There are few things I love more in a thriller than creepy tales involving motherhood and children. When I saw this book compared to The Push by Ashley Audrain, I knew I needed to read it immediately. This book is a wild ride full of twists and turns. You feel uneasy reading because you never quite feel like you know which way it's going. It is a definite page turner for anyone who loves psychological thrillers!!

Charlotte's daughter Stella has always been a little different; however, after her babysitter Blanca dies suddenly Stella makes dramatic changes. Stella starts to act, write, and mirror Blanca's personality. Charlotte knows something is going on and with the help of Blanca's mother is trying desperately to figure out what it is before her next baby is born.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I had my thoughts about certain characters and definitely went back and forth about what I thought was happening. It was a quick read that kept me going and wanting to know what was going to happen next!

Thank you Helena Echlin, Pamela Dorman Books, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fun and interesting premise, but I wished it had more of a creepy vibe to it. It built up with possession and wrongful death to what should've been epic but fell short in that regard. Very similar to Ashley Audrain's The Push

OK friends, I have got THE psychological thriller for you!! If you love books like The Push, with a creepy child premise, strange happenings after a traumatic event, and a clever thought-provoking ending, then I can assure you that you’ll love this book as much as I did!

As a mom I empathized so much with Charlotte, who while pregnant, is desperately trying to figure out why her once incredibly bright, anti-social, very particular daughter has had a complete alteration of her personality. It was infuriating at times to witness those closest to Charlotte question her ability as a mother and disregard her major concerns. I was on the edge of my seat with anticipation of finding out what was going on with her daughter, Stella!

This is definitely a story about the lengths a mother will go to, to defend and help her child, even if that means questioning her own reality. There are several themes that are exceptionally layered into this story, such as grief, mental health, the nuances of motherhood and pregnancy, family dynamics, and generational trauma. It’s a book that will definitely stick with you but be prepared to suspend a bit of belief. Just go with it and I promise the ending will leave you stunned. If you enjoy audiobooks then I highly recommend that route. The narration was easy to listen to and kept me engaged and eager to continue listening.

•𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 •
+ read if you like other psych thrillers involving complex children, like The Push or Darling Girls
+ an introverted child and the sudden death of her nanny
+ a pregnant mother who’s determined to get answers about her daughter
+ eerie happenings
+ not all is what it seems
+ memorable characters & conclusion
+ Autistic Spectrum Disorder Rep
+ motherhood, pregnancy, mental health rep

𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: January 14, 2025
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Psychological Thriller • Mystery
𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭: Audio 🎧 (11h, 7m)
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫: Ashley Tucker
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ★★★★★ 𝟓
𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭: Obsessed!

✨Thank you so much PRHaudio, NetGalley, and Pamela Dorman for my #gifted ALC! 🎧

3.5/5 rounded up

Thank you Pamela Dorman Books for the advanced reading copy -- gifted to Thrillers By The Book MKE!

This one started out soooo strong, and while I did end up enjoying it, it lost steam in the middle for me. There were tons of fun twists and turns throughout and I found myself genuinely surprised at a few moments. That said, I just wanted a little more! Felt like we were building up and up and then just kinda flatlined. I still devoured this book and couldn’t put it down, but I left feeling very much like 🤷🏼‍♀️ that was solid — instead of how I wanted to feel 😲🫨🤯

Even still, this book was pretty quick to listen to and definitely entertaining! I think it will make for a great book club discussion this month!

Side note — while the narrator did a great job with the accents and portraying all the characters, I got soooo distracted hearing her swallow/breath/mouth sounds!!!!!! Gotta do something about that production for sure

Wow, I loved this. I wanted to finish it in 24 hours but life got in the way. I loved The Push and this had a similar feel. I don't know if I loved the end, but it was absolutely worth the ride. Oh yes!

Clever Little Things was unique, creative, and kept me extremely engaged to the end. I also found this book to be somewhat on the creepy side!

I didn't like this story. It was creepy but not in a way that I usually enjoy. I almost made it a dnf but decided to trudge on. I wish I had not. It just wasn't that good to me.

Thank you for the ARC.

This story wasn't for me. I didn't like the MC and thought that it was unlikely that she would have been able to have not had some medical person intervene to help her to understand that her child, and likely herself, was autistic.

Such a creepy read! Helena Echlin truly had me questioning myself! Is Charlotte telling the truth, or is she confused? Is Pete just a loving, supportive husband who's worried about his daughter's well-being, or is there something more sinister going on?

I love how the story takes place over a short period of time. The reader is thrown right into the middle of Charlotte's breakdown. We figure things out alongside a mother who knows something is off with her daughter, but no one will listen to her. The subject matter is serious, and the storytelling is riveting. Clever Little Thing is nothing short of a clever little story!

Read this if you like books with:
- ND rep
- mother daughter relationships
- struggles of motherhood
- psychological elements

Thank you NetGalley the publisher and author for the arc of this book.

The first 10% of this book sounded intriguing and kept me glued to the storyline, but it slowly started slipping downhill with the unnecessary backstory and the weird paranormal aspect. The audiobook narrator was bland and put me to sleep. I found myself fast forwarding through most of the book because the story was all over the place. With the far fetched plot, the unlikeable characters, and the drawn out story this book was a fail for me.

🔥 Book Review 🔥

Chilling, creepy, and unpredictable. Helena Echlin did a fabulous job portraying the complexities of motherhood. I would describe this novel as a mom drama with underlying tones of darkness and creepy vibes.

What I really enjoyed in this one was trying to understand the dynamics between Charlotte and her child Stella. Wondering is Stella possessed or is Charlotte having psychosis and a mental health episode or episodes?

Loved the themes of:

Child behaviors
Mystery and suspense
Mental health
Marriage/motherhood
Twists and unpredictability
Supernatural

I overall enjoyed this one but my only issue was the slow burn. I really struggle with slow burn anything haha.

I also felt it was missing something. I think if it had that final zing and twist for me I would have rated it higher.

3/5

Thank you for the publisher for my copy.

After seeing this book be compared to The Push, I was excited to get my eyes in it because I loved how disturbing that one was. This was not that. It started out fairly strong and then rapidly declined. The little girl on the spectrum, the chaotic expectant mother who can’t cope, the absentee dad and the kind of bizarre nanny who up and quits one day without explanation and then is found dead shortly thereafter. Soon they start noticing strange behavior in their daughter, who the mother is convinced is being possessed by the dead nanny. Yep, you read that right.
There are some trigger warnings as well including rape and it didn’t deliver the suspense I was looking for that The Push brought.
Maybe some will enjoy this but j was not one of them.
Thanks to Pamela Dorman Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

At first I worried this was going to be really similar to The Push, but it was different! I was on the edge of my seat and also super angry at the stupid husband!!

Clever Little Thing by Helena Echlin is one of the most unsettling, gripping psychological thrillers I’ve read in a long time. It’s eerie, thought-provoking, and impossible to put down.

Charlotte’s daughter, Stella, has always been different—brilliant, difficult, and socially awkward. But after their babysitter Blanka suddenly dies, Stella changes overnight. The tantrums stop. She becomes sweet, agreeable… but also eerily similar to Blanka. She mimics her speech, picks up her mannerisms, and even craves the same foods—ones she’s never eaten before.

Charlotte, exhausted from pregnancy and drowning in paranoia, becomes convinced that Blanka hasn’t really left—that she’s still here, inside Stella. But is this real, or is Charlotte losing her grip on reality? Her husband thinks she’s imagining things, but Charlotte knows one thing for sure: something is very, very wrong.

This book messes with your head in the best way. It’s psychological suspense with a hint of the supernatural, making you question everything. Is it possession? Trauma? Something even darker? If you love thrillers that blur the lines between reality and horror, dive into motherhood anxiety, and keep you turning pages late into the night, Clever Little Thing is a must-read. Haunting, tense, and unforgettable. 🔥📚✨

DNF at 52%
I tried reading this book on my kindle and on audio, unfortunately it just did not stick for me.

this just did not seem to have a fast enough plot line for my taste, I did not care about the characters.

Definitely creepy, twisty and odd. This was a slow burn, with a decent payoff although it takes quite a while to get there.

I never knew what to think or who to trust in this book, which usually makes for a good thriller. In this instance I was feeling more confusion than suspense the majority of the time. Maybe “possession” stories just aren’t for me.

The ending was layered and twisty and what you want in a thriller but I would have loved more of that vibe up front. I would classify this as a “family drama thriller” as it had elements of both.

All in all an average read, with much of what you would want in a thriller. Just didn’t go all the way for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.

This book had me full of intrigue right from the beginning, as the now and then timeline unravel and intricate web of errie vibes and secrets. So much is going on in the novel complete with an unreliable narrator. At times you just don’t know who to trust and what “story” is actually happening. Mysterious and sometimes supernatural. Vibes get your mind thinking crazy things. The author pulled this book together so well and the ending tied everything up so well! This is definitely one I’d recommend

Thank you Pamela Dorman Books for this gifted finished copy!

“Every mother goes a little bit crazy in her own particular way.”

Clever Little Thing delicately balances the line of horror, thriller and paranormal suspense. It is easily one of the most unique books I’ve read. Think Orphan or Ashley Audrain’s The Push. But bump it up a notch.

Despite me being on the edge of my seat, there was also an endearing side to this book. Stella is autistic. Wild, free from the confines of society’s expectations. Bright. Full. Bold. That can be difficult, but there is a special love and acceptance that comes with having a child with autism. Stella reminded me of my five year old. Firm and stubborn in his preferences. Self assured in his field of hyperfixation. And I saw myself in Charlotte, fiercely protecting her child so she could continue to be her authentic self without any sense of masking.

Some days will break your soul. That’s parenthood. But it feels like the burden is heavier some days when your child is different. Some days I, too, wish for a quiet and pliable child who does what I ask them the first time, and without a complete meltdown. But when you see your beautiful and bright child change, some days you start hoping for the defiance and the meltdowns to return. Mother knows best, and Charlotte definitely notices when Stella isn’t her usual self.

Clever Little Thing is equal parts trying to solve this mystery of what freaky thing is going on, while deeply soul searching and staying true to your instincts. It worked. It was thought provoking and made me emotional at times. It was a deeply layered and intelligent book, and I truly could not look away from its pages. You’re going to want to read this one.