This book is being touted as perfect for fans of thrillers, and The Push by Ashley Audrain. That was my favorite book the year it came out so I jumped at the chance to read Clever Little Thing.

This book was FIVE stars! Seriously all the stars! It completely lived up to the hype. It kept the twists coming and the tension until the last page!

If you enjoy bingeable psychological thrillers, pick this one up and go into it BLIND!

As an avid thriller reader, I find it more and more difficult to find a 5-star one to really impress me. This one had a different type of twist to it, and although I could see a lot of the reveals coming it was still done so well. Echlin’s writing is the true star of the book though, I wasn’t expecting this to pack such an emotional punch - one reveal in particular around the halfway mark really hit home for me and provided some really fantastic quotes.

This should be a buzzy thriller for early ‘25 and it deserves all the praise.

I just couldn’t get into this book. I felt like the story wasn’t going anywhere and I honestly just got bored.

I'll be blunt: this book didn't work for me. Too clichéd, the writing is too clunky for my taste and waaay too slow. I DO like character-driven stories with a slow pacing while developing the characters deepenly, but it wasn't the case here. It was just dragging on and on....and it isn't for me.
I don't wanna discourage readers to pick this book up. Maybe it was just me. Other readers will like it, I'm sure.

This was a unique way of depicting death, trauma, and the pure love of a mother.

Charlotte is becoming increasingly unnerved by the changes in her daughter Stella since the death of her babysitter, Blanka. She is convinced that there is something within Stella that has changed. It is almost like she is becoming Blanka, adopting her mannerisms, language and food preferences. Charlotte knows there is something wrong and will stop at nothing to get Stella back.

I found the premise of this book to be so entirely intriguing. The deeper and deeper I got to the root of the story, the more my head was spinning. I found the conversations happening in this book to be powerful and terrifying. This was not what I was expecting and I enjoyed it so much.

This book started and went slow for me - it did not really pick up until about 75% in, so it was a slog to get there. I also felt like this veered into "unbelievable" territory, in the truest sense of the word, and I prefer novels rooted in reality. I also feel like I didn't get all the answers I wanted. One other gripe - after reading enough thrillers, when there is a "perfect" husband at the beginning of the book, it feels obvious that he's going to end up being the evil one. I had that hunch from the beginning - and shocker - I was right.

Wow! This book was so good. It had such a different and unique storyline. I still don't know what really happened and I think that is the testament of a great story! The characters were so well written, and I had no idea what was going to happen next. Just fantastic!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Clever Little Thing.

I really liked the supernatural/paranormal element in the narrative but I wasn't a fan of the general storyline for a number of reasons:

1. Typical cliches include an incredibly hot and attractive husband because in real life so many spouses are so attractive, a frazzled mother made to look 'crazy'

2. Narrative featuring neurodivergent characters are becoming more and more common, which is great, but I always feel the characterization is still not quite realistic, but what an author thinks an autistic child should sound and act like from the information they get from the media

3. Charlotte is not interesting and one dimensional, like so many of the female characters in these genres. She has few to any friends and is flailing around because she's pregnant, sick, trying to take care of another child and/or run the household while their husband is far more capable and confident. Charlotte, like most characters, are in denial of the true nature of their spouses until the very end.

4. The husband is a caricature of the baddest bad guy ever; he's a lousy husband, but he's also this and that and more of this! Let's throw the kitchen sink at him while we're at it!

5. I liked Irina, not surprisingly, she became the only character I found intriguing.

Decent writing and plot, but uninteresting main character and cliches made this an average read for me.

I'd still read the author's next book.

This is the first time that I have read anything written by this author, and I was not disappointed. I will say that the novel was aptly named. this was a clever novel that I couldn't put down. I was so enthralled with the way the story was told and the characters were so well written. There is a point where I thought I understood what was happening or rather where it was going only to be shocked again. I recommend this book because it will not disappoint the readers. Thank You Net Galley ARC!

Oh, gosh, I loved this book! It was so creepy and included the paranormal in a totally believable way! I've always thought kids can be a little creepy sometimes, with news stories enforcing that image. But this! I felt so bad for all the characters—at first. Some ended up being deplorable and hateful. The shifting timelines worked well for this story and helped to give me understanding of this complicated plot. Bravo! I also love the title of this book—well played. Thank you to Pamela Dorman Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

When a book is compared to THE PUSH I truly can’t stay away. As a fan of mommy-noir/psychological suspense I had high expectations going into CLEVER LITTLE THING.

After the death of the family nanny a mother has growing concerns that her neurodivergent daughter has unexpected behavioral changes. What started off as a fantastic premise morphed into an unsettling story that went into a direction that I hoped it wouldn’t go.. I can certainly read dark books, and I also appreciate “weird” books, but it appears that the combination of dark + weird within the same story is too much for me.

Additionally, as a parent of a neurodivergent child the way that the daughter was represented hit me the wrong way. Admittedly, I may be sensitive to characters that present with Autism and how they are portrayed in fiction, but it didn’t work for me here.

I appreciate the opportunity to be an early reader and I hope this story will resonate with others!

RATING: 3/5
PUB DATE: January 14, 2015

A complicated look at motherhood. I really couldn't grasp where this book was going, and I am not 100%sure I do even after it ended. I was entertained the entire book thought it was well paced
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC

*Due out January 14!

This is one of those times that I wish the blurb was less informative, because I think I'd like to have gone into it blind, but also one of those times where that information about the direction the story is headed does nothing to ease the heavy queasy feeling you get when reading it.

Charlotte is pregnant with a second daughter after multiple losses. She and her husband hire Blanka to help Charlotte get the rest she needs to help bring her pregnancy to term, while also finding an outlet for their daughter Stella. Stella is weird and wonderful, highly intelligent and uncomfortable with closeness.

When Blanka abruptly quits and is later found dead, Charlotte notices that Stella begins to take on several of Blanka's mannerisms. Charlotte's worry and attempts to reach her child are so distressing. Does she need more rest, or is her daughter possessed? It seems that she's the only one who can tell that her daughter has changed. As her pregnancy nears its end, Charlotte has to decide who she can trust, as Stella becomes less and less herself.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Viking | Pamela Dorman Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Clever Little Thing is just that. A clever story written in a way that completely submerges the reader, confuses them and brings it home with a shocking conclusion.

Charlotte and her husband have a daughter, 8 year old Stella and are expecting their second child. Stella is an unusually bright child, perhaps a genius. Until recently, Stella was watched by Blanka, the family babysitter. Blanka has unfortunately died (off page, prior to the story’s start). When Stella starts to exhibit Blanka’s mannerisms things start to get weird.

Charlotte becomes engrossed in what could be happening to her daughter, even going so far as to befriend Blanka’s mother to find answers. I was right with Charlotte all the way down the rabbit hole.

This story is nearly impossible to put down with a culmination that is explosive! It brings what is, what was and what could have been to the table for a final analysis.

My only critique is that the reader has to be willing to suspend their disbelief for some of the elements that were a bit unbelievable but if they can do that they are in for one wild and entertaining story.

This book is like... it's like if you took The Push and put it in a bottle and then violently shook the bottle until it was crazy.

Charlotte is questioning everything she knows about her daughter after the sudden death of their babysitter. Stella is a highly sensitive child who tends to react in strong ways, and when she begins to take on character traits of her former babysitter, Charlotte isn’t sure what to think. She becomes convinced that she must save Stella and discover what’s happened to her daughter.

This is definitely a page turning read! I couldn’t decide which character I would agree with and was constantly changing my mind about what I thought was going on. Many of the characters are not likable, including Charlotte, which adds to the mystery and their untrustworthiness. I wasn’t sure I liked the resolution of the story and the final pages completely changed my mind with a powerful ending. Overall, if you enjoyed psychological books like The Push, you will really enjoy this one.

Thank you to Helena Echlin and Penguin Viking books for the arc and opportunity to be an early reader and reviewer.

When I finished this book last night, I was unsure how I was going to rate it. I had a bit of a "Really? THAT'S what we were working towards?" feeling. However, in thinking about it this morning, I have more appreciation for how Echlin took a popular trope in thrillers right now (is the mom going crazy or is the kid evil?) and 1) did it well, making the MC feel real; and 2) gave us a whiff of the paranormal in a very clever (ha!) and not over-the-top kind of way. I think readers will enjoy this and have a lot to talk about!

Charlotte knows her daughter Stella and something has changed ever since their babysitter died. As she gets closer to the truth, people around her...her husband, friends think she is going crazy. A tense thriller with an ending that smacks you in the face.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a honest opinion.

I’m thinking 2.5 ★ This has so much potential. I liked the unique characters and dual timelines in this the most. I just felt like this was extremely similar to something else I’ve read so it wasn’t hard to predict the twists. The story didn’t seem to pick up until I was about 76% of the way in. It didn’t deliver for me, however it might for fans of THE PUSH.

If you enjoyed The Push by Ashley Audrain, you may enjoy Clever Little Thing. Both books are dark, psychological thrillers about mothers and their children. Echlin’s book started slow, but it kept my interest, and I finished reading it quickly.
I picked up the book because other readers enjoyed the twists and turns and I love to be surprised. Instead, I found the story to be predictable. I don’t think I am the target audience because I’m not generally interested in the speculative elements in books, and that aspect didn’t resonate with me. I do recommend this for readers who are interested in creepy stories about families.
My thanks to NetGalley for an Advanced Readers Copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in any way.