From Publishers Weekly
Fenton puts her experiences as a social worker to good use in her promising debut. After toddler Michael Hennessy dies of a drug overdose, Claire Conover, of the Birmingham, Ala., Department of Human Services, doesn't believe the boy's mother, Ashley, spiked his sippy cup. Ashley, who has a history of hardcore drugs and booze, had been working too hard to get clean in order to regain custody of Michael. Determined to find the real killer, Claire sets out on a course that could cost her career or even her life. Fenton paces her straightforward plot well, but her real strength is in the way she develops her characters' relationships. A number of secondary players—an investigative reporter and a guy who knows his way around a computer—pave the way for a sequel. With her fine ear for regional speech, Fenton may do for Birmingham what Margaret Maron has done for rural North Carolina. (June)
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When two-year-old Michael Hennessey dies from a suspicious drug overdose, with his ex-addict single mother, Ashley, a client of the Jefferson County, Alabama, Department of Human Services, social worker Claire Conover finds her faith in her own judgment crumbling. As Ashley’s case worker, Claire is blindsided by Michael’s death, loathe to believe Ashley’s confession of the negligent homicide of her son and unable to let the case go despite being ordered to do so. Suspicious that Michael was murdered and feeling obligated to the child, Claire doggedly pursues leads that take her to the top echelons of Birmingham society, helped by computer whiz Grant Summerville, who becomes more than a friend. Warned repeatedly to leave the case alone, Claire puts more than her career in jeopardy. A relentless social worker makes an intriguing amateur sleuth, and Birmingham offers a fresh take on the New South as a setting for crime fiction. With this solid debut, Fenton—herself a social worker—has set the stage for a promising new series. --Michele Leber
Review
“A riveting story of the trials and tribulations some social workers face with a good bit of thriller thrown in, "Little Lamb Lost" is highly recommended reading.”-Midwest Book Review
“Promising. With her fine ear for regional speech, Fenton may do for Birmingham what Margaret Maron has done for rural North Carolina.”-Publishers Weekly
“Well done.”-Library Journal
“A relentless social worker makes an intriguing amateur sleuth, and Birmingham offers a fresh take on the New South as a setting for crime fiction. With this sold debut, Fenton―herself a social worker―has set the stage for a promising new series.”-Booklist
About the Author
Margaret Fenton was born in Florence, Alabama, and grew up on the Gulf Coast in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. She received her B.A. in English from the Newcomb College of Tulane University in New Orleans, and her Master of Social Work from Tulane. A lifelong mystery fan, Margaret is married to her high school sweetheart and lives in Birmingham.
