Thank you St. Martin’s Press, #partner, for the finished copy of Little Souls in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library.
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin / Macmillan Audio
Published: August 22, 2023 (Paperback Release) / April 26, 2022
Summary:
Sandra Dallas’s Little Souls is a gripping tale of sisterhood, loyalty, and secrets set in Denver amid America’s last deadly flu pandemic
Colorado, 1918. World War I is raging overseas, but it’s the home front battling for survival. With the Spanish Flu rampant, Denver’s schools are converted into hospitals, churches and funeral homes are closed, and nightly horse-drawn wagons collect corpses left in the street. Sisters Helen and Lutie have moved to Denver from Ohio after their parents’ death. Helen, a nurse, and Lutie, a carefree advertising designer at Neusteter’s department store, share a small, neat house and each finds a local beau – for Helen a doctor, for Lutie a young student who soon enlists. They make a modest income from a rental apartment in the basement. When their tenant dies from the flu, the sisters are thrust into caring the woman’s small daughter, Dorothy. Soon after, Lutie comes home from work and discovers a dead man on their kitchen floor and Helen standing above the body, an icepick in hand. She has no doubt Helen killed the man—Dorothy’s father—in self-defense, but she knows that will be hard to prove. They decide to leave the body in the street, hoping to disguise it as a victim of the flu.
Meanwhile Lutie also worries about her fiance “over there”. As it happens, his wealthy mother harbors a secret of her own and helps the sisters as the danger deepens, from the murder investigation and the flu.
Set against the backdrop of an epidemic that feels all too familiar, Little Souls is a compelling tale of sisterhood and of the sacrifices people make to protect those they love most.
My thoughts:
It’s been a while since I’ve read anything by Sandra Dallas and when I saw this one, I just had to read it. I think since living through a pandemic myself, I find that I’m more drawn to books about prior pandemics. I’ve read one or two books about the Spanish Flu but am always looking for more.
This is of course so much more than just a pandemic book. It is set in 1918 during WWI and the Spanish Flu outbreak is brought back to the US from Europe. We follow two sisters, Helen and Lutie, who have relocated to Denver. Their bond of sisterhood and individual strengths are soon tested when challenges are presented and they need to make sacrifices in order to survive and provide not only for themselves, but also for the new ward in their care.
It’s hard not to see the parallels between the Spanish Flu and the Covid Pandemic. However, I am a firm believer of the adage that we need to learn from the past. We can’t hide from what happened during these pandemics – we need to hear these stories and hopefully glean some useful information so that the next time we have a pandemic we are better prepared to handle it.
This book kept my attention, and the addition of the murder and other dark storylines added to my intrigue. The characters were well developed and I found myself fully invested in what was happening to all of them. I realize this might not be a book for everyone, but for those who are able to read this subject, it was well-written and very realistic.
Audio thoughts:
While this book is now out in paperback, I grabbed the audiobook from the library. I found the narration to be quite engaging, with the narration by Carly Robins to be done quite effectively. She infused just the right amount of emotion and tension into her voice as needed.
