Devon desperately wants to know who killed her friend Belina but she's also struggling with breastfeeding and life as a new mother. The murder mystery was more convoluted than interesting but Devon is an intriguing character.

This was a very original book, but also so unnerving it was hard to get through. Breastfeeding was hard the first time around, this book would have really gotten to me at that time.

Big nope. I felt like this book was promising but I could not fathom another book about someone with mental illness and breastfeeding. I am all for breastfeeding but woah! I don’t need to hear about it every other page. I was disappointed. It took me awhile to finish it but I did and it was terrible

Little Voices tells the story of Devon as she maneuvers through new motherhood with her premature baby and finding out one of her dearest friends has been murdered. Can Devon get to the bottom of things and solve her friends murder?

I really enjoyed this book. It took me down a road I was not expecting and was intrigued the whole time. I loved the other voice in Devon's head that kept telling her she was doing a terrible job. I feel like everyone has a voice inside that tells them they are sucking but I just can't fathom having that voice attack you for how you are as a mother. I was invested in the story from the beginning and it kept my interest! There were parts where I lost interest a little bit with the politics of some of the big players but, for the most part, this was an intriguing read that I loved!

Devon, a new mother with the successful lawyer career under her belt, is driven with her inner sense for justice - and her inner demons. Both of these factors make her a suitable person to find who has murdered her friend Belina - or maybe a candidate for straitjacket or even prison time for her unorthodox investigation methods. With her baby in her hands, armed by unique combination of knowledge and experience, she goes after the possible killer candidates, only to find how much she really does not know about the people in her life.

Very well written thriller debut! Impressive how all the motives come together at the end!

In reality I did not care much about Belina's murder (too full of political and financial machinations and I have had not any connection with Belina, who dies at the very start of the novel), but I was able to connect with Devon well. Maybe because we all can have the little voices in our heads in certain moments, whispering about our unworthiness. And Devon fights her past and her present problems. Yes, she is having issues and she knows - but she will not stop. Which makes her for a compelling heroine.
But, at the end, I realize that some subplots might really be the red herrings to make the finale revelations having even greater impact - and the ways all the knowledge come together are very smart!

Unfortunately this book and I did not gel. In the beginning, I really liked the premise and the way the author introduced her main character, but the inner voices became very repetitive and jarring after a while. I put it down a few times and tried again, but ended up not finishing. Just not a good fit for me, possibly also related to the overall feeling of negativity it created for me, which was difficult to stomach in 2020.

Yeah, no. Unless you have some sort of breast-feeding fetish and are interested in every minute detail of the act, just skip this one.

This book was not for me. I felt it gave an unfair depiction of mental illness and the story simply was not at all believable.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. A full review will be posted on Amazon and Goodreads

While Devon is in critical condition during a high-risk birth, her friend Belina is murdered. After a lengthy recuperation, Devon ventures out of the house with Ester, her newborn, to visit her longtime friend, Alex. Belina was working as the nanny for Alex’s son when she was killed. When Devon learns Alex is the prime suspect in Belina’s murder she dives into an investigation, using all the skills she learned working as an attorney to try to dig up what really happened, or at least enough to point investigators away from Alex.

Devon’s efforts are complicated by new mother issues, like too little sleep and needing to schedule breaks to pump breast milk, as well as serious postpartum problems that include a cruel voice in her head.

Little Voices is fascinating, unnerving, devastatingly sad, and hopeful. I love that Devon has a brilliant mind and adores research. Devon’s a complex character with a lot of layers that the author exposes slowly throughout the book. There is a major reveal near the end which will shock some and not surprise others – I wasn’t surprised but that in no way altered my enjoyment of the book. The mystery was well-plotted and fast moving.

I recommend Little Voices to anyone who enjoys character-driven mysteries, suspense, or psychological thrillers. I’m looking forward to the author’s next book.

Content Warnings: SPOILERS postpartum depression; postpartum psychosis; rape; incest END SPOILERS

The opinions in this review are honest and my own. #LittleVoices #mystery #suspense

This book had me guessing what was going on . Very interesting plot. and characters were ok. I couldn't really say I loved it . It was slow in places so it lost me in areas.

Little Voices is a good book with a interesting twist. It has a interesting storyline and characters. I would read more by this author.

Devon finds out while in labor that her friend has been murdered. After a few months, she discovers that she is in possession of her friend's journal and wants to get to the bottom of what happened to her. She digs in deep and is in over her head with a spouse that is concerned for her. During the investigation, she consistently hears voices telling her things. I really loved the mystery and suspense in this novel and that it kept me guessing what was going on from beginning to end. Thanks for the ARC, Net Galley.

I did not like this book. The voices were CONSTANT. I started skipping those parts. It has become a struggle to find a good thriller that is actually a realistic thriller and not an author pulling every random thriller cliche out of their hat and cramming them all into one book whether they fit or not. Do not recommend.

After going into labor early and almost dying, Devony Burgess (she prefers the name Devon) isn’t content to simply heal, take care of a baby who cries all the time, and suffer from postpartum depression, the usual concerns of new mothers. Instead she becomes fixated on discovering who murdered a friend named Belina. But the cruel voices in her head may destroy her before she exposes either the murderer or the other men whose corruption she uncovers during her quest.

"Little Voices" is a complicated, tightly woven story of pain and self-destructiveness rather than a conventional whodunit or a thriller. Devon’s tenacity enabled her to rise above her “Kansas hayseed” origins and the dark secrets of her past, which include hearing the voice of God when she was a girl. Devon rationalizes her obsessiveness as an adjunct to fight or flight: her survival depends on focus. Readers might be excused for wondering whether that is true, as over and over she risks herself and her new baby in her pursuit of answers.

Over and over, Devon’s “tornado brain,” as one friend describes it, leads her into danger. Years earlier, as a lawyer in Washington, DC, she stalked men she believed were rapists, proving herself willing to step over the line for a righteous cause but nearly getting her disbarred. Her thirst for justice continued to drive her to take the law into her own hands when tasked with identifying and prosecuting fraud; Devon hacked accounts, leaked information to the press, and even resorted to blackmail. She understands on an intellectual level that becoming obsessed with Belina’s death may cause her to lose her husband, whose position in city government and political aspirations cannot survive another scandal. Yet her unswerving loyalty to friends forces her to keep pushing forward.

Even the voices in her head, which return after her brush with death—telling her she’s a terrible mother, wife, friend, employee, person—cannot discourage Devon from pursuing information that others are desperate to keep concealed. One after another, her theories about means, motive, and opportunity are disproven, until at last she untangles the lies and discovers the terrible secret Belina was hiding. Only then do readers learn what Devon has been keeping from us all along.

"Little Voices" carries the reader deep into Devon’s experience in this unique story.

AMAZING!!! Y'all… this book will keep you guessing until the very end. Seriously though I could not put this down for a long time because I HAD to know what was going to happen. I absolutely loved the main character and how her voice really shined throughout the whole story. Vanessa Lillie is fantastic! I cannot wait to read more from her.

I was curious to read this début novel - Little Voices - by new author, Vanessa Lillie as I liked the interesting premise and I love to read a good murder-mystery, psychological suspense thriller and political drama; here, I had all three in one fabulous story!

Devon Burges, a lawyer in a prestigious Rhode Island town, is in the throes of a difficult delivery when she learns that her close friend, Belina has been murdered. The police quickly name another friend as the main suspect, but Devon is not convinced—so despite her difficult recovery, she decides to investigate.

Later becoming something akin to a police procedural, several characters are introduced, motives are uncovered and I found myself right alongside Devon trying to figure out the identity of the culprit.

There are several clever twists and turns throughout the book and the reader is privy to snippets from Devon's past, both recent and in childhood. The plot flowed well with some satisfying twists and turns that helped to keep my interest. The author’s writing style was very appealing, brilliantly encapsulating the core of the scenes that I was visualising whilst reading. Vanessa Lillie’s special way with the prose made this complex and enthralling suspense story very unique to me.

Everything eventually comes together as the many threads in the story are neatly combined in a smooth, fulfilling and ultimately satisfying conclusion that was well worth the journey.

Overall, I’d say that Little Voices is a magnificent début. I will be looking out for more from Vanessa Lillie.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my complimentary copy of Little Voices. My honest review is entirely voluntary.

I received a digital advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very interesting read. It was very well written and had such strong characters. The story line was strong too! I did find it a little slow at times, but I did really enjoy it.

The plot kept me guessing and I loved the post partum depression representation in this book. It is a real thing that we need to be discussing more frequently. Despite dealing with a newborn and postpartum depression, the main character is such a strong woman!

THAT TWIST THOUGH! I did not see that coming at ALLLLLLL. I found myself going crazy not knowing who actually commited the murder. I kept piecing it together in my mind even when I was not reading.

Wonderful murder mystery and full of suspence and realism. Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to review this title.

A fantastic debut novel that kept me up till I finished it! I requested a ARC from Netgalley and was so excited that I got this book from KU before I was approved! I was so shocked and hooked by this book and it’s many relatable character real life issues I couldn’t put it down and read in almost a sitting ! I heard the many voices Abd was unsure of which of those were the real ones. I absolutely was shocked by the ending ( which is a delight to be for someone who loves suspense!) and I highly recommend this book to everyone! Totally amazing writing and I can’t wait to read more by this amazing author! Thank you amazon and Netgalley and the author and publisher for my copies! A must read thriller!

Wow! What an amazing debut thriller from the talented Vanessa Lillie!

I was drawn in from the moment I read the first the chapter. Devony Burges, who goes by devon, is 28 weeks and 1 day pregnant. Shes being rushed to the hospital, as she has started having contractions and bleeding. You can feel the terror and the emotions as the story is told. You can also gather that she is an organized perfectionists who has a thing for charts and lists. The chapter ends with Devony being put under anesthesia. As shes being put under, she hears on the radio that her friend has been found dead.
As the story continues, Devon is struggling as a new mother. Her baby is crying all the time and she has a voice in her head that is negative and demeaning. She allures to the fact that she went through a trauma as a child and this voice a nagging bully who seems determined to remind her of her past and what a horrible mother she thinks she is.

Devon then remembers that she has her murdered friend, Belinas, day planner. Devon is determined to get back to some sort of normal, to save her sanity and her marriage. She is determined to prove that the man accused is not the real killer, and to finding the person truly responsible. She goes into things with a biased, as the man accused is her longtime college friend who she cares deeply about. He also is the murdered women’s employer and possible lover.

Devon has a law degree and history working in DC investigating fraud cases. She is very analytical and organized. She is also known to get information by bending the rules, breaking the law, and obsessing over her cases. She makes some questionable moves in order to gain information. Her husband becomes increasingly worried about her health and safety as she digs deeper into the case and the dangerous people involved. He is wary about her getting to involved in the case and with his Uncle, who seems to be at the center of all she does.

She has a lot of anxiety in the beginning about her child, as any mother who almost lost their child would. She doesn’t let anyone hold, or even see, her child and keeps her in a wrap on her body at all times when shes out and about. As the plot thickens and becomes more intesnse, she seems to distance herself more and more. The voice continues to berate and belittle her and towards the end, she starts letting the voice get to her more and more.

I wont get into the ending to much, because WOW what a twist! I do not want to give anything away. I will say that I couldn’t put it down and I was completely shocked, which is a great feat, as that rarely happens for me. I give this book 5 stars for sure!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author Vanessa Lillie, the publisher Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

#thriller #vanessalillie #littlevoices #bloggersofinstagram #theawordbookreviews #thomas&mercer #netgalley