Little Girls

By: Ronald Malfi

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

From Bram Stoker Award nominee Ronald Malfi comes a brilliantly chilling novel of childhood revisited, memories resurrected, and fears reborn.

When Laurie was a little girl, she was forbidden to enter the room at the top of the stairs. It was one of many rules imposed by her cold, distant father. Now, in a final act of desperation, her father has exorcised his demons. But when Laurie returns to claim the estate with her husband and 10-year-old daughter, it's as if the past refuses to die. She feels it lurking in the broken moldings, sees it staring from an empty picture frame, hears it laughing in the moldy greenhouse deep in the woods.

At first Laurie thinks she's imagining things. But when she meets her daughter's new playmate, Abigail, she can't help but notice her uncanny resemblance to another little girl who used to live next door...who died next door. With each passing day, Laurie's uneasiness grows stronger, her thoughts more disturbing. Like her father, is she slowly losing her mind? Or is something truly unspeakable happening to those sweet little girls?

©2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2015 Blackstone Audio

Subtle Literary Horror

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I would recommend Little Girls to anyone who wants a suspense-filled descent into possible madness. It kept me listening far into the night, and I had to keep my feet under the sheets to keep monsters from grabbing my ankles.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Little Girls?

Exceptional narration: Toward the end, in the greenhouse scene, the narrator's voice changed to match the character's voice and creeped me out! That's all I'll say so that I don't give too much away.

Which scene was your favorite?

I won't mention any one scene, but I loved the subtle foreshadowing and the equally subtle "literary" turn of phrase.

Any additional comments?

I'll be looking for Malfi's other books!

Okay...not great

The story held my interest for the first handful of chapters. But I began to get tired of listening to the main female character whine on and on. Yes, there are reason why she'd be a sullen, paranoid adult..but, get a grip! It didn't help that the narrator's character voices were ridiculous. Although she did manage to voice a convincing child-like character. The ending made me angry. I felt short-changed after making it to the last chapter. It was an okay story....but, one could fast-forward through quite a bit and not miss a beat.

Long

This was a good scary story but I was a bit long. A few times I got lost in the story not quite able to follow it but It was brought back and all came together in the end. Sometimes thing do come back.

Love it

Love it couldn't put it down. Made the hair on my neck stand on end.

Unfortunate choice of narrorator

The narrorator's performance is why I did not give this book 5 stars. I understand the performance aspect of a narrorator wanting to enhance a story with inflection in their voice in attempts to bring the story to life. However, this narrorator took away from the story with the little girl's voice sounding like a high pitched petulant 2 year old instead of a 10 year old child. The primary female character always sounded breathless and inept. Also, the female narrorator's deep gruff attempts of sounding like a male were just as ridiculous. I will avoid works by this narrorator.

Good ghost story

I love Malfi’s works, and this is no different. I really enjoyed the storyline. The only issue I had was that the character Susan was supposed to be a ten year old, but came off much younger. Not sure whether it was the way she was written or the performance. Overall a very good book. I don’t scare easy, and this did not scare me.

Just okay

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I like the book and the story but the ending was abrupt and not an actual ending. Is there a second book? Is that what happened?

Who was your favorite character and why?

Sadie/Abigail. Gotta love a creepy kid homicidal maniac

What didn’t you like about Cassandra Campbell’s performance?

Her voice for her daughter. Have you met a 10/11 year old before? Why does it sound like you wanted her to be 4 years old?

Could you see Little Girls being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Maybe a lifetime movie...

Great narration

I enjoyed this enough to write a review. The narrator does a great job separating characters and narration. The story is interesting and has some good twists.

It's over?? What?

I kind of feel cheated on the ending & maybe the whole story. I don't recommend.

good characters good story

I very much enjoyed this audiobook. It crept up, got under my skin and squirmed around. very good characters. very good story. the reader was a perfect match for the material. I will certainly listen to it again some day, and I will keep my eye peeled for other Ronald Malfi titles.