WHAT CAME BEFORE HE SHOT HER

By Elizabeth George. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2006.

The most gripping book I've read in a long time.

This novel delves into the background of the youth involved in the killing of Helen Lynley.

The thing I appreciated most about this book was, in a world of Hollywood endings, "What Came Before He Shot Her" certainly didn't have one. The reader is plunged right away into the fraught existence of the family at the centre of this novel, then realizes things are never going to get better for them: no fairy godmothers or magic wands to be seen around here. However, you can't but keep reading because Elizabeth George's prose is so good and the plot of the novel makes you want to keep turning the pages, even though you really don't want to at the same time.

There have been reviewers, steeped in the current culture that lacks any subtlety, maturity or understanding of nuance, who have put the problems of the featured Campbell children and their aunt who takes them in at the beginning down to racism. While racism does play an arguably small part in the direction of things, there are numerous other larger systemic failures that spell doom for Ness, Joel, Toby, and Aunt Kendra and once you start reading about them, you'll want to find out about, and be consumed by, all of them.

Purchase it here.