‘In the end, every child
leads his own life, largely out of his parents’ sight.’
This is a stunning, well-written
and compelling read. Andrew Barber is the assistant district attorney
investigating the murder of fourteen-year-old Ben Rifkin in Newton, a
relatively nice community with low crime. When his own son Jacob becomes the
prime suspect, Andy is taken off the case, and experiences the legal system
from the other side with his son as the defendant; he is torn between wanting
to know the truth and needing to protect his son.
‘Suspicion, once it started
to corkscrew itself into my thoughts, made me experience everything twice: as
questing prosecutor and as anxious father, one after the truth, the other
terrified of it.’
Recounted by Andy in the first
person throughout, and including excerpts from Grand Jury testimony, it’s a
cleverly structured narrative in four parts, incorporating modern day social
media by including facebook
conversations. Threaded throughout the story there is also an intriguing
ongoing encounter between Andy and his former colleague at the DA’s office,
Neal Logiudice, who takes over the role of prosecutor.
It is Andy’s perspective we see
throughout. His thoughts and opinions colour the view of events that we are reading.
The story is both a tense thriller and also a family drama, bringing into play
the murky past of Andy’s father and the two generations of males before him,
leading to the discussion of a potential ‘murder gene’ being present.
I really enjoyed this cracking
thriller; it kept me guessing, it has an excellent pace to the story all the
way through, and a surprising and unexpected ending. It makes you think about
how much any parent can really know their child, and about the limitations of
the legal system. Recommended.
5/5
Originally reviewed for lovereading.co.uk - thanks to them and to the publisher for a copy of this novel to read and review.
Published by Orion
