When I Was Ten
by Fiona Cummins
First, I need to start by apologising to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this incredibly late review. When I first joined NetGalley it was all very exciting (it still is to be fair) and I didn’t then know how to say no. I was very new to book blogging and didn’t want to refuse any arcs or let anyone down. I soon realised though that there are only so many hours in a day, days in a week, etc. etc. I’m much better at not over committing myself now. However, it has left me with a significant number of archived books still on my NetGalley shelf. I have now set myself the challenge of clearing my unread shelf entirely before I read any other Kindle books.
When I Was Ten is an incredibly compelling psychological thriller. I went in totally blind with no idea what I was letting myself in for.
A dual timeline story. 21 years ago, a ten-year-old girl murders both of her parents. Parents who were pillars of the community, or so it would seem.
Catherine served eight years in a secure children’s unit and is now living under a different identity with a husband and a daughter of her own. A family who know nothing about her past.
When a documentary team start sniffing around her sister for a story, Catherine realises her previous identity may about to be revealed to the world. How the story progresses from this point is jaw-dropping. I was totally not prepared for this disturbingly dark, emotional rollercoaster of a book. And that ending! Wow!
Very cleverly written, fast paced, full of suspense and an underlying tension. I loved it!
This is my first introduction to Fiona Cummins’ writing. I will now be adding all her other books to my wishlist!
Twenty-one years ago, Dr Richard Carter and his wife Pamela were killed in what has become the most infamous double murder of the modern age.
Their ten year-old daughter – nicknamed the Angel of Death – spent eight years in a children’s secure unit and is living quietly under an assumed name with a family of her own.
Now, on the anniversary of the trial, a documentary team has tracked down her older sister, compelling her to break two decades of silence.
Her explosive interview sparks national headlines and journalist Brinley Booth, a childhood friend of the Carter sisters, is tasked with covering the news story.
For the first time, the three women are forced to confront what really happened that night – with devastating consequences for them all.
