About the Author:
Simon Lelic has worked as a journalist and currently runs his own business. He was born in Brighton, England in 1976 and lives there now with his wife and two sons. This is his first novel.
From Booklist:
*Starred Review* When Detective Inspector Lucia May is assigned to investigate a school shooting, she is expected to interview witnesses and wrap things up quickly. Recently hired history teacher Samuel Szajkowski walked into a school assembly and shot three students and a fellow teacher before turning the gun on himself. But what Lucia discovers about why Samuel, a socially awkward but very dedicated teacher, did what he did is nearly as appalling as the horrific crime scene. A toxic school culture, in which students bullied each other as well as their teachers while the administration turned a blind eye, has personal resonance for Lucia, since she, the only woman in her department, has been on the receiving end of increasingly hostile remarks from her male colleagues. Lelic, a former journalist, switches points of view between firsthand accounts of the event given by students, teachers, and parents and third-person narration of the investigation, an incredibly effective technique that gives his debut novel great immediacy and depth. Lelic wastes not a word in this searing indictment of a culture inured to cruelty: “Why were the weak obliged to be so brave when the strong had license to behave like such cowards?” --Joanne Wilkinson
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