In Baby X we learned how super-tough cop Harry Keeble and his colleagues in Hackney's Child Protection Unit rescued dozens of kids, faced lynch mobs and undertook the impossible job of interviewing paedophiles. Now, in Little Victim, Harry takes us through an extraordinary year in the life of the unit, as the team investigates some of the worst cases of child abuse they've ever encountered. These include a middle-class mother who shook her baby to death, the children kept in a cage, the rape of a three-year-old boy and an innocent grandfather falsely accused of paedophila. Little Victim provides a unique insight into the complex issue of child abuse in the UK. Continuing his battle to bring Britain's child abusers to justice, Harry is pushed right to the edge as he confronts horrors past and present.
This isn't my usual choice of read as I mainly enjoy fantasy,sci-fi and mystery fiction, but I spotted it on my eldest son's night table and was moved by his description of some of the harrowing tales within. The fact that the situations brilliantly recounted were of real families involving young children, had me in tears. I wouldn't say I enjoyed the book because that would imply some measure of enjoyment of the incredible suffering of these innocents, but it is a book that should be read by all. It is an honest account of true-life situations, written without bias, and it has made me realise that my problems arn't worth a digital or printed word. Read this book and grab your children with a massive bear hug as I did mine.
I get the feeling Harry is a cop that cares. He works in a rough area of London, in the child protection unit. This book tells of some of the many and varied cases his unit tackles during a year and how he works closely with social services to protect the children on his beat. His job is complicated by the high number of immigrant families that brings him into touch with different cultures and practices. Additionally the area has its fair share of drug users and alcoholics that are unable to look after their own kids. The job takes patience, insight, communication skills, instinct, compassion and a sense of humour. It was an interesting read and I am glad that there are people like Harry and the others he works with to do this job, they (especially the social workers) should be better funded.
good insight to real cases. at times there were too many references to sexual abuse cases which in my opinion was not balanced in comparison to other forms of abuse, made me think what the authors history of sexual abuse was personally. I felt there was a under tone being racially discriminatory, most cases covered were BAME and felt at time the writer was frustrated with the number of migrants in the UK. liked how chapters started and connected. gripping and leaves reader wanted to read on.
Really interesting and at times distressing book. Written some time ago so possibly some of details of how things are dealt with may have changed - although with all the cuts in funding in all areas I have a feeling things will have got worse rather than better. Thank goodness there are people in the world that can deal with these horrific cases and help those poor children.
Harry Keeble works as a child protection officer, something that I would never be able to do. He takes us through one year of his work life, which involves us reading about the different child abuse cases that Harry and his fellow officers face daily in Hackney, London. It broke my heart reading what these poor children go through with their neglectful parents, and I also felt sorry for the one woman who was trying to help the single mum's by running an illegal day care service, I think our government should be helping these sort of people who are only trying to help other people rather than prosecuting them. I found this an interesting insight into a department which has a massive stigma around it. This book made me think very hard about my life and the problems that I normally complain about.