Single mother and coroner Martha Gunn is dealing with the wrench of her thirteen-year-old son Sam going to the Liverpool Football Academy to follow his dream. His twin Sukey seems unconcerned but Martha is finding it difficult to let go.
Single mother and coroner Martha Gunn is dealing with the wrench of her thirteen-year-old son Sam going to the Liverpool Football Academy to follow his dream. His twin Sukey seems unconcerned but
Martha is finding it difficult to let go.
Not that far away another thirteen-year-old is also leaving home but for a different reason. After months of constant bullying, Callum Hughes has finally turned, and somewhat ferociously knifed his tormentor, Roger ‘DreadNought’ Gough. Now Callum is awaiting appearance in the magistrate’s court.
This second book in the new series featuring Coroner Martha Gunn deals with the seemingly increasing problem of bullying and the age old situation of a mother’s feelings when her children flee the nest.
When Callum is found dead in his cell, the initial thought is suicide - he had told his mother that he could not cope with being locked up. but all may not be as it looks on the surface. The stories of the two prison wardens on duty - veteran Walton Pembroke and fledgling Stevie Matthews - tally, and Callum’s cell mate Tyrone Smith declares that he slept the night through.
Investigating the death is DI Alex Randall, who keeps Martha abreast of developments. But Martha pursues her own investigations into the background of both boys. Whilst nearly everyone she initially speaks with denies bullying she gets a totally different picture from Callum’s history teacher Adam Farthing, who describes Callum as a intelligent but mild boy. And Martha is sceptical that a timid boy such as Callum would have killed himself.
This is a serious subject that is dealt with by the author with sensitivity. Flashes of humour are provided by Martha’s
Assistant, gossipy Jericho. There’s also the promise of romance, with the rather secretive widower Simon Pendlebury, and the enigmatic Alex Randall – my money is on the latter. I didn’t get a good feeling about Simon Pendlebury,.
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Lizzie Hayes