Review--Little Monsters by Kara Thomas

Kacey is the new girl in Broken Falls. When she moved in with her father, she stepped into a brand-new life. A life with a stepbrother, a stepmother, and strangest of all, an adoring younger half sister.

Kacey’s new life is eerily charming compared with the wild highs and lows of the old one she lived with her volatile mother. And everyone is so nice in Broken Falls—she’s even been welcomed into a tight new circle of friends. Bailey and Jade invite her to do everything with them.

Which is why it’s so odd when they start acting distant. And when they don’t invite her to the biggest party of the year, it doesn’t exactly feel like an accident.

But Kacey will never be able to ask, because Bailey never makes it home from that party. Suddenly, Broken Falls doesn’t seem so welcoming after all—especially once everyone starts looking to the new girl for answers.

Kacey is about to learn some very important lessons: Sometimes appearances can be deceiving. Sometimes when you’re the new girl, you shouldn’t trust anyone.

Kara Thomas’ Little Monsters was yet another spine-tingling and chilling thriller! I truly enjoyed how twisted the mystery became! The ending was yet another shocker and one I didn’t see coming at all!

Kacey has had a rough go of it lately what with her family life with her mom and whatever current douche of a boyfriend she’s dating. So when she goes to live with the father she didn’t even know existed, it’s a chance for a fresh start. She’s made friends with Bailey and Jade, who are slightly more wild child like then herself, but the three of them just seem to click.

Then one day, Bailey completely shuts Kacey out. Kacey was supposed to go to a party with them, but they never showed to pick her up. Then the next day, Bailey is just gone.  Soon the entire town is scouring the streets and all the nooks and crannies trying to find a trace of Bailey. As the days go by, everyone begins to think the worst. And it’s not long before Kacey starts to notice everyone giving her the side-eye and she doesn’t know what to make of it.

This mystery was truly twisted! I mean, I thought The Darkest Corners got twisted towards the end, but this one was just twisted all over the place. Naturally, Kacey begins to do a little digging on her own. She suspects Bailey’s old flame of one-time thing, Cliff, but the police barely look into him as his father gives him an alibi. But then things just keep getting worse and worse as new bits of evidence are found and Kacey begins to wonder what really happened to Bailey. And if it’s possible if she knows who the killer is as well.

It’s always hard to discuss mysteries I feel like. I don’t want to get too into the plot and reveal something that ignites a shock when reading! What I did find interesting was the occasional chapter that was a journal entry from Bailey. It really gives you a better idea of her character and you see what kind of person she truly is rather than what is shown from Kacey’s memories. It’s quite disturbing.

Like with Kara’s previous book, the pacing to this one is a little bit slower than what I might prefer, but again I see it as a necessity. The plot focuses on the disappearance of Bailey and having our main character trying to do her own investigation of it would definitely slow things down. Over the course of things we get to see some good character development. Kacey lives with her father and his wife and children. Kacey has a rather decent relationship going on with her stepbrother who she is close to in age and then there’s her younger half-sister who she feels a kinship with as well. Kacey has had a rough go of family life so it was yet another interesting thing to see her adjust to a more normal family life. It was like she didn’t know what to do with the genuine niceness of her newly found family members.

The whodunit to this one was truly surprising! I was sure I knew the answer, but of course I was proven wrong once again! Though the depth of it all was truly disturbing! It was so dark and kind of sent a chill down my back. It makes you realize that some people truly are monstrous, hence the title I guess!

Little Monsters was a truly spine-tingling mystery that kept me turning the pages as fast as I could! I didn’t expect to finish it as quickly as I did but that’s always a marker for a great read when it’s one you realize you can’t put down! Thrillers are truly terrifying kinds of reads for the evil villain within is always the last person you would suspect and they are always, human. Which again, makes me think the title to this one is so apt! We already know that there are no vampire like monsters in this one…ghosts are another story though! Lol.

Now is the perfect time of year to give Little Monsters a read, just be sure to leave a light on before going to sleep…


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars