Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton

To tell you the truth, I hate this book. Several readers gave this novel high marks because it was indeed an interesting read with several layers of events. However, I just could not stand the characters. They are supposedly "damaged" individuals with little dark secrets. Frankly, I find them to be nothing but a pack of immoral characters! The setting was made during the Falklands war and did give viewers an insight on how people reacted to the situation.I loved Ms. Bolton's other books but not this one.
Let's start with the main character, Catrin. She is a grieving mom who blames her best friend, Rachel, for "accidentally" killing her two sons. While she was embarking on an illicit affair with Callum, her friend Rachel, is involved in a car accident that kills her sons. Bereaved, she ends up leaving her husband and dreams of killing Rachel for three years. Rachel is the friend she forced to babysit her kids while she screwed her lover. Eventually, she gives birth to Callum's child who dies at birth. Her husband then realizes she was involved in an affair because the child turned out to be a redhead like her lover.

After these disastrous events , children that appear to look like her sons start disappearing, and one of those children is Rachel's. Hence Catrin becomes a suspect. As the story progresses I learn why the children of Catrin died, showing the real character and intention of Rachel. Another immoral person!
There were speculations that Rachel may have told Catrin's husband about her sordid affair but Catrin swears she never told Rachel and that she was very careful in hiding her affair.
I can imagine when she gave birth to a redhead:
Ben, Catrin's husband: Honey, the baby is a redhead. Can you please explain why?
Catrin: I'm sorry, honey! I could have sworn I was extremely careful in covering up the affair. How I managed to get pregnant after staying unpregnant all these years till Callum came along is a mystery to me also.Oh! And I hate my friend who I forced to babysit my kids while I screwed around! Imagine! Not taking good care of them while I had sex behind your back!  Talk about bad, baaaad, friend!
I will not discuss the men because it would give spoilers especially on why the children started to disappear. The reasons were plain horrible and in my opinion (though the author gives a different scenario) was a domino effect of Catrin's liaison. Her affair should not have instigated such appalling behavior but the real reason unfolds right at the ending! It could look a different way to some but the author's reason why Rachel did what she did was just plain horrendous for me! As for Catrin, the adulterous bitch who started it all - she should be hanged!