All The Hidden Truths - Claire Askew

Blurb

This is a fact: Ryan Summers walked into Three Rivers College and killed thirteen women, then himself.

But no one can say why.

The question is one that cries out to be answered - by Ryan's mother, Moira; by Ishbel, the mother of Abigail, the first victim; and by DI Helen Birch, put in charge of the case on her first day at her new job. But as the tabloids and the media swarm, as the families' secrets come out, as the world searches for someone to blame... the truth seems to vanish.

Review

This novel is set in the aftermath of a college shooting in Edinburgh and the narrative is between three different voices; the mother of the shooter, the mother of the first victim & the lead police investigator. Will they ever be able to make sense of this horrific event? The complexities of life are portrayed realistically by the gripping characters in their range of emotions and the heartbreaking questions they ask themselves. Askew uses a variety of writing styles from webpage excerpts, twitter updates, diary entries, and police interviews to reveal unexpected truths and highlight the predatory impact of the media. This is a brave, bold and brilliant debut and will stay with you long after you finish the last page.

    

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for sending me this in exchange for an open and honest review.

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