Little Mercies
Sometimes, one small mistake can have life-altering consequences…As a veteran social worker, Ellen Moore has seen it all - the vilest acts one person can commit against another. The only thing that gets her through the workday is knowing her job helps children. That, and her family: her husband, Adam, and three beautiful kids, twins Leah and Lucas, and eleven-month-old Avery. But with a blink of an eye - with one small mistake - Ellen is suddenly at the mercy of the system she works for. Avery is ripped from her clutches, and her whole world begins crashing down around her.Meanwhile, ten-year-old Jenny Briard has been living with her well-meaning but good-for-nothing father since her mother left them. When her father decides to pack their belongings and move to a new state, Jenny thinks she might be on the road to a better life. But soon she finds herself on her own, forced to survive with nothing but a few dollars and her street smarts. Evading police and the social system, Jenny finds refuge with a kind-hearted waitress. The last thing she needs is a social worker, but when Ellen and Jenny's lives collide unexpectedly, little do they know just how much they can help one another.Praise for Heather Gudenkauf:‘This will have you gripped until the last page’ – Closer‘Deeply moving and lyrical’ – Company‘A memorable read’ – Sunday Express‘totally gripping’ – Marie Claire‘Set to become a bookclub staple’ – The Guardian'Fans of Jodi Picoult will devour this' - Red'Gudenkauf’s prose is searingly raw… Thrilling and emotionally tender, this novel, with its driving pace, will appeal to fans of…Jodi Picoult.' - Booklist‘This gripping novel is moving and thought-provoking’ -Heat‘Emotionally-charged’ -My Weekly
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In her latest ripped-from-the-headlines tour de force, New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf shows how one small mistake can have life-altering consequences…
Veteran social worker Ellen Moore has seen the worst side of humanity—the vilest acts one person can commit against another. She is a fiercely dedicated children’s advocate and a devoted mother and wife. But one blistering summer day, a simple moment of distraction will have repercussions that Ellen could never have imagined, threatening to shatter everything she holds dear, and trapping her between the gears of the system she works for.
Meanwhile, ten-year-old Jenny Briard has been living with her well-meaning but irresponsible father since her mother left them, sleeping on friends’ couches and moving in and out of cheap motels. When Jenny suddenly finds herself on her own, she is forced to survive with nothing but a few dollars and her street smarts. The last thing she wants is a social worker, but when Ellen’s and Jenny’s lives collide, little do they know just how much they can help one another.
A powerful and emotionally charged tale about motherhood and justice, Little Mercies is a searing portrait of the tenuous grasp we have on the things we love the most, and of the ties that unexpectedly bring us together.
‘Brilliantly constructed, this will have you gripped until the last page…’
—Closer
‘Deeply moving and lyrical…it will haunt you all summer’
—Company
5 stars: ‘Gripping and moving’
—Heat
‘Her technique is faultless, sparse and simple, and is a masterclass in how to construct a thriller… A memorable read…A technical triumph’
—Sunday Express
‘It’s totally gripping…’
—Marie Claire
‘Tension builds as family secrets tumble from the closet’
—Woman & Home
‘Set to become a book group staple’
—The Guardian
‘Deeply moving and exquisitely lyrical, this is a powerhouse of a debut novel.’
—Tess Gerritsen, No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author
‘Fans of Jodi Picoult will devour this great thriller.’
—Red Magazine
‘Heart-pounding suspense and a compelling family drama come together to create a story you won’t be able to put down. You’ll stay up all night long reading. I did!’
—Diane Chamberlain, bestselling author of The Midwife’s Confession
‘A great thriller, probably the kind of book a lot of people would choose to read on their sun loungers. It will appeal to fans of Jodi Picoult.’
—Radio Times
‘A real page-turner’
—Woman’s Own
HEATHER GUDENKAUF is the critically acclaimed and New York Times bestselling author of The Weight of Silence,These Things Hidden and One Breath Away. Her debut novel, The Weight of Silence, was picked for The TV Bookclub. She lives in Iowa with her family.
Read more about Heather and her novels at www.HeatherGudenkauf.com.
Also by Heather Gudenkauf
THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE
THESE THINGS HIDDEN ONE BREATH AWAY
Little Mercies
Heather
Gudenkauf
For my brothers and sisters
Contents
Praise for Heather Gudenkauf
When people find out what I do for a living their first question is always about the most horrendous case of child abuse I’ve encountered. I can be at a backyard barbecue or at a New Year’s Eve party or in the waiting room at the dentist’s office, or my husband’s baseball game. You must see so much, they say, shaking their heads, lips pursed in something like empathy, like I was the one who might have endured the beatings, the burns, the torrents of hateful words. Of course I don’t share any details about my clients and their families. So much has been stripped from the children that stagger in and out of my orbit; the very least I can do is honor their privacy. Come on, people urge, tell me. It’s bad, isn’t it? Like I’m dangling some salacious gossip in front of them. Like I’m keeping mum because I don’t want to offend their tender ears, upset their perfectly ordered worlds where all children are touched with gentle hands, spoken to with loving words and tucked warmly into beds with full stomachs.
Close your eyes, I once told the shortstop’s mother and she did, almost quivering in anticipation of the gory details. She nodded in compliance, cocking her head in my direction, preparing for what I will reveal next. Will I tell her about Mariah Crane, the seven-year-old whose mother held her head under water until there was no chance that her damaged brain could ever catch up with her growing body? Or will I tell them about the twins? Everyone has heard about the Twin Case, as it’s still known. Everyone wants to know more about the twins.
Now imagine the vilest things that can be done to a human being, I say. I let her think about this for a moment and I can see the slight spasm of revulsion skitter across her face. That’s what I’ve seen. She opens one eye to see if I’ll say anything else. But that’s all I have for her.
