Damaged by Dan Scottow
A heart-stopping psychological thriller that makes you silently scream, “No, no, no!”, but you just have to read on as the truth slowly unfolds. Journalist Emily Blake was once at the centre of a sickening nightmare, when she and her BFF Becky Clarke were just 11. Becky was stalked and abducted whilst she slept in her bedroom as her little brother slept on with no knowledge of what happened in the room next door, whilst her parents enjoyed dinner with neighbours next door. The recriminations and fall-out for everyone involved is immense.
Fast forward 25 years. Emily returns to her village, street and home as well the remnants of her life to investigate another missing young girl. But as Emily investigates she begins to learn what you believed you witnessed as a child is very different under the scrutiny of adulthood. As Emily discovers more disturbing truths, she begins to realize horrors from the past don’t always remain there and perhaps Becky wasn’t the only intended target.
Reviewed by Corinne Hughes – Kyogle Branch Librarian