My review of Myra, Beyond Saddleworth by Jean Rafferty
Blurb from the back cover
After multiple unsuccessful appeals, infamous Moors
Murderer, Myra Hindley died in prison…or did she?
What if the Moors Murderer didn’t die when the authorities
said she did? What if they’d had enough of the embarrassment of her constant appeals
for release and Hindley was granted a secret new identity? What sort of person
would she have become? How would she live her life with her new found freedom?
Myra, Beyond Saddleworth attempts to answer these questions
in what is being considered the most controversial book in recent years.
My thoughts on the book
From the blurb, I believed this book to be non-fiction. Sort of a conspiracy theory book about the possibility this actually happened. Actually, it's not. It's fiction about how Myra is given a new identity and goes on with her life. This wasn't what I was expecting, and I think the blurb is a little misleading, but it was a good story and I enjoyed it.
Conclusion and rating
I'm not really sure how I feel about this book. As I said above, it was a good story and I did enjoy reading it, however, I think using Myra Hindley as the central character was a little tacky if I'm honest. I understand why the author did it - when your book is billed as "the most controversial book in recent years" it guarantees sales. If the book had been about a fictional character, I think it would have read better. Essentially this is fan fiction about a convicted child killer, and it made me a little uncomfortable.
I would read this author again, because I liked the writing style but due to the central character, I sort of felt like it was wrong to enjoy this book if that makes sense. For that reason, my rating is lower than it would have been. 3/5
Have you read this book? Do you think I'm being a little over sensitive about the characterisation? Let me know in the comments :)
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