Written by Philippa East
Reviewed by Diana Iozzia
For the most part, I was impressed by "Little White Lies", a debut novel by Philippa East. In this mystery thriller novel, the narrative is split into two perspectives, of Anne, a woman whose daughter has returned after years of captivity, and her niece, Jess. Both characters are torn in many emotional directions, trying to heal with Abigail, who does not seem to want to go back to her old life. Abigail exhibits many characteristics of Stockholm Syndrome, which tolls on Jess and Anne.
Jess's perspective is interesting. East created a very full and realistic teenage character, whose primary focus is to help Jess feel comfortable in her return. Jess has noticed that her cousin has not bounced back quickly, has missing memories, and harbors negative feelings towards the two families.
Anne has been hiding secrets, one large one since Abigail was kidnapped. Her perspective creates an element of suspense, as we readers long to discover the full truth.
East's characters, plot, dialogue, and suspense are written carefully and precisely, in a way that suggest her writing to already be on par with the greats of thriller fiction: B.A. Paris, Ruth Ware, Agatha Christie, and Shari Lapena.
As much as I enjoyed this story, I was extremely disappointed in the final act. The climax took far too many twists, leaving the final villain to be supremely uninteresting, to the point that it nearly ruined the story for me. Anne's secret was a separate twist, but my god, I absolutely found the payoff to be non-existent. After reading small teases of information, I had hoped the secret to be more impressive.
In conclusion, I still enjoyed the novel, although I was unhappy with the ending. I think that East has a promising career in thriller and mystery fiction, and I am eager to read more from her in the future.
Thank you to HQ Publishing for a copy of this book as a giveaway prize.
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