A Child&39s Book of True Crime A Novel [Paperback]

With the dark suspense of Donna Tartt’sThe Secret Historyand the frank and shocking eroticism of Josephine Hart, this debut novel tells the story of a young teacher’s illicit affair and obsession with a historical murder.

Tasmanian schoolteacher Kate Byrne is having an affair with the father of her most gifted fourth grader, Lucien. Her lover’s wife has just publishedMurder at Black Swan Point, a true-crime story about the brutal slaying of a young adulteress in a nearby town. Kate herself has become so obsessed with the murder and so convinced that the published account has it all wrong that she sets about writing her own version—this one for children, narrated by Australian animals. Though Lucien’s father brings Kate to life sexually in encounters of escalating eroticism, he cannot dull her obsession. Fixated on the crime of passion, Kate is becoming less and less aware of the present and of how her behavior may align her fate with that of the dead girl. Chloe Hooper chillingly captures this young woman’s unraveling in an intense, witty, superbly crafted novel.A Reading Group Guide for
A CHILD'S BOOK OF TRUE CRIME
by Chloe Hooper
Summary
A Child's Book of True Crimeis a remarkable first novel by Australian Chloe Hooper. Set in Tasmania, the narrative centers on Kate, a young primary school teacher who is having an affair with Thomas, the father of a precocious student. Thomas's wife has published a successful book of true crime about the brutal killing of a young adulteress, set in a nearby town. But when Kate's own life begins to resonate with echoes of the infamous local murder, she suspects that her rival's account may be incorrect. Caught between the world of her young students and her very adult life outside the classroom, Kate imagines her own version of the book of true crime, this one written for children but filled with a violence that is unmistakably adult.