The Curious Case of Faith & Grace – David B Lyons

Almost two years ago, Faith and Grace Tiddle arrived home from their Saturday morning dance class to find both of their parents face down in pools of blood

Five days later, the twins — only nine years old at the time — were arrested for the double homicide.

And now, twenty months on, the entire country awaits with bated breath as the jury are dismissed to deliberate their verdict on a case that has become a national obsession.

But if Lead Detective Denis Quayle — the man who knows the case better than anybody else — isn’t fully convinced of the twins’ guilt…

Can a twelve-person jury be?

You won’t know what to make of the Tiddle twins

 

My thanks to Emma at Damppebbles Blog Tours for the opportunity to host this leg of the tour and for providing a review copy.

 

Faith and Grace – 9 year old twins who come home from a dance class to find their parents have been brutally slain in their home. The investigating detective doesn’t believe the twins could be guilty of such a terrible crime but he appears to be the lone voice protesting their innocence.

We know most people believe the twins are guilty because The Curious Case of Faith & Grace tells two stories. One chapter addresses the murder and the investigation which is being conducted while the next chapter jumps forward around two years to the deliberations of the jury who have to decide if the twins are guilty or not guilty of murder.  It’s a police procedural story and a legal drama too – win win!

But the fun doesn’t stop there…the reader gets to join the jury and look in on their discussions as we follow Alice, one of the jurors.  Alice fully believes the twins are guilty, however, someone knows that Alice has a secret and if Alice doesn’t convince enough of the other jurors to return a Not Guilty verdict then that secret will be shared with Alice’s family and friends. For Alice this cannot be allowed to happen so she must put aside her own opinions and argue to free two young girls who may actually be cold blooded killers.

The story swings between Alice’s predicament and that of investigating officer Denis Quayle. Both characters are fighting a losing battle to convince those around them of the twins innocence. Readers also get to dip into events prior to the murders as the author lets us see what life was like for Grace and Faith. Their parents were somewhat unusual and the girls were brought up in small town Ireland as part of a church who welcomed visitors from far across the globe. Not all the locals enjoyed the variety of visitors to their town, could a stranger be responsible for the terrible crime? Quayle believes the Church and its congregation played a part in the murder of Mr and Mrs Tiddle.

Nicely paced. Cleverly plotted. You cannot help get drawn in to the jury deliberations. Are the Twins guilty? Should Alice be trying to help free them (even if it is only for her personal gain)? Is Quayle right and the twins are innocent? If so then why are we seeing their trial? You keep reading because you want answers – a definite contender for a book group read, the moral discussions will split the room.  I enjoyed this a lot and was already recommending it before I started writing this review.

 

The Curious Case of Faith & Grace is available in paperback and digital format.  You can buy a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08BCTVKJB/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1