Product Description

Alice's baby is two weeks old when she leaves the house without her for the first time. On her eager return, she finds the front door open, her husband asleep on their bed upstairs. She rushes into their baby's room and screams. 'This isn't our baby! Where's our baby?' Her increasingly hostile husband swears she must be either mad or lying, and the DNA test is going to take a week.



One week later, before the test has been taken, Alice and the baby have disappeared. Run away, abducted, murdered? The police who dismissed her baby swap story must find out, and as they do they find dark incidents in David's past - like the murder of his ex-wife...

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1317 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Literary Review
'High-quality stuff'

Review
‘Sophie Hannah is a real star.’ (P J Kavanagh in the Daily Telegraph )

‘Sophie Hannah’s comic fiction produces reams of entertaining moral sophistry. Her novels sparkle.’ (Independent )

'Hannah has a keen ear for her characters’ foibles, snobberies and hypocrisies, and the observation remains acute throughout.’ (Observer )

'This may well turn out to be the detective novel of the year . . . So develops a terrifying mystery of manipulation, counter-manipulation and, finally, astounding revelation - it's a haunting story told with bewitching skill'

(Scotsman )

'The author is a poet by trade and she brings a wealth of psychological and literary subtlety to bear in this impressive novel. Smart and disarmingly unnerving.'

(Daily Mail )

'Hannah adapts to crime fiction with arresting aplomb: her characters are vivid, the novel's challenging double narrative is handled with flair, and its denouement is ingenious'

(The Sunday Times )

'LITTLE FACE is that most fascinating and intelligent of modern crime novels: rather than a whodunit, it escalates from a how-and-whydunit to a point where the reader is unsure if a crime has been committed at all . . . Hannah never deviates from her intention: to deliver a gripping crime story of the first order, loaded with subtext and meaning.'

(Leeds Guide )

'Hannah's whodunit milks a classic formula with subversive results. This missing-baby tale chimes with very modern anxieties. Custody issues lie at the heart of the resolution, and the increasingly perverse relationship between Alice and David is grounded in recognisable reality that serves only to make our flesh crawl more.'

(Emma Hagestadt, Independent )

'I do not really want to discuss this thriller. I do not want to give away any of the quite brilliant twists to those who may not have read LITTLE FACE or have not yet finished it. So, you will just have to take my word, and that of those who mailed the Books group, that Sophie Hannah delivers as good a finale as any crime writer. I was extremely impressed.'

(Alyson Rudd, The Times )

'Intriguing. Hannah's depiction of releationships tested to the limit by domestic tragedy is impressive.'

(Simon Shaw, Mail on Sunday )

'A gripping psychological thriller'

(Independent on Sunday )

'It's chilling and completely gripping - I stayed up all night to finish it.'

(Emily Barr, bestselling author of Cuban Heels and Plan B )

Guardian
'A chilling thriller...I was left thinking about the book for days'

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Customer Reviews

Little Face
I really thought this was going to be a brilliant book. It took me a couple of chapters to get into it, but once I did I was hooked! I couldn't put it down. Sophie Hannah did a wonderful job of building the characters and I found myself really caring about Alice and her baby. The scenes between her and her husband were harrowing, and like others who have reviewed this book, it did remind me of Rebecca. However, I was really dissappointed with the last chapter. After such a big build up, it seemed so rushed at the end.

Having said all of that, it was a very good read and will definately read her next novel

Simply stunning
Quite simply, this is one of the best books I've ever read and the best book I've read in recent times. Sophie Hannah takes a clever twist and turns it into one of the most captivating reads you'll ever come across. At times suspenseful, cruel and shocking, Little Face is a book that will keep you guessing to the end - and it won't disappoint. Everyone I know who has read this book has loved it.

Missed opportunity..
This was such a weak book that I am amazed it got published, let alone received any of the glowing reviews printed in the book. The characters were completely unbelievable as were their actions and reactions. The premise sounded subtle and interesting, but the author completely failed to build up any atmosphere or suspense. Background information was ploddingly written in, instead of emerging through the story or the (unconvincing) dialogue. Painful through to the weak and inconclusive ending.
A shame as her poetry is rather good.