One of the beauties of the Nevermore Book Club is that the members read and report on
their own books so folks don't
always read the same book. Still, there are some books that make the rounds of
more than one reader. Here are a couple
of books which made a big impression on our members:
The Guilty One by Lisa Ballantyne is highly recommended by
Nevermore. British solicitor Daniel Hunt
is handed the case of an eleven year old boy, Sebastian, who is accused of
murdering a younger child in this psychological thriller. As he investigates, Daniel is forced to
relive parts of his own childhood with his drug-addicted mother and his time in
foster care. The author asks a lot of hard questions about child welfare and the criminal justice system, but also explores the nature of love, family and forgiveness. The fact that this is a first novel makes it all the more
impressive.
Our readers found it
hard to put down, and drew comparisons to Defending Jacob by William Landay and
The Child Who by Simon Lelic, both of which deal with the same shattering
premise. All three offer ample room for discussion of the juvenile justice
system (or lack thereof) while being entertaining at the same time. Landay's book offers a lot of twists and turns in addition to great court room scenes, while Lelic is less on the identity of the murderer and more about the consequences of taking an unpopular stand-- and yes, there are still twists and turns.
The other top recommendation is for Detroit: An American Autopsy by Charlie Leduff. How did Detroit go from one of the most vibrant, wealthy cities in America to being one of the nation’s poorest, a symbol of decay? Investigative reporter Leduff, a native of Detroit, traces the trail of corruption and mismanagement, all the while revealing the human faces behind some of the stories such as firemen forced to sell their brass poles to raise money for equipment or policemen taking the bus to crime scenes. One story involved a corpse left so long that it froze into ice several feet thick. As someone commented, it’s like watching a car wreck—it’s horrible and horrifying but you can’t look away.
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