Hello my fellow bookworms and page turners, and welcome back to my Crime Week extravaganza, in this post I will be talking about Ruth Dugdall’s Crime novel Humber Boys B.
Humber Boys B is one of those novels that stays with you, it makes you think and is very emotional, and I must admit sometimes it was hard to read but ever compelling with its raw emotion and compelling storyline it was like something ripped from a real life news story. I mean, a ten year old boy, murdering another ten year old boy? It’s unthinkable. We can’t understand it. I have to admit books like this that make me think, and make me ask why are the kind I seem to really like in this genre, I find them much more compelling then the straight out “who done it” Crime novels.
The plot revolves around Humber Boy B is now an eighteen-year-old, now called Ben. Eight years earlier he and his older brother were convicted of killing another ten-year-old boy by throwing him off the Humber Bridge. Now Ben needs to learn how to live in a world he has never seen or been a part of for the last eight years, enter probation officer, Cate Austin who’s role is to help Ben reinstate himself into society, after the event several years ago.
However this is made incredibly difficult due to a series of events involving social media, and various other means as an emotional outcry is broadcasted by the parents of the victim for several years ago as well as Ben’s own family. Cate then takes it upon herself to piece together what really happened on the bridge, which results in her being caught up in a never ending situation where her whit’s, loyalties and beliefs are stretched to their utmost limit.
I found the writing to be brilliant, I was swept up into the emotional turmoil of the story straight away, and found it very difficult to put the book down as i wanted to know what was going to happen next. I was very surprised to find myself sympathizing with Ben, as he genuinely is upset by all of these events, and realizes he made one big catastrophic mistake. Ben is clearly down depressed, and losing hope the book follows these particular emotions very closely. In contrast, Cate is a much more stronger character with a lot of determination and a strict moral code a complete contrast to Ben’s character entirely.
Overall it is a very compelling story that explores the twist turns and emotions of Crime and those who commit it. It is Moving, highly disturbing, captivating and gripping from first page to last and certainly not a book I will forget in a hurry. If you like deep literature with a twist, this is certainly the book for you!
Until next time, read more books!
Between|the|Blurb 