The Girl Who Came Back
The Girl Who Came Back
I have quite a collection of books by Susan Lewis on my shelves, but The Girl Who Came Back was less to my liking, so it made me take more time to analyse why. The author herself tells us that she took her inspiration from a real live case of a girl being released from prison early after the violent murder of a friend, which has to be a sound foundation. It can happen.
Her fictional narrative features a thoroughly dislikeable character, Amelia Quentin, only daughter of an obnoxious, rich, cold, misogynistic but influential father. Amelia herself is without social engagement or empathy; a girl who, from an early age, hurts and kills without compunction – indeed, for pleasure. We know from the outset that as a child she killed her mother, that she has committed another serious crime, and that she’s about to be released way, way too soon from prison. OK, wealthy pillars of society may well have friends in high places, and unseen strings to pull, but I really couldn’t buy into the power of this father to influence the whole judicial process to such an extent in the face of overwhelming evidence … or could he? It’s a chilling question.
Amelia’s victim on this occasion is Daisy, a kind, considerate, trusting girl, loved by everyone, who goes out of her way to befriend the loner, Amelia. Which means we’re shocked to the core by what was done to her. And we just have to keep reading to see if justice is served in the end. But I found Daisy too, to be rather one-dimensional – too nauseatingly good and universally popular. I’d have preferred a more rounded person with flaws.
Daisy’s mother, Jules, is naturally struggling deeply with loss and guilt and dread – who wouldn’t? – but again she wasn’t convincing to me. Some of her decisions are positively ludicrous and implausible.
It takes more than half the book till we know what happened to Daisy, but the author uses that space to fill in the backstory, so we at least know how Jules and Kian can afford the lifestyle they offer Daisy (winning the lottery), what drives a wedge between them, and why Jules has some sympathy for Amelia. But I found the thread about Ruby the ghost haunting The Mermaid an unnecessary and implausible distraction which added nothing to the story.
For me, too, the ending is just too slick and hard to believe, much as I wanted justice to prevail. Wheels simply don’t spin that easily.
I’ve been attracted to this author for some time because she writes about issues close to my experience and interests. So I was intrigued to note that, alongside the horror and despair of teenage murder and legal manipulation in this tale, she also manages to slip in the exhausting strain of living with dementia, the heartache of infertility, the importance of inclusion and friendship – some of her earlier trademarks. And in reviewing the novel I decided it was, after all, worth adding to my shelf rather than consigning to a charity shop.
Apologies to Susan Lewis for my criticism, but I’ve tried to be fair and respectful of the serious labour that underpins any novel. Furthermore, I’ve done my best to avoid spoilers so you can read and judge for yourself.