Little Souls by Sandra Dallas is a historical novel set in Denver, Colorado in 1918. It starts off strong as the main character Lucretia, or Lutie, as she’s called is walking home from her job. She comes across a small crowd gathered around a soldier, watching as the poor man dies from Spanish Flu. Hurrying home, Lutie is fraught with concern about what she’s just witnessed, only to find an even more shocking scene awaiting her in her home.
Lutie lives with her sister Helen in a small house with a basement. They recently rented the basement to a troubled family. The only member of that family still with them is young Dorothy, who Helen and Lutie have taken in and are raising as a sister. But with Spanish Flu raging across the country and the threat of a criminal element lingering around the corners, the two ladies are in for a challenge.
Little Souls starts strong, but it turns into a very quiet and subtle novel that explores the ties that bind people together and how family is defined. Sandra Dallas has done a good job weaving the threads of many characters together in a satisfying tale of love and bravery in the face of terrible realities.
*I received a copy of Little Souls from St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*