Little Deaths.

Set in 1963 Little Deaths tells the story of Ruth Malone, a glamorous cocktail waitress. Recently separated from her husband she lives with their two young children, Cindy and Frank Jr in Queens. One morning Ruth gets up and the children are missing. It's not long before their bodies are discovered.

Both the police and the public see Ruth as the guilty party in the disappearance and deaths of her children. She is perceived as an unsuitable mother who wanted to be rid of her children because she is promiscuous and a heavy drinker.   

Pete Wolnicke is a rookie reporter on a New York tabloid and the story of the murders is the first big story assigned to him. Determined to make a name for himself he starts his own investigations and before too long he develops an obsession with Ruth. As Pete seeks to prove Ruth's innocence the police are looking to convict her. 

Little Deaths is based on a true crime story and Ruth's story mirrors that of Alice Marie Crimmins who was convicted and then cleared of murdering her children. I had read a lot of positive reviews of Little Deaths and it was something that I was looking forward to reading.

Ruth was a sympathetic character who was well portrayed. I also enjoyed the portrayal of the working class Queen's neighbourhood where she lived and it was eye opening to see how a single woman was judged so much by her behaviour in the not so distant past. 

Although I enjoyed the author's style of writing I found the book to be somewhat dull with characters (other than Ruth) who seemed a little one dimensional. There was little in the way of a plot and it was pretty obvious who had really committed the crime.

I was expecting this to be a fast paced novel but it failed to draw me in. Unfortunately I struggled to finish this and found it to be a very slow read.