With a killer twist I didn’t spot from a mile away, Little Voices is a catchy political/white-collar crime thriller about a woman who’s recently given birth and is determined to find her friend’s murderer. There are some huge topics here for books clubs—postpartum depression, money laundering, white collar crime—as well as a strong female protagonist who is intensely unreliable, all wrapped up in a surprising plot that blew me away. Lillie is definitely an author to watch!

From my blog: Always With a Book:

It's no surprise that I love a good psychological thriller, but when you read so many, it's hard to find one that sticks out, one that you can say held you on the edge of your seat the entire time. Luckily I can without a doubt, say that Vanessa Lillie's debut novel...I repeat, debut novel... does just that.

What I loved most about this book is that it captures so many different emotions. It was so easy to feel all that Devon was going through throughout the story - the whole spectrum of emotions that she went through. It is completely relatable and understandable, yet it also gives you that sense that just maybe she isn't quite reliable and so that question niggles in your mind as to whether you can totally trust her. She is a deeply flawed character, yet that makes her so compelling.

I also loved that Devon is so driven to solve the murder of her friend despite going through her own issues. She has severe postpartum depression and it is manifesting as voices in her head. You could feel her anxiety as she was working this case; she desperately wanted to get to the bottom of it, but it was trying for her, being out in certain situations. And what a case it turned out to be. This was definitely not a run-of-the-mill murder by any means.

I loved that this book kept me guessing all the way through. I kept thinking I had figured out who the killer was, only to find out my guess was way off when new information was uncovered during Devon's investigation. This definitely kept me on my toes and eager to see how it would all play out.

I cannot recommend this book enough. It totally consumes you and once you start reading it, you will be hard-pressed to put it down. I loved that not only were there a few twists that took me by surprise, but there was one final shock that totally shook me! I am still flabbergasted that this is a debut novel...Vanessa Lillie is most definitely going on my list of must-read authors! I cannot wait to see what she writes next!!!

“Little Voices” by Vanessa Lillie

What an eye-catching cover! I love the shades of blue. I think it will stand out on a bookshelf and catch anyone’s eye!

“Little Voices” is the first book for Author Vanessa Lillie and she nailed it! This is Psychological Suspense at its finest. My fingers are crossed that I am invited to review her second book, coming out Fall, 2020. I don’t know anything about it, but after reading this one, I think it’s guaranteed to be great!-Green Gables Book Reviews

Devon and Belina have developed an easy friendship with conversation and companionship. Belina is the Nanny for Devon’s friend, Alec, and Devon gets to enjoy time with his son, Emmett, when they are together, seeing him grow and play. Devon never would have thought that the last time she and Belina were together would have been the last time she would have gotten to be with her friend. Because while Devon was at the hospital having an emergency C-section, Belina was murdered.

Devon is struggling. Struggling with recovery from her emergency surgery, struggling with the death of her friend, with being a Mothers weeks before shows ready, she hasn’t slept and she is not thriving as new Mom. When she starts to hear little voices that seem to know all of her insecurities, she knows they are not real, but they seem so real. Then, she finds out Alec, her long time friend, has been accused of Belina’s murder. This calls to her and she knows she must go back to her roots as an Attorney and help to clear his name.

But, will clearing Alec’s name be as easy as she thought? Are the voices in her head something she should listen to? Can Devon keep her husband, their baby, and herself safe during the investigation? And, can Devon keep herself safe from the Little Voices she keeps hearing?

So well done! Read this book! 5 STARS!

Little Voices, Vanessa Lillie, Thomas and Mercer, Psychological Suspense, October 1, 2019 Review by Green Gables Book Reviews

Little Voices is an excellent book. The book is about a women named Devony or Devon who after having a “baby” (no spoilers) finds herself investigating a murder of her friend and the number one suspect is another friend. The book is really interesting in that the author goes into great detail about what being an expectant mother is like as well as becoming a new mother. I think a lot of parents or parents to be will highly relate to this book and can appreciate a lot of the experiences that Devony had with being a new mother. In addition, Devony is a great character and as the story is being told she keeps having self doubts about the person she but she continues fighting on. This book involves crime, love, sex, politics, justice which makes it enjoyable for all readers.
📕📕📕
Devon hits many stumbling blocks during her investigation of the various characters in the books and every time she thinks she has it figured out a new clue emerges that changes her direction. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and really think you will too. Go buy this book!

As I have followed the #DebutAuthors19 hashtag on Twitter throughout this year, this was one of the books I have been most excited about getting my hands on. Vanessa Lillie is super-cool and was kind enough to send me a copy on NetGalley. This thriller brings some exciting new twists to the genre - most notably, that it deals with financial and legal conspiracies while also probing women's issues. I often see stereotypes in the genre, that women are dealing with domestic issues like family, relationships, etc. and the men are the ones handling the big stuff. Lillie's protagonist, Devon, handles the big stuff and more. After nearly dying during childbirth, Devon must push aside the voices in her head to raise her new baby while also investigating the death of her best friend, Belina. Belina was involved in some shady corners of Providence, Rhode Island, and while Devon doesn't need to look into the murder - she's not a cop or detective - she can't stop herself. Her legal and financial background gives her the tools to solve the case, and despite her husband's wish for her to stop, she persists. There is so much in this book - Devon has a dark past of her own, and there are some wild and breathtaking twists. I also loved that no one in this story is fully good or fully evil - it's impossible to tell who's guilty of the murder, because every one of them is guilty in some way.

4.5 stars!

I had just been complaining about mysteries/thrillers ending too abruptly with too many unanswered questions and then I read Little Voices by Vanessa Lillie. WOW what a breath of fresh air.

A stunning g debut, where murder mystery meets politics, thriller. Devon Burges may be one of the most well-developed characters in a book I've read in awhile. As the chapters progressed we learned more about the voice inside her head. Is this her own internal monologue or something much bigger?

I was continually surprised as I flipped each page and every time I thought I had something figured out, I was surprised again.

I've noted this before but I really love how reading educates me on topics I may not of learned about until later. Little Voices highlights postpartum depression, which I found to be so important because as a society we don't talk about it much or the horrors of pregnancy, child birth, etc.

If this wasn't a debut, I'd be searching for other books by Vanessa Lillie!

This IS a debut yeah?
Crickey it’s just so dam well written that you wouldn’t know.

You get a lot more from this read than you will ever bargain for, a lot more and then some.

The main character being Devon. A very well developed character and well rounded that you can’t help but be pulled into her life.

It’s a political thriller come mystery. I got drawn into all what was happening, the money laundering, the death of her best friend, and got used to the italics surrounding Devon, the little voices, the negative voices. The author had me fooled until quite later.

Don’t be mistaken, definitely don’t be mislead as this story impacts a lot on family and family secrets too. Corruption and lies.

Dark secrets from Devon’s past emerge slowly shockingly taking me to a whole new level.



And I got to learn more about postpartum depression too. I had heard of it, but not it’s impact so much.

Mystery/legal thrillers, this may be what some will think it’s about, but, I can’t express more than to say there’s a heap loads of “stuff” just grabbing you into this story. I lost myself between the pages many a time as the clock was ticking towards my bedtime but I was reluctant to put the story down.

Not once did it lag, not once was this a chore to pick up, I was eager for the next chapter, then the next.

If I hadn’t had known this was a debut novel I’d easily be seeking out what else she had written, so, I’m really eager to see what the author comes up with next.

I’m so glad Ludwig and I are connected as book lovers on social media. He was reading this and I just had to get my hands on a Copy.

I’ll remember this one for some time to come.

Highly recommend this to those who love thrillers, mystery, legal thrillers and family drama thrown in and definitely in tune with factual things.

This is a new author you need to consider.
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Devon Burges is investigating murder charges against an old college buddy. She’s also suffering severe postpartum symptoms as she tries to readjust to her new roles and realities. She'll use her professional skills of detecting financial fraud to follow the clues, but this isn’t a professional matter, it’s personal. Alec’s been arrested for the killing of his nanny, one of Devon’s good friends.

Debut author Vanessa Lillie is new to the publishing world, but she writes like she was born to do it. Lillie has taken the standard crime novel and added several fresh angles. I often pride myself on picking up clues to the surprise suspense twist early on in a novel, but I did not see this resolution coming at all.

A huge thank you to the author for gifting me a NetGalley copy to read and review. This surefire hit doesn’t pub until October (full review in the fall), but put it on your radar now.