The Cry by Helen Fitzgerald @FitzHelen @FaberBooks #bookreview

I decided it was an apt time to read The Cry given the BBC are broadcasting the adaptation starring Jenna Coleman. Having heard some snippets on social media, I’m going to try and be careful with my review and not reveal anything. I am going to watch the adaptation very soon (I’ve got used to binge watching a series rather than sitting patiently for next week’s episode).

The Blurb

Longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award

When a baby goes missing on a lonely roadside in Australia, it sets off a police investigation that will become a media sensation and dinner-table talk across the world.

Lies, rumours and guilt snowball, causing the parents, Joanna and Alistair, to slowly turn against each other.

Finally Joanna starts thinking the unthinkable: could the truth be even more terrible than she suspected? And what will it take to make things right?

Perfect for fans of Julia Crouch, Sophie Hannah and Laura Lippman, The Cry was widely acclaimed as one of the best psychological thrillers of the year. There’s a gripping moral dilemma at its heart and characters who will keep you guessing on every page.

What Did I Think?

It’s got to be heartbreaking for any parent to lose a child so for Joanna and Alistair to lose their little boy on the other side of the world must have been a total nightmare. A horrific way to start a trip. What ensues through the rest of the book left me raw with emotion.

I loved the switch of perspectives between Joanna and Alexandra. Joanna becomes more unreliable as the story goes on. Her part was executed perfectly, she showed every emotion I would expect a mother to display following the loss of their child. I would expect the emotion to totally get the better of her. Alexandra on the other hand, she has something to prove. She’s got everything to lose with Alistair and Joanna’s trip to Oz and she needs to fight. She needs to get her act together

I was left speechless at the end of this tense read, totally stunned by the events I’d read about. When I finished, I felt numb. Normally I can pick up another book within a couple of hours. After finishing The Cry, I couldn’t. The book left me chilled, unable to think about much more than the fate of baby Noah.

The Cry is a very different sort of psychological thriller. As with Viral, I felt it was about “how can this situation get worse?” Fitzgerald shows the chilling side of the lengths people will go to keep the truth from coming out and the extent the truth can damage relationships.

Who Is Helen Fitzgerald?

Helen FitzGerald is the bestselling author of Dead Lovely (2007) and nine other adult and young adult thrillers, including My Last Confession (2009), The Donor (2011) and The Cry (2013), which was longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. Helen has worked as a criminal justice social worker for over ten years. She is one of thirteen children and grew up in Victoria, Australia. She now lives in Glasgow with her husband and two children.