put down.  
It examines the really difficult topic of a child being abducted and the relationships with those closest during the period of abduction and when the now teenager is found.
The book has a really nice turn towards the end which is well worth getting to.
Grateful for the opportunity to review this book.

A really good premise, set after the return of a missing child. It is emotionally raw and superbly written, focusing on the lasting effects trauma can have on us.

Omg.   This book is amazing.
A little girl went. Issuing at the age of 8 years old. She was missing for 7 years when she turns up at a police station with a 6 year old.
 The story flips between the girls mother and her cousin. A gripping story and I would definitely recommend this book. 
Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.