I read most of this book in one day. It seems short though it claims to be 315 pages long.

It starts off well. The subject matter is original; there aren’t many books out there about a child, Daniel, who allegedly murders a child. But the story is that of the accused’s solicitor, Leo Curtice, and the effect that defending Daniel has on his family.

There are some tense parts in the book, like when the car Leo is in gets mobbed or when he and his family are being stalked on a day trip. The dialogue mostly feels very real. But there’s nothing that makes the book any more than just reasonablly well written. The ending felt out of place because most of the book until that point focusses on Leo’s situation and also Daniel’s to a lesser extent but the conclusion – here I don’t want to spoil the ending – doesn’t.

Something that annoyed me at various points in the book is the use of the pronouns he or she without naming the character so that the reader isn’t clear, at least for a short while, who is being written about. Sarah Winman also does it in When God Was a Rabbit. I don’t know whether it’s deliberate or not but I strongly dislike it!

In summary, compared to the other books I’ve read, I’d say that The Child Who is only average.

(32nd in 2012)