I found this disturbing and often unpleasant - Lola and Chloe and Emma are the very essence of teenage girls and are terribly lost. As the mystery at the heart of the story is gradually revealed there are shocks and surprises and the story darkens, the humour becomes blacker and the sense of inevitability deepens.
View Cold Light
Factory worker Anita, looks back on some horrific events in mid 1980's Lewisham when she was thirteen years old. The language is uncompromising and spoken from the heart and may have readers feeling uncomfortable.
View The Dead of Summer
This portrayal of a 1970’s northern English childhood is spot on for period detail, but is no cosy trip down memory lane. Two pre-adolescent girls from very different backgrounds, but each damaged by parental neglect, bond in an unlikely and unholy alliance resulting in unspeakable horror. Not a feel-good read, but a compulsive one, which will leave a profound and lasting impression if you are prepared to leave your emotional comfort zone.
View What They Do in the Dark
Despite being a heartbreaking story of abuse and neglect you will smile at the dark humour and the wicked, razor sharp observations and find yourself emotionally involved as this compelling story unfolds. There is no sentimentality in the writing as the characters' voices grab and immerse you in the horrors of their lives. A gritty, sad tale of abandonment that somehow still leaves you filled with laughter and hope.
View The Death of Bees
To fully appreciate this novel the reader is asked to accept that a innocent prank can result in misery and madness and that responsible adults may not appreciate the significance of the joke. Told in the first person by 'Smudge' an identical twin, she describes how the prank results in her descent from delinquency to insanity. Strong characterisation, fast paced, brilliant on family dynamics, extremely disturbing but totally compulsive reading.
View Beside Myself
This is a story, in no uncertain terms, about the pressure on women to be perfect mothers, to love a child unconditionally whilst hostage to feelings of anxiety, guilt, and self-doubt. Set in an unnamed city, Blythe Connor delivers her version of events with a breathy urgency; concise chapters make for a tense, pacey read. A psychological drama which will strike a chord with many women, regardless of whether they are mothers themselves.
View The Push
This crime novel takes place in 1980's Ireland - still a patriarchal society, permeated with religious hypocrisy and casual misogyny. But this is not just the usual run-of-the-mill detective plot. Running beneath is a far more compelling study of grizzly family secrets and lies, culminating in an all too believable and heart breaking ending. You will need a strong stomach for some of the scenes.
View In the Rosary Garden
Think of a flower: the stem is the crime of the abduction of two sisters and the petals are the lives of residents in the city of Petropavlovsk and town of Kamchatsky who are tentatively involved with the main story. It's written in such a way you feel you're snooping into the lives of others which I find a bit uncomfortable. But a very interesting concept with an intriguing ending – so hang on in there.
View Disappearing Earth
Poverty, an alcoholic mother and possibly historical child sex abuse in the family, makes this a difficult read. A young girl, is sent to stay with her grandparents until her mother 'sorts herself out'. She makes friends with some local boys and their adventures become increasingly bold and dangerous. Very disturbing, but with a hopeful outlook. The author's use of language makes this an outstanding novel.
View Crocodile
Don’t be put off by the Scots dialect, it takes a moment to tune in - but I found that within just a few pages I was hooked on this lively, shocking, unforgettable story! Dark and disturbing, raw and engaging, and definitely one I’d recommend!
View The PanopticonYou won’t find the biggest bestsellers on Whichbook as everyone knows about them already. But you can use your enjoyment of a current bestseller to see titles with a similar mood that you might try next.
