O blimey, this one made me cry.

Lesley is a bright, twelve year old, and a bit of a girly swot. Morag Jonesy is her bestest friend, and together they face the daily belting, hardship and social injustice in the Homes.
‘It’s not a happy place.’

Told in a first person narrative (Lesley’s), we learn that there is much to weep over.
Her bestest friend Jonesy often finds herself at the end of the belt, since her mind doesn’t switch off, and she seems to be victimized by the teachers and the houseparent most of the time. Lesley is lucky, she goes to a grammar school, and can leave the Homes during the day.

Through Lesley’s telling, we learn about the cold rooms, and that adults lie. ‘I have been let down by grown-ups.’ ‘We are just here {..} so adults can cause us suffering.’

Things get really, really bad when two girls from the Homes are found dead; that seems merely the beginning of Lesley’s suffering.

This utterly raw and gripping account, as seen through the eyes of a twelve year old, moved me emotionally. Heartbreaking, and beautifully written, the friendship between Lesley and Jonesy even reminded me of the one Jane Eyre and Helen Burns shared at ‘Lowood’. (one of my favorite books - ever - )
Lesley and Jonesy have to fend for themselves as well, there is little room for respect, love and care, (‘you need a friend in a place like this’), yet there seems to be just all the more room for religion, harsh authority and injustice.

oh dear sweet Lesley, if I were to have a magic wand to cast all your sorrows and hurt to go away….

Raw, emotional and gripping, and beautifully written, this is an incredible story about persistence, and finding your place in the world.
I know Goodreads won’t let me give 10 stars - this storytelling deserves it - so hence my easiest 5 star rating to give.

The Homes, a village of orphans on the outskirts of Glasgow. Lesley is Twelve. She lives in cottage no.5 with, amongst others, her best friend Jonesy.
Things aren’t always great here, but when a girl turns up murdered and the police are stumped, Lesley and Jonesy decide to take matters into their own hands.

There are two main things about this book that I loved. 1) the dynamic between Lesley and Jonesy. 2) the fact what while this is undoubtedly a crime thriller, it has all the skill and logic one would expect from a pair of 12 year old girls(spoiler alert. Very little!).

While Lesley is obviously our main protagonist, I personally thought Jonesy was an absolute delight on the page and her personality really shines through.
The dialogue and interactions between the girls(all of them) was really well put together and felt believable throughout and it didn’t feel like an adult trying to “do kid conversation” at all.

I took my time with this one, and I really enjoyed the whole setting and learning about how these orphan towns were ran. The chapters were very short and flowed well to keep the story moving along nicely.

My only complaint, interestingly enough also one of the reasons I liked it, was that at times the detective work of Lesley felt a bit repetitive.

What I loved about this book was the voice of the main character Lesley. This not a mystery novel in the classic sense of the word, more of a book about friendship, love or the lack of it and the spirit of a smart child who never gives up. While one doesn't want to believe that this is what life was like for many orphans or unwanted children in the sixties, the book makes it very real. Lesley and Jonesy help each other through it but then a string of murders changes everything. Some moments almost made me cry. The author mentions in her afterword that the book is based on real people, maybe that's why it feels so real. A worthwhile read.

This book is both really moving and really gripping. The writing style is really beautiful with great characters and a great plot I really enjoyed it.

The story is brilliant and took me back to my childhood. Very well written, exciting, funny and heart rendering. Young children and their carers trying to come to terms with the murder of two young girls. The plot takes you a wonderful journey of accusations and investigation by the young protagonist Lesley and her friend Jonesy. Highly recommended read and worthy of five (5) stars. Well done J.B. Mylet

I found this such an interesting read mainly because it was told through the eyes of a child so it added to the uncertainty and unreliability of the narrative. It was well written with an interesting storyline and well developed characters. I enjoyed it.

I absolutely picked up this book because Mr Brookmyre loved it, and there were bits in it I could understand why he did.
Lesser was a fantastic central character, I could have happily listened to her talk about life, the homes, school and everything for a long time.
The murders seemed like a different book.
Squeezed in and hurriedly finished in the last few pages.
I'm not sure I enjoyed them both together.
However, as the majority of the book was the eyes through a funny 12 year old, I enjoyed it