A review by wordsandnocturnes
The Crooked Little Pieces: Volume 2 by Sophia Lambton

4.0

The Crooked Little Pieces Vol. 2 by Sophia Lambton continues to follow the lives of two sisters, Isabel and Anneliese, whose lives have been marked by war and other unfortunate events that have befallen them. 

Isabel is still facing domestic violence while Anneliese remains in a deep state of denial over her sister’s condition despite advice given by her colleague Susanna. Although this is disheartening to read about, it is a relief that both sisters also have things in their lives that could serve to improve their distressing situation. Isabel now teaches music at a local girls’ school,where she has a new challenge to keep her preoccupied with. She is supposed to teach a German student English, reminiscent of the way she and her sister moved to London (a whole challenge itself, as it’s shown in the first book). On the other hand, Anneliese aspires to be a psychiatrist and meets a number of eccentric patients, most notably Liza, who appears to be psychotic.

This sequel possesses the same sombre mood and slow pace as the first volume. While this would not be jarring to those who came from the first book, I still believe it takes some time to get used to. However, the drama that occurs in this book may well be worth the slow pace. In my experience, getting further into the book only builds momentum, so there’s that to look forward to! It’s almost like a slow burn romance, where everything is progressing in a steady way, the tension and mystery thick enough to either make one infuriated or infatuated. 

If I were to continue spouting my thoughts on this volume, it would be to further explain the slow unravelling of events. Even though this means that there isn’t much room for satisfying character development, it’s still justifiable because as I’ve mentioned in my review of the first book, this is a character-driven book so the sisters are explored in full detail, especially their thoughts and emotions. 

I did enjoy this book, but I admit that its heavy themes and the subdued mood that permeates this volume could be emotionally taxing for some, but the same can be said for many other books so that wasn’t too big of an issue!