Donna Tartt - The Little Friend

Review by Showhost October 2007
The story is based around Southern America in the 1960's, on a warm, sunny day. Little Robin is found hanged in his garden and although aunties, grandma, mum & sisters were in the house nobody knew how or who did it. Nobody saw anything.
It was Mothers Day, Harriet was a baby the day it happened, she was bouncing in her baby swing in the doorway. Alison, her then 4yr old sister, was playing with Robins cat. Everyone was busy preparing a late Mothers Day dinner. Robin was loved by all, especially his gran.
The family never recover from the tragedy. Harriets mum is never the same, never the happy, confident, caring mum again. Harriet is brought up by the housekeeper -Ida Rhew, the house is kept clean because of Ida Rhew and food is provided by Ida. Harriets mum is in a permanent state of depression. Harriets sister Alison, ever the timid dreamer, lives in a world of her own and her gran, also in a permanent bereavement over her favourite grandson, tries to hide the feeling that she wishes it could have been Harriet or Alison who died and not Robin.
Harriets father leaves the home and Harriet grows up in a worlkd devoid of a happy family and a mother with mood swings. Her only affection comes from Ida Rhew. 12years later, Harriet lives in a world of fantsy of Houdini, with the help of her frind, Hely, they decide to discover who killed Robin. This quest puts them in danger from the 'hillbilly' family constantly deranged from drugs and booze.
I've never taken so long to finish a book and I found myself constantly looking to see how many pages I had left to read. It was a book that described in great detail, with great depth, life in 60's America and the life of a forgotten child.
Judging by the picture on the cover, I thought it was going to be a spine chilling thriller (now I knwo why they say never judge a book by its cover!). The last few chapters were the most exciting part of the book.
I wouldn't rush to read another by this author