All the Hidden Truths by Claire Askew

​The Synopsis

​This is a fact: Ryan Summers walked into Three Rivers College and killed thirteen women, then himself.
 
But no one can say why.
 
The question is one that cries out to be answered - by Ryan's mother, Moira; by Ishbel, the mother of Abigail, the first victim; and by DI Helen Birch, put in charge of the case on her first day at her new job. But as the tabloids and the media swarm, as the families' secrets come out, as the world searches for someone to blame... the truth seems to vanish.
 
A stunningly moving novel from an exciting new voice in crime, ALL THE HIDDEN TRUTHS will cause you to question your assumptions about the people you love, and reconsider how the world reacts to tragedy.

​My Review

​All the Hidden Truths is a heart-breaking and very emotional read, exploring the tragic aftermath of a school shooting and the effects it has, particularly on three women, Moira (the mother of the perpetrator), Ishbel (the mother of one of the victims) and DI Helen Birch (the lead investigator). I thought the use of the perspectives of these three women was really effective for this book as it enabled me to look at things from different points of view and really get a sense of how a tragedy like this affects a whole range of people in so many ways and how people deal with grief and guilt. It also looks at the way the public and media react to such an event, with the inclusion of tweets and emails as well as a particular journalist’s horrible behaviour and it really hits home how much influence these things can have on the wider perception of an event like this.
Not only is it a moving read, it’s also gripping and compelling and so well written.
Overall, I’m giving All the Hidden Truths 4.5 out of 5. It’s emotional, beautifully and sensitively written and truly thought provoking. It really is worth a read.
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About the Author

​Claire Askew is a poet, novelist and the current Writer in Residence at the University of Edinburgh. Her debut novel in progress was the winner of the 2016 Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize, and longlisted for the 2014 Peggy Chapman-Andrews (Bridport) Novel Award. Claire holds a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Edinburgh and has won a variety of accolades for her work, including the Jessie Kesson Fellowship and a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award.
 
Her debut poetry collection, This changes things, was published by Bloodaxe in 2016 and shortlisted for the Edwin Morgan Poetry Award and a Saltire First Book Award. In 2016 Claire was selected as a Scottish Book Trust Reading Champion, and she works as the Scotland tutor for women's writing initiatives Write Like A Grrrl! and #GrrrlCon.