LITTLE SOULS by Sandra Dallas

 

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

This is my first book to read by Sandra Dallas. I will look forward to more. I almost didn't read this book. I'm so very glad that I did. It's a very good, very heartbreaking and heartwarming, story.

Set in 1918 during the Spanish Influenza epidemic and during WWll this book takes you on a rollercoaster ride that will have you weeping. I have to admit that I did have a couple of small chuckles though. I mean really, getting the flu from listening in on a party line, kind of like people saying they got Covid from their cell phones now. All these years later and we have not come a long way with that. How ironic is that.

Two sisters living in a home they bought after their parents died and they left to move to Colorado. Helen and Lucretia/Lutie only had each other after the loss of their parents. Helen is a nurse and they move to Colorado for her to get a good job. Lute is a designer. She gets a job in an upscale clothing store and they are very content with their lives. They rent the basement of their home to a couple with a daughter. Helen is dating/engaged to a doctor and Lute is engaged to a young man who may become a minister. Gil and Peter could not be more different but they love these women and would do anything for them. Peter joins the service and is sent overseas where he intends to help other young men believe that they can find the kind of happiness he has. 

The couple who rented the basement are not the best of people. At least the man isn't. He's very abusive to his wife and daughter. He's one you will hate very quickly. After he leaves his wife gets the flu and dies. Their daughter, Dorothy, moves upstairs with Helen and Lute who intend to adopt her and she will be their sister. Peter's mother is a very wonderful woman who befriends Lute and will do anything for her. When Helen dies from the Spanish flu Lute is devastated. She has never lived without her sister. 

This book takes you through a lot of grief and heartache. It also takes you through what it's like to be a sister. A friend. A fiancé. To be able to trust people who you may not would have. It lets you see the real lives of people during a time when they need each other. It does not dwell on the flu to the extent that you will lose interest. It dwells on the sisters and what all they go through. Then the one sister and how her life changed after a few losses. After she tries to adopt Dorothy and is turned down because she's a woman. An unmarried woman. How she overcomes that. How she finds true love. How she deals with life. 

This book takes you through the lives of a few women and a child. The horrible things that happen to some of them. How they coped. This book is truly told in a way that you will be able to feel the pain these people feel. It does contain some talk about rape and a child being molested in the worst way by her own father. About a priest who is a rapist. Could be a huge trigger warning but it's still a very good book. It shows how you process these things. How these women dealt with them. How they understand what each other feels. How they try to shelter each other.

This is truly one heck of a book. One that will stick with you for a while. It was that good.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #SandraDallas, #StMartinsPress for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

5/5 stars and I highly recommend it. It's really a good book.