Melanie Golding’s debut, Little Darlings, was an eerily peaceful novel of a woman’s battle to be reconciled with her twin sons. At the onset of the novel, the reader is introduced to two narrators- Lauren Tranter: mother to Morgan and Riley, newborn twin babies, and wife to Patrick. The 2nd narrator is Joanna Harper: detective sergeant of the local police investigating Lauren’s case involving child kidnapping and endangerment. Without getting into plot, I had a hard time immersing myself into the book, for I felt unconnected to the characters plight. Harper’s point of view was lacking for me but made up in information dumping a lot that we needed to know in order to follow along. I wish Golding could have given the reader a bit more of Lauren’s bad ass mother vibes. Her inner dialogue saved the novel for me, it was laughable. An antagonizing choice Golding made was to see Lauren hospitalized and belittled by Patrick. Patrick and his selfishness ruined the mood, yet showed a reality that is prevalent in many families. The woman is the primary caregiver to the kids and the man is the breadwinner. I wish it could be both, but it’s sad to see Golding have to play to the new parent stereotype. Using “Little Darlings” as the title was perfect for the book because of Patrick’s way of referring to the twins, it was laid out nicely in comparison to the book’s plot.
One irk I had was that I wanted to see Lauren exchange the babies for her own from her perspective-not from Harpers narration. Besides that, the book was a quick read and I’d would recommend for those who enjoy crime thriller but also family drama. It intermixed these two sub genres because of the dual narrative. Whatever Golding has in store next to publish, I’ll be skeptical and a hint curious as the route she takes next.
One irk I had was that I wanted to see Lauren exchange the babies for her own from her perspective-not from Harpers narration. Besides that, the book was a quick read and I’d would recommend for those who enjoy crime thriller but also family drama. It intermixed these two sub genres because of the dual narrative. Whatever Golding has in store next to publish, I’ll be skeptical and a hint curious as the route she takes next.