This is the second book I’ve read by Beatriz Williams and I have to say, she is becoming one of my favorite authors. Awarded four stars on Goodreads.
Like my first exposure, THE SECRET LIFE OF VIOLET GRANT, TINY LITTLE THING is another well-paced page-turner, filled with interesting and distinctive characters. And lots of ambitious politicians, subterfuge and delicious family secrets.
The Hardcastles are a Kennedy-esque family (complete with big house on Cape Cod) — wealthy, determined, united, and eager to achieve political office. Part of this novel takes place in 1964 when the prominent Radcliffe graduate who is about to marry the oldest Harvard-educated Hardcastle son gets cold feet, just weeks before her scheduled wedding. The remainder of the story takes place two years into that marriage when the Hardcastle’s son is in the midst of running for his first Congressional seat.
With chapters moving back and forth in time, gradually revealing new dimensions and complexities to what appears at first to be an American success story, readers get to observe just how far ambitious family members will go in order to reach their goals, regardless of who or what might have to be sacrificed along the way. I won’t say this is great literature but I promise you won’t be sorry you picked it up.
Toby A. Smith 