Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “The Child Who” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

The Child Who

Simon Lelic

3.32 · Rating details · 919 ratings · 159 reviews

An unimaginable crime and the man who must defend it-a probing psychological thriller from the author of A Thousand Cuts.A chance phone call throws the biggest muder case in southern England into the hands of provincial attorney Leo Curtice. Twelve-year- old Daniel Blake stands accused of murdering an eleven-year-old girl. But who is truly responsible when one child kills ...more

Get A Copy

Paperback, 303 pages

Published February 28th 2012 by Penguin Books (first published January 1st 2012)

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about The Child Who, please sign up.

Be the first to ask a question about The Child Who

Lists with This Book

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Envelopes on the Cover

75 books — 22 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 3.32 ·

Rating details

· 919 ratings · 159 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of The Child Who

Mar 12, 2018 Laura Rash rated it it was amazing

WOW! I didn’t see that ending coming at all! For once!! Now I have hope again that there are still original books with the capability of stumping me! After reading this & The House, I’m reading all of SL books!

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Feb 06, 2012 Lou rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, mystery-thriller, february-2012-list

An engaging story involving a twelve year old boy accused of the murder and rape of a young girl. We follow the solicitor in his taking on of the case and the turmoil and hate he faces representing a young boy accused of murder. The public hate him as they know of his identity and the solicitor is bombarded by hate and finger pointing. His wife and a young daughter soon find themselves having to face problems, due to his high profile and sensitive case. It was an interesting read and gives you a ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Feb 26, 2012 Christina (A Reader of Fictions) rated it it was ok

Shelves: finishedreviewcopy

My thoughts on this one were rather mixed. I'll start with the good: the subject matter. The subject and the ethical questions associated with dealing with crimes by youth is fascinating to me. Given the horrid nature of his crimes, should Daniel be tried as an adult? Does his youth mean that he shouldn't be culpable?

Reading this book really made me think about these questions and innumerable others. I also thought, too, about the reactions people had to Daniel's crime. All of the flak that Leo My thoughts on this one were rather mixed. I'll start with the good: the subject matter. The subject and the ethical questions associated with dealing with crimes by youth is fascinating to me. Given the horrid nature of his crimes, should Daniel be tried as an adult? Does his youth mean that he shouldn't be culpable?

Reading this book really made me think about these questions and innumerable others. I also thought, too, about the reactions people had to Daniel's crime. All of the flak that Leo took for trying to do his job and be this kid's solicitor was ridiculous. I just fail to understand why anyone would send him hate mail or protest him for fulfilling his role in the country's justice system.

Moving into the problems here...I think I would have preferred this if it were from the perspective of a child psychologist or something like that. Leo's understanding of Daniel is limited, and we see through his eyes any time Daniel's actually present. Even when he gets Daniel to talk, he doesn't know the right questions to ask or have any analysis to bear. Even when he gets a psychologist to speak with Daniel and she diagnoses a couple of things, nothing really comes of it because Leo isn't smart enough or isn't the right kind of smart to do anything with it.

What really got to me, though, was the writing style. For one thing, the sentences are really simple, which could be a stylistic decision, but just made the whole thing choppy and hard to read. Also, the third person narration tended to follow along with a character, but who changed from chapter to chapter. Lots of authors use this technique, but, here, it was rather difficult to parse. I think the reason it was so troublesome for me was that, rather than using the character's name at the beginning of each section, Lelic always refers to them merely as he or she, so I spent several sentences/paragraphs of each one trying to determine who the heck I was reading about.

On top of that, the story jumped around in time, which, again, can be used effectively but was not here. Instead of amping up the shock value or creating interesting comparisons, this method created confusion and removed the surprises. There was one twist of sorts, but I wasn't interested enough in the characters to care about it particularly.

All of that aside, Lelic has won awards for his mystery writing, so don't dismiss him based solely on my review. His style just doesn't work for me personally. If you think you might like this, give it a try, or check out one of his other books. His style just doesn't work for me personally. ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Jan 08, 2017 Lainy rated it liked it

Time taken to read - 2 days

Publisher - Penguin Books

Pages - 303

Blurb from Goodreads

An unimaginable crime and the man who must defend it-a probing psychological thriller from the author of A Thousand Cuts.A chance phone call throws the biggest muder case in southern England into the hands of provincial attorney Leo Curtice. Twelve-year- old Daniel Blake stands accused of murdering an eleven-year-old girl. But who is truly responsible when one child kills another? As Curtice sets out to defend the Time taken to read - 2 days

Publisher - Penguin Books

Pages - 303

Blurb from Goodreads

An unimaginable crime and the man who must defend it-a probing psychological thriller from the author of A Thousand Cuts.A chance phone call throws the biggest muder case in southern England into the hands of provincial attorney Leo Curtice. Twelve-year- old Daniel Blake stands accused of murdering an eleven-year-old girl. But who is truly responsible when one child kills another? As Curtice sets out to defend the indefensible, he soon finds himself pitted against an enraged community calling for blood. When the buildup of pressure takes a sinister turn, he fears for his wife and young daughter's safety. Must he choose between his family and the life of a damaged child? With piercing psychological insight, Lelic examines a community's response to a hideous crime.

My Review

A child murdering another child is always going to be a dark book, however, the focuses of this tale is more on the lawyer Leo I felt than the actual case or killer. Leo is a small time lawyer and this case will be very good for the firm and his career. Everything comes at a price and for Leo and his family the price is high.

The book starts off with a female, Leo's wife, it is a tad confusing and takes a bit to understand what she is talking about. The story itself I felt was a wee bit jumpy and took a bit to work out what was going on. It soon becomes clear, twelve year old Daniel has murdered another female child and Leo will be his defender. His daughter is a teenager and faces the wrath of her schoolmates when it becomes public knowledge. His wife is also targeted by the community and Leo begins to get threats. Leo seems completely focused on Daniel and getting through to him, Daniels step father and mother are cold and distant, Daniel seems to have no one which may be why Leo feels compelled to help.

Frustrating at times as you aren't too sure the timeline, always recent but sometimes it is after one incident, back to the run up to the trial and then after without clear timeline markings. With so much focus on Leo I think a lot of Daniel and his crime was missed, whilst you aren't left completely without answers I think there is a huge gap for Daniels psychological state and an examination of that.

Instead we see a reaction to a horrendous crime within a community and the impact that has, one to the actual community in how it responds and more centrally to Leo and his family. The repercussions of his decisions and the ripples caused in the relationships with those he loves. Cause and effect is key to the story however I feel the author missed a golden opportunity by not including more of Daniel, 3/5 for me this time. This is my first time reading this author, I would read his works again.

...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Jul 22, 2012 Lisa rated it it was ok · review of another edition

OK. So I have mixed feelings about this book. I was looking forward to reading a gripping book about a child killer who kills a child. However, it was not gripping at all really....well maybe in small sections here and there but not enough to reflect the though-provoking subject. It never really develops into anything....The way it was written was fairly difficult to understand....when moving from chapter to chapter, the author refers to the characters simply as he or she, so you have to read a ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Jan 13, 2012 Diane S ☔ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The book starts off with a sort of celebration, as Leo had been assigned, by a judge what he considers the biggest case of his career. A child killing another child and from there the tension in the book does not let up. Lelic does not shy away from difficult subjects and his books are not for the faint of heart. This book is dark and gritty but has an underlying message pointing out the defects in our justice system and how easy it is to judge without fully being aware of the facts. Leo takes t ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Jan 01, 2016 Plum-crazy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: twisty-and-not-so-twisty-thrillers, read-2016

When this story started it had me both totally hooked & feeling such conflicting emotions, initially some surprise sympathy for the young murderer but mainly shock & disgust at the treatment his legal representative...AND his family....received from the general public - I thought I was in for really gripping rollercoaster of a read. Sadly, I didn't feel the momentum was maintained. The story swapped between past & present events but it chopped & changed in a way I found confusing at times.

The e ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 28, 2018 Erin Wolak rated it liked it

Shelves: paperback

I started this book hoping for an intense murder/mystery/why'd he do it novel and walked away with a semi-mediocre drama. The synopsis makes it sound like the reader will be watching the discovery of why the twelve year-old child murdered the eleven year old girl unfold, yet in reality all you really get is to witness how the community treats the public defender and his family because of his involvement with the case. There is really little said about the actual murder itself so you are left wit ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jan 21, 2018 Katie rated it it was ok

Great plot idea, and it kept me slightly interested; but the writing was muh and the main character was an idiot. I kept waiting for the book to end with him waking up in a mental ward having a psychotic break. There were only two reasons why I did not DNF this book. 1. The writer is so praised I wanted to give it a fair shot. 2. The writing is so simple it made for a fast read. I also really wanted to like it because the cover is pretty and I wanted a reason to keep the book.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Feb 07, 2012 Fred Hughes rated it liked it

This review is based on a free copy of this book supplied to me by the Publisher through the Goodreads First Reader Program

This is the story of the murder of an 11 year old girl by a 12 year old boy. The impact that had on the boy and his family; and the lawyer hired to defend him, and his family.

The main characters in the book are:

Leonard (Leo) Curtice – lawyer for Daniel

Daniel Blake – 12 year old accused murderer

Megan Curtice – Leo’s long suffering wife

Ellie Curtice – Leo’s 15 year old daughte ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Feb 21, 2017 Angelique Simonsen rated it really liked it

easy to fall into ... ending was good

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Aug 14, 2013 Judy Croome rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A taut, excellent thriller, heavily based on the notorious Bulger/Mary Bell murder cases in the UK, Lelic handles a difficult topic bravely. There is no attempt to romanticise his murderer, 12 year old Daniel Blake and his main character, Leo Curtice, a rural attorney who accidentally picks up the trial of the year, is drawn into a complex and sympathetic relationship with the young killer at great personal cost.

Although I did not appreciate the attempt to justify the killer’s actions by blaming ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Mar 13, 2012 Sharon Bolton rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Simon Lelic seems compelled to ask why. (He was probably a very annoying toddler.) His books are neither mysteries nor thrillers in the traditional sense, but rather explorations of the escalating pressures that can drive an ordinary person to commit an act of extraordinary evil. RUPTURE considered the aftermath of a mass shooting in a secondary school. THE CHILD WHO takes place in the weeks and months following the savage murder of one child by another in the same community.

Our main character, ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 31, 2013 Cleopatra Pullen rated it it was amazing

Simon Lelic tackles the emotions aroused when a child kills a child, it aptly starts with Blake Morrison's quote from As If 'The men.... had come wanting to kill the kids who'd killed the kid, because there's nothing worse than killing a kid.

The story centres around Leo Curtice, the provincial solicitor assigned to the case of Daniel Blake a 12 year old boy accused of killing 11 year old Felicity Forbes. Cases like these don't come along very often and Leo thinks he is aware of the spotlight tha ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jan 17, 2012 Ellie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Very emotional, the pain of the adults and the child in such an awful situation tangible. No spoiler but the ending was unanticipated. The book raised questions for me about how difficult society finds it to cope with children who kill; the perpetrator is also a victim who deserves compassion.

I strongly recommend that if you feel this book speaks to you, read Gitta Sereny on the case of Mary Bell.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Oct 24, 2012 Hayley rated it it was ok

Twelve year old Daniel brutally murders Eleven year old Felicity. What follows is the fallout of his actions. Focusing on the Solicitor who defends him the story is gripping but unsettling as human emotions and conflict come to the fore.

Similarities to the Jamie Bulger case in Britain are veined throughout, the writer Simon Lelic highlights the raw facts leading to many thought provoking questions. Despite being an uncomfortable read this story is a real page turner.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Aug 13, 2012 Kerry rated it really liked it

It took me a while to get in to this book, I wasn't sure if I wanted to read it, kept wanting to put it down but also wanted to know what happened. I thought it would be scared but, thankfully it wasn't!

Really good book, fabulous ending - not what I expected at all! And it was a really quick read, the chapters flew by quickly. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Feb 29, 2012 Nicole Lundrigan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A great read – left me with lots to consider. Only (very minor) challenge was I found it difficult to get my bearings at the beginning of each chapter. After mulling it over a bit, I'm wondering if that was the intent. That introductory haziness. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Dec 07, 2014 Lisa Black rated it really liked it

The slightly back-and-forth-in-time nature of the chapters (with no indications, so you have to figure out for yourself where that section fits in the timeline) can be a little bit of work, but otherwise I couldn't put this book down. I read it in two days. ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jan 15, 2018 Ian rated it liked it

In Simon Lelic’s gripping novel The Child Who, 12-year-old Daniel Blake has murdered 11-year-old Felicity Forbes. The act is inexplicable, morally repugnant and by any standard indefensible, and yet Daniel, having been arrested, is entitled to a defence. By chance, the case lands on the desk of solicitor Leonard (Leo) Curtice. Leo, intimidated by the heinous nature of the offence, initially approaches Daniel tentatively, expecting a monster. But it is not long before he is seduced by Daniel’s yo In Simon Lelic’s gripping novel The Child Who, 12-year-old Daniel Blake has murdered 11-year-old Felicity Forbes. The act is inexplicable, morally repugnant and by any standard indefensible, and yet Daniel, having been arrested, is entitled to a defence. By chance, the case lands on the desk of solicitor Leonard (Leo) Curtice. Leo, intimidated by the heinous nature of the offence, initially approaches Daniel tentatively, expecting a monster. But it is not long before he is seduced by Daniel’s youth, genuine remorse, and outward appearance of naïve innocence, and he quickly finds himself firmly in sympathy with the boy. The case soon spills over into his private life: not only is he arguing on Daniel’s behalf with colleagues at the law firm who would be happy to see Daniel swing for his crime, he is also forced to defend his role as Daniel’s advocate to his wife Megan and daughter Ellie. Despite a groundswell of public rage fuelled by an increasingly intrusive media, he forges ahead in the belief that a convincing and compelling argument exists on which he can build a case for either leniency or institutional confinement instead of imprisonment. Then, with his search for just such an argument faltering, letters start to arrive threatening harm. Angry with everyone for abandoning Daniel to a heartless and unforgiving judicial system, heedless of the consequences of his actions, he can only watch as his life spins out of control. Then the worst happens. Lelic’s edgy narrative, inspired in part by the James Bulger case, is not an easy read. It compels us to imagine what drives one child to kill another. Lelic depicts Daniel as lost and confused. Despite our knowledge of what he has done, rather than condemn him as a willing perpetrator of a horrendous criminal act, our inclination is to pity him as a victim of impulses he can neither control nor understand. To his credit, Lelic does not attempt to push the reader toward any kind of conclusion. The Child Who occupies the grey middle-ground of the moral arena. Obviously, Felicity did not deserve what happened to her. But the difficult question that the reader will continue to ponder is: Does Daniel deserve what happens to him? In the end, only the reader can decide if justice has been served. ...more

flag Like · see review

Aug 14, 2017 Gemma rated it liked it

This book seemed to have a lot of potential, but such a lot going on that it ending up being way to vague.
It flicked from one part of the story to another and I felt like there were gaps to the story the reader needed to fill themselves.
Was quite a controversial subject to cover, especially focusing on defending an admitted 12 year old murderer and trying to get the reader to sympathise with this character. I often thought that the second part to the story - where his daughter allegedly got abdu ...more

flag Like · see review

May 19, 2017 Merissa Long rated it did not like it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

flag Like · see review

Jan 13, 2019 Elizabeth rated it liked it

What is a society's responsibility when a child commits murder? What does justice mean--for the victims, the accused, the community? Lelic examines these questions in a frantic thriller focusing on the defense lawyer assigned to represent a juvenile murder suspect. The narrative hurtles almost too quickly toward disaster, perhaps intentionally echoing the speed with which the court system seeks to wash its hands of this problematic child. Plot and dialogue do all the work in this novel, while ch ...more

flag Like · see review

Jul 02, 2018 Behemoth rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, fathers, crime, law, didn-t-keep, 2018

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

flag Like · see review

Mar 17, 2019 Michayla Smith rated it really liked it

I was gripped from the start. I loved the way this book was written, how it jumped from past to present. The only downside is some of the characters. I found they were flat. It seemed like some of their reactions weren’t normal. They either overreacted or didn’t react enough. They weren’t as believable as they should have been, however I loved the story and I felt compelled to reach the end, even if it did annoy me a bit.

flag Like · see review

Jul 13, 2019 Cristina Reid added it

Scary that society has this it is a story of children and some do terribly irreversible acts.
Sadly as it is so ethically against societies moral they see the child as evil, and they have not stood a chance at all. It seems as evil not why the child becomes like this and commits the murder, hidden by parents teachers and social workers and doctors often still today.

I marvel at the author who can write this

flag Like · see review

Apr 16, 2018 Danielle Dent rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

flag Like · see review

Jun 04, 2018 June Jones rated it really liked it

Child killer Daniel who is 12yrs old and his solicitor Leo who Is trying to find a clue in his background as to why he would kill a young girl in such a horrific way, his family in the meantime suffer harassment, and eventually the relationship disintegrates with the disappearance of his own daughter.

flag Like · see review

Oct 04, 2018 Oliver rated it really liked it

Novel about the disastrous effects on the protagonist, Leo, and his family when he decides to defend a 12 year old murder suspect. One of the central themes is "I'm sorry", and the novel explores its inadequacy to encompass the full spectrum of emotions, especially guilt. Yet, it is sometimes the only phrase that can be uttered. ...more

flag Like · see review

Nov 09, 2020 Hollybobs rated it it was amazing

I sped through this in a couple of evenings - truly absorbed into it. It tells you the brutalities without being graphic. You can understand both the good and the dark sides of this, even if you really don't want to. ...more

flag Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend It | Stats | Recent Status Updates

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Fiction

24 users

Mystery > Crime

20 users

Mystery

17 users

Thriller

15 users

Adult Fiction

5 users

European Literature > British Literature

4 users

Thriller > Mystery Thriller

3 users

Thriller > Psychological Thriller

2 users

Literature

2 users

Adult

2 users

See top shelves…

About Simon Lelic

Simon Lelic

286 followers

Simon Lelic was born in 1976 and has worked as a journalist in the UK and currently runs his own business in Brighton, England, where he lives with his wife and two sons.