Imagine being in a hospital bed, exhausted, slipping in and out of sleep. Then you start to hear a voice coming from a chair in the corner. And it’s clear that the voice isn’t human, not entirely.
If this seems like your thing, be sure to check outThe Hidden by Melanie Golding! And here’s an interview with the author as well.
Melanie Golding’s novel, Little Darlings, follows the story of Lauren, a new mother of twins who has a frightening experience while in the hospital. She swears a woman attacked her. The guards, nurses, and even security cameras claim differently. Everything points to Lauren being alone in her room the entire night. As questions about her own sanity arise, she staves off much of the speculation by acquiescing to the insistence of everyone: it was a bad dream, nothing more. But when the nightmare follows her home, threatening to take her children away, Lauren isn’t so sure that the interaction she had in the hospital was only in her head.
This was such a fun book to read. It was so entertaining and spooky. It will also hold a special place in my heart because of the way it plays with the supernatural elements in the story. Is Lauren crazy? Is there actually a dirty woman trying to swap out her own babies for Lauren’s in a horrific changeling retelling? Will we ever even get our answer? Lauren’s twins are abducted, only to be returned shortly after. But Lauren isn’t convinced they’re her children. In an effort to ‘return’ the babies, she does something that will get her sent to a psychiatric ward.
Enter, Detective Joanna Harper. Harper has her own path to contend with. One that makes Lauren’s story and love for her children, all too personal for Harper.
Because of the literary, often-character driven nature of this narrative, the last third of the book is filled with fun clues and twists and turns. Because of this, the it felt underdeveloped or rushed. Some of the fastest-paced moments in the book were throughout Harper’s investigation.
That being said, there’s more than enough fun and creepiness for this to be a “gotta read” for fans of books that blur the line between the natural and supernatural worlds.
But the question is, the young woman from the opening of the novel, the one at the edge of the river holding two babies. Why is she there? And what is she planning on doing?
