I read this in the same week that a shooting took place at a video game tournament in Florida. This book had me hooked from the start. I really enjoyed the different narrative perspectives throughout the novel, particularly that of the shooter’s mother, a voice which is so often quashed.

It was my first book by Askew, and I'm not disappointed. The story takes place after a college shooting in Edinburgh. It's told from 3 different perspectives: The mother of the first victim, lead police investigator and mother of the shooter. From then on, we're trying to bring the pieces together and understand the reasons behind this cruel event.
I liked the characters, the complexity of relationships and life portrayed in this book. You'd guess from the subject that it's very emotional, heartbreaking, but moving. The write used interesting styles that re up to date like Tweets, diary entries, etc. I liked this diversity as well. It was really intersting and a very good debut. Recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for approving this book, in exchange for an honest review.

Ryan walks into College on a ‘normal’ morning......and shoots dead 13 of his student colleagues
The shock, anger and grief is palpable as the story is then taken up by Moira ( his Mum ), Ishbel ( one of his victims Mum’s ) and Helen ( D.I.in charge of the case )
I found this an emotional and moving book, an almost private book of people, from very differing perspectives trying to deal with what had happened
The writing challenged you on your perception of sympathy and who was rightly or wrongly receiving it and how people as a whole react to such a tragedy
Intercepted with Twitter posts, news reports and online media reports that added to that feeling you were actually experiencing this event first hand
The descriptive writing of feelings and utter devastation are hard to describe other than to say, again, you could almost taste the raw emotion
As an aside I loved the setting being Edinburgh and the way the area and landmarks were written about
This book is not one to be easily forgotten, and wont be
Raw, Real, Expressive and Challenging
10/10 5 stars

An intriguing story which deals with a campus shooting in Scotland where all the victims are young women shot dead by one of their male classmates. The unfolding story is told from the point of view of three women: Det Insp. Helen Birch who responds to the scene, Ishbel, the mother of Abigail who was the first victim, and Moira, mother of the perpetrator, Ryan. Each of them has some upheaval in their lives, Birch has just been promoted when she is thrust into a high-profile case, Ishbel and Abigail have been rowing about Abigail's boyfriend and other life choices, and Moira lost her husband a few years earlier and is still grieving.

The plot itself and the chapters dealing with the shooting itself and immediately afterwards were gripping, but I felt the main female characters let it down slightly. Personally I'm fed up of reading about middle-aged women who seem to be paralysed by ennui and feel drab and unloved, and put up with all manner of bad behaviour from the people in their lives. It seems to be a trend at the moment to have at least one of these characters in books, and it makes it difficult to empathise with the character because you end up incredibly frustrated with them. Overall I would give this book 3.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers, Hodder & Stoughton, for the opportunity to review an ARC.

School or college shootings are difficult to understand. What is it that prompts such a violent response? This question is the focus of the debut novel by Clare Askew. Narrated from three points of view it covers the immediate aftermath of a shooting at a college in Edinburgh. The points of view are those of Moira, the mother of Ryan Summers, the shooter, Ishbel, mother of Abigail the first victim to be killed and Helen the DI in charge of the investigation.

The subject matter of this novel is extremely disquieting and I found this a difficult read in the sense that it made me uncomfortable. In many ways it seemed to be very true to life. The reactions of the public towards Moira are vengeful, there is a widespread feeling that she must have suspected he would do something like that and that she did nothing to stop it. Or if not, was she some sort of monster who did something awful to make her son a sociopath? But did she know anything or is she completely innocent of all she is suspected of? Grant Lockley, surely the most obnoxious journalist ever to populate the pages of fiction is determined to find out. He needles away at her and at the other two protagonists in such a way that it would have been no surprise if one of them had reacted violently towards him.

It's difficult to know how to react to this book in the sense of would I recommend it. It is very readable, the characters are well drawn, there is a satisfying denouement at the end. So, yes I would recommend it but with the caveat that some readers might find it more disturbing than they are expecting. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

What makes this one different is the setting to other books on the same topic is this is based in UK. Since Dunblane firearms have been heavily regulated so mercifully occurrences like this are rare over here; this novel brings the horror of school shootings closer to home.  The question posed throughout book is why? What makes a young adult turn into a mass murderer? It is a difficult topic to read but Claire Askew's sensitive manner made me  feel for all those left behind. Heart strings were pulled and I  connected with all the characters from the mums of the victims, Moira to Helen the newly promoted detective inspector placed in charge of the case. They were realistic characters who have their strengths and flaws. With turns I wasn't expecting I stayed up until the early hours of the morning to finish.

This moving story details the aftermath of a rare mass shooting in Scotland. A number of themes are examined, including press ethics and how bereavement frequently throws up many buried secrets.

Askew handles her subject skilfully and tactfully, producing a novel which is bittersweet and touching with a few nice little twists along the way. A must read.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

Once I got into this book I couldn’t put It down. It was a really good read, that really makes you think

A very well written book that deals with such a very sad story. The tragic tale goes into intricate detail of the impact that the incident has on multiple people. This book really explores human emotion in its most raw form.

An excellent story that leaves the reader with plenty to think about long after the book is finished. I would definitely recommend it

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.

An interesting, engaging, unusual read. For some of the time I heard myself thinking “where is this going” but it’s uniqueness is it’s main quality. Amazing that this is the author’s first novel. I think this lady had much more to give and I look forward to reading her next work

I have just finished this book, I am not quite sure how I feel about it. It is the story of a school massacre and the effect that this barbaric event has on the mother of the boy who did the killings, but also the mother of one of the murdered students.
The story deals with the police handling of the case and the intrusive behaviour of a journalist, determined to get a scoop at any cost.
It is not really a very comfortable read as you do feel a bit voyeuristic.
It was nice to read about Edinburgh and there was a strong sense of placement.

A fantastic read. The book is full of surprises that kept me enthralled from the start. I loved the fact that although it could have been a dry topic of a school shooting it looked at the aspects that are normally ignored. I found the book emotionally thought provoking.

Loved this book, i couldn’t put it down, I found the plot very exciting and it was thrilling the way the story unfolded. I enjoyed the main characters in this book. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Claire Askew for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
This follows a college shooting and its aftermath through 3 POVs:
* Moira: The shooter’s mother
* Ishbel: One of the 13 victim’s mother
* DI Birch, who’s investigating the case.
While the writing was good, and emotional, I personally found the story lacking in suspense; the ‘why’, the motivation was obvious and I was anticipating that the writer would explore it further and probe toxic masculinity, instead I didn’t get any sense of Ryan, the shooter, at all who by the end of the novel felt like a caricature and instead got a hammered in critique of the hounding of media.
Overall this book didn’t work for me, and I fail to understand the praise this book is getting. While the theme of a college shooting is topical this book offers nothing new at all, and I personally much preferred We Need to Talk About Kevin and 19 Minutes, which explored this subject in a much more unique, bold and original way. The problem is in how this book is being marketed creating incorrect expectations: this isn’t really a crime/thriller/mystery, rather its general fiction exploring grief and the aftermath of a horrific trauma.

This is a compelling and disturbing read. One morning a young male student, Ryan Summers, walks into an education college and shoots 13 female students before taking his own life. Newly promoted DI Helen Birch is the first police officer to arrive at the scene and is then assigned to the case. The story is then told from three perspectives- Helen’s, the first victims mother and from Ryan’s mother. We then follow their grief and torment as to why the shooting happened and why Ryan did it. They have to come to terms with the tragedy and we follow all the events that led to it. We also discover Helen’s secret past and why she finds the journalist, Grant Lockley, so cruel and relentless in his pursuit of the story. This is a brilliant debut novel which had me completely hooked with the agony all three women went throug. One of my best reads of the year. I hope this is the beginning of a series featuring DI Helen Birch. A highly recommended read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Gives the reader real pause for thought.

In all the headlines and tweets and snatches of opinion coming from everywhere these days, this is a very well-written and extremely well-researched novel, focused on the points of view of several of those caught up in a mass shooting tragedy. Brave too, to imagine getting inside the heads of such a disparate group of characters at this moment in their lives and doing it so believably.

The author chose very wisely with her sources as you get a strong sense of the chaos, frustration and futility of such an investigation; the lack of psychological closure for all concerned, including the police force.

It really is 'power to the people' as the fallout from collective fears and mass hysteria, one little comment or article can now whip up is formidable.

Huge plaudits must go to the editor as well for helping to craft a brilliantly constructed narrative (it was this which tipped it into the five star bracket for me) as the 'hidden truths' were divulged, both large and small. I even liked that the main antagonist, certainly the main living one, was not permitted any personal back story and the possible sympathy it would allow, as if his actions were too grotesque to be excused no matter what was in his past. One little suggestion at the very end of the book is all we get and it's not followed up and for once that seemed apt. Unless of course, Ms Askew is planning a Grant Lockley spin-off which will have us all in tears - I rather suspect not.

There are some truly lovely descriptive observations, especially at the beginning of the book, but there are a lot. At one point, I did feel there were almost too many that, ironically, it took me away from the narrative. Too much of a good thing can start to pall and become slightly a case of the author proving how wonderfully she can write, which she most definitely can, but this is a tiny niggle in an otherwise thought-provoking work.

Thanks to Net Galley and Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review. Wow - this is definitely a page turner.
Ryan Summers opens fire at Three rivers College campus instantly killing thirteen beautiful young women and then using the last bullet on himself.
The story follows the horrific days that follow for the grieving families, in particular Ishbel and Aiden Hodgekiss who lost their 17 year old daughter Abigail. Isbhel is in shock and can’t stop crying, doesn’t wash dress or eat, Aiden is angry and a lot of his anger is being directed toward Moira Summers, Ryan Summers mother, the dark brooding boy who carried out this horrific crime
Moira Summers is a practically a prisoner in her own home, round the clock police protection, journalists camped outside her house. One persistent journalist Grant Lockley, has his own column and many followers on twitter and will do anything for a story.
Detective Inspector Helen Birch is running the investigation and has personal history with the determined underhanded journalist.
This is a brilliant debut novel, as we know from the beginning who is responsible, the question then is why? A heartbreaking gripping read
Let’s hope there will be another book from this author featuring DI Helen Birch.

This book absolutely drew me in & just didn't let go. Such a shocking but amazing story. So cleverly written from different perspectives. This truly is a fantastic read. I can't recommend this enough. My advice would be to make sure you have no plans when you start to read this book as you will not want to put it down. I can't wait for the next book by Claire Askew. Well done Claire!