"Her eyes. There was nothing there. No Compassion. No sorrow. No fear. A psychopath in the making. I've not come across anyone else quite like her".
Girl A by Dan Scottow is a dramatic and tightly-plotted psychological thriller. The story unravels in a dual timeline, in 1985 and the present day.
A two-year-old Billy is abducted at a summer fair from his mother, who's let hold of his hand to buy him a candy floss (the parallels with James Bulger's case are uncanny). Two children, 11-year-old boy and 7-year-old girl take him to a dilapidated building and brutally kill him. The girl is found not guilty, while the boy is convicted and sent to prison. The girl's identity is disclosed by the unrepentant journalist.
Fast forward to the present. Beth and Charlie live in a secluded farmhouse with their two children. Their lives are uneventful and quiet, they keep themselves to themsleves. Beth works in publishing, while her husband works in advertising.
One day in late August Beth's world as she knows it falls apart. "Two little words. That was all it took. Eight letters scribbled on a scrap of paper, and one family's world was about to come crashing down around them... As Charlie Carter sat watching the television with his wife Beth on a Friday evening, neither of them had any idea that everything they knew was about to change".
Found You, says the sinister note. Someone thinks they know who she is, and what she's done... Beth insists it is a prank, a mistake, and it has nothing to do with her.
The unseen accuser taunts Beth and her family. The events become more and more sinister and menacing, and everyone who Beth loves, is being threatened.
Charlie wants to believe his wife who protests her innocence, and decides to dig for the truth, and try to uncover the person behind the threats. "He trusted her, he always had. She'd never given him any reason not to, and so he should have believed her when she said sha had made an honest mistake. So why was there still a niggling doubt in his mind?"
Someone is out to wreak havoc on Beth's life, but do they have the right woman? Is she innocent?
As Beth's world disintegrates, fragment by fragment, there is far more at stake than just her relationship with Charlie. She has to fight to protect her children.
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This is a thought-provoking book, which is gripping and upsetting in equal measure. The whole premises of a murder of a child by children is an emotional quicksand.
It raises some uncomfortable questions about the criminal justice system, protection of identity of killers, and whether children who kill comprehend fully the crime they commit. Are children who have been abused fully responsible for their cruel actions, if they are psychologically damaged and emotionally stunted themselves?
Were both children who committed the crime equally culpable? Did the older child encourage the younger one, or was she a willing participant?
I've read recently the interview with the mother of James Bulger, where she said, "You watch your own kids as they're growing older. At the age of 10? Everyone know what they're doing at that age. You know right from wrong. I can't understand people who say "they were only 10".
It's a difficult question.
I'm quite torn, thinking about this book. It hooked me straight away, but I also hated the ending, especially one particularly sickening paragraph which made me heave.
Harrowing, dark and twisty thriller, Girl A forces the readers to question where the truth lies. You'll struggle to put it down.
Potential triggers: child abduction, murder, graphic scenes.
Purchase Link
UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Girl-unforgettable-psychological-Dan-Scottow-ebook/dp/B08YZ7YR8K/
US - https://www.amazon.com/Girl-unforgettable-psychological-Dan-Scottow-ebook/dp/B08YZ7YR8K/
Author Bio – Dan grew up in Hertfordshire before moving to London in his early twenties. After more than ten years living there, he decided enough was enough, and packed his bags for Scotland in search of a more peaceful life.
Dan works as a graphic designer, but dreams of the day he can give it up and write full time.
Besides writing, he enjoys painting, watching a good scary film, travelling the world (at least, he used to!), good food, a gin and tonic or two, long walks on the beach with his dogs, and of course, reading a great book.
Dan’s debut novel ‘Damaged’ was released in January 2020, published by Bloodhound books.
Social Media Links – Twitter: @DanScottow
Facbook page: @danscottowauthor
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This post is part of the book tour for Girl A.
Many thanks to Dan Scottow and Rachel's Random Resources for my e-copy of the book!
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