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Das Kind das tötet
Leo Curtice scheint das große Los gezogen zu haben. Der bisher wenig erfolgreiche Anwalt wird Pflichtverteidiger in einem spektakulären Fall: Ein erst zwölfjähriger Junge hat auf brutale Weise eine Elfjährige ermordet. Wider Erwarten packt Leo der Ehrgeiz, dem Jungen wirklich helfen zu wollen. Doch er rechnet nicht mit der Hexenjagd, die nun beginnt. Und dann kommt es zur Katastrophe, die sein Leben auf immer verändern wird.
347 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
17 people are currently reading
1071 people want to read
About the author
Simon Lelic
17 books337 followersSimon Lelic was born in 1976 and has worked as a journalist in the UK and currently runs his own business in Brighton, England, where he lives with his wife and two sons.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 164 reviews
March 12, 2018
WOW! I didn’t see that ending coming at all! For once!! Now I have hope again that there are still original books with the capability of stumping me! After reading this & The House, I’m reading all of SL books!
February 12, 2012
An engaging story involving a twelve year old boy accused of the murder and rape of a young girl. We follow the solicitor in his taking on of the case and the turmoil and hate he faces representing a young boy accused of murder. The public hate him as they know of his identity and the solicitor is bombarded by hate and finger pointing. His wife and a young daughter soon find themselves having to face problems, due to his high profile and sensitive case. It was an interesting read and gives you a observant eye and thought provoking take on young offenders and crimes. Responsibilities, motives and punishment all come again under the microscope as food for thought.
March 2, 2012
My thoughts on this one were rather mixed. I'll start with the good: the subject matter. The subject and the ethical questions associated with dealing with crimes by youth is fascinating to me. Given the horrid nature of his crimes, should Daniel be tried as an adult? Does his youth mean that he shouldn't be culpable?
Reading this book really made me think about these questions and innumerable others. I also thought, too, about the reactions people had to Daniel's crime. All of the flak that Leo took for trying to do his job and be this kid's solicitor was ridiculous. I just fail to understand why anyone would send him hate mail or protest him for fulfilling his role in the country's justice system.
Moving into the problems here...I think I would have preferred this if it were from the perspective of a child psychologist or something like that. Leo's understanding of Daniel is limited, and we see through his eyes any time Daniel's actually present. Even when he gets Daniel to talk, he doesn't know the right questions to ask or have any analysis to bear. Even when he gets a psychologist to speak with Daniel and she diagnoses a couple of things, nothing really comes of it because Leo isn't smart enough or isn't the right kind of smart to do anything with it.
What really got to me, though, was the writing style. For one thing, the sentences are really simple, which could be a stylistic decision, but just made the whole thing choppy and hard to read. Also, the third person narration tended to follow along with a character, but who changed from chapter to chapter. Lots of authors use this technique, but, here, it was rather difficult to parse. I think the reason it was so troublesome for me was that, rather than using the character's name at the beginning of each section, Lelic always refers to them merely as he or she, so I spent several sentences/paragraphs of each one trying to determine who the heck I was reading about.
On top of that, the story jumped around in time, which, again, can be used effectively but was not here. Instead of amping up the shock value or creating interesting comparisons, this method created confusion and removed the surprises. There was one twist of sorts, but I wasn't interested enough in the characters to care about it particularly.
All of that aside, Lelic has won awards for his mystery writing, so don't dismiss him based solely on my review. His style just doesn't work for me personally. If you think you might like this, give it a try, or check out one of his other books. His style just doesn't work for me personally.
Reading this book really made me think about these questions and innumerable others. I also thought, too, about the reactions people had to Daniel's crime. All of the flak that Leo took for trying to do his job and be this kid's solicitor was ridiculous. I just fail to understand why anyone would send him hate mail or protest him for fulfilling his role in the country's justice system.
Moving into the problems here...I think I would have preferred this if it were from the perspective of a child psychologist or something like that. Leo's understanding of Daniel is limited, and we see through his eyes any time Daniel's actually present. Even when he gets Daniel to talk, he doesn't know the right questions to ask or have any analysis to bear. Even when he gets a psychologist to speak with Daniel and she diagnoses a couple of things, nothing really comes of it because Leo isn't smart enough or isn't the right kind of smart to do anything with it.
What really got to me, though, was the writing style. For one thing, the sentences are really simple, which could be a stylistic decision, but just made the whole thing choppy and hard to read. Also, the third person narration tended to follow along with a character, but who changed from chapter to chapter. Lots of authors use this technique, but, here, it was rather difficult to parse. I think the reason it was so troublesome for me was that, rather than using the character's name at the beginning of each section, Lelic always refers to them merely as he or she, so I spent several sentences/paragraphs of each one trying to determine who the heck I was reading about.
On top of that, the story jumped around in time, which, again, can be used effectively but was not here. Instead of amping up the shock value or creating interesting comparisons, this method created confusion and removed the surprises. There was one twist of sorts, but I wasn't interested enough in the characters to care about it particularly.
All of that aside, Lelic has won awards for his mystery writing, so don't dismiss him based solely on my review. His style just doesn't work for me personally. If you think you might like this, give it a try, or check out one of his other books. His style just doesn't work for me personally.
February 9, 2012
The book starts off with a sort of celebration, as Leo had been assigned, by a judge what he considers the biggest case of his career. A child killing another child and from there the tension in the book does not let up. Lelic does not shy away from difficult subjects and his books are not for the faint of heart. This book is dark and gritty but has an underlying message pointing out the defects in our justice system and how easy it is to judge without fully being aware of the facts. Leo takes this case but never realizes the full price he and his family will have to pay. When a child kills another child there is no winner, and it is possible that there is two victims. The book ends with a nice twist. ARC from NetGalley.
January 16, 2017
Time taken to read - 2 days
Publisher - Penguin Books
Pages - 303
Blurb from Goodreads
An unimaginable crime and the man who must defend it-a probing psychological thriller from the author of A Thousand Cuts.A chance phone call throws the biggest muder case in southern England into the hands of provincial attorney Leo Curtice. Twelve-year- old Daniel Blake stands accused of murdering an eleven-year-old girl. But who is truly responsible when one child kills another? As Curtice sets out to defend the indefensible, he soon finds himself pitted against an enraged community calling for blood. When the buildup of pressure takes a sinister turn, he fears for his wife and young daughter's safety. Must he choose between his family and the life of a damaged child? With piercing psychological insight, Lelic examines a community's response to a hideous crime.
My Review
A child murdering another child is always going to be a dark book, however, the focuses of this tale is more on the lawyer Leo I felt than the actual case or killer. Leo is a small time lawyer and this case will be very good for the firm and his career. Everything comes at a price and for Leo and his family the price is high.
The book starts off with a female, Leo's wife, it is a tad confusing and takes a bit to understand what she is talking about. The story itself I felt was a wee bit jumpy and took a bit to work out what was going on. It soon becomes clear, twelve year old Daniel has murdered another female child and Leo will be his defender. His daughter is a teenager and faces the wrath of her schoolmates when it becomes public knowledge. His wife is also targeted by the community and Leo begins to get threats. Leo seems completely focused on Daniel and getting through to him, Daniels step father and mother are cold and distant, Daniel seems to have no one which may be why Leo feels compelled to help.
Frustrating at times as you aren't too sure the timeline, always recent but sometimes it is after one incident, back to the run up to the trial and then after without clear timeline markings. With so much focus on Leo I think a lot of Daniel and his crime was missed, whilst you aren't left completely without answers I think there is a huge gap for Daniels psychological state and an examination of that.
Instead we see a reaction to a horrendous crime within a community and the impact that has, one to the actual community in how it responds and more centrally to Leo and his family. The repercussions of his decisions and the ripples caused in the relationships with those he loves. Cause and effect is key to the story however I feel the author missed a golden opportunity by not including more of Daniel, 3/5 for me this time. This is my first time reading this author, I would read his works again.
Publisher - Penguin Books
Pages - 303
Blurb from Goodreads
An unimaginable crime and the man who must defend it-a probing psychological thriller from the author of A Thousand Cuts.A chance phone call throws the biggest muder case in southern England into the hands of provincial attorney Leo Curtice. Twelve-year- old Daniel Blake stands accused of murdering an eleven-year-old girl. But who is truly responsible when one child kills another? As Curtice sets out to defend the indefensible, he soon finds himself pitted against an enraged community calling for blood. When the buildup of pressure takes a sinister turn, he fears for his wife and young daughter's safety. Must he choose between his family and the life of a damaged child? With piercing psychological insight, Lelic examines a community's response to a hideous crime.
My Review
A child murdering another child is always going to be a dark book, however, the focuses of this tale is more on the lawyer Leo I felt than the actual case or killer. Leo is a small time lawyer and this case will be very good for the firm and his career. Everything comes at a price and for Leo and his family the price is high.
The book starts off with a female, Leo's wife, it is a tad confusing and takes a bit to understand what she is talking about. The story itself I felt was a wee bit jumpy and took a bit to work out what was going on. It soon becomes clear, twelve year old Daniel has murdered another female child and Leo will be his defender. His daughter is a teenager and faces the wrath of her schoolmates when it becomes public knowledge. His wife is also targeted by the community and Leo begins to get threats. Leo seems completely focused on Daniel and getting through to him, Daniels step father and mother are cold and distant, Daniel seems to have no one which may be why Leo feels compelled to help.
Frustrating at times as you aren't too sure the timeline, always recent but sometimes it is after one incident, back to the run up to the trial and then after without clear timeline markings. With so much focus on Leo I think a lot of Daniel and his crime was missed, whilst you aren't left completely without answers I think there is a huge gap for Daniels psychological state and an examination of that.
Instead we see a reaction to a horrendous crime within a community and the impact that has, one to the actual community in how it responds and more centrally to Leo and his family. The repercussions of his decisions and the ripples caused in the relationships with those he loves. Cause and effect is key to the story however I feel the author missed a golden opportunity by not including more of Daniel, 3/5 for me this time. This is my first time reading this author, I would read his works again.
May 12, 2014
OK. So I have mixed feelings about this book. I was looking forward to reading a gripping book about a child killer who kills a child. However, it was not gripping at all really....well maybe in small sections here and there but not enough to reflect the though-provoking subject. It never really develops into anything....The way it was written was fairly difficult to understand....when moving from chapter to chapter, the author refers to the characters simply as he or she, so you have to read a fair bit into it to understand who it's referring to. In parts of the book, it seems to jump to the future and made it quite confusing for me.
There are still unanswered questions in this book and it has left me feeling quite unsatisfied...
Obviously, this is my own opinion, so please don't dismiss the book completely. Others obviously find his writing style great based on reviews and the awards Felic has won. I just couldn't get to grips with it.
There are still unanswered questions in this book and it has left me feeling quite unsatisfied...
Obviously, this is my own opinion, so please don't dismiss the book completely. Others obviously find his writing style great based on reviews and the awards Felic has won. I just couldn't get to grips with it.
April 24, 2018
When this story started it had me both totally hooked & feeling such conflicting emotions, initially some surprise sympathy for the young murderer but mainly shock & disgust at the treatment his legal representative...AND his family....received from the general public - I thought I was in for really gripping rollercoaster of a read. Sadly, I didn't feel the momentum was maintained. The story swapped between past & present events but it chopped & changed in a way I found confusing at times.
The ending was a disappointment for me, never mind leaving me with a lot of unanswered questions, although overall it was certainly thought provoking with regard to young criminals. I'd still class it as a good read (mainly due to the early chapters) which is a shame as I feel it had the potential to be a really good read.
The ending was a disappointment for me, never mind leaving me with a lot of unanswered questions, although overall it was certainly thought provoking with regard to young criminals. I'd still class it as a good read (mainly due to the early chapters) which is a shame as I feel it had the potential to be a really good read.
May 19, 2017
Yanno, I don't like giving bad reviews. I'm not going to like every book out there, and every book won't relate to me. So I feel like if I don't like a book, it's because of me and not the book itself. But this book man, I'm so glad it's over. I honestly couldn't tell you a single thing that happened because the book is so jumbled. One minute we're in the present (possibly past?) the next we're in the future (possibly present?). And the way this is written, I couldn't get passed that either. I don't think anybody in this book completed a sentence. Also there's no resolution (or maybe I just skipped over too much of the book), was Daniel guilty? Why did Daniel do what he did? Why is Daniel the way he is? Who took Ellie? WHAT HAPPENS????
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2018
I started this book hoping for an intense murder/mystery/why'd he do it novel and walked away with a semi-mediocre drama. The synopsis makes it sound like the reader will be watching the discovery of why the twelve year-old child murdered the eleven year old girl unfold, yet in reality all you really get is to witness how the community treats the public defender and his family because of his involvement with the case. There is really little said about the actual murder itself so you are left with a finished book and what felt like no actual reasoning behind the murder.
The main character, Leonard, made some of the stupidest decisions I've ever read about. He willingly put his families lives in danger because he believed this child, who murdered another child and raped her, needed his help more then they did. He then has something horrific happen to his family as a result of continuing and instead of dealing with that and supporting himself and his wife he tries to go back to the murderer to try and help him again. He was quite honestly half the reason I didn't enjoy this book. The other half was because of the story not being what the synopsis advertised.
The main character, Leonard, made some of the stupidest decisions I've ever read about. He willingly put his families lives in danger because he believed this child, who murdered another child and raped her, needed his help more then they did. He then has something horrific happen to his family as a result of continuing and instead of dealing with that and supporting himself and his wife he tries to go back to the murderer to try and help him again. He was quite honestly half the reason I didn't enjoy this book. The other half was because of the story not being what the synopsis advertised.
March 19, 2024
(Periaatteessa spoiler??) Vihaan kun kirja on tosi hyvä, mutta sen lopetus on ihan naurettava :-) Käviku himym kanssa aikoinaan, niin hyvä sarja mut loppu jätti ihan ?? ?? Kuitenkin lukemisen arvoinen kirja! Sai ajattelemaan, avarsi näkemystä ja sai kyseenalaistamaan omia kantojaan, mielipiteitään ja lopulta onnistui myös muuttamaan niitä
January 21, 2018
Great plot idea, and it kept me slightly interested; but the writing was muh and the main character was an idiot. I kept waiting for the book to end with him waking up in a mental ward having a psychotic break. There were only two reasons why I did not DNF this book. 1. The writer is so praised I wanted to give it a fair shot. 2. The writing is so simple it made for a fast read. I also really wanted to like it because the cover is pretty and I wanted a reason to keep the book.
February 14, 2012
This review is based on a free copy of this book supplied to me by the Publisher through the Goodreads First Reader Program
This is the story of the murder of an 11 year old girl by a 12 year old boy. The impact that had on the boy and his family; and the lawyer hired to defend him, and his family.
The main characters in the book are:
Leonard (Leo) Curtice – lawyer for Daniel
Daniel Blake – 12 year old accused murderer
Megan Curtice – Leo’s long suffering wife
Ellie Curtice – Leo’s 15 year old daughter
Daniels Parents – Stephanie (mom) and Vincent (step dad)
Dr Karen Mitchell – Psychiatrist brought in to assess Daniels mental state
Leo finds his already hectic life put in a spinner when he is called to defend 12 year old Daniel Blake who is accused of murdering 11 year old Felicity. It further strains his marriage and his relationship with his daughter. When public reaction to him defending Daniel manifests itself on attacks on his daughter Ellie at school and his wife being spit on at the market the pressure builds.
Leo is determined to rise above it and do what a defence attorney is suppose to do which is to defend his client and get the best result he can, despite what the boy is accused of. This leads to Leo becoming a celebrity but not famous but infamous.
Defence in this case is going to be a problem as Daniel has totally clamed up and Leo can’t get anything about what happened from Daniel
So Leo brings in Dr Mitchell to do a quick evaluation of Daniel to hopefully open him up to discussing the murder, as well as probing to see if diminished capacity will play part of Daniels defence strategy. Dr Mitchell does get Daniel to open up and Leos further investigation reveals some attributes from his younger life.
The book doesn’t linger on the murder but instead focus’s on Leo and what is happening to him and his family as he proceeds on the case. Leo starts to get threatening letters in the mail telling him to drop the case. Leo perseveres however when the last note comes and has both a lock of his daughter’s hair and blood on it Leo soon realizes that someone is truly trying to stop him from doing what is right.
Leo’s daughter has disappeared !
Leo now starts the search for his missing daughter in addition to defending Daniel.
There are two points in the book where we unexpectedly jump into the future. In the first one we jump several months into the future and learn about Leo’s missing daughter Ellie and in the second jump we move 10 years into the future and find out what happened to Daniel. In both instances, particularly the second one, key story details are revealed before you read them in the book. Both chapters don’t really add to the overall story line and are jarring.
Did Daniel really kill Felicity ? Was it intentional or an accident ? Does Daniel go to jail ?
Does Leo save his marriage after the trial ? Who took Ellie ? Is Ellie still alive ?
You’ll have to read the book to find the answers to these questions. A good emotional ride with Daniel and Leo as the centre of it all
This is the story of the murder of an 11 year old girl by a 12 year old boy. The impact that had on the boy and his family; and the lawyer hired to defend him, and his family.
The main characters in the book are:
Leonard (Leo) Curtice – lawyer for Daniel
Daniel Blake – 12 year old accused murderer
Megan Curtice – Leo’s long suffering wife
Ellie Curtice – Leo’s 15 year old daughter
Daniels Parents – Stephanie (mom) and Vincent (step dad)
Dr Karen Mitchell – Psychiatrist brought in to assess Daniels mental state
Leo finds his already hectic life put in a spinner when he is called to defend 12 year old Daniel Blake who is accused of murdering 11 year old Felicity. It further strains his marriage and his relationship with his daughter. When public reaction to him defending Daniel manifests itself on attacks on his daughter Ellie at school and his wife being spit on at the market the pressure builds.
Leo is determined to rise above it and do what a defence attorney is suppose to do which is to defend his client and get the best result he can, despite what the boy is accused of. This leads to Leo becoming a celebrity but not famous but infamous.
Defence in this case is going to be a problem as Daniel has totally clamed up and Leo can’t get anything about what happened from Daniel
So Leo brings in Dr Mitchell to do a quick evaluation of Daniel to hopefully open him up to discussing the murder, as well as probing to see if diminished capacity will play part of Daniels defence strategy. Dr Mitchell does get Daniel to open up and Leos further investigation reveals some attributes from his younger life.
The book doesn’t linger on the murder but instead focus’s on Leo and what is happening to him and his family as he proceeds on the case. Leo starts to get threatening letters in the mail telling him to drop the case. Leo perseveres however when the last note comes and has both a lock of his daughter’s hair and blood on it Leo soon realizes that someone is truly trying to stop him from doing what is right.
Leo’s daughter has disappeared !
Leo now starts the search for his missing daughter in addition to defending Daniel.
There are two points in the book where we unexpectedly jump into the future. In the first one we jump several months into the future and learn about Leo’s missing daughter Ellie and in the second jump we move 10 years into the future and find out what happened to Daniel. In both instances, particularly the second one, key story details are revealed before you read them in the book. Both chapters don’t really add to the overall story line and are jarring.
Did Daniel really kill Felicity ? Was it intentional or an accident ? Does Daniel go to jail ?
Does Leo save his marriage after the trial ? Who took Ellie ? Is Ellie still alive ?
You’ll have to read the book to find the answers to these questions. A good emotional ride with Daniel and Leo as the centre of it all
February 22, 2017
easy to fall into ... ending was good
August 14, 2013
A taut, excellent thriller, heavily based on the notorious Bulger/Mary Bell murder cases in the UK, Lelic handles a difficult topic bravely. There is no attempt to romanticise his murderer, 12 year old Daniel Blake and his main character, Leo Curtice, a rural attorney who accidentally picks up the trial of the year, is drawn into a complex and sympathetic relationship with the young killer at great personal cost.
Although I did not appreciate the attempt to justify the killer’s actions by blaming society, his parents and everyone else for his actions because he was so young, the author did briefly touch on the view from the victim’s side of the fence in an interesting way. There are no easy answers to the questions and issues raised in this book, but I do feel that it leant too much towards the view that children are not to blame for the evil they commit: what was not properly explored, was that for every 8 abused children who become abusers themselves (a statistic quoted on Pg 200 of AS IF by Blake Morrison,) there are 2 who choose to escape repeating that pattern by taking responsibility for their own actions, despite the failings of society, their parents etc.
However, Lelic still managed to weave a tense, compassionate tale without resorting to blood spattered pages and an over use of swear words. He didn’t need too; his characters and his talented use of words were powerful enough to keep one glued to the pages, wanting to see how Leo’s choices played out.
The surprise ending was much in keeping with the tone of the book, which ultimately shows how a well-written story can be used to bring important issues to the public’s attention.
Although I did not appreciate the attempt to justify the killer’s actions by blaming society, his parents and everyone else for his actions because he was so young, the author did briefly touch on the view from the victim’s side of the fence in an interesting way. There are no easy answers to the questions and issues raised in this book, but I do feel that it leant too much towards the view that children are not to blame for the evil they commit: what was not properly explored, was that for every 8 abused children who become abusers themselves (a statistic quoted on Pg 200 of AS IF by Blake Morrison,) there are 2 who choose to escape repeating that pattern by taking responsibility for their own actions, despite the failings of society, their parents etc.
However, Lelic still managed to weave a tense, compassionate tale without resorting to blood spattered pages and an over use of swear words. He didn’t need too; his characters and his talented use of words were powerful enough to keep one glued to the pages, wanting to see how Leo’s choices played out.
The surprise ending was much in keeping with the tone of the book, which ultimately shows how a well-written story can be used to bring important issues to the public’s attention.
March 13, 2012
Simon Lelic seems compelled to ask why. (He was probably a very annoying toddler.) His books are neither mysteries nor thrillers in the traditional sense, but rather explorations of the escalating pressures that can drive an ordinary person to commit an act of extraordinary evil. RUPTURE considered the aftermath of a mass shooting in a secondary school. THE CHILD WHO takes place in the weeks and months following the savage murder of one child by another in the same community.
Our main character, solicitor Leo Curtice is handed the poisoned chalice by chance (he takes the phone call) but his sense of professional responsibility drives him to accept the case and his basic humanity steers him towards doing his best for the scared, sorry child whom everyone else (depending upon their level of education) wants either to lynch or lock up forever. Leo is completely unprepared either for the strength of feeling in the community or for the impact that this will have upon his family.
I’ve said before that these dark, psychological thrillers are not really my thing, but Lelic is understandably making a name for himself in the field. His prose is slick, urgent and polished, he has a great gift for bringing characters to life and his subject matter is always original and thought provoking. THE CHILD WHO is an intelligent, absorbing read that will certainly win him an army of new fans.
Our main character, solicitor Leo Curtice is handed the poisoned chalice by chance (he takes the phone call) but his sense of professional responsibility drives him to accept the case and his basic humanity steers him towards doing his best for the scared, sorry child whom everyone else (depending upon their level of education) wants either to lynch or lock up forever. Leo is completely unprepared either for the strength of feeling in the community or for the impact that this will have upon his family.
I’ve said before that these dark, psychological thrillers are not really my thing, but Lelic is understandably making a name for himself in the field. His prose is slick, urgent and polished, he has a great gift for bringing characters to life and his subject matter is always original and thought provoking. THE CHILD WHO is an intelligent, absorbing read that will certainly win him an army of new fans.
July 13, 2014
Simon Lelic tackles the emotions aroused when a child kills a child, it aptly starts with Blake Morrison's quote from As If 'The men.... had come wanting to kill the kids who'd killed the kid, because there's nothing worse than killing a kid.
The story centres around Leo Curtice, the provincial solicitor assigned to the case of Daniel Blake a 12 year old boy accused of killing 11 year old Felicity Forbes. Cases like these don't come along very often and Leo thinks he is aware of the spotlight that the case will shine on his life, but he's not. The newspaper articles reproduced for this and the descriptions of the scenes as Daniel is taken to court are realistic as are the reactions of Leo who whilst worried about his family gets bound up in discovering why Daniel killed Felicity. For Leo and his family there are devastating consequences.
There is a huge amount to think about whilst reading this book and I was really impressed with the way Simon Lelic tackled this difficult subject matter.
The story centres around Leo Curtice, the provincial solicitor assigned to the case of Daniel Blake a 12 year old boy accused of killing 11 year old Felicity Forbes. Cases like these don't come along very often and Leo thinks he is aware of the spotlight that the case will shine on his life, but he's not. The newspaper articles reproduced for this and the descriptions of the scenes as Daniel is taken to court are realistic as are the reactions of Leo who whilst worried about his family gets bound up in discovering why Daniel killed Felicity. For Leo and his family there are devastating consequences.
There is a huge amount to think about whilst reading this book and I was really impressed with the way Simon Lelic tackled this difficult subject matter.
January 19, 2012
Very emotional, the pain of the adults and the child in such an awful situation tangible. No spoiler but the ending was unanticipated. The book raised questions for me about how difficult society finds it to cope with children who kill; the perpetrator is also a victim who deserves compassion.
I strongly recommend that if you feel this book speaks to you, read Gitta Sereny on the case of Mary Bell.
I strongly recommend that if you feel this book speaks to you, read Gitta Sereny on the case of Mary Bell.
October 24, 2012
Twelve year old Daniel brutally murders Eleven year old Felicity. What follows is the fallout of his actions. Focusing on the Solicitor who defends him the story is gripping but unsettling as human emotions and conflict come to the fore.
Similarities to the Jamie Bulger case in Britain are veined throughout, the writer Simon Lelic highlights the raw facts leading to many thought provoking questions. Despite being an uncomfortable read this story is a real page turner.
Similarities to the Jamie Bulger case in Britain are veined throughout, the writer Simon Lelic highlights the raw facts leading to many thought provoking questions. Despite being an uncomfortable read this story is a real page turner.
March 26, 2012
A great read – left me with lots to consider. Only (very minor) challenge was I found it difficult to get my bearings at the beginning of each chapter. After mulling it over a bit, I'm wondering if that was the intent. That introductory haziness.
December 7, 2014
The slightly back-and-forth-in-time nature of the chapters (with no indications, so you have to figure out for yourself where that section fits in the timeline) can be a little bit of work, but otherwise I couldn't put this book down. I read it in two days.
May 27, 2014
I had The Child Who bought for me as a present. I thought the story was a good thriller.
January 17, 2018
In Simon Lelic’s gripping novel The Child Who, 12-year-old Daniel Blake has murdered 11-year-old Felicity Forbes. The act is inexplicable, morally repugnant and by any standard indefensible, and yet Daniel, having been arrested, is entitled to a defence. By chance, the case lands on the desk of solicitor Leonard (Leo) Curtice. Leo, intimidated by the heinous nature of the offence, initially approaches Daniel tentatively, expecting a monster. But it is not long before he is seduced by Daniel’s youth, genuine remorse, and outward appearance of naïve innocence, and he quickly finds himself firmly in sympathy with the boy. The case soon spills over into his private life: not only is he arguing on Daniel’s behalf with colleagues at the law firm who would be happy to see Daniel swing for his crime, he is also forced to defend his role as Daniel’s advocate to his wife Megan and daughter Ellie. Despite a groundswell of public rage fuelled by an increasingly intrusive media, he forges ahead in the belief that a convincing and compelling argument exists on which he can build a case for either leniency or institutional confinement instead of imprisonment. Then, with his search for just such an argument faltering, letters start to arrive threatening harm. Angry with everyone for abandoning Daniel to a heartless and unforgiving judicial system, heedless of the consequences of his actions, he can only watch as his life spins out of control. Then the worst happens. Lelic’s edgy narrative, inspired in part by the James Bulger case, is not an easy read. It compels us to imagine what drives one child to kill another. Lelic depicts Daniel as lost and confused. Despite our knowledge of what he has done, rather than condemn him as a willing perpetrator of a horrendous criminal act, our inclination is to pity him as a victim of impulses he can neither control nor understand. To his credit, Lelic does not attempt to push the reader toward any kind of conclusion. The Child Who occupies the grey middle-ground of the moral arena. Obviously, Felicity did not deserve what happened to her. But the difficult question that the reader will continue to ponder is: Does Daniel deserve what happens to him? In the end, only the reader can decide if justice has been served.
August 14, 2017
This book seemed to have a lot of potential, but such a lot going on that it ending up being way to vague.
It flicked from one part of the story to another and I felt like there were gaps to the story the reader needed to fill themselves.
Was quite a controversial subject to cover, especially focusing on defending an admitted 12 year old murderer and trying to get the reader to sympathise with this character. I often thought that the second part to the story - where his daughter allegedly got abducted, clouded over the main story.
It was clear the author went for the way a case like this destroys more tgan just one life, however could of been approached in a less dramatic way.
I liked parts of this book - but found the beginnings of the chapters quite hard gling and took a while to grasp my interest. I stop-started this book a lot, as it lost my attention.
Very good content and dealt with professionally
It flicked from one part of the story to another and I felt like there were gaps to the story the reader needed to fill themselves.
Was quite a controversial subject to cover, especially focusing on defending an admitted 12 year old murderer and trying to get the reader to sympathise with this character. I often thought that the second part to the story - where his daughter allegedly got abducted, clouded over the main story.
It was clear the author went for the way a case like this destroys more tgan just one life, however could of been approached in a less dramatic way.
I liked parts of this book - but found the beginnings of the chapters quite hard gling and took a while to grasp my interest. I stop-started this book a lot, as it lost my attention.
Very good content and dealt with professionally
December 2, 2025
Solicitor Leo Curtice, takes on a case to defend 12 year old Daniel Blake, who has been charged with the murder of one of his schoolmates, Felicity Forbes. It’s only as he tries to build the defence case and get Blake to reveal what exactly unfolded that the pressure mounts on his family, specifically his daughter Ellie.
It’s a multi layered book that examines not just the crime but the many lives that are damaged beyond repair and also authorities including social workers, police, prison service and police and the part each entity plays in the crime and the criminal.
It is a thought provoking read with a bizarre twist towards the end.
It’s a multi layered book that examines not just the crime but the many lives that are damaged beyond repair and also authorities including social workers, police, prison service and police and the part each entity plays in the crime and the criminal.
It is a thought provoking read with a bizarre twist towards the end.
January 13, 2019
What is a society's responsibility when a child commits murder? What does justice mean--for the victims, the accused, the community? Lelic examines these questions in a frantic thriller focusing on the defense lawyer assigned to represent a juvenile murder suspect. The narrative hurtles almost too quickly toward disaster, perhaps intentionally echoing the speed with which the court system seeks to wash its hands of this problematic child. Plot and dialogue do all the work in this novel, while characterization, motive, and context are too hastily sketched.
July 2, 2018
My only bone to pick with this super smart, disturbing, and deeply felt novel is the way that Leo, the main character, constantly loses his train of thought. That drove me bonkers and I never bought it as anything other than a contrivance on the author's part - I mean, at one point, Leo couldn't get it together to order ice cream!
However, the sharp edges here are really admirable. There's no shying away from the horror of what Daniel's done.
However, the sharp edges here are really admirable. There's no shying away from the horror of what Daniel's done.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 17, 2019
I was gripped from the start. I loved the way this book was written, how it jumped from past to present. The only downside is some of the characters. I found they were flat. It seemed like some of their reactions weren’t normal. They either overreacted or didn’t react enough. They weren’t as believable as they should have been, however I loved the story and I felt compelled to reach the end, even if it did annoy me a bit.
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July 14, 2019 Scary that society has this it is a story of children and some do terribly irreversible acts.
Sadly as it is so ethically against societies moral they see the child as evil, and they have not stood a chance at all. It seems as evil not why the child becomes like this and commits the murder, hidden by parents teachers and social workers and doctors often still today.
I marvel at the author who can write this
Sadly as it is so ethically against societies moral they see the child as evil, and they have not stood a chance at all. It seems as evil not why the child becomes like this and commits the murder, hidden by parents teachers and social workers and doctors often still today.
I marvel at the author who can write this
April 16, 2018
I read this in almost one sitting it was really compelling. The moral quandary Leo must have found himself in and I felt really sick when his daughter went missing. I really did not see it coming that she had ran away and left them of her own accord. And it was nice to have a happy ending of sorts!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 4, 2018
Child killer Daniel who is 12yrs old and his solicitor Leo who Is trying to find a clue in his background as to why he would kill a young girl in such a horrific way, his family in the meantime suffer harassment, and eventually the relationship disintegrates with the disappearance of his own daughter.
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