Clever Little Thing
A taut, powerful and gripping psychological thriller with a twist you'll never forget!
Published on 29. January 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
352 pages
978-1-0354-2151-0 (ISBN)
Description
A MOTHER KNOWS HER CHILD BEST. DOESN'T SHE?
'Brilliant and creepy, I wolfed it down! One of my favourite reads of 2025' LISA JEWELL
Charlotte's daughter, Stella, is sensitive and brilliant - perhaps even a genius - but after the sudden death of her babysitter, Blanka, the once disruptive and anti-social child has become docile and agreeable. And what's more unsettling is that she has begun to mirror Blanka's personality, from her accent and repetitive phrases to fierce cravings for Armenian meat stew after being raised a vegetarian.
Charlotte is pregnant with her second child, depleted and sick, and convinced that Blanka herself is somehow responsible for Stella's transformation. But how could Blanka still be entwined in their lives?
As Charlotte becomes increasingly obsessed, it's clear her husband believes this is all in her head and soon, Charlotte is convinced she is the only one who can save her daughter.
Told through a singular, chilling voice, Clever Little Thing 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, this is an ode to motherhood and a page-turner that will haunt readers long after its epic finale.
'Compelling and creepy' ASHLEY ELSTON
'An eerie, twisty story of a mother trying to protect her daughter' TRACY SIERRA
'Perfectly unnerving' ASHLEY AUDRAIN
'Unsettling in the best way' MARY KUBICA
'Incredibly moving, tense, and deliciously creepy' ASHLEY TATE
Discover for yourself why readers can't get enough of CLEVER LITTLE THING:
'CLEAR YOUR CALENDARS for January. You will be doing nothing but devouring this absolutely breathtaking page-turner of a book. Think THE PUSH - on steroids' Reader Review, ? ? ? ? ?
'The best psychological thriller I've read this year!' Reader Review, ? ? ? ? ?
'Clear your calendar because this one is impossible to put down. I devoured it in one sitting' Reader Review, ? ? ? ? ?
'If you enjoy bingeable psychological thrillers, pick this one up . . . it deserves all the praise' Reader Review, ? ? ? ? ?
'Clever Little Thing explores the complexity of mother-daughter relationships with a supernatural twist . . . a phenomenal read, one that I didn't want to put down' Reader Review, ? ? ? ? ?
'A must read . . . a book that I will tell everyone about!' Reader Review, ? ? ? ? ?
'Brilliant and creepy, I wolfed it down! One of my favourite reads of 2025' LISA JEWELL
Charlotte's daughter, Stella, is sensitive and brilliant - perhaps even a genius - but after the sudden death of her babysitter, Blanka, the once disruptive and anti-social child has become docile and agreeable. And what's more unsettling is that she has begun to mirror Blanka's personality, from her accent and repetitive phrases to fierce cravings for Armenian meat stew after being raised a vegetarian.
Charlotte is pregnant with her second child, depleted and sick, and convinced that Blanka herself is somehow responsible for Stella's transformation. But how could Blanka still be entwined in their lives?
As Charlotte becomes increasingly obsessed, it's clear her husband believes this is all in her head and soon, Charlotte is convinced she is the only one who can save her daughter.
Told through a singular, chilling voice, Clever Little Thing 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, this is an ode to motherhood and a page-turner that will haunt readers long after its epic finale.
'Compelling and creepy' ASHLEY ELSTON
'An eerie, twisty story of a mother trying to protect her daughter' TRACY SIERRA
'Perfectly unnerving' ASHLEY AUDRAIN
'Unsettling in the best way' MARY KUBICA
'Incredibly moving, tense, and deliciously creepy' ASHLEY TATE
Discover for yourself why readers can't get enough of CLEVER LITTLE THING:
'CLEAR YOUR CALENDARS for January. You will be doing nothing but devouring this absolutely breathtaking page-turner of a book. Think THE PUSH - on steroids' Reader Review, ? ? ? ? ?
'The best psychological thriller I've read this year!' Reader Review, ? ? ? ? ?
'Clear your calendar because this one is impossible to put down. I devoured it in one sitting' Reader Review, ? ? ? ? ?
'If you enjoy bingeable psychological thrillers, pick this one up . . . it deserves all the praise' Reader Review, ? ? ? ? ?
'Clever Little Thing explores the complexity of mother-daughter relationships with a supernatural twist . . . a phenomenal read, one that I didn't want to put down' Reader Review, ? ? ? ? ?
'A must read . . . a book that I will tell everyone about!' Reader Review, ? ? ? ? ?
Reviews / Votes
Praise for Clever Little Thing:'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, bestselling author of First Lie Wins '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, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Push 'Echlin brilliantly blurs the lines between love, possession, and obsession in this eerie, twisty story of a mother trying to protect her daughter. Clever Little Thing had me racing to discover what was madness, what was manipulation, and what might be all too real' -- Tracy Sierra, author of Nightwatching 'Helena Echlin's Clever Little Thing is a cleverly constructed psychological thriller about the intense pressures of motherhood and the lengths that a mother will go to to protect her children - I found it incredibly moving, tense, and deliciously creepy, and I know that last chapter will stay with me for a very long time' -- Ashley Tate, author of Twenty-Seven Minutes '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 'A genuine page turner, I raced through this novel desperate to unlock the mystery at its heart, pausing only to absorb and enjoy the finely drawn characters and eerie atmosphere. Truly surprising at times, the novel is a careful exploration of domestic safety, the psychological pitfalls of motherhood, and the danger of losing sight of ourselves' * Kate Collins * '[A] haunting psychological thriller . . . At once a propulsive page-turner and a thought-provoking exploration of maternal attachment, this is a devilish good time' * Publishers Weekly * 'Relentlessly addictive. Clever Little Thing and its characters are so terrifying because they are so real . . . It's going to take me a very long time to recover from this book. Stella is an absolute force' -- CJ Leede, author of Maeve Fly 'This book was so deliciously unsettling I never wanted it to end. A true masterpiece of the genre. I loved it' -- Yael Goldstein-Love, author of The Possibilities 'Clever Little Thing is a page-turning study of maternal instinct pushed to its absolute edge, rearranging my expectations over and over. At once terrifying and all too relatable, this book was so surprising and gripping that I couldn't look away for a moment. An utterly consuming domestic thriller' * Chelsea Bieker, author of Madwoman and Godshot *
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Headline Publishing Group
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 194 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
250 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-0354-2151-0 (9781035421510)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Helena Echlin
Clever Little Thing
A taut, powerful and gripping psychological thriller with a twist you'll never forget!
E-Book
01/2025
Headline
€2.99
Available for download
Person
Helena Echlin has written for numerous publications on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Guardian and The Times. She taught at Stanford University for eight years and has recently returned to the UK, where she now teaches fiction writing for Oxford University's Department of Continuing Education. She lives in Oxfordshire with her husband and two children.