The Little One 2012

An exclusive short story for World Book Day from bestselling author Lynda La Plante.

This spooky tale will make you want to sleep with the light on. Barbara needs a story. A struggling journalist, she tricks her way into the home of former soap star Margaret Reynolds. Desperate for a scoop on the actress and her return to stardom, she finds instead a terrified woman living alone in a creepy manor house. A piano plays in the night, footsteps run overhead, doors slam in dark corners.

The nights are full of strange noises. Barbara thinks there may be a child living upstairs, unseen. Who looks after her? And why is she kept out of sight? Little by little, actress Margaret's haunting story of broken promises is revealed, and Barbara is left with a chilling discovery.

About the Author

Lynda La Plante bestowed John Moores University with a creative writing scholarship in her hometown of Liverpool and is an honorary member of the British Film Institute. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has also awarded Lynda with the Dennis Potter Writers Award. She was awarded a CBE in the 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours List (for services to Literature, Drama and to Charity), and was presented with the prestigious TV Spielfilm Award for her television adaptation of her novel Above Suspicion at the International Film and Television Festival Conference in Cologne. In 2009 Lynda was inducted into the Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame.