Member Review

A book about a child's death is always going to be upsetting and I must admit I struggled with the first few chapters of this as Leila Syed realises, with horror, that she has forgotten to drop her 3-year-old nephew Max at nursery and he has been in the back of her car, on the hottest day of the year, for several hours. But gradually the story settles into a well-crafted courtroom drama as Leila tries to defend herself from a charge of manslaughter while admitting her full remorse and trying to rebuild a relationship with her devastated sister. In the background is DS Shepherd, determined to prove that Leila was criminally negligent rather than a victim of a tragic lapse of memory - but can he possible be right?
Flawed and imperfect but devastated by tragedy, the characters hold our attention, and the tightly woven plot offers surprises to keep our attention focussed through an often harrowing storyline.
I'm pleased that I stuck with this one as my horror at the needless tragedy gave way to my huge desire to know what exactly happened, and what would happen next. A truly engrossing read.