Simon Lelic - Rupture

Rating: 4/5

Review:
Engrossing and rewarding

This is a very engrossing book with a good deal to say about how people react to an appalling crime committed by a twelve-year-old and how it affects not only the victim and the perpetrator and their respective families, but also those in the justice system who become involved.

Simon Lelic generally writes very well in a direct and straightforward style which gives the book a real narrative drive and great power at times, I thought. He tells the story of a local solicitor who ends up representing a very young murderer with insight and understanding of those involved, and he paints a very convincing portrait of a man first caught up in a desire for celebrity and then struggling to do the decent thing but being horribly insensitive to the needs of his wife and daughter. Although one plot development in particular wasn't completely plausible, I was prepared to forgive this as Lelic uses it to examine his protagonist's attitudes thoroughly and not just as a tension-builder.

As with Rupture, Lelic's first novel, I found this a really gripping book and felt that I had a lot to think about afterward, and warmly recommend it as an involving, original and rewarding read.