The Child Who by Simon Lelic

I was given this book in my goodie bag from Harrogate Crime Writer’s festival and I’m so glad I was. In Crime Fiction we are often shown a side of life far distant to our own.  Sometimes, we are on the periphery of those lives ... sometimes even being on the periphery leaves us with heightened emotions ... that is exactly what The Child Who does.  What more traumatic and poignant a story than one of a  young boy  who murders and sexually abuses a classmate.  
The story however is not about the gory stuff of how he did it or the lead up to him being caught.  No, this novel is much deeper than that.  It is a psychological drama dealing sensitively and insightfully with people’s response to both the murder of the young girl and the almost unbelievable fact of the murderer being a child himself.

The story is told through the eyes of the wife of the duty solicitor who lands the defence of the murderer.  This novel explores the tragic repercussions of the solicitor’s decision to defend the boy on, his own family, the victim’s family and the murderer’s family.  It is a sad commentary of society’s inability to prevent these tragic events happening and also the state’s inability to ensure the ‘protection’ of the child murderer whilst meting out a punishment acceptable to the society as a whole. 

This book is thought provoking.  It made me question myself and my own attitudes as I alternately placed myself in the position of his wife, his daughter, the victim’s family, the parents of the murderer and the murderer himself. Alongside this are various twists that force us to delve even deeper into the issues around the crime.  

I loved this book and if you enjoyed Val McDermid’s The Vanishing Point this book is just right for you.