Bad Little Girl

By: Frances Vick

Narrated by: Katherine Manners

"I'm not safe - you have to help me..."

Little Lorna Bell is from a notorious family on a rundown estate. Everyone thinks she's a nasty piece of work. The schoolchildren call her a thief. But Lorna's hair is matted, her shoes pinch her feet, and school teacher Claire Penny can't help herself; some kids just need a bit more support, a bit more love, than the rest.

As the bond between teacher and pupil grows stronger, Claire sees Lorna's bruises, and digs to uncover the disturbing tale behind them. Heartbroken, Claire knows she has to act. She must make Lorna safe.

Just when Claire thinks she has protected Lorna, a chance encounter brings enigmatic stranger Marianne Cairns into their lives. Marianne seems generous and kind but there is something about her story that doesn't quite add up. Why does she feel so at home, and why is Lorna suddenly so unsettled?

Claire has risked everything to save Lorna. But what can save Claire from the shocking truth?

An utterly unputdownable and darkly compelling listen that will have fans of The Girl on the Train, The Sister, and Gone Girl absolutely hooked.

©2017 Frances Vick (P)2017 Bookouture

And the gradeschool psychopath marches on…

You can see the ending coming before you get halfway through the book. Other than that, you want to take Claire and ram her head through a wall for being so profoundly weak. How does a woman who has taken care of herself all these years suddenly become so stupid? And the last couple of lines in the book give her no hope at all… The only character I had any empathy for with Benji, the dog. I was more concerned as to what would happen to him than for any other character in the book!

Ending sucked

Great story until the very end. Then it sucked. No mystery, suspense or wonder. Just a lame ending.

Multi-layered psychological suspense novel

Although the comparisons with the 1950s film The Bad Seed are inevitable, the portrayal of Lorna and the gullible adults she encounters in this novel are much more complex and compelling. The book preys mercilessly on our collective assumptions about victimhood and predatory behavior. As a student of behavioral health, I found myself pulling out my old and outdated copy of DSM-4 (it's up to 5 now) and rereading the Axis-II diagnoses. While not textbook perfect, the author has created some fascinating depictions. Well worth the read....

Boring book with a good ending

Any additional comments?

The beginning of this book dragged on and on. The child is just infuriating but not as infuriating as Claire, who is about as weak a character as it gets. It starts to get interesting about two hours before the book ends.

Stretches suspension of disbelief

The quality of the writing was good enough to keep my interest throughout a really far-fetched story. Several of the concepts strained credulity, but even so I wanted to know just how it turned out.
Narrator was great.