The Little Girl Who Lived Down the Lane (Play) [Paperback]

Laird Koenig (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1997

Product Description

Award-winning and international best-selling novel by Laird Koenig.

Some little girls can be murder! Thirteen-year-old Rynn is a gifted prodigy who lives in a big old house with her reclusive father...all alone. Or does she? When Rynn's nosy landlady and a lecherous neighbor begin to susupect that this little girl is hiding a dark and dangerous secret, Rynn is determined to preserve her isolated existence at any cost - and stop those vicious rumors dead in their tracks!

One reviewer said: "I read this book when I was in my early teens and that has been over 25 years ago. There were times when I was afraid to turn to the next page because I was afraid of what was going to happen. That being that, I still finished the book in one night. There is nothing that I like better than a truly, scary book and 'Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane' is definitely that."

Another review: "This story of a 13 year old girl all alone in the world is heartbreaking, until you realize that she is NOT a normal girl. Her keen intelligence and maturity draw you in and, while you feel sympathy for her, you are also a little scared just the same. This short, yet utterly sinister story will have all readers hooked until the end. I've had this book for years and re-read it all the time. Must have for suspense-enthusiasts."

This new digital edition includes a Foreword by the Author with a short history of the novel's evolution.

The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane was made into a major motion picture of the same name starring Jodie Foster and Martin Sheen.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 72 pages
• Publisher: Dramatists Play Service, Inc. (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822215713
• ISBN-13: 978-0822215714
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #617,120 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A creepy love story to give you goosebumps., August 1, 2001

By 

Chadwick H. Saxelid "Bookworm" (Concord, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The little girl who lives down the lane (Hardcover)

Although the film adaptation is fine (Jodie Foster was perfect for the part) it does not come close to the haunting power of this chilling novel. Thirteen year old Rynn lives at the end of the lane with her recluse father, or does she? Mrs. Hallet, her landlord, is getting suspicious of Rynn and her lifestyle just as her child molesting son (who is far older and creepier in the novel than in the film) is begins harrassing the little girl as well. Complicating matters further is Rynn's growing attraction to the equally curious Sheriff's son Mario.

Laird Koenig masterfully weaves these plot threads togehter into an icy spider web that Rynn may or may not get herself free of. Watching it all come together (and apart) creates one of the truly great cult classic novels of the seventies. Required reading for psychological thriller fans and those with a taste for gothic imagery. Highly recommended.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 13 year old Rynn vies to survive on her own...can/does she?, August 15, 1997

By 

Eric Geilker (Eric Geilker, Charlottesville, VA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The little girl who lives down the lane (Hardcover)

Yes, Jodie Foster starred in the 1976 movie. But the book by Laird Koenig is really worth a look.
Rynn, 13-year-old daughter of an english poet, is instructed by her departing father to SURVIVE. That shouldn't be hard on a civilized New England island very like Nantucket, especially if you have a three-year lease paid in full and a semi-inexhaustable supply of cash in a safe deposit box...should it?
Frank Hallet, a filthy rich blue-blooded pedophile doesn't help Rynn's chances. Neither do a couple of bodies under a trap door in the parlor.
But believe me, you will cheer for the witty Rynn as you turn each page of this efficiently crafted little page-turner.
The writing is spot-on, and the ending is so wonderfully surprising and subtle as to invoke thoughts of Henry James and The Turn of the Screw.
Read it by the fire, in one sitting, preferably on a rainy October evening. I bought my copy (a fine, well-preserved, pretty little black hardback) for 25 cents at a book sale. Even if Amazon can't match that deal, the book is pure enjoyment.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Chilling and Effective, January 21, 2004

By 

D. Recio, SJ (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The little girl who lives down the lane (Hardcover)

Koenig's novel, written in the mid 70's, still manages to create a menacing atmosphere with its omninous beginning: "She stood at the window on this last night of October and looked out on the world shivering on the edge of winter." I sat down to read this book after having read it years earlier and found myself drawn in by this quiet but frightening story. Koenig's storytelling capacity propels the novel forward, introducing the female protagonist who gives herself a birthday party, coincidentally on Halloween. As the rest of the novel unfolds, it is easy to find oneself sympathetic to the adolescent, Rynn Jacobs, who must fend off xenophobic villagers who threaten her carefully assumed solitude. Koenig's narrative style is easy to read but also remains with one after the book closes largely because the descriptions are precise enough that one is not overwhelmed by them but instead, drawn in by the simple language which is a convenient disguise for a clever, albeit horrific story. I plan to re-read this book again, perhaps on Halloween, or in the midwinter, after reading Christie's novella, "Three Blind Mice", and the first few chapters of PD James' Shroud for a Nightingale. Instructors who teach writing might find the first few chapters of this novel helpful (as an example) for setting "the scene".