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Convictions
Convictions is Julie Morrigan’s bestselling debut novel. Published in 2011, it featured in the Grift Magazine readers’ survey of the best books of the year, and was voted one of the top five books of the year at the Crime Fiction Lover website. A stolen child. A family devastated by loss. A man of God. When 12-year-old Tina Snowdon and her little sister Annie gratefully accept a lift from a helpful stranger, she has no way of knowing that only one of them will make it home. As days turn into weeks with no news of Annie, Tina must face her mother’s anger; she would do anything to turn back the clock. As her life is torn apart by pain and recrimination, the only evidence the police have points to George Cotter, a respected pillar of the local church. But as the investigation continues, it seems that perhaps a deeper and more disturbing truth may lie behind Annie’s abduction. And until Tina learns what that truth is, she will always be the little girl who escaped, only to be imprisoned by her own grief and guilt.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2011
19 people are currently reading
299 people want to read
About the author
Julie Morrigan
29 books35 followersJulie Morrigan is the author of various novels, novellas and short stories, and best known for her gritty crime tales based in the north-east of England. Her most recent publication is horror novella Blackthorn Cottage, in which evil deeds from over a century earlier affect a family in the present day.
Her most recent novel is gangland novel Flesh and Blood, which follows crime thriller Debt of Honour, both published in 2024.
Gangland novel Cutter features the brutal exploits of vicious Sunderland gangster Gordon Cutter and his criminal firm.
For fans of short stories, Bad Times: North-East Crime collects Julie's shorter tales, originally published in the collections Gone Bad, Show No Mercy and Wired. Many also previously appeared in anthologies and magazines such as Bullet and Out of the Gutter.
Julie shares stories and news via her Substack newsletter, Bad Intent: https://juliemorrigan.substack.com/
Her most recent novel is gangland novel Flesh and Blood, which follows crime thriller Debt of Honour, both published in 2024.
Gangland novel Cutter features the brutal exploits of vicious Sunderland gangster Gordon Cutter and his criminal firm.
For fans of short stories, Bad Times: North-East Crime collects Julie's shorter tales, originally published in the collections Gone Bad, Show No Mercy and Wired. Many also previously appeared in anthologies and magazines such as Bullet and Out of the Gutter.
Julie shares stories and news via her Substack newsletter, Bad Intent: https://juliemorrigan.substack.com/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
May 8, 2012
The ending of this book ruined it for me. The rest of the book was ok but it felt like the story was cut off too quickly without any real resolution for one of the main characters.
September 15, 2019
From time to time I read outside of my genre, and I can't recall where the copy of Julie Morrigan's Convictions came from (possibly a free read or a 99c special recommended by someone). So yes, this is quite a departure from my usual fare, and having recently read and reviewed Morrigan's Heartbreaker, I was quite happy to delve into Convictions.
I'm going to be brutally honest, but this is not the author's strongest work. I found the premise interesting enough: kids go missing, and we have snippets from their point of view suggesting that they're being inducted into some sort of weird Christian cult that steal children in order to grow. And then mostly, we follow the cops trying to solve the case over a few years. From time to time we have interludes from the sister of one of the missing girls, who has been locked up for attempting to murder the man suspected of abducting her sister.
I found that I couldn't really engage with the writing at all. It's written in a shallow third-person perspective, with an awful lot of tell and not nearly enough show or layering to make me feel any real urgency or sense of immersion. I guess if you're looking for some (very) light reading, and this sounds like your cup of tea, by all means, indulge.
I'm going to be brutally honest, but this is not the author's strongest work. I found the premise interesting enough: kids go missing, and we have snippets from their point of view suggesting that they're being inducted into some sort of weird Christian cult that steal children in order to grow. And then mostly, we follow the cops trying to solve the case over a few years. From time to time we have interludes from the sister of one of the missing girls, who has been locked up for attempting to murder the man suspected of abducting her sister.
I found that I couldn't really engage with the writing at all. It's written in a shallow third-person perspective, with an awful lot of tell and not nearly enough show or layering to make me feel any real urgency or sense of immersion. I guess if you're looking for some (very) light reading, and this sounds like your cup of tea, by all means, indulge.
July 25, 2012
It's sad when a book that has real promise goes terribly, terribly off the rails.
At first, I was willing to cut Convictions a lot of slack. The plot had some legitimately surprising twists and turns. At first, I thought the book would be a straight-forward story about a child being kidnapped and then found, your basic police procedural. Then, part one of the novel ended, with the child still kidnapped and part two jumped ahead eight years. "What is this?" I asked myself. The story kept surprising me from there, tossing in a creepy religious cult, a revenge stabbing, *more* kidnappings and life in a women's prison.
But sadly, an imaginative plot can't make up for all the bad aspects of this book.
Every single character in this book is a wisp of a real person. Tina, the sister of the kidnapped girl, is sweet and naive and seemingly untouched by the darker parts of life. She's like a Disney princess, but a felon. I'm going to gloss over the details of what led Tina to be stuck in a lady-jail and instead concentrate on the ridiculousness of the lady-jail itself. It is apparently the sort of prison for violent offenders that lets the inmates spend their time shopping for new music and trendy trainer, is staffed by supportive church ladies, and whose population engages in nothing more sinister than hurtful gossip.
On to other characters: Tina's mom makes the Wicked Witch of the West look like a sweet broad. The police look to the Keystone Cops for procedural technique. One particular cop seems to believe that Christians can't lie, as if that part of their brain is removed during baptism or something. And the criminals seem to have no motivation other than to form a vaguely creepy cult of car cleaners.
But the absolute worst part of this book is the end. It is so abrupt and confusing that I actually suspect that Julie Morrison forgot to include the last chapter when she sent her book off to her publisher and it's still sitting in her desk, getting dusty. That's the only explanation that could possibly make sense, because no author would actually *choose* to have such a slipshod, half-assed ending on their work.
At first, I was willing to cut Convictions a lot of slack. The plot had some legitimately surprising twists and turns. At first, I thought the book would be a straight-forward story about a child being kidnapped and then found, your basic police procedural. Then, part one of the novel ended, with the child still kidnapped and part two jumped ahead eight years. "What is this?" I asked myself. The story kept surprising me from there, tossing in a creepy religious cult, a revenge stabbing, *more* kidnappings and life in a women's prison.
But sadly, an imaginative plot can't make up for all the bad aspects of this book.
Every single character in this book is a wisp of a real person. Tina, the sister of the kidnapped girl, is sweet and naive and seemingly untouched by the darker parts of life. She's like a Disney princess, but a felon. I'm going to gloss over the details of what led Tina to be stuck in a lady-jail and instead concentrate on the ridiculousness of the lady-jail itself. It is apparently the sort of prison for violent offenders that lets the inmates spend their time shopping for new music and trendy trainer, is staffed by supportive church ladies, and whose population engages in nothing more sinister than hurtful gossip.
On to other characters: Tina's mom makes the Wicked Witch of the West look like a sweet broad. The police look to the Keystone Cops for procedural technique. One particular cop seems to believe that Christians can't lie, as if that part of their brain is removed during baptism or something. And the criminals seem to have no motivation other than to form a vaguely creepy cult of car cleaners.
But the absolute worst part of this book is the end. It is so abrupt and confusing that I actually suspect that Julie Morrison forgot to include the last chapter when she sent her book off to her publisher and it's still sitting in her desk, getting dusty. That's the only explanation that could possibly make sense, because no author would actually *choose* to have such a slipshod, half-assed ending on their work.
June 5, 2012
The book started out good and kept me wanting to read more and more. I felt the author did a good job of showing how the parents felt when finding out about their daughter's disappearance. However, I felt like more should have been given to us about Tina. More of her life ss she was growing up.
Towards the middle of the book the story line started to become predicable. The ending did leave a slight twist with Jason Christopher character. I closed the book with frustration. I wanted more information about George Cotter was intertwined in the story, ss well as what happenend to Annie and Tina.
Towards the middle of the book the story line started to become predicable. The ending did leave a slight twist with Jason Christopher character. I closed the book with frustration. I wanted more information about George Cotter was intertwined in the story, ss well as what happenend to Annie and Tina.
June 8, 2012
This book had all the ingredients to be a best seller, but three quarters through the book, the story just unraveled and the end is a big disappointment. It just leaves you hanging, with no real closure.
February 19, 2019
I really liked this story couldn't wait to read it all BUT when I got to the ending it was like bam here it is the ending so abrupt. I wanted to know if Adam was one of the boys that was kidnapped years earlier or was he part of the church group they arrested. What happened to Annie then? Poor Tina went thru so much in her life it was unbelievable. Annie was kidnapped years ago but Tina got away. Oh and there is about 2 or 3 sentences that well be x-rated revolving around Tina when she was in jail so be prepared for them.
September 17, 2018
A Wonderful Story!
I loved this book. I loved the plot with the wonderful characters. I felt the emotions and pain that the characters were feeling. The author was able to make you feel every emotion. She describes everything in detail. I will be following this author and looking into more of her works. I am glad to have read this book.
I loved this book. I loved the plot with the wonderful characters. I felt the emotions and pain that the characters were feeling. The author was able to make you feel every emotion. She describes everything in detail. I will be following this author and looking into more of her works. I am glad to have read this book.
January 26, 2019
Kept my attention. Wanted to see when Annie would be found and stop further kidnappings
Kept my attention. I wanted to see if Annie would be found and wanted to see this group stopped from kidnapping anymore children.
Kept my attention. I wanted to see if Annie would be found and wanted to see this group stopped from kidnapping anymore children.
September 6, 2020
Excellent read!!
January 1, 2023
The book is readable but lacking something...
January 31, 2013
This starts out as a straightforward child abduction case, but quickly becomes something more complicated. Two sisters, aged twelve and eight, sneak out from Grandma’s house during an overnight stay to go to a concert. When they find they’re too late to catch a train or bus home, and have no money for a taxi, they accept a lift from an apparent good samaritan. The older daughter manages to escape but the younger vanishes. The family implodes during the police investigation, there’s a suspect but no evidence and no sign of the missing daughter. But then, strangely, the suspect confesses. The story then jumps forward several years...
The biggest problem for me is that all the characters are completely colourless, and never come to life. Even when they’re ranting and raving and falling apart, there’s no impact behind it, no emotional engagement. The facts of a child abduction, a guilt-ridden survivor, a cruel mother are not enough in themselves to arouse sympathy in the reader. After all, it's not an original idea, we've all read similar tales and seen them on TV. It needs something more from the author to make us feel for these characters. It doesn’t help that there is no real focus. Who is the book about? Is it Tina, the daughter who survives? Or is it Ruth, the police officer who stays with the case and the family over the years? And the story hops about from one character to another, never long enough or in enough depth to give any real insight into motivations.
Another problem is that the settings are not terribly convincing. There’s no sense of place (apart from the odd use of ‘pet’ to suggest the north-east, and name-dropping one or two real locations), and the prison seems to be a terribly nice, cosy affair, less brutal than the average girls’ school, where the inmates fall out over a bar of chocolate. The police don’t seem very convincing, either. Right the way through, they fail to ask obvious questions and follow up on possibilities that would occur to any reasonably sensible person.
However, once the police manage to get themselves on track, the book beomes something of a page turner, although there's never any real tension. It's not just the prison inmates who are unusually nice here, even the child abductors are mild-mannered gentle souls, shocked by the occasional swear word and clearly incapable of actual violence, so despite the police flap, the reader feels no real fear that the abductees will ever be killed. This is revealed at an early stage, along with the abductors' motives, so the only real excitement comes from watching the police gradually circle in on the perpetrators.
And then it ends, just like that, leaving readers to imagine for themselves just what would become of the various characters, which isn't very satisfactory. On the whole, this is a readable little book with a few logic flaws, which suffers from trying to cover too many aspects of the story. I get the point of the prison story, another instance of a vulnerable youngster falling under the influence of a strong character, just like the obedient young people of the church, but it felt like an unnecessary distraction. The story would have been stronger, I think, if it had focused solely on one side or another. This just about scrapes three stars.
The biggest problem for me is that all the characters are completely colourless, and never come to life. Even when they’re ranting and raving and falling apart, there’s no impact behind it, no emotional engagement. The facts of a child abduction, a guilt-ridden survivor, a cruel mother are not enough in themselves to arouse sympathy in the reader. After all, it's not an original idea, we've all read similar tales and seen them on TV. It needs something more from the author to make us feel for these characters. It doesn’t help that there is no real focus. Who is the book about? Is it Tina, the daughter who survives? Or is it Ruth, the police officer who stays with the case and the family over the years? And the story hops about from one character to another, never long enough or in enough depth to give any real insight into motivations.
Another problem is that the settings are not terribly convincing. There’s no sense of place (apart from the odd use of ‘pet’ to suggest the north-east, and name-dropping one or two real locations), and the prison seems to be a terribly nice, cosy affair, less brutal than the average girls’ school, where the inmates fall out over a bar of chocolate. The police don’t seem very convincing, either. Right the way through, they fail to ask obvious questions and follow up on possibilities that would occur to any reasonably sensible person.
However, once the police manage to get themselves on track, the book beomes something of a page turner, although there's never any real tension. It's not just the prison inmates who are unusually nice here, even the child abductors are mild-mannered gentle souls, shocked by the occasional swear word and clearly incapable of actual violence, so despite the police flap, the reader feels no real fear that the abductees will ever be killed. This is revealed at an early stage, along with the abductors' motives, so the only real excitement comes from watching the police gradually circle in on the perpetrators.
And then it ends, just like that, leaving readers to imagine for themselves just what would become of the various characters, which isn't very satisfactory. On the whole, this is a readable little book with a few logic flaws, which suffers from trying to cover too many aspects of the story. I get the point of the prison story, another instance of a vulnerable youngster falling under the influence of a strong character, just like the obedient young people of the church, but it felt like an unnecessary distraction. The story would have been stronger, I think, if it had focused solely on one side or another. This just about scrapes three stars.
July 29, 2011
Emerging talent Julie Morrigan showcases her diversity by crafting a haunting story of child abduction and the resulting broken family dynamics that follow shortly thereafter. While well removed from her collection of noir shorts in 'Gone Bad', 'Convictions' has enough spice to satisfy the bleak desires of the basement crazies and police procedural enthusiasts alike. In 12 yr old Tina (the escapee) and 8yr old Annie (the captured) we're given two sides of the spectrum, one perceived as everything warm and light in the world, the other, all that is dark and cold. A believable tale with an all too believable cast of characters really set this book up for great things. Add a bunch of religious zealots and a few determined cops and you've got compelling storytelling and brass knuckle personalities determined to set all that is bent straight. I loved the multiple POV told over time and from multiple locations; jail, police precinct, church etc - all this added to the well rounded characters and 360 degree of the world they inhabit. A page turner from start to finish - 3.5 stars (only because I like my crime with a double shot of noir otherwise this would've been higher).
June 27, 2012
This was quite good. It's about 2 young sisters abducted some years ago and one managed to get away from their kidnapper. Her mum pretty much made her life a misery after this feeling that as the eldest she should have protected her younger sibling.
The police are convinced a local church are involved and someone confesses, goes to prison but then retracts his confession. And still Annie hasn't been located. Years pass and the police don't give up and meanwhile there are more kids disappearing off the face of the earth.
I enjoyed this but it all got very rushed toward the end and a lot was crammed into the final pages and a lot never answered or completed tidily enough for my liking !! It was only 196 pages so it could have been made into a proper novel size and padded out properly.
There were of course the obligatory apostrophe errors it seems every book published these days seems to have which continues to drive me to distraction !!
The police are convinced a local church are involved and someone confesses, goes to prison but then retracts his confession. And still Annie hasn't been located. Years pass and the police don't give up and meanwhile there are more kids disappearing off the face of the earth.
I enjoyed this but it all got very rushed toward the end and a lot was crammed into the final pages and a lot never answered or completed tidily enough for my liking !! It was only 196 pages so it could have been made into a proper novel size and padded out properly.
There were of course the obligatory apostrophe errors it seems every book published these days seems to have which continues to drive me to distraction !!
April 8, 2012
A chain reaction of hateful and illegal acts occur when one crime is committed. Such is the case after young Annie is abducted. Being only a child herself, Tina, Annie’s sister who managed to escape during the abduction, doesn’t escape her mother’s wrath and unforgiveness and is the prisoner of her mother’s angry words and hateful looks for years. Her mother makes no bones about Annie being the favored child.
Ruth, an officer, never giving up on her search, is the family’s liaison, keeping them up to date on the findings of the case and for years, being Tina’s only real support and friend.
Is he or is he not? Guilty that is. Throughout, I couldn’t be sure whether a certain person was guilty of the committed crimes or not. All becomes clear and it’s a story worth reading though I'm not certain as to the whys of the abduction.
Ruth, an officer, never giving up on her search, is the family’s liaison, keeping them up to date on the findings of the case and for years, being Tina’s only real support and friend.
Is he or is he not? Guilty that is. Throughout, I couldn’t be sure whether a certain person was guilty of the committed crimes or not. All becomes clear and it’s a story worth reading though I'm not certain as to the whys of the abduction.
July 18, 2014
Interesting mystery of abduction and how it screwed up some (likely already messed up) family dynamics. There are some very heroic figures (like Ruth) and some others you just want to either shake violently or punch in the face (like Penny or the Christian cop). At times the story moves along slowly - but I think that has more to do with me being impatient and wanting to scream at the characters that certain other ones looked really shady - check into them! - but they didn't so I believe that was my own internal frustration. The story ends pretty abruptly making you wonder what happened to the main characters you are left with at the end of the book. I don't believe there was enough open ends to create a series from this initial book so leaving those ties still waving in the proverbial breeze rather than all tied up in a neat little bow kind of bothers me.
November 3, 2014
A highly enjoyable read from start to finish. The plot is fairly fast paced and it is written in such a way that you want to keep reading. You want to find out the answers to all the questions the author cunningly leaves in your head. One of the things I enjoyed most about the book was the fact that the dialogue and character interactions were very believable, very realistic. Anyone who writes will know how tricky that can be to achieve. Julie does it effortlessly and consistently throughout the book. Probably the most enjoyable book I have read this year. If you haven't already Iwould highly recommend you read Gone Bad by the same author.
November 3, 2014
First of all, if you haven't already read Gone Bad, this author's short story collection - read that first because it is a superb collection, and like this full length is also a great bargain, and shouldn't be missed. This one has a great story; a "missing person" novel that moves along at a quick pace and will not disappoint. Also don't let the fact that this is only available as an Ebook (or because it is so inexpensive,) lead you to believe that this is anything less than a top notch effort - I would easily rank this in the top 5 crime fiction debuts this year alongside many of the books currently sitting on my bookshelf!
February 11, 2013
Two young sisters are abducted. One escapes and returns home, the other doesn't. The story follows the life of the sister who returned home and ended up unwanted. It covers the arrest of a man charged with the abduction, her relationship with her mother, and her only healthy relationship, that with a policewoman involved with her case. The plot, to me, seemed straightforward and definitely ran from a to b. Easy reading.
September 23, 2012
This is a carefully crafted thriller. No purple prose just a good, solid read with very real characters.
The book begins with a child abduction and follows events over the next six or seven years. This isn’t just a police procedural: the novel also tells its story from the point of view of victims, investigators and abductor, showing how tragic events can rip relationships apart and the impact that crime can have on all involved.
I’ll be looking out for more of Julie Morrigan’s books.
The book begins with a child abduction and follows events over the next six or seven years. This isn’t just a police procedural: the novel also tells its story from the point of view of victims, investigators and abductor, showing how tragic events can rip relationships apart and the impact that crime can have on all involved.
I’ll be looking out for more of Julie Morrigan’s books.
August 18, 2013
Convictions centres on 12-year-old Tina, whose younger sister Annie is abducted while in her care. Annie is her mother’s favourite and makes Tina’s life a misery. We follow events throughout Tina’s young life, including time in prison for the attempted murder of the man she believes is guilty of kidnapping her sister. But with a record of more children disappearing without trace, things take a different turn and a body of people come under the spotlight.
July 15, 2012
Convictions is a good read. I was amused by the British characters -- always having tea and finding evidence in the boot of a car and just the different turn of a phrase. The story is relevant and moves quickly albeit a little bit obvious. It's a good mystery with believable characters. Try it, you might like it.
April 27, 2014
I liked the character of Tina and sympathized with her as she dealt with the problems resulting from her escaping from the abductor who got away with her younger sister. Although most of the police characters were likable and believable, overall I felt the plot was more to cast aspersions on religion and people of faith than a real mystery.
November 3, 2014
A dark rich thriller that leaves sweat on the pages. A simple ride gone wrong, a 12 year old girl in the wrong place with the wrong person. Religion and the controlling lies of a mother. Morgan has written a brilliant and totally readable story.
December 1, 2013
Well, I downloaded this as a result of a 'Free book download' notification website and it was really good: well-written,with a good story-line. Not absolute edge-of-the-seat stuff but a good holiday read.
February 28, 2024
I picked this one up at random, didn't read the blurb, and pitched straight in. I enjoyed the story although some of the characters were a bit one dimensional. The ending was a bit abrupt but overall this was a good read
April 27, 2016
Readable mystery featuring child abduction, guilt and religion.
April 7, 2012
a good book, easy to read. the main characters mother got me mad but that added to the storyline.
March 10, 2012
I bought this based on the reviews I'd read on Goodreads and Amazon.
Not sure what the fuss was about.
Not sure what the fuss was about.
September 11, 2012
This book was pretty good. I found it kind of sad but I also couldn't put it down...
June 8, 2012
JI really felt for this young girl.... Couldn't put this one down..
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews