A01=Helena Echlin
Ashley audrain
Author_Helena Echlin
best thrillers 2024
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crime and mystery
crime thriller
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Elizabeth day
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Product details
- ISBN 9781035421510
- Weight: 250g
- Dimensions: 128 x 196mm
- Publication Date: 29 Jan 2026
- Publisher: Headline Publishing Group
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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A MOTHER KNOWS HER CHILD BEST. DOESN'T SHE?
'Brilliant and creepy, I wolfed it down! One of my favourite reads of 2025' LISA JEWELL
Charlotte's daughter, Stella, is sensitive and brilliant - perhaps even a genius - but after the sudden death of her babysitter, Blanka, the once disruptive and anti-social child has become docile and agreeable. And what's more unsettling is that she has begun to mirror Blanka's personality, from her accent and repetitive phrases to fierce cravings for Armenian meat stew after being raised a vegetarian.
Charlotte is pregnant with her second child, depleted and sick, and convinced that Blanka herself is somehow responsible for Stella's transformation. But how could Blanka still be entwined in their lives?
As Charlotte becomes increasingly obsessed, it's clear her husband believes this is all in her head and soon, Charlotte is convinced she is the only one who can save her daughter.
Told through a singular, chilling voice, Clever Little Thing holds light to the blurred lines of diagnosis in children and to the vital power of maternal instinct. Kaleidoscopic and tense, pulse-pounding and genuinely creepy, this is an ode to motherhood and a page-turner that will haunt readers long after its epic finale.
'Compelling and creepy' ASHLEY ELSTON
'An eerie, twisty story of a mother trying to protect her daughter' TRACY SIERRA
'Perfectly unnerving' ASHLEY AUDRAIN
'Unsettling in the best way' MARY KUBICA
'Incredibly moving, tense, and deliciously creepy' ASHLEY TATE
Discover for yourself why readers can't get enough of CLEVER LITTLE THING:
'CLEAR YOUR CALENDARS for January. You will be doing nothing but devouring this absolutely breathtaking page-turner of a book. Think THE PUSH - on steroids' Reader Review, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'The best psychological thriller I've read this year!' Reader Review, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'Clear your calendar because this one is impossible to put down. I devoured it in one sitting' Reader Review, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'If you enjoy bingeable psychological thrillers, pick this one up . . . it deserves all the praise' Reader Review, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'Clever Little Thing explores the complexity of mother-daughter relationships with a supernatural twist . . . a phenomenal read, one that I didn't want to put down' Reader Review, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'A must read . . . a book that I will tell everyone about!' Reader Review, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Helena Echlin has written for numerous publications on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Guardian and The Times. She taught at Stanford University for eight years and has recently returned to the UK, where she now teaches fiction writing for Oxford University's Department of Continuing Education. She lives in Oxfordshire with her husband and two children.
