Thriller
By Lesley Kara
Paperback 368 pages
Publisher Corgi (25th July 2019)
ASIN B07D313CT9
ISBN-13 978-0552175500
"A great debut with a slyly clever premise and a rollercoaster ride to the very last sentence." Fiona Barton, bestselling author of THE WIDOW and THE CHILD
A rumour that infamous child killer Sally McGowan is living in Flinstead rapidly gains momentum. Fingers are pointed and accusations made. In 1969, when aged 10, McGowan stabbed a 5-year-old boy to death. She was sentenced for manslaughter and sent to a secure children's home where she remained until 1981. With a new identity and the chance to restart her life, was it possible she had settled anonymously in this small town by the sea?
Although not for everyone due to its subject matter of child murder (and quite understandably so), those who do give this book a go will, I'm sure, be suitably impressed. The crime isn't glorified. The perpetrator has been punished and rehabilitated. The reader is told how and why it happened and the devastating lasting effects on both families.
I enjoyed all the red herrings and twists. Yes, some were a little unbelievable but they added to the excitement nonetheless. Would I want to read more books by this author? You bet your cotton socks I would!
My thanks to Lesley Kara, Random House UK, Transworld Digital and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book.
📗The Blurb
When single mum Joanna hears a rumour at the school gates, she never intends to pass it on. But one casual comment leads to another and now there’s no going back . . .
Rumour has it that a notorious child killer is living under a new identity, in their sleepy little town of Flinstead-on-Sea.
Sally McGowan was just ten years old when she stabbed little Robbie Harris to death forty-eight years ago – no photos of her exist since her release as a young woman.
I really enjoyed Lesley Kara's impressive debut novel, The Rumour. The quality of the writing was excellent and the characters felt real. Set in Flinstead, a small English seaside town, it quickly became an addictive fast-paced read.
A rumour that infamous child killer Sally McGowan is living in Flinstead rapidly gains momentum. Fingers are pointed and accusations made. In 1969, when aged 10, McGowan stabbed a 5-year-old boy to death. She was sentenced for manslaughter and sent to a secure children's home where she remained until 1981. With a new identity and the chance to restart her life, was it possible she had settled anonymously in this small town by the sea?Although not for everyone due to its subject matter of child murder (and quite understandably so), those who do give this book a go will, I'm sure, be suitably impressed. The crime isn't glorified. The perpetrator has been punished and rehabilitated. The reader is told how and why it happened and the devastating lasting effects on both families.
I enjoyed all the red herrings and twists. Yes, some were a little unbelievable but they added to the excitement nonetheless. Would I want to read more books by this author? You bet your cotton socks I would!
My thanks to Lesley Kara, Random House UK, Transworld Digital and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book.
Barnsey's Books Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
📗The Blurb
When single mum Joanna hears a rumour at the school gates, she never intends to pass it on. But one casual comment leads to another and now there’s no going back . . .
Rumour has it that a notorious child killer is living under a new identity, in their sleepy little town of Flinstead-on-Sea.
Sally McGowan was just ten years old when she stabbed little Robbie Harris to death forty-eight years ago – no photos of her exist since her release as a young woman.
So who is the supposedly reformed killer who now lives among them? How dangerous can one rumour become? And how far will Joanna go to protect her loved ones from harm, when she realizes what it is she’s unleashed?
📘The Author
Lesley Kara is an alumna of the Faber Academy ‘Writing a Novel’ course. She lives on the North Essex coast. Her first novel is The Rumour. Who Did You Tell? is her second novel.
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