What They Do in the Dark: A Novel by Amanda Coe is a very edgy thriller told in three distinct voices. One voice is that of Pauline Bright, a poverty-stricken girl of about 11 from a dysfunctional family where she gets beaten up or gets the silent treatment from her mother - when mom's at home. Most of the time she is in Leeds quite likely hooking. Pauline goes hungry, rarely has her hair brushed and stinks so badly that some of the other girls breathe through their mouths instead of their noses when she's around in order to avoid inhaling the stench. Her life is pure survival and she does what it takes to make it through the day - shoplifting, cutting school, beating up other kids, and bad mouthing adults. Her family is notorious in the town she lives in as almost all of them are criminals.

Gemma is about Pauline's age and comes from a middle class family. She has all the material things that Pauline lacks but she is very unhappy. Her parents have just split up and her mother has moved in with her new boyfriend. Gemma's favorite part of each day is watching a television show starring Lallie, a girl who is a great mimic and does song and dance routines. Gemma likes to pretend that she is Lallie and that she is living Lallie's life. Pauline tries to be Gemma's friend but most of the time she is unsuccessful unless Gemma wants something from her.

Quentin is a producer sent to England from Los Angeles to see if Lallie will make it as the star of an upcoming movie about a princess. Quentin is more interested in scoring drugs and getting sex than she is in the movie business but she leads Lallie and her mother along.

The scenes from the playground and the school are horrific and if you are a reader that does not like violence, racial slurs, or cursing, you might want to rethink reading this novel. These themes are not vicarious - they belong in the book, but the book is very heavy and difficult to get your head around at times. The abject poverty and dysfunctionality of Pauline's home and her subsequent behaviors are mind-boggling. Gemma's rage at her family situation starts to grow out of bounds and she becomes almost as heavy-handed as Pauline. The book culminates with an act of violence that is horrifying.

Amanda Coe has a way with words and most times she uses them brilliantly. I felt that the sections dealing with Quentin and the movie-making business were not up to par with the sections on Gemma and Pauline and they tended to go on too long. Otherwise, I would have rated this book a five.