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Being a social worker in the Department of Human Services is pretty much a thankless job, at least in terms of external rewards. The pay isn't that great, most people are not happy to see you at their door, and nobody ever gives you headlines when you do things right. Still, Claire Conover comes from a long line of people who need to make a difference, and she's been pretty happy about her career so far. Until Michael Hennessy is murdered. By his mother, Ashley. She confessed. Claire refuses to believe it. Ashley had gotten herself clean, gotten herself a job, an apartment, and was making it. The old boyfriend was gone. It wasn't a fabulous life, but it was better than most people Claire dealt with seemed to be able to manage. There were aspects that Claire just couldn't make fit: Michael died from a drug overdose, but Ashley had been clean for so long. It wasn't even a drug that Ashley was liable to be using, not her drug of choice. And Ashley was adamant that Claire stay out of it, not stick her nose in. She said that if Claire poked around, even being in jail wouldn't be enough to keep Ashley from being killed, too. Claire persists, in spite of the possible loss of her job and other dire consequences. And she eventually does figure out what happened. It isn't pretty, and it doesn't bring Michael back. It is, however, the right thing to have done and Claire is that kind of person. LITTLE LAMB LOST is one of those mysteries that reads almost like a true-crime novel. The plot could easily happen, the characters are believable even when they aren't particularly likeable, and Fenton has that ability to make the reader understand the vagaries of a system that should work but doesn't always, in spite of the best efforts of those working in the trenches. The ending is just as real as the rest of the book - there is no real happy ever after, but there is hope.
Reviewed by P.J. Coldren, March 2009
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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