We were very pleased to receive this book review to contribute to part of our mothering series.
Book Review
Helen [Bonnick] asked me to review this book because she knew I would enjoy the style. It’s a court room drama but with lots of other stories woven through. The author is compared favourably to John Grisham on the cover so that was a good omen! I read it in a couple of days, but that’s partly because I have some spare time at present. It was very gripping though and every time I put it down I was wondering what happened next.
The characters are full of colour and very believable. I really warmed to some of them and wanted to carry on reading about their lives after the end of this story.
I knew that Helen had given the author some advice on the story line, as well as Penny Willis and Michelle John, and so I had an idea there would be a child to parent violence and abuse angle. Ostensibly it’s about a famous woman caught up in a domestic abuse tragedy. She is hiding so many things in her life, not just about the abuse, but also about her background and relationships. Even with my suspicions about what was really going on at home, I was intrigued how the twists and the great reveal would work out and I kept looking for little hints. Kia Abdullah really keeps you waiting though!
When it came at the end, I was pleased that here was a mainstream novel covering such an important issue, but a bit disappointed that it all felt a bit rushed and a bit like a lecture – giving facts and figures. Family violence like this is rarely straightforward and there was some thought about the different things that might have led the characters to behave as they did. It does portray a very particular aspect of child to parent abuse though, at the very extreme end, and not everyone will find it a comfortable read. If it opens up discussion and questions though that’s got to be a good thing! I would definitely recommend it both as a gripping read in its own right, and as a way of starting to think about what is happening behind closed doors in too many families around the country.
Sarah Griffiths.
https://www.hqstories.co.uk/books/what-happens-in-the-dark-kia-abdullah-9780008570026/
As Sarah states, it’s great such a high profile author is covering these themes, and we hope to see more stories exploring the very individual aspects of filial harm in the future.
HOLES IN THE WALL 