The Book of Guilt

by Catherine Chidgey

In an alternate world where nobody won WWII, three brothers are the only boys left in an orphanage whose dark secret is the reason for their existence—and the key to their survival—from the acclaimed author of Pet.

After a very different outcome to WWII than the one history recorded, 1979 England is a country ruled by a government whose aims have sinister underpinnings and alliances. In the Hampshire countryside, 13-year-old triplets Vincent, Lawrence and William are the last remaining residents at the Captain Scott Home for Boys, where every day they must take medicine to protect themselves from a mysterious illness to which many of their friends have succumbed. The lucky ones who recover are allowed to move to Margate, a seaside resort of mythical proportions.

In nearby Exeter, 13-year-old Nancy lives a secluded life with her parents, who dote on her but never let her leave the house. As the triplets' lives begin to intersect with Nancy’s, bringing to light a horrifying truth about their origins and their likely fate, the children must unite to escape – and survive.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Dystopia, Mystery, Science Fiction, Literary Fiction, Audiobook

400 pages, Hardcover

First published May 8, 2025

About the author

Catherine Chidgey is a novelist and short story writer whose work has been published to international acclaim. In a Fishbone Church won Best First Book at the New Zealand Book Awards and at the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize in her region. In the UK it won the Betty Trask Award and was longlisted for the Orange Prize. Golden Deeds was Time Out’s book of the year, a Notable Book of the Year in The New York Times and a Best Book in the LA Times. She has won the Prize in Modern Letters, the Katherine Mansfield Award, the Katherine Mansfield Fellowship, the Janet Frame Fiction Prize, and the Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize for The Wish Child. Remote Sympathy was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award and the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction, and was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. The Axeman's Carnival won the Acorn at the New Zealand Book Awards - the country's biggest literary prize.

Raised in Wellington, New Zealand, Chidgey was educated at Victoria University and in Berlin, where she held a DAAD scholarship for post-graduate study in German literature. She lives in Cambridge and is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Waikato.

Reviews

[Stephen the Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Come to Margate ,where children can have the time of their lives just being children"

Being a teenager in the 70s and knowing both the New Forest and Margate, the premise of three brothers living in a 'care home' in the Forest and with their desires and hopes of travelling to Margate and visiting the wonders of Dreamland intrigued. Memories of the old theme park still linger to this day!

From the start this was a book that couldn't be put down -it captivated , enthralled and shocked to the very end

Vincent, William and Laurence are identical triplets and have lived in Scott house- named after the ill-fated explorer.- since birth. They are part of the Sycamore project- a government funded scheme to monitor certain children . The boys are cared for by three mothers- Morning , Afternoon and Night Mother. Their actions are monitored and their dreams are recorded each day in a book and any misdemeanours are noted in The Book of Guilt. Other children live in different Sycamore homes; but all is not what it seems. The residents believe that a certain stage they are rehoused to the wonderful world of Margate and life in 'The Big House" .

No spoilers but as the story progresses you are pulled deeper into the mystery that is the children's lives in 1979 ; daily tasks, socialisation days and the possibility of this move to their "Dreamland" Utopia.

Alongside their story, we meet the Minister of Loneliness who is responsible for young people as the Thatcher government decides that the project must end. We also meet a young girl called Nancy- her life is juxtaposed against the three boys.

Having not read the work of Catherine Chidgey, a comparison to other books can't be made but this is a 100 per cent page turner- a world was created that was spellbinding. What was the future of the boys? Why were local residents nervous of them? What was their past - why were they part of the Sycamore project? What was the projects goal?

With links to previously dark historical events and the insanity or obsession of supposed 'experts' and governments to create better societies, The Book of Guilt shocks. This is a taut thriller knife-edge but is a cross-genre read - to say any more would be to give the plot away.

Already this is going to be a book that will be a highly recommended read to others. It would be good to say more but to do so would truly spoil a brilliant read

One of the top reads of 2025 has arrived!

Take a look below

https://docsend.com/view/9kx64x9jzukt...

@johnmurray

[Canadian Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The outcome of WWII takes a twist and ends in a dramatically different way. In this alternate reality in Britain, 1979, the government has decided to end a “program” started during the war. A program that will have consequences for those involved and those who have silently watched from the sidelines - condemning it from the beginning.

We meet 3 brothers who are triplets. People in town are afraid of them. But they just seem like regular 13 year olds with the exception they require monthly shots to survive but often get sick. Their dreams are recorded in The Book of Dreams along with any negative behaviour in The Book of Guilt.
But these aren’t normal boys. And there are more. Some of them with violent tendencies. And now with the program ending, these children are to be ‘rehomed’. These 3 are aware that something is not right with them. That they are being used for Experimentation; lab tests; unethical scientific studies. The study of good vs evil. nature vs nurture. A number of ethical questions raised.
This was a fascinating and intense story.
4.25⭐️

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Catherine Chidgey at her creepy, shocking best. I loved it. More stars required for this one.

Vincent, William and Lawrence live at Captain Scott, a Sycamore (children's) Home named for the heroic explorer, in the New Forest where they are cared for by Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon and Mother Night. They read every day from the Book of Knowledge, they tell their dreams when they wake to Mother Morning and if they behave badly their sins are recorded in the Book of Guilt.

The boys are the only ones left now, all the others having gone to Margate to live at The Big House and play all day at Dreamland. If Vincent could only work out what they need to do to get there ... but they are often ill, having to take medication every day to keep The Bug at bay. But they will never get to Margate if the dream they share will not stop coming because the dream is of a girl and there is blood in the dream. Vincent is afraid it means they will stay at Captain Scott forever.

Set in an alternate Britain, the plight of the triplets is interspersed with that of Nancy, who lives with her parents but has never gone out and must hide in the wardrobe when visitors come. But as Nancy gets older the question of why she is not allowed out becomes more insistent in her mind and when a party doesn't have the effect she had been promised, Nancy has had enough.

I can't possibly pile enough praise on The Book of Guilt. Catherine Chidgey does creepy and horrifying with the lightest of touches. The tension builds and builds throughout this book to reach an explosive culmination and just when you think the strangeness is over she tags on another surprise at the end.

I loved Axeman's Carnival; I loved Pet more; and this blows both of them out of the water. Superb writing, fantastic plot, great characters. Creepy to the max and jaw droppingly horrifying when you realise exactly what's going on. It gave me shivers.

Very highly recommended for fans of Chidgey or just someone who, like me, finds a book where they are desperate to know what happens but does not want it to end. I had to ration myself because I knew how bereft I'd feel once I'd finished. Definitely one to read again.

Thankyou very much to Netgalley and John Murray Press for the advance review copy. Very much appreciated.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s the year 1979 in the countryside of Hampshire, England, where no one won WWII. Vincent, Lawrence, and William take medicine every day to ward off the Bug, something they have been doing since they were babies. Even though the sickness is tiresome, they know that if they take their medicine and do what they are told to become stronger, they are allowed to move to a magical place called Margate, where children who have recovered from the illness can live. Until then, the thirteen-year-old triplets and their three “mothers” reside at the Captain Scott Home for Boys, being the last remaining residents of the large house that used to house many twins, triplets, and quadruplets.

Soon, the boys' lives begin to intersect with thirteen-year-old Nancy, who lives a secluded and lonely life in Exeter with her doting parents and is forbidden to leave the house. But the four children realize that their lives, their very existence, isn't normal. What is the government and the rest of England hiding from them?

This book broke me, put me back together, and then broke me again without remorse. 😂😭

I felt all the emotions–anger, shock, sadness, and some happiness. My poor brother had to listen to me vent about the injustice and callousness toward the boys and the other children. 😅 I know a book deserves a five-star rating when I can’t stop thinking about it, if it makes me stop and think about the morals and themes portrayed in the story, and if it takes me on a wild rollercoaster ride of feelings.

Look, I know it’s fiction, but I felt so freaking bad for the kids. I was yelling at the screen, trying my hardest not to cuss at the narrow-mindedness in some people. But I guess I can blame the government (in the book) for that. It makes you wonder if the stalemate between the countries was a good thing in this story because of the lives affected. Now that I think about it, the government and those responsible for the Scheme were the real bad guys here. It definitely wasn't the kids. It wasn't even the citizens of England. It was the…Okay, I should stop before I get caught up in my raging emotions. 😂

Another thing that really hit home with me is the nature vs. nurture debate that constantly came to mind as I read. Is it really in someone’s blood to do what they do, be who they are? Are they really responsible for their own deeds if it’s just something they are eventually going to do because of their parents? Or is it because of how they were raised, what they were told, or some traumatic experience that shaped them into who they are? It really gets the gears in the mind going, and you know what? I appreciated that. I do love a book that makes me stop and think.

Anyway–back to the book, lol–the writing was fantastic! It was so immersive, descriptive, and beautiful. I loved it! The plot kept me on the edge of my seat, and I desperately wanted to know what was going to happen to Nancy, Vincent, and his siblings. And the ending! 😭💔 Oh my gosh, I can’t! It fit the story, but gosh, it’s just so…so sad, yet it gave me closure about the characters and the plot. ❤️‍🩹

Even though this book tore my heart in two, I recommend it. It is very moving, original, and mind-boggling. I am stunned, and probably will be for a few days. So when you get this book on September 16th, make sure you have a box of tissues on hand. 🤧

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review! All opinions and statements are my own.

❗Content Warnings❗
Violence, blood, an act of animal cruelty, prejudice against a certain group of children & mentions sexual assault, murder, and child abuse.
Swearing: A little.
Spice: No

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my God!😨

I was completely riveted every moment of reading this book! It was definitely a “WOW!” read! It was my second Catherine Chidgey novel (the other: 5-star The Axeman's Carnival—another WOW! read). I’ll say this about her… she really knows how to keep a reader’s attention!😦

Many readers have compared The Book of Guilt to Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go. I’ll admit there's a slight similarity, but there is SO MUCH MORE to The Book of Guilt. Tons more! But... I’m deep inside a Long-Book-Challenge at the moment, so I’ll say no more. And besides, it’s nearly impossible to say anything further without spoiling it. It’s a real heart-stopping read and I recommend it with accolades galore!!

5 “Who–are–we–as–human–beings–if–we–ignore–the–suffering–of–others?” stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

LBC 2025: Book 2

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

This was my first time reading Catherine Chidgey, and I was impressed by her vivid prose, rich characterizations, and creative worldbuilding. Set in an alternate 1979 England, the story follows three orphaned identical triplets living under mysterious government care. They are looked after by three “mothers” who record their dreams in The Book of Dreams and write up their misdeeds in The Book of Guilt. It’s not so much the dystopian premise that pulled me in as much as the way their story unfolds.

Narrated by one of the boys, Vincent, the book delivers a slow-build tension. His voice is innocent but observant, and through his perspective we begin to piece together the chilling reality before he does. Another narrator is a girl named Nancy who lives in near isolation with her overprotective parents. Her mysterious story is weaved throughout. I liked the structure—it made the reading experience more immersive, as if I were solving a puzzle as to how these characters connect. The story has emotional undercurrents and ethical questions around science and autonomy. But this book asks the question—is evil inherited or is it learned?

Though it’s haunting at times, there’s also beauty in how the book explores human connection—especially among the boys—and the hope they hold on to of eventually moving on to Margate, “a place where children can have the time of their lives just being children.” Chidgey balances the surreal with the deeply emotional, and I closed the book still thinking about its tense atmosphere and moral weight. Fantastic book!

[Tini · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Sometimes we lie to be kind."

Set in an alternate 1979 England where WWII ended with a peace treaty in 1943 after the assassination of Adolf Hitler, "The Book of Guilt" takes place mostly in the Hampshire countryside decades after the end of the war. There, 13-year-old triplets Vincent, Lawrence, and William are the last remaining residents under government care at the Captain Scott Home for Boys. With three distinctive points of view - those of Vincent; Nancy, another 13-year-old living her own secluded existence with her parents; and the aptly named Minister of Loneliness - "The Book of Guilt" builds a layered, emotionally rich narrative that grapples with identity, guilt, and what it means to belong.

Disturbing, harrowing, deeply unsettling, and quietly devastating, with faint echoes of Kazuo Ishiguro’s "Never Let Me Go", this novel is one best read with as little knowledge going in as possible. Author Catherine Chidgey expertly creates a layered story reverberating with personal longing, social commentary, and a troubling political undercurrent. Brimming with ethical and moral questions about connection, nature vs. nurture, the responsibility of science and the price of progress, the value of a life, and what makes us human, it will make you think long after you’ve turned the final page.

"The Book of Guilt" blends gorgeous prose, a pervasive sense of unease, a thought-provoking dystopian storyline, and unforgettable characters. This book is a marvel.

Many thanks to Grand Central Publishing | Cardinal for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

"The Book of Guilt" was published on September 16, 2025, and is available now.

[Marcus Hobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew this was going to be good, but it was way better than that. Absolutely brilliant. Brilliant storytelling, brilliant plot, brilliant characterisation and brilliant twists. Quite extraordinary. These are not adjectives I apply lightly, or often, to the books I read.

Things that make the book so good: the reality, the sense that we are not too removed from reality. The simplicity of the characters. Chidgey makes everything very realistic. She does this subtly, by filling the pages with familiar things, things I remember from my childhood, that were part of my growing up. For that reason I wonder if this will work so well for all audiences. For those who weren’t kids in 1970s Britain? For those who don’t remember Jim’ll Fix It on the TV. Or for that matter the Moors Murderers.

Before I say much more, you need to know something about the plot and the subject matter. Three boys, triplets, live in a big house with their three mothers. Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon and Mother Night. It is some kind of institution, but the boys are not prisoners. They play in the gardens, have lessons and are even allowed to venture into the nearby town. They learn everything they know from a set of encyclopaedias. There are other houses like this one, called Sycamore Homes, and from the second paragraph of the book you are alerted to the fact that this is not true history. The houses were purchased “after the war”, but a date is given, 1944. And not much later we learn that the war ended with the Treaty of Gothenburg, where agreement was reached between the British, Americans and Germans, and things the Germans learned were used, adopted and taken up. Experiments are hinted at. These little differences are subtle and wonderfully, worryingly close to reality.
In the main our narrator is Vincent, one of the three boys, whose lives are studied and catalogued. Every morning when they wake, Mother Morning asked them about their dreams and writes down their night-time memories in The Book of Dreams. Any of their day-time misdemeanours are also collected, this time in The Book of Guilt. Their lives are regimented, like their education and their experiences. They do not mix with other children. At the same time as we hear about the three boys, we alternate with chapters about a girl called Nancy. She lives with her family, but they prevent her from mixing with anyone else. It emerges that she is a virtual prisoner in her own home, although she does get to watch the TV.
And then the final protagonist emerges. Six chapters in we meet the Minister of Loneliness, charged by the Prime Minister with closing down the Sycamore Homes in order to save the government money. It is she who has to work out what to do with the boys and girls still living in these homes. She who runs a series of socialisation meetings, between boys and girls, and then then a programme to find news home and families for the children.

I love that there is a growing sense of unease throughout the book. We know there is more going on than meets the eye, but because much of the action is being narrated by the children, we watch the slow discovery of the truth. Our narrators are naïve but not stupid. Their sense of disquiet helps to unsettle the reader. At the first of the socialisation meetings, the boys meet Jane, who suggests that the pills they take every morning are not to make them better, but to keep them sick. Susceptible to the ‘bug’, which can lay them low at any moment. Vincent stops taking his morning pills, hides them under his tongue and spits them out. He soon begins to feel healthy, stronger than the others. And so they start to figure things out:

’What are you up to, eh?’ Mother Afternoon asked with a smile. ‘What are you planning?’
We smiled back, but we were figuring things out. In the Book of Knowledge, under The Science and Art of Healing, I found a brief reference to drug trials: ‘Working together with their Gothenburg Treaty partners, Britain’s scientists are at the cutting edge of modern medical research. New drugs are tested first in vitro (in the laboratory) and then in vivo (on living organisms) before being deemed safe for human use.’
And finally I understood that nothing was wrong with us, that nothing had ever been wrong with us. Jane was right: the medicine didn’t make us better, it made us sick. There was no Bug. We were laboratory animals. We were sacrifices.

One of the lovely things that Chidgey does is to use humour in her writing. She plays the naivety and innocence of the children against the Mothers, who know what is going on, and uses the fact that the children have learnt everything they now from a set of encyclopaedias. When the socialisations take place they come up against girls who know quite different things. Take this passage for example:

‘Right then,’ said Mother Afternoon. ‘Today we’re pretending to be Good Samaritans. Who want to go first?’
‘What’s a Samaritan? said Lawrence.
“A person from Samaria, I expect,’ said Diane.
‘Where’s that?’
‘Israel. It doesn’t exist any more, though.’
‘What happened to it? Where did it go?’
‘Let’s stick to the task at hand.’ said Mother Afternoon. ‘We need a Good Samaritan and an injured person.’
‘But we’re all fine,’ said William.
‘We’re pretending,’ said Mother Afternoon. ‘We’re practicing.’
‘Why are we pretending to be Good Samaritans if we’re not from the ancient kingdom of Israel?’
‘Goodness me, it’s just an expression!’ said Mother Afternoon. ‘The origins are lost in the mists of time, but it just means someone who helps others.’
‘Are there bad Samaritans?’ said Diane.
Mother Afternoon ignored her.

One of the other elements of the plot is what Chidgey described as ‘a hidden extravagant revenge’ narrative when I listened to her talking about the book at a launch in New Zealand. ‘I loved writing that part of it’ she stated, suggesting that we would all love to write something along those lines. She was interested to probe what the worst events of our lives could drive us to do. A sentiment that she has pushed before in earlier novels such as Remote Sympathy and its look at Nazi era Germany and the questions to be asked of the town next to a concentration camp.


The children in the Sycamore Homes are promised that at some point in the future they will be transferred to Margate. This is their reward, where there is a big house, and a fairground called Dreamland with rollercoasters and other rides, and where everything will be perfect. Margate is a sea-side town in Kent in the very south-east of England. I have never been there, but when I looked at it on Google Maps, I saw that there is a real place called Dreamland complete with big wheel and rollercoaster. Given the horrors that will gradually emerge about Margate in the book, one wonders if the tow will ever recover its peaceful holiday reputation?
There was a point thirty of forty pages from the end when I had to put the book down for a moment – probably to get myself another cup of coffee – and I had this sense of drama and ‘rush’, like a film that you have paused, where you need to get back to the action because it was so thrilling and there was so much more to come. That excitement and need for more is such a rare emotion when reading a book. It is not a literary thing, but a visual filmic sensation. The book has lifted out of its covers to be very vivid in the mind, very real and present, and I have rarely experienced such an emotion when reading a book. I put it down to The Book of Guilt being not just gripping, but wholly realistic, and plausible in a way a film feels more real because you are watching the images on a screen, just as you might watch the news or a documentary. I love that it is both naïve and sinister at the same time.

Worth more than the five stars I have awarded.

[Heather~ Nature.books.and.coffee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was interesting, but yet very different from what I was expecting. It's a historical fiction, with a sci-fi plot. It's an alternate reality as if no one won WW2. This has dark and unsettling themes of a government run scheme. The abuse of these children really was hard to read. It took me a while to get into this slow build mystery, but once it got going, I just didn't know where it was going or what to expect. Boy….this one has my mind racing. It's a good read that will have you on edge, feeling uneasy and have you thinking.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

[Trudie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

It pains me to conclude that The Book of Guilt is my least favourite Chidgey of those I have read, especially as I count myself a fangirl.
The insurmountable problem was the inevitable comparison to Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go; another book and writer I hold dear. Unfortunately, this toe-dip into alternate reality/dystopia, is a beautifully written fail. Specific plot developments didn't resonate with me, the details of which I will withhold, as this is a book you need to approach knowing as little as possible.
I temper this disappointed-sounding conclusion with the observation that a so-so Chidgey is still a worthwhile read. The tone is somewhere in the vicinity of a "gothic fairy tale" with some wry observational humour and dialogue that amused me greatly. The attention to detail is astonishing; all the forgotten nuances of a late 70's childhood are here; (Zippy !) and it seems the author has done plenty of research on historical Margate.
I wonder if this is a case of too much research and not enough clarity of vision or maybe I just can't let Never Let Me Go , go.

[Lindsay L · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars!

Review to come…

[Dona's Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing.

Pre-Read Notes:

Honestly, I was hopeless against this wild title and cover.

"“I know what a nightmare sounds like. I’ve heard hundreds over the years."" p109

Final Review

(thoughts & recs) A wild speculative concept that executes as a haunting story about institutional power, displacement, and the definition of family, of science, of human. I was absolutely floored by this novel and I honestly could not read it fast enough.

The author aptly tells us a story which itself tells us another story. The author tells us about a group of children who in turn tell us about everything that comprised their exceedingly odd world. The form, which echoes three act plays, is one of the things that makes this story so intriguing. The themes are heavy, so it needed this lift given by the story's structure. There is a turn in the story, but I think it was easily discerned from the book's material before its reveal.

I really empathized with the children who are the subjects of this book, even the ones who might be considered unlikeable or undesirable. All of them deserve regard, as subjects of scientific experimentation, and whose humanity is often questioned by the people whose lives they secretly improved. As the book progresses, I ached to find these children's disposition degrade again and again and again. Eventually, I realized the discomfort I felt...was part of the point.

I heartily recommend this book to readers of books that wrestle with morality. Those who enjoy clever or experimental form will enjoy this as well.

My Favorite Things:

✔️ The way the writer develops these children is wonderfully done, where we can almost see the distinction in each of them between environment and nature as they impact behavior. Also there's something uncanny about the children, though it's impossible to identify, at least in the first third of the book.

✔️ I don't talk about this characteristic of books enough, but THE BOOK OF GUILT is epically readable. A book that you can't put down, that it is a pleasure to read, whose pages slip quickly and quietly through your fingers -- well, that's a bit of magic that this book possesses. It's a combination of pacing, style, and voice, here, and it's lovely.

Content Notes:
scientific experimentation on humans, dehumanization, nature v nurture debate, hunger, dreams/nightmares,

Thank you to Catherine Chidgy, Cardinal, and NetGalley for an accessible digital copy of THE BOOK OF GUILT. All views are mine.

[Andy Marr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was superbly written, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I only wish that the book's message had been made to hit a little harder, as it provided a perfect metaphor for the sorry state of the world at this moment in time.

[Bonnie G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic read, which closely aligns with Never Let Me Go, for those, like me, who were big fans of that. It is not derivative, though; it is homage and expansion. Chidgey dives deep into the ways we dehumanize others to justify abuses of all kinds. She twice refers to "the origins of evil" which made me think of Hannah Arendt -- it is sort of a mashup of the titles of Arendt's two most famous works, The Origins of Totalitarianism and The Banality of Evil. Both of those tracts loomed large thematically here.

This is one where I don't want to talk a lot about the story. I went in completely blind, and that worked. What I will say is that it takes place in an alternate Britain where WWII was ended by treaty with Germany, and where many of the horrors of the Nazi's were normalized through concerted messaging which appealed to people exhausted by war and want. That normalization of horrors included the work of Josef Mengele. I will leave the rest of the story to the reader. The book asks profound questions, brings us fascinating, fully drawn characters, and begs the reader to see the parallels between the events depicted and the world we live in. It also highlighted the good that can be done by lone voices who stand up against injustice at great personal cost. An extraordinary book. Also extraordiary is the audiobook narration by Alison Campbell and George Naylor.

[Sophie Breese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mixed feelings about this. I was utterly hooked and listened to it without stopping. I will definitely read more by the writer because the structure of the novel really worked and it was well plotted and well written.

But it was simply too much like one of my favourite all time novels ‘Never Let Me Go’ by Ishiguro. I have taught Ishiguro’s novel and read it many times so I know it incredibly well. And while Chidgey added some different elements it was essentially a very similar story.

I really hope if you are reading this you have seen the spoiler alert! And actually it’s a spoiler for ‘Never Let Me Go’ so stop now if you haven’t read that!








Links between the two

Our world with differences (I have forgotten the literary word for that - something happened a while ago which changed history but things are still recognisable). 1970s/1980s backdrop. Children separated from society without knowing why. But actually knowing why: in Ishiguro’s novel Cathy does know and she is holding it back because she is an unreliable narrator; it’s the same for Vincent. Children being used for society. Effectively clones. Boarding school set up. Big questions like, ‘What does it mean to be human?’

Ishiguro’s novel is much more subtle. I think Chidgey over explains towards the end and because she has the voice of the minister in her novel she has a mouthpiece for outrage. Ishiguro lets us do the being outraged. Ishiguro’s novel is much more a meditation on a life lived without basic human rights (the right to live out our natural life span) and explores the idea of science. Chidgey’s novel is engaging with this but it is very clear what we are meant to think.

I didn’t read any reviews of this book before I read it. But almost immediately I understood what was happening. If I hadn’t read Ishiguro’s novel I probably wouldn’t have and I imagine for anyone coming to this novel having not read ‘Never Let Me Go’ it would be a very chilling experience. But ‘Never Let Me Go’ unsettled me profoundly. I remember exactly where I was when I read it the first time and how I felt - very disturbed, asking questions about life. The detached nature of Cathy’s narrative is incredible.

I think something else that began to jar was the constant and very specific reference to the 1970s. I grew up then so recognised all the references but I felt it was overdone and over researched. It’s interesting because an early draft of my (still unfinished) novel had loads of references to that period - many of which were the same. In my novel the narrator also writes to Jimmy Saville. I think it was something many of us did or wanted to do then. After a while it felt clunky in Chidgey’s novel. Specificity has its place in novels - but it’s the same idea as putting a Rubik’s Cube in every single tv programme about the 1980s. It has become a cliche now. Apparently the writer is from New Zealand so she has done lots of research and that is very impressive.

I spent a lot of my time in the town next to Margate when little. My grandma lived in Broadstairs. I never actually went to Dreamland. (draft one of my novel had Dreamland in it too - but in a very different way. I loved how Chidgey used Dreamland.)

This is all to say I really really liked the book and I think she is a fantastic writer but…

[CarolG · Rating 5 out of 5]

13-year-old triplets Vincent, Lawrence and William are the last remaining residents at the Captain Scott Home for Boys where they must take medicine every day to protect themselves from a mysterious illness, "the bug", to which many of their friends have succumbed. The lucky ones who recovered are sent to Margate, a seaside resort of mythical proportions. Nearby, 13-year-old Nancy lives a secluded life with her parents who dote on her but never let her leave the house. The triplets’ lives intersect with Nancy’s exposing a horrifying truth about their origins and their likely fate.

Oh my, what a story! This book is described as dystopian/science fiction/fantasy, genres that I don't normally read, but I enjoyed it 5 stars worth! The story is told mostly from Vincent's point of view with some sections from the points of view of Nancy and the Minister of Loneliness whose jurisdiction includes the Sycamore Homes, of which the Captain Scott Home for Boys is one. It takes place in 1979, a different 1979 than we're familiar with, and everything the boys know is from the Book of Knowledge which sounds like a set of children's encyclopedias. They are looked after by Mother Night, Mother Afternoon and Mother Morning. If they misbehave it's recorded in the Book of Guilt. There aren't chapters per se and some of the "sections" are quite long. I'm normally not a fan of long chapters or sections or whatever but this time it didn't bother me as much. The book has a certain eeriness to it, the characters are well drawn, and I was totally immersed in the story. There are some twists throughout the book and I was pleased with the ending. I have a couple of Catherine Chidgey's books on my TBR and I'm more interested than ever in getting to them.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada, via Netgalley, for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: September 16, 2025

[None Ofyourbusiness Loves Israel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Book of Guilt opens its nursery door with the sweetness of a lullaby and the ethics of a laboratory. Captain Scott House, "one of several Sycamore Homes for Special Children," shelters three identical boys whose names, Vincent, William, Lawrence, sound like a boarding-school law firm.

Their three caretakers, Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon, and Mother Night, patrol the premises like a rota of saintly wardens. "We were the future," Vincent writes, "we were being shaped for the greater good." Translation: they are homework for God, graded by a doctor named Roach, whose bedside manner has all the warmth of formaldehyde.

The boys live in an education of the absurd: classes in morality delivered by those without any, hymns to kindness written by bureaucrats, punishments packaged as "progress." Their every dream is catalogued, every sin inscribed in the eponymous Book, a ledger where innocence accrues interest for someone else's conscience.

They are told that their "illness" is being studied for the sake of mankind, that the sacrifices of others in history made such progress possible. The details of the outside world do not quite fit. The history they are taught describes an alternate timeline in which Hitler was killed in 1943 and the war ended with a "Gothenburg Treaty" that united scientific research from both sides.

Slowly, the reader begins to understand that these boys are products of this new world's medical legacy: children bred or engineered as research material, raised in a pastoral experiment disguised as an orphanage.

Nancy, the parallel child, grows inside another form of captivity, her parents the curators of a living doll. Her house glows with parental love so stifling it could sterilize instruments. "Smile for Daddy," her mother says, "so he can fix the light."

Each photograph captures obedience polished to museum gloss. While Vincent and his brothers practice gratitude as if it were a martial art, Nancy rehearses delight for a camera lens. The author ties these fates together with embroidery-thread logic: three boys drugged by affection, one girl anesthetized by adoration.

The effect is England seen through a moral distillery, where every virtue turns proof-strength toxic. Dr Roach doses the boys "for the sake of mankind." Mother Morning calls injections "gifts." When the Minister of Loneliness visits to evaluate their progress, he discovers a happiness too symmetrical to be sincere. "Every good act leaves a mark," Vincent writes, proving that the road to ethical ruin is paved with perfect manners. The Sycamore Home's anthem could be sung by Pavlov's choirboys.

Catherine Chidgey writes like a governess armed with a magnifying glass and a wicked sense of humor. Her sentences clip along with the authority of a poem and the mischief of graffiti. The book's design mimics a snow globe of morality: shake it, and guilt glitters over everything.

Each chapter conducts a tea party for tyranny, complete with lace napkins and injections at four. The world she invents offers obedience as the ultimate sedative, turning compassion into a controlled substance. The result lands between Orwell's Ministry of Truth and Carroll's Wonderland, a place where "helpfulness" means harm with good handwriting.

The story reveals its secrets like a polite cough before a confession, the kind of British horror that serves its atrocities with sponge cake. It is an allegory for scientific hubris and bureaucratic cruelty, for every age that dressed violence in white coats. Monstrosity sounds domestic. The admirable lacework sentences gorgeously tighten into a noose. It is ingenious, ghastly, and perversely tender. A fairy tale that swallowed its own conscience while smiling.

[Books_the_Magical_Fruit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. This book will certainly make you think. It takes place in England, in an alternate timeline. Chidgey brings up serious issues of ethics, nature vs nurture, and what it means to be human. I’m not going to say anything else, because it would be very easy to give something away. Just—read this book, at least once, and think about what it might be like to be one of the main characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Cardinal for an eARC. All opinions are mine.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book fascinates from the start. What exactly is going on with the boys in the big house in the 70s? Why are their dreams so important? And why are they getting multiple medications? What illness do they have?
In ‘The Book of Guilt’ Catherine Chidgey creates an original, heartbreaking and terrifying alternate reality that keeps you deeply engrossed till the end. Highly recommended!
Thank you John Murray and Netgalley UK for the ARC.

[Celine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a gorgeous book, and one which took me by surprise at several turns.

From the very beginning I was intrigued - pulled in by the premise of three boys (triplets) who are residing in a government funded home, unaware that their existence is the result of an experiment and that they are being monitored. There are other children, residing in similar homes, and all believe that at a certain stage they will be moved to the wonderful world of Margate and life in 'The Big House".

I so love Catherine Chidgey. All of her books are threaded through with mystery, the tension expertly woven. As with her other novels, what you initially believe might be the core mystery never is, and I found myself - as always - impressed, moved and ultimately satisfied by the ending.

May we receive a lifetime of novels from CC !

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s hard to write a review of The Book of Guilt without paying homage to one of Kazuo Ishiguro’s most famous novels, Never Let Me Go.

From the very first sentence (“Before I knew what I was, I lived with my brothers in a grand old house in the heart of the New Forest”), the ghosts of Kathy, Ruth and Tommy, Ishiguro’s trio of “different” students at Hailsham are evoked. Like that memorable trio, Vincent, Lawrence and William – identical triplets – suspect something is “different” about themselves but aren’t quite sure what it might be.

We readers know they are orphans. We know they are also societal outcasts and live under the care of a trio of mothers (Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon, and Mother Night). They also are taught, molded, and reprimanded through a trio of books. The Book of Dreams is an ongoing reporting of their nightmares, the Book of Lessons is their “apple of knowledge” and The Book of Guilt – well, that is the book that may very well seal their fate.

Perhaps the author is suggesting an unholy trio, and certainly, very soon, we gain an inkling of why. This secluded home is part of the government’s Sycamore Scheme, and little by little, we learn that that scheme entails and what makes it unholy. Although identical, the three boys deviate in their personalities, but they share a dream: they will someday be sent to the Big House in Margate, which is filled with amusement park rides, plenty of treats, and lots of other kids to play with. The gradual awakening that they exist for a nefarious reason – a reason in which the end justifies the means – is also a haunting reminder of Ishiguro’s work.

Of course, anyone who has read Chidgey’s other works – including Remote Sympathy, Pet, and Axeman’s Carnival – knows she is a superb writer in her own right. Once you begin one of her novels, it’s nearly impossible to put it down and she never writes the same book twice. Here, she tackles subjects that are completely relevant to today’s world. At a time when we are being forced to confront who we regard as human and who is “alien” and therefore, dispensable, we recognize the horror of living under a state that thinks it has the right to dehumanize and denigrate an “unworthy” element.

As in Remote Sympathy, Chidgey asks: what happens if you know the truth but refuse to acknowledge it or act upon it? And she also ponders: Is our genetic coding the key to who we become, or can we change our destiny by being cared for in a loving environment? Is saving some lives worth destroying others? How much of our own humanity do we sacrifice by depriving others of theirs?

The answer to the last question is obvious. The recent revelation of Alligator Alcatraz, where 66% of prisoners are innocent and are slated to live in the most sub-human conditions, is tearing away at our definition of what it means to be human in the 21st century as we inure ourselves to human suffering.

I’m torn here between 4 and 5 stars. The book quicky became unputdownable, and the moral questions Chidgey asks are vital and important. I only wish that Ishiguro’s muse didn’t loom so large.

[Brooklyn L. Wolves · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really intrigued by the synopsis of The Book of Guilt. The unsettling atmosphere, the mystery surrounding the Sycamore Scheme, and the triplets' yearning for a normal life all had the potential for a gripping story. Unfortunately, the execution fell flat for me.

While Chidgey establishes a suitably creepy environment, the plot meanders and the pacing is glacial. The secrets hinted at in the blurb unravel far too slowly, and when they finally do, they feel underwhelming. The characters, particularly the triplets, remain frustratingly underdeveloped. I never truly connected with them or felt invested in their struggles.

The constant references to the books (The Book of Dreams, The Book of Knowledge, etc.) felt repetitive and heavy-handed, rather than adding to the story's atmosphere. While the writing is competent, it lacked the spark needed to elevate the material. Overall, The Book of Guilt felt like a missed opportunity. It had all the ingredients for a compelling read, but the slow pace and lack of character development left me feeling disappointed.

[Yahaira]

God I loved this

rtc

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Thanks to cardinal publishing for the gifted arc

I’m ready for the Catherine Chidgey hive to form with this novel. It's time! It's dark, propulsive, and makes you confront so many questions. Are we complicit with what our government has done? It's just easier to look away right? I know a lot of us have grown up with the concept of ‘ask what you can do for your country' (kind of laughable lately), but how much is too much of a sacrifice? Let's also throw in the country turning crueler before we ask these questions. Then what? Do you still owe anyone anything? Othering, nature vs nurture, and the origin and morality of scientific discoveries are all thrown into the mix. 

I suggest going into this story without reading too much about it. Just know that it's an alternate 70s where WWII ended in a compromise after Hitler was killed. A new UK government has been voted in and they don't see certain programs as beneficial anymore. There are three pov’s: Vincent, one of the triplets still living in a government run orphanage, Nancy, a teenager sheltered by her family, and The Minister of Loneliness, whose job is to start dismantling the program and find families for the kids. The book is split into three parts that correspond to books that are in some way part of the triplets' lives. In a way, you and the characters are in this together as Chidgey slowly reveals the meaning to what has been happening and everyone's part in it. Sometimes you'll be ahead of the characters (they're mostly children!) and other times an unexpected consequence or fact will surprise you. Honestly, she has you holding on to the very last page.

I will say that it has been compared to a certain book (I won't name it because some will think it's a spoiler), but I couldn't even finish that one. The tension, environment, and prose found here just worked better for me.

I picked up Remote Sympathy, and will eventually get The Wish Child, to see how they make a loose WWII trilogy along with The Book of Guilt. I'm also excited to see what Cardinal publishes next if this is what they came out of the gate with.

[Neth · Rating 5 out of 5]

An eerie, coming-of-age novel set in an alternate history Britain.

It’s 1979 and triplets Vincent, William, and Lawrence are the last remaining residents of the Captain Scott Home for Boys. Under the watchful eyes of Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon, and Mother Night, the three boys spend their days learning from the Book of Knowledge, dictating their nightmares for the Book of Dreams, and being written up in the Book of Guilt. They dream of being cured of the mysterious Bug that has plagued them their whole lives and joining their friends at the Big House in Margate. But when the government decides to shut down the Sycamore Scheme and all its homes, the boys begin to understand that they’ve been lied to their whole lives…

What an incredible, incredible book. After finishing this, I had to sit in silence for a good few minutes and then go back to reread a couple of sections that absolutely broke my heart.

[endrju]

A very effectively told story of a world with a slightly alternate history and the ethical consequences of undefeated and accepted fascism. It might as well be a story of our future, considering the direction things have been going for the last decade. I really enjoyed peeling back the layers of the narrative and at the same time realizing with increasing horror the magnitude and implications of what is happening (I'm trying not to spoil it). It's incredible what Catherine Chidgey has done, and I was hooked from the first page. The only thing I liked less is a short section at the end that explains everything in the novel. It was unnecessary and repetitive. I would have preferred even less telling and much more showing, letting us fish in the dark, or rather sepia, as the novel plays very well with the 1970s nostalgia. I suppose this aspect would work even better with British readers, who are much more familiar with cultural references of the time than I am.

[Bobby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reminds me A LOT of The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. I’ve tried to read that book several themes and have never finished, but I finished this one. Remains of the Day is considered a classic from what I can tell so since I finished Book of Guilt I guess it’s a classic+? Is that how book rating works?

I didn’t love this book, but it had a creepy little hum going on throughout that felt new to me as “creepy” is not a genre I often dabble in. That hum propelled me to finish the book, and you know what, I’m glad I did.

I think if you liked Remains of the Day you may want to give this book a go and maybe also Handmaid’s Tale, but I haven’t read that one. Also, if you grew up watching Family Feud then you MUST give this book a chance.

P.S. Family Feud has nothing to do with this book and that was a fake comp.

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5, rounded up

This is the fourth novel by Catherine Chidgey that I have read and my admiration for her writing and storytelling increases with each one. Her novels have been remarkably different - from a Holocaust novel to one narrated by a talking magpie to this dystopian novel set in an alternate version of England.

I came into this already knowing what I thought was the major mystery of the novel and worried that it would negatively impact my overall experience. This proved not to be an issue. I think I would have figured it out very early anyway and Chidgey had plenty of other twists and surprises up her sleeve to keep me intrigued. The pacing is perfect as slowly, with various revelations, the pieces all begin falling into place while the tension and suspense builds. This is an exceptionally well written and exciting novel which I highly recommend.

Many thanks to GR Giveaways and Cardinal for an ARC.

[Liz Hein · Rating 5 out of 5]

A less literary Never Let Me Go that had be turning pages and also still thinking a bit

[Joy D · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a blend of alternate history and science fiction set in 1979 Great Britain, decades after World War II had ended in a treaty. The main characters are identical thirteen-year-old triplets Vincent, Lawrence, and William. They live in the Captain Scott House in the English countryside with their three “mothers.” The boys take medicine daily and are told they will eventually join the other children (who had formerly lived with them) at the “Big House in Margate,” where life will be filled with seaside pleasures.

The perspective alternates between the triplets and Nancy, a thirteen-year-old girl who lives with her parents in their suburban home and is never allowed outside. She must hide when anyone comes to visit. Due to cost concerns, the government decides to shut down the program, which includes several separate “homes” for boys and girls. This change creates a rising awareness of what had previously been hidden, and dark secrets are discovered.

This book explores what Britain might have become if Hitler had been assassinated in 1943, leading to a treaty requiring Germany to share concentration camp research with Allied nations. As a reader, I immediately began to feel a “creepy” vibe. Readers will be aware that something is not quite right, and the pieces are gradually revealed over the course of the storyline. It reminds me a bit of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (which is high praise indeed). It is disturbing yet strangely compelling.

4.5

[Beth Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhere out there is a person who has never read, watched, or heard of Never Let Me Go, and that person will think this is a good book.