The Little Friend by Donna Tartt, 2002

Having read Donna Tartt's Pulitzer Prize wining The Goldfinch and hearing her referenced as a serious literary talent even before her 2014 coup, I was curious to read more Tartt novels.

Similar to The Goldfinch, The Little Friend revolves around a child.  Harriet Cleve Dufresnes is the younger sister of Robin Cleve, who was found hanged in his own backyard when he was only nine. 

Robin's death plunges their mother Charlotte into a state of guilt and depression and with their father in Nashville, ostensibly for his career, Harriet and her older sister Allison grow up in the shadow of Robin's death. 

One summer, Harriet decides to avenge the death of her brother's murder.  Convinced that the murderer is Danny Ratliff, a classmate of Robin's from the trailer park Ratliff clan, Harriet enlists her best friend Hely Hull to plan her revenge on Danny.

Set in small town Alexandria, MS, the characters are vivid and the story compelling.

The Ratliff clan includes brothers Farish (an unstable, violent criminal), Eugene (a born again evangelist), Danny (a criminal who tries to better himself against the odds), and Curtis (a mentally retarded boy).  The matriarch of the clan is the boys' grandmother, Gum, who constantly discourages and even sabotages attempts to achieve or better oneself, and is resigned to a life of poverty and hardship for her family.

Harriet's worlds revolves around the family's help Ida Rhew, grandmother Edie and her beloved great-aunts Libby, Tat and Adelaide.  The small town characters include the town's car dealership owner Roy Dial and Pemberton, Hely's brother who, although popular and filled with potential, has stayed in town and works as a life guard at the local country club after high school.

The action picks up at the end with Harriet getting closer to exacting her revenge, even without the help of Hely, who has joined the high school band and has outgrown his crush on Harriet.  Harriet powers on and her fearlessness leads her to a deserted water tank.

Disappointingly, the novel ends without the loose ends tied.  We do not find out who killed Robin, nor the fate of Harriet, who has now made an enemy of Danny Ratliff, presumed to have drowned but remains alive.