Allegation - R G Adams

An evil monster exposed? 
Or an innocent father condemned?

Can looks really be deceiving? That is what social worker Kit Goddard is out to discover when she is asked to tackle a high profile case.

Matthew Cooper, a prominent member of a small community in South Wales has been accused of historical sexual abuse. While allegations are being investigated, the social services step in to remove the accused from his family and home before a formal assessment is made. This case falls into the hands of Kit Goddard, an inexperienced but intuitive social worker. With support from her colleagues, she gets down to finding out the truth even as the rigid walls of influence and affluence threatening to keep her out.

Adams plunges the reader right into action, filled with acute observations placing Kit at her workplace, simmering with referrals and bureaucratic hurdles. The writer’s experience in the sector is apparent as the initial chapters offer pertinent insight into the pressures faced by social services, a stark realisation of the mammoth responsibility they shoulder.  

Kit’s past is weaved in well with the case, each running parallel till it reaches a point when they blend in. As tensions run high towards the end, the suspense and the pace work really well at keeping the pace up.

As Kit finds herself knee deep in the case, the story is told with a great deal of sensitivity. The plot unravels slowly and at each stage you feel for Kit Goddard as she battles demons – in the past and the present and has the reader cheering for her.

There are lots of well etched peripheral characters likely to be the recurring fixtures in this police procedural series. Apart from her colleagues Ricky and Maisie and the DI there is an interesting angle of the new manager towards the end. Adams establishes their dynamics well here in preparation for the next case.

Overall, a compelling debut that handles a sensitive issue very well. No wonder then that this story has already been optioned for TV. 

I will be definitely looking out for Kit Goddard's next case. You will too, once you read this one.

 Allegation by R G Adams is published by riverrunbooks. 

 

 

Kololo Hill - Neema Shah

Neema Shah’s debut explores the themes of home, belonging and immigration about an Asian family in Uganda.

The story is told through perspectives of three main characters– newly married Asha, her mother-in-law Jaya and Vijay, her husband’s brother. Asha’s husband Pran does not have his own version, which is just as important as the story unravels against the backdrop of the Idi Amin regime.

 The Uganda Asian history is told through the peripheral and the main characters in fascinating detail albeit slows down the narrative a bit. However, it works hard to draw the reader into their lifestyle - the rushed socialising before the curfew, their dukans and the sense of community, fear of being targeted and hunted down by the Idi Amin regime. But once the 90-day expulsion is announced, the family realises that it is their differently coloured passports will decide their destination to safety.

The story really picks up momentum when the family makes a mad dash to get out of Uganda and into the cold streets of London. The sense of disorientation upon their arrival, as they re-examine the concept of home, forms the crux of the novel.

For Jaya, like many Ugandan Asians, it was like leaving home twice over. It is interesting how Shah portrays the two generations, - the older one that still refers to India as home whereas for the younger generation it is Uganda.

While the personal sense of home is prevalent, the effects of the empire is felt throughout the novel – lurking in the Asian presence in Uganda or in the local hostilities faced by the refugees. The biased attitudes are deftly conveyed through well-crafted scenes and casual conversations.

The sense of solidarity that emerges from shared experience is carefully portrayed through the interaction between the characters. I really enjoyed the banter between Vijay and Asha that shows off their chemistry while hinting at possibilities. Shah’s writing style is good at nudging the reader, urging them to make assumptions, making them a willing participant as they are immersed in the lives of the characters. A truly enhancing experience.

The characters are so firmly lodged in the psyche that the ending of the novel leaves the reader bereft, hoping fervently that they live on in Shah’s next.

Overall, a slice of immigrant history not recorded much in fiction, by a competent novelist who knows exactly how to tell it. Highly recommended.

Kololo Hill is published by Picador and is out on Feb 18, 2021.