Clever Little Thing Audiobook By Helena Echlin cover art

Clever Little Thing

A Novel

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Clever Little Thing

By: Helena Echlin
Narrated by: Ashley Tucker
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About this listen

Clever Little Thing taps into the heart of maternal fear and will shock you in the best way. This one will give you goose bumps.”—Ashley Elston, #1 New York Times bestselling author of First Lie Wins

"Sharp and unflinching—a perfectly unnerving story."—Ashley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push

A taut, powerful psychological thriller following a mother who must confront a sudden and terrifying change in her daughter after the abrupt death of their babysitter.

Charlotte’s daughter Stella is sensitive and brilliant, perhaps even a genius, but a recent change in her behavior has alarmed her mother. Following the sudden death of Stella’s babysitter, Blanka, the once disruptive and anti-social child has become docile and agreeable. But what’s unsettling is that she has begun to mirror Blanka’s personality, from Blanka’s repetitive phrases to her accent, to fierce cravings for Armenian meat stew after being raised a vegetarian.

Charlotte is pregnant with her second child, and depleted and sick with the pregnancy. She is convinced that Blanka herself is somehow responsible for Stella’s transformation. But how could Blanka, dead, still be entwined in their lives? Has Blanka somehow possessed Stella? Has Stella become Blanka? As Charlotte becomes increasingly obsessed, she is sure that only she can save her daughter...even though it’s soon clear that her husband believes this is all in Charlotte’s head.

Helena Echlin’s singular, chilling voice holds light to the blurred lines of diagnosis in children and to the vital power of maternal instinct. Kaleidoscopic and tense, pulse-pounding and genuinely creepy, and infused with shades of the supernatural, Clever Little Thing is an ode to motherhood and a nuanced critique of the caretaking industry, a thriller that will haunt listeners long after its epic, surprising finale.

©2025 Helena Echlin (P)2025 Penguin Audio
Domestic Thrillers Psychological Suspense Exciting Fiction Pregnancy

Critic reviews

“Compelling and creepy, Clever Little Thing taps into the heart of maternal fear and will shock you in the best way. This one will give you goose bumps.”—Ashley Elston, New York Times bestselling author of First Lie Wins

Clever Little Thing is unsettling in the best way, a page-turning thriller about a mother's love and endless devotion to her child that is impossible to put down.”—Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of She’s Not Sorry

"Goosebumps! Clever Little Thing is a sharp and unflinching twist on mom noir—part psychological thriller, part supernatural horror, this is a perfectly unnerving story with something to say about the collision of motherhood’s love and fear, maternal instinct, and the bond between mothers and daughters.”—Ashley Audrain, New York Times bestselling author of The Push

Dear Listener,

What do I hope you will take away from this story?
"When I became a mother, I noticed how much people love to judge parents, and moms in particular. This inspired me to write a novel about Charlotte, a mother who must learn to ignore others’ judgments and listen to her own maternal instinct—even when it’s telling her the impossible. I’ve always loved Henry James’s novella The Turn of the Screw, in which a governess believes two children are possessed by dead servants. So in my story, Charlotte believes her daughter’s dead babysitter is somehow changing the child’s behavior. If you've ever questioned your own parenting or wondered if it's possible to truly know a child, this is the audiobook for you. But above all, it’s for anyone who loves to unravel a mystery right along with the narrator. I hope you enjoy following Charlotte on her wild journey as she tries to save her daughter."– Helena Echlin, writer of Clever Little Thing

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