The #Bookvent Calendar 2021 – Day Nine

#Bookvent – Celebrating my top reads of 2021

My day nine #bookvent selection is by an author whose dark and twisted series made a real impression on me and tapped into my own dark and twisted side. I’ve been a fan ever since, and this was definitely one of my most anticipated reads and did not disappoint. Dark, tense and packed with suspense, this was a first class psychological thriller which could be ripped from the headlines and is truly hard to forget. My ninth pick is ….

When I Was Ten by Fiona Cummins

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.

When I Was Ten is the highly anticipated, stay-up-all-night next book by acclaimed crime author Fiona Cummins.

When I Was Ten is a tale of abuse, murder, secrets and lies, a tense and suspense filled read in which nothing was quite as it seemed. This is the story of the Carter family – parents murdered – children separated – public horrified. The book is told principally form the points of view of one of the two Carter sisters and their childhood best friend, and examines the truth about what happened and why, and the impact that it now has upon the lives of those who survived. It is at times quite chilling, and not simply because this is a case of murder. It is what lies beneath that really caused me as a reader to give pause and to think long and hard about what might drive a child to kill. The characters in this book are truly intriguing and easy to identify with, from the way in which their fears and emotional turmoil are manifested in their everyday lives, through to the need to understand and confront their difficult pasts. Everything felt authentic, if somewhat twisted, and it was so easy to be drawn into the story and the lives of these three girls. Told from differing perspectives and across three segments of time, facing the present and the past head on, giving us a slow but effective reveal of the whole picture, packed with surprises and revelations I really wasn’t expecting. As always, Fiona Cummins has gifted readers a beautifully written novel taking us to the heart of the story and examining the psychology, the motivations and the actions of two people pushed to their limits. Yes it is a story of people caught in a web of secrets and lies, of abuse and of revenge, but it is also a story of how far a person will go to protect the people they love, no matter the cost. it’s a book that gripped me from the start and would not let me go and one I most definitely recommend.

You can read my full review of When I Was Ten right here.

Happy #bookvent reading all

Jen