A decade after his young daughter’s murder, a grief-stricken father’s need for justice puts his own life in danger as events spiral out of control . . .

Ever since Caitlin Grady was released from prison, Darren has been tormented by rage and injustice. He finds himself venting online, where a stranger befriends him—and encourages him to seek revenge.

#GirlsDontCry @Peter_Kesterton #RandomThingsTours @annecater @RandomTTours #BlogTour

But Caitlin no longer goes by that name. She has been given a new identity and is living quietly, dreading exposure as the tabloids—with help from her publicity-hungry mother—try to hunt her down. And having committed the crime at age eleven, Caitlin struggles as an adult on her own, out in the world beyond prison walls.

Will Darren manage to track Caitlin down, and if he does, will he be able to carry out his plans?

My Review

What can you say about a story with two such unlikeable protagonists? The one a child killer who was only a child herself when she killed a little girl – the other the victim’s father, who should be a sympathetic character, but in actual fact is horrible.

Caitlin Grady has been released from prison after ten years and has been given a totally new identity. Darren is the grieving father, so filled with hate and rage that he drives his wife away and seeks support online. He finds himself befriended by a stranger, whose lust for revenge appears greater than his own. But what is his motive?

He also goes to the press to talk about the injustice – they should have thrown away the key etc – starts a campaign to reveal the identity of the ‘killer nextdoor’, and even appears on TV to talk about it. Unfortunately he has no idea what is going to happen next and finds himself in a situation beyond his control.

It’s hard to imagine feeling sympathy for Caitlin, but we do. My generation will be reminded of 11-year-old Mary Bell who choked two little boys to death in 1968. She was cleared of murder, found guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, and served a ‘life’ sentence amounting to 12 years. She is living under a secret identity, and is purported to have a daughter and a granddaughter.

However, we are also reminded of the horrific murder of James Bulger in more recent years, and how while Robert Thompson is living under a new identity with a man who knows who he is, the other, Jon Venables, was released, sent back to prison in 2010 and 2017 for possessing indecent images of children, and was refused parole in 2020. It’s Venables that we remember. Released to do it again, though thankfully he hasn’t killed anyone else.

Thanks to Darren’s campaign, a lynch mob mentality is created and Riley’s Law attracts thousands of supporters.

Initially I struggled with the subject matter – how could I sympathise more with Caitlin than with Darren? I felt bad for giving her a second chance, but stick with it. And how could there be any humour in the story? I admit I cried buckets at one stage but I also laughed – not a laugh out loud laugh – but amusement at a very clever twist. A brilliant book. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours

About the Author

“I was born in Manchester to Irish parents who gifted me the tradition of storytelling and a love of words. Unusually for an Irish family I was an only child and found company in books and stories. I moved to Bristol to go to university, and loved the city so much I stayed on after graduating. I landed a job as a technician at the BBC and worked on radio dramas. Not content with simply doing the sound effects, I decided to write my own radio play. Many years and drawers full of rejections later, I had my radio drama Heads You Win, Tales I Lose, broadcast on BBC Radio 4. I went on to write stage plays, notably Air Guitar for the Bristol Old Vic Theatre and Playing with Snails which won the Croydon Warehouse International Playwriting competition 2011. In 2019, I went to Bath Spa University as a mature student, undertaking an MA in creative writing. I graduated with distinction. Girls Don’t Cry was partially written on the course. For more information visit: http://www.peterkesterton.com.”