Little One by Olivia Muenter

genre: contemporary mystery/thriller/fiction

Catharine will be fine if she never talks about or thinks about her childhood again.  While it may sound lovely, what with the fields of fresh produce and a strong sense of communal ownership on the farm where she lived, there is darkness there.  When a reporter shows up with just enough information to make her curious, Catharine has to decide what she's willing to do to get the answers she so desperately wants.

Catharine's aloofness makes her a really hard character to like.  The story goes back and forth in time, and the pacing is good, but I just never liked her very much.  I can see how that is intentional, to show us how living in a cult-like environment can impact our relationships and social awareness, but I had a hard time investing in her in the present.  When we flashback to the past, that was still painful to read but also more understandable. 

There is a mystery here that I don't want to spoil, but I was definitely into figuring that out.  The resolution to that was not unbelievable but I didn't love it.  I do enjoy cult stories so learning about her life on the farm was fascinating in the way you look at car accidents to just SEE what happened so I always was eager enough to read it but now that I'm done, I feel like probably three stars is a good representation of the book as a whole.