All the Little Things by Sarah Lawton

★★★☆☆

The scissors against the backdrop of a bright orange cover caught my attention in one of the Bookbub email round-ups I receive.

I downloaded Sarah Lawton’s debut novel, a psychological thriller revolving around a mother and daughter, to save for a time I was in the mood for a twisty read.

This mood recently struck and I plucked All the Little Things from my TBR shelf.

Vivian is Rachel’s 15-year-old daughter. With a group of friends she hangs out with and an interest in exploring her sexuality, Vivian seems like your typical teenager. And, Rachel seems like a loving, albeit distant mom, who is too wrapped up in her own thoughts to notice just how different Vivian is from her peers. The two start accumulating secrets until things start to unravel.

At first, I struggled to connect with this one because of the pacing and the structure. The book is an incredibly slow burn, told in alternating POVs. I typically enjoy alternating POVs, but the way chapters covering Vivian’s and Rachel’s past in London were randomly interspersed, created a disconnected feeling.

I also found it hard to relate to any of the characters. I couldn’t understand any of their behaviors, nor could I figure out where the story was going.

It wasn’t until I was about halfway through that I started to feel any investment in the story. Once Alex and Rachel meet, the story picks up and gets really interesting. I was pulled in by the secrets and deceit and wanted to know how the story ended.

As frustrating as it was at the beginning and in the middle, I was glad I saw this one through to the end.

I recommend this one if you enjoy thrillers that revolve around mothers and daughters and don’t mind a story taking its time to unfold.