#BlogTour-‘Lovely Little Things’ by Maureen Joyce Connolly

Huge thanks to the publishers and author for having me on the blog tour, it is much appreciated! I always love shouting about books, especially debuts like this….

About the book…

A mother’s chance decision leads to a twist of fate that is every parent’s worst nightmare.

Claire Rawlings, mother of two and medical resident, will not let the troubling signs of an allergic reaction prevent her from making it in for rounds. But when Claire’s symptoms overpower her while she’s driving into work, her two children in tow, she must pull over. Moments later she wakes up on the floor of a gas station bathroom-her car, and her precious girls have vanished.

The police have no leads and the weight of guilt presses down on Claire as each hour passes with no trace of her girls. All she has to hold on to are her strained marriage, a potentially unreliable witness who emerges days later, and the desperate but unquenchable belief that her daughters are out there somewhere.

Little Lovely Things is the story of a family shattered by an unthinkable tragedy. Played out in multiple narrative voices, the novel explores how the lives of those affected fatefully intersect, and highlights the potential catastrophe of the small decisions we make every day

Thank you so much to publishers Sourcebooks for inviting me on the blogtour for this debut novel, and what a debut it is!
Perfect for fans of Jodi Piccoult and Diane Chamberlain, the worst happens to parent Claire, a stressed and vulnerable doctor in training,stopping at the nearest bathroom and experiencing every parent’s worst nightmare-her children are stolen.

It’s a moral dilemma, a race against time to find them and seering character study into attitudes and perceptions, how they are twisted and manipulated by outside sources such as the media.

Who , as a parent, hasn’t left a child unattended, for only a few seconds and something has happened? It’s horrible and guilt inducing and makes us more vigilant but there are things which happen that are beyond anyone’s control-fate or circumstance sometimes step in.

And when you cannot trust yourself, and no one around you trusts you, where do you turn? What do you do next? Who will fight your corner and how do you live with yourself when doubt is cast on every move?

What I really loved about this novel is that there are no easy answers, but also no heavy handed moralising. It’s a great story, well told, and rich in detail as mum, Claire, notices all the tiny things aboput her daughters as afterwards, that may be all she has to cling to…

Wishing huge success to Maureen and looking forward to seeing what she does next!

About the Author…

Maureen is a former owner of a consulting firm that helped specialty drug companies to develop medications for ultra-rare diseases. Maureen received her Bachelor’s degree in physiology from Michigan State University and her Master’s degree in Liberal Studies from Wesleyan University. Her background in science and love of the natural world informs and inspires her writing. LITTLE LOVELY THINGS is her debut as a novelist. She is also an award-winning poet, published in diverse outlets such as Emory University’s Lullwater Review and Yankee Magazine.

Maureen is a foodie and appreciates interesting recipes. She also enjoys painting (especially flowers and sycamore trees), competing in races with her dragon boat team (Go Fierce)!, and reading (of course). She relishes spending time with her three children, her husband and her pets; a ridiculous terrier named Huckleberry, and a plump orange cat, Pumpkin.

Links-https://maureenjconnolly.com/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1492672491/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=x_gr_w_bb_uk-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=6738

Twitter @MConnollyAuthor

@Sourcebooks