Abigail is restored to her family after going missing when she was eight. She is now 15 and has lots of baggage. The story is told from her mum's and her cousin's viewpoints, each having alternate chapters. There are secrets connected with how she disappeared which made it impossible for me to stop reading.
I found it difficult to identify with Abigail, perhaps the distress she suffered was underplayed, her cousin Jess was also not well portrayed and the ending was abrupt but I did enjoy the book.

Don’t want to be negative about this book which will appeal to readers of the “little... lying” genre but it’s not my sort of thing. Missing child turns up several years after disappearing. Cast of thousand (multi generational to appeal to a range of audiences?) all of whom have back story evidence or something murky in their past. At times read like one of my students essays with strange and unusual imagery which seemed unnatural and forced. But as earlier stated, not my genre.

I thought the idea behind the book was good, but it all seemed rather unbelievable. Abigail is not a convincing character, and I really can't see how she has managed to keep up her studies while she was not going to school. No-one seems particularly bothered about Abigail's ordeal, especially the police. The ending was over-dramatic, and sadly the book wasn't as gripping as it promised to be.

I received a copy to review from Netgalley

Here is the blurb

"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…"

The story switches between 2 different perspectives, Anne the mum and Jess the cousin. I really enoyed this approach. All the way through the story it hints that things are not all they seem on the day Abigail disappeared and this kept me hooked and wanting to read on to find out what the big secret is. I found the big reveal about the day she disappeared a bit disappointing if I am honest and felt a bit like "is that it?" However, I did like how the book dealt with the story line and the complexity of the feelings of the characters involved. I did feel the book didn't need the bit at the end to sell the story as I felt it was more a story about relationships rather than cliffhangers but that is only my opinion. Overall, a good read that keeps you wanting to read on.

What a fantastic read! Could hardly put it down!
Great story, keeping you guessing with the twists and turns of the plot throughout.
Hearing the story from different peoples perspective made you really feel like part of it.
Highly recommend!

I liked nearly everything about this apart from the bog-standard title. Please, enough with the “Lies” titles, now, publishers!

Anyway, Little White Lies *sigh* has an original premise: Abigail, who disappeared seven years ago when she was just eight years old, is back, walking into a police station one day holding another, younger missing child by the hand. The now fifteen year old Abigail is returned to her family - mum Anne, stepdad Robert and her young twin brothers - but of course it’s not all plain sailing. Abigail isn’t the girl she was, and Anne in particular seems strangely disconnected from her daughter, although Abigail’s return is all she’s dreamed of.

Although we know Abigail has been held captive for seven years, it’s a long time before we learn much at all about what happened during that time. The focus is on her return and its impact on her and those around her, told through the eyes of mum Anne and cousin Jess. Clearly, there are things the adults are not telling, and Abigail’s confusion, anger, fear and deeply conflicted feelings about her captor (powerfully expressed by the “victim impact statement” she tries and fails to write) are very well rendered. I really felt for her.

Missing child thrillers are ten a penny at the moment (rather like books with “lies” in the title) but I haven’t read one quite like this before, which starts with Abigail being found, and remains in that time frame - there are none of those ubiquitous flashbacks/dual time-frame narratives which are so popular now, and this was strangely refreshing. As I said above, the focus is firmly on the present and how things play out after Abigail returns... ultimately coming to a frightening head.

The premise of this book held promise but there was just too much missing to make it believable. If a daughter had been abducted for 7 years, would a mother not talk to her in depth to find out not only what happened for those seven years, but how her daughter now felt. Wouldn't Abigail have had to have intense therapy to cope with life? How did she manage to be educated to GCSE standard? I'm sorry but I just wasn't convinced.

Really enjoyed this!!! It kept me guessing until the last second. My loyalties changed from chapter to chapter with each character and I was gripped!

Well written and intriguing. Kept me guessing right until the end and I really didn’t see the final twists coming. I felt it’s portrayal of a child reunited after being abducted from her family was sadly realistic. The return full of problems and complexities and not just a ‘happy ever after’ scenario. A great read.

This was a 'heart in your mouth' read from page one. My loyalties towards characters changed from chapter to chapter and it was an emotional rollercoaster of emotions.. An incredible portrayal of a damaged family, a brutal and twisted abduction but with a warmth of feeling towards parents and family members who had just made a split second wrong decision. Any mother who has ever been to the depths of despair will want to read this book. 5 stars.

Wowza! What a belter of a book! Abigail White has been missing for seven years. Now aged 15, she walks into a police station in London clutching the hand of six year old Tonia Dillon, also missing. She returns home to her mother Anne, stepfather Robert and their twins Laurie and Sam. This should have been a happy reunion but it’s not. What is revealed is a very tense and emotional suspense thriller that keeps your attention throughout. The story is told by Anne, Abigail’s cousin Jess to whom she had been very close and briefly by Lilian, Jess’s mum and Anne’s sister.

This is a very well written novel with a number scenes where your jaw drops in shock at what unfolds. The characters are very good too. Abigail is understandably a tense mess after what she suffers during her captivity and I really feel for her as apart from Robert and Jess, nobody scoops her up and gives her much warmth and love. Anne’s reaction is strange and you don’t know why there are so many barriers between them until the whole thing unravels. The book contains all the characters a good book needs - several you like, one or two you puzzle over, one bitch, one who’s controlling and cold. As you read on, the whole family scenario feels wrong, not normal so it’s very intriguing. You have so many questions in your head to try to scrape past the all the secrets, guilt and lies to get to the truth of this deep mystery at the heart of it. There are a lot of fascinating, tense and dramatic scenes and things you don’t see coming and you just hope this fractured family can heal. The ending is so tense and exciting I hardly dare breathe!

Overall, most definitely my kind of book. It’s one I would recommend for fans of the twisty, suspense genre. Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ Stories, Harper Collins for the ARC.

Abigail is abducted as an eight year old from outside a tube station, after becoming separated from mother Anne. At fifteen she walks into a police station holding the hand of a younger girl. She is soon reunited with her family. How will they all adjust? What are the little white lies? The narrative largely switches between Anne and Abigail's cousin Jess.

I found this book well written but it began to drag. I became impatient. At about 40% I started to skim read and skip ahead.

This book held so much promise and ironically had a slightly similar theme to a Net Galley story I had just finished, which I'm afraid was a much better read. The characters in this book were a mixed bunch, Robert, the step dad was lovely all the way through, Anne the mother was quite unlikeable at times, the twins were adorable and Aunt Lillian and Fraser were a really nice aunt and uncle, wished they'd been mine. Jess was a whole different ball game though. I could understand that she and Abigail were very close growing up until Abigail disappeared but it seemed to be a pretty claustrophobic relationship. This made me wonder if in fact Abigail and Jess were twins (which obviously runs in the family) and Jess had been given to Lillian and Fraser as they couldn't have children of their own. This would would have add a whole new viewpoint but might have been one to follow instead and this would explain the cousins uncanny telepathic link. I did think it rather unrealistic that the police let Abigail go home only a few hours after turning up at a police station. Surely she would have been given a thorough medical and been interviewed by specialist psychologists and appropriate police personnel for a few days allowing her to acclimatise to being free of the man who abducted her. .They would have wanted to know the details of what had happened to her for the last seven or eight years, no one seemed totally sure about the age thing. I' m afraid I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would and the shock towards the end was a bit weird and unfathomable. Having said all that I would definitely read another book by Philippa.

An interesting premise with a poor final execution.

Abigail’s story is an interesting one and the need to know her Anne’s secret encourages you to turn the page and is quite intriguing. Whilst there were some good twists the post trail sequence wasn’t to my liking and a bit unnecessary.

3.5 stars.

This book has to be my second most favourite book I've ever read. It's incredibly insightful and cleverly put together. This author knows how to keep her readers hooked to every word, every page and every detail. My mind has officially been blown with this psychological thriller. And it's definitely one I recommend if you love twists and turns, cleverness and tenseness. This story has it ALL.

Anne, Abigail, Jess, Lillian, Robert, Fraser, Preston, Laurie & Sam, were all FANTASTIC characters. Preston wasn't mentioned so much, but as Abigail's father, I thought to include him in the list. Laurie & Sam too, Abigail's little twin brothers because they had a small impact later in the book. Abigail's presence back in the house certainly switched those two angels into little fighting devils.
Abigail was a complex character with trauma to boot. Her ordeal, her mindset, her way of thinking, confuses you but at the same time, you completely sympathise with her. Anne, her mother, dutifully searched for her from the time she was missing - at aged 7/8, there was a contradicting with her age at the beginning to when it was mentioned later in the story - and when she finally got her back, she wasn't the same. I mean, who would be, right? After being away from her family for 7 years, being lied to, manipulated... she was never going to be the doting, adoring daughter they all longed for. Lillian & Fraser had their own parts to play and were very good secondary characters with quirks and flaws. Jess though... she was a little weird to me. I mean, I had awesome relationships with my cousins as child, but it never bordered on obsessive behaviour, and near the very end of the book she was wanting Abigail to kiss her... really? They were cousins. Jess was a clingy cousin, never wanted to leave her alone, always thinking about her. Extremely naive. Never grew up after Abigail disappeared as a child. She was an odd character but definitely brought grit to the story.
Robert was the perfect, loving, calm, considerate step-father any child would want and need. All the way through the book he was thoughtful and kind. He was the only one that didn't seem to have any flaws. Anne held a terrible secret and when it was revealed, Robert was only angry for a little bit before forgiving her. He is possibly the character everyone will adore the most.

The author is new to me, and boy am I glad I took a chance. From the description, I knew this one was going to be a good'n. And it exceeded all of my expectations and more. This book is worthy of more than 5 stars and awards as well. Philippa East's writing style is unique, and not one I've come across before. Which makes it compelling. The whole book was incredibly descriptive from start to finish. She knows how to draw the reader in, stick them on the edges of their seats and spits them out at the end with a smile.

Perfect story, full of lies, secrets, confusion, suspense and tensions. Everything you could possibly need in a psychological thriller. Can't wait to see what this author produces next!

I found this book really dragged, I was expecting more and was disappointed, I skim read a lot but almost gave up several times

This promised so much and delivered so little.
Abigail has been missing for seven years. She disappeared when she was eight years old. Suddenly she walks into a police station with another little girl.
It then starts to become so unbelievable. Abigail goes straight home, where as I thought she would have been hospitalised for medical and psychiatric tests. This wouldn't have been left for the parents to organise, especially as there was to be a trial of the man who abducted her.
The narrative was from two points of view. Anne, Abigail's mother and Jess her cousin and best friend. I found it hard work the jumping between the two and Jess just irritated me the whole time.
The whole family wasn't likeable or believable in any way and the story just dragged on while we are trying to work out what the little white lie was.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for my ARC in return for an honest review.

The title of this book caught my eye, I had started reading it, before I realised it was about a missing child. It seems like I’m drawn to this topic like a moth to a flame!!

Abigail went missing at the age of 8, when her mother Anne took her eyes off her at the railway station and she disappeared into thin air!!She had been missing for seven years when she walked into a police station with another girl that had also been abducted. The police are still looking for the man who took the girls.

Abigail’s family have put their life’s on hold, hoping now that they can carry on as normal. Anne is thrilled to have her daughter back but what secrets is she and her sister Lillian hiding. Abigail has come back a changed girl after the horrors she endured.

The story alternates between the perspective of Anne (Abigail’s mother) and Jess (Abigail’s cousin)

This book kept me intrigued and I read it in one day. I liked that we got to see how all of Abigail’s family were affected differently by her reappearance. How one tiny mistake had a tidal effect on all of the family and could not be reversed!!

A griping story, that I would definitely recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

'Little White Lies' is an extraordinary debut from a phenomenally talented writer.

Child abduction and its aftermath is far from an original plot device in contemporary novels, but Phillippa East manages to fashion what is a well hackneyed trope into a compelling piece of literature. The years between the disappearance of 8 year old Abigail to her reappearance 7 years later that formed the first part of the novel are particularly compelling and handled with a deft touch by East. As she alternates between the viewpoints of Anne, Abigail's mother, and Jess, a cousin, we gain a powerful insight into the supressed (and sometimes not so supressed) feelings of guilt, anger and shame that those left behind feel in their collective and individual failure to protect an innocent child from harm. Indeed, the child as inherently vulnerable and in need of constant surveillance and protection from and by responsible adults is part of the iconography of Western society, and woe betide any parent or guardian who does not fully inculcate their culturally mandated role. Think about the backlash incurred by the parents of Madeline McCann when their little girl went missing. Philippa East takes these powerful ideas of family, its roles and responsibilities, and fashions in microcosm, a compelling domestic drama.

The second part of the book, left me with a few niggles. The return of Abigail ironically left me with a feeling of absence. I could not fully grasp the individual behind the central aspect of the story. I would have liked for Abigail's voice to have joined those of Anne and Jess in the narrative to put more flesh on the bones of the story. Moreover, from a crash-bang-wallop perspective, the denouement is a little bit anti-climatic. Conversely, however, this can also be read as strength of East's writing as she resists the easy temptation to make this book all about shock value - those' Oh My God' moments that are depressingly becoming a staple of contemporary mystery thrillers. For this Phillipa East deserves to be congratulated for writing a poignant, well-observed novel of loss and rediscovery.

4.5 Stars

Summary:
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…

What a ride! I could not put this down.

I enjoyed the narrative and how the book was written-the concept is compelling and different.