Review: A Lingering Crime

A Lingering Crime by Miller Caldwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is not a big book, and can be read quickly. I liked the fact that it brings focus to an important issue of abuse and it's long term implications.

Jack Watson is in the UK, working in his garden, when he is picked up by the police. He is extradited to the US to face trial for the murder of Gary McFaul. Gary's name rings a bell, he had sexually abused Jack when he was a teen, and in the same school. Since then Jack's life changed entirely - he was always watchful, took different routes, and did all he could to stay away from Gary. The possibility that Gary could still be an abuser gets Jack to think about doing something about it.

Gary's wife reports to the police that Jack has been hounding him, and so it seems to the police that Jack has the motive. He was also in the US at that time. Jack, however, denies the allegation and claims to have never entered Florida where the crime took place. And yet, the police claim to have circumstantial evidence of his involvement.

The story moves fast and is very readable. The suspense element of it is fairly basic & simplistic though.

The story of how Jack deals with the abuse is very enlightening on how abuse can have long term implications. There is an interview with the author at the end where he explains what he wrote the book for and how in modern times authorities have to gear up to spot and prevent abuse before it happens. Social media has made the situation far worse.

I recommend this book for its treatment of an important topic in a sensitive and mature manner. I received this book from NetGalley (my first) for providing a review.

View all my reviews