Truly terrible in the best sense of the word

The terribleness of this book makes for traumatic listening. The narration adds another dimension to the whole experience; it is an astounding performance. That the author is only 24 is also amazing.

Does a child murderer deserve to live? Can she ever be free of her crime? Can she ever be capable of being a mother herself? Why would a child kill? Is she pure evil or has evil been heaped upon her?....
So many questions are raised by the story, never overtly or intrusively, but there within the story.
Chrissie is the 8 year-old killer who strangles the life out of a little boy because she can, because it makes her feel so good and powerful - everything that's missing from her life. She's been called the 'bad seed', a name that sticks so she viciously kicks and steals her way through each day, hunger gnawing in her belly, totally neglected by her criminally / insanely inadequate / neglectful mother who fails to feed her and who herself suffered a terrible childhood. Chrissy's days are spent doing handstands, lying, stealing milk and sweets and cadging cake from other mummies who don't lock their children out or give them sleeping pills in a Smarties tube.

We also see Chrissie grown up with her own little girl Molly and a new identity. She loves Molly with a burning, gut-wrenching love (even if she can't express it in words out loud) and lives in terror of her being claimed by Social Services, or of other mummies finding out who she is. The narrative voices of the children are brilliant - stunningly real .

What's so good about this book is that there is no condemnation, just a presentation of the terribly damaged lives of people unable to emerge from the weight of it all. Chrissy's absent-but-sometimes-returning-briefly-from-the-dead drunken dad loves his little girl but is powerless to help himself let alone her. Chrissy's apparently cruel / heartless / emotionless mother ends up alone writing fond birthday cards to herself supposedly from the imprisoned daughter who hates her.

Can there be healing? For Chrissy? For the parents of the murdered children? Can there be a positive way forward? The author is skilled enough to guide us to an ending which is not entirely bleak.

This is a book to be read and not forgotten. It takes us with great insight behind the lurid headlines answering some of the why? why? how could that happen? questions.

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1 person found this helpful

Superb

An absolutely superb book from start to finish. Captivating, heartbreaking, beautifully written and I didn't want it to end!

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Didn’t want it to end

I wanted to listen to this all in one go but I also didn’t want it to end either. Beautifully written and beautifully read.

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Not my type of book, BUT...

What a book and what a listen. harrowing and chilling . couldn't stop listening

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Compelling story

I really enjoyed this story. Not an easy listen and harrowing in many ways but it had me hooked and interested from the beginning. Really enjoyed the narration, which is always a difficult thing to get right. Usually I don’t enjoy the narrator assuming different voices, especially children, but this worked well for me. Will be looking at the authors other work as I enjoyed this so much.

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best listen in a long while

A difficult subject treated with great care. Desperately sad you absolutely understood poor Chrissie. There's a wit and humour that sets it apart. I loved it

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Stick with it

At first I found the narration annoying because Chrissie was quite squeaky but honestly the story is so good I am glad I stuck with it.

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I couldn’t stop listening

A difficult subject, but so well written, I just couldn’t stop listening. The narrator was brilliant. 5 stars all the way from me.

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Best audiobook I’ve heard in a long time

I was hooked straight away and I’ve just lost a weekend totally engrossed, completely recommend this book, so well written and it will stay in my head for some time to come

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2 people found this helpful

A thought provoking story about nature vs nurture

I won't lie, it's not the easiest book to listen to but the for me, the story really shows the impact of how profound an impact a childs upbringing has on their developing mind and mental health.
I was gripped, yet saddened at the same time but I was so invested in seeing a positive outcome for Chrissie as an adult, that I couldn't stop listening.
The book does touch upon issues of child neglect and child harm so won't be for everyone but it is done sensitively and we hear the reasoning of the 8 year old child as she comes to terms with her actions and her reasoning for doing what she did.
The narration was superb although I did speed it up to 1.5 as the slower pace added a depressing tone to the book.
A solid 4🌟 from me but like I say, be prepared for the book to make you feel uncomfortable at times.

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