This real-life crime book makes bleak reading. It consists of a number of accounts of murders of children by one or both parents and describes the backgrounds of the perpetrators. It is divided into four sections, the first of which deals with mothers. Their reasons are diverse and can range from fear of discovery of the pregnancy and post-natal depression to mercy killings and pure greed. Father-killers, in the next section, are often motivated by rage when the mother ends the relationship. Honour killings also occur. The third section, on couples who kill, includes cases where the mother stands by while the actual killing is done by the father. Finally, ways in which such killings may be prevented are covered in section four.
The book is excellently researched and outstandingly well written. It reminds us that in real life murders are grim and distressing. It should be read.
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Radmila May