Little Monsters

By: Adrienne Brodeur

Narrated by: Jason Culp, Matt Pittenger, Cassandra Campbell, Joy Osmanski, Allyson Ryan, Sura Siu

A National Bestseller!

“Juicy…simmers with tension as secrets explode out into the open.” —The Washington Post * “So alluring…I raced happily through the pages.” —The New York Times Book Review * “Compulsively readable.” —Vogue * “An absolutely captivating read.” —Elin Hilderbrand

From the author of the bestselling memoir Wild Game comes a riveting novel about Cape Cod, complicated families, and long-buried secrets.

Ken and Abby Gardner lost their mother when they were small and they have been haunted by her absence ever since. Their father, Adam, a brilliant oceanographer, raised them mostly on his own in his remote home on Cape Cod, where the attachment between Ken and Abby deepened into something complicated—and as adults their relationship is strained. Now, years later, the siblings’ lives are still deeply entwined. Ken is a successful businessman with political ambitions and a picture-perfect family and Abby is a talented visual artist who depends on her brother’s goodwill, in part because he owns the studio where she lives and works.

As the novel opens, Adam is approaching his seventieth birthday, staring down his mortality and fading relevance. He has always managed his bipolar disorder with medication, but he’s determined to make one last scientific breakthrough and so he has secretly stopped taking his pills, which he knows will infuriate his children. Meanwhile, Abby and Ken are both harboring secrets of their own, and there is a new person on the periphery of the family—Steph, who doesn’t make her connection known. As Adam grows more attuned to the frequencies of the deep sea and less so to the people around him, Ken and Abby each plan the elaborate gifts they will present to their father on his birthday, jostling for primacy in this small family unit.

Set in the fraught summer of 2016, Little Monsters is a “smart, page-flipping novel…[with] shades of Succession” (The Boston Globe) from a writer who knows Cape Cod inside and out—its Edenic lushness and its snakes.

Critic reviews

"Jason Culp is authoritative and sharp-elbowed as patriarch Adam, even as that character battles personal demons. Matt Pittenger captures son Ken's arrogance and insecurities with deft vocal nuances. Cassandra Campbell's Abby veers into a plaintive tone as she copes with her father's and brother's demands. Joy Osmanski and Allyson Ryan portray secondary characters, but their performances are equally convincing; both narrators are no-nonsense and confident in their respective deliveries."

Lovely story and great readers

Adrienne Brodeur is a wonderful writer - a lovely story with well drawn characters and strong sense of place. I didn’t want it to end!!!

Great family drama

Knowable characters, mystery involved enfolded in the mystery of what makes us family in this century on the backdrop of women thinking we are on the cusp of something great for womankind. There's a lot more there in the subtle folds and shadows and themes of this story than the story itself. Great writing and introduction of an imagination like Ann Patchett and even Pat Conroy in her ability to articulate "family" and make it him like whale song.

Tedious, tendentious conclusion

The narrative is compelling, the characters’ tribulations credible, and the readers are wonderful. Four of us on a car ride listened for hours with great pleasure. But the novel has a didactic line that expands over time, but nothing prepared us for the ending. And, as sympathetic as I am with Brodeur’s politics, I think that in the concluding episode she let politics overwhelm the characters’ storylines, and I could barely force myself to listen to the end.

Interesting story

Great character development,told very
we’ll and performed by a good
reader. An enjoyable story that
was unique but believable.

Wow

Full of life
Enjoyed each character from start to finish
Looking for others by this author