Review: Sophie Hannah’s 'Perfect Little Children' a not-so-perfect mystery

Beth Leeson, the heroine of bestselling mystery writer Sophie Hannah’s new novel, “Perfect Little Children” (William Morrow, 328 pp., ★★ out of four), does not know the meaning of "mind your own business."

On her way to drop her son Ben off at a soccer match, Beth cruises by the McMansion of her old friend, Flora Braid. She's just curious. The Braid and Leeson families used to be intertwined. But when Lewis Braid, Flora’s brash and controlling husband, inherited millions, the Braids moved up in the world. Beth and Flora had a falling out, and the former besties have not spoken in 12 years.

Peering beyond the gates, Beth spies a distressed looking Flora and two children — but how can this be? Flora’s kids, Emily and Thomas, appear to be frozen in time. Not teenagers, as Beth’s son and daughter are now, but 3 and 5, as they were when Beth used to know them. And where is the third child, little Georgina, whose birth came as such a surprise to Beth? What friend doesn’t tell her closest pal that she is expecting?

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Despite the admonitions of Beth’s husband Dominic, Beth does not mind her own business and instead launches into amateur detective hyperdrive. She goes back to the Braid manse on Wyddial Lane, infiltrates the school of the ageless Emily and Thomas, and stalks Lewis on social media. Lewis tells Beth she must be mistaken: Flora isn’t in the United Kingdom, she’s right by his side in Florida, where the family decamped years before.

Hannah is the author of the bestselling self-help book “How to Hold a Grudge” and has brought Agatha Christie’s legendary sleuth Hercule Poirot back to life in a new series of mysteries. Her writing cleverly captures the hallmarks of modern life: texting teens, microaggressions at school and competitive friendships. But like the mustachioed mastermind Poirot, masseuse-turned-amateur-detective Beth has “aha” moments that seem to come out of nowhere. Other aspects of the mystery seem beyond obvious – she takes a long time to propose that Flora’s weirdly controlling hubby may be gaslighting her.

“Perfect Little Children” is an intriguing title but the plot is loopy and the payoff doesn’t live up to expectations. Hannah writes with confidence and verve, but this mystery could have used more massaging.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sophie Hannah’s 'Perfect Little Children' a not-so-perfect mystery