Little Liar by Clare Boyd

"Tell me. Explain to me. Describe to me."

The words used by the social services people when they interview Rosie, the 10-year-old daughter of Gemma and Peter Bradley. The neighbor next door, Mira Entwistle, has called the police about the screaming she's heard, and suspects that Rosie may be an abused child. Life in Virginia Close, Denton, is about to take a detour. For it seems that there are many secrets that may have led to this eruption in domestic life.

What a tense and almost, at times, excruciatingly painful drama to read! I felt so much sympathy for the parents of Rosie, and wondered when she would get the psychiatric help she obviously sorely needed! Being a parent is very hard, and that girl drove her mother to the near brink of madness with her acting out and tantrums. I wasn't sure what was going to happen and held my breath preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best. Suffice to say that Mira has her own demons -- no spoilers.

This was a domestic psychodrama that kept me glued to the pages. I was suspicious of the main characters and not quite sure what to make of any of them. Who am I to judge another? Their motives, their emotional reactions, their deeds? What a great choice this would be for a book group as there are many themes that most mothers especially could possibly relate to. And, haven't any of you heard a child's scream or cry from next door that you wondered about? After all, we hear stories everyday about mistreated children whose situations were never reported to any authorities! But, geez, who among us wants to see the police or DFS on our doorsteps after our children have misbehaved? Anyway, I thought this all was pretty scary stuff and I'll be thinking about it for a long while. Point being -- a mother is accused of hurting her child, lies are told, things go from bad to worse. We all want children to be safe, especially in their homes. Would YOU make the call? And, if so, what would be the trigger?

I look forward to reading more by this author. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.