AustLit

'A remote valley. An unspeakable crime. A prominent architect is commissioned to design a memorial to the victims.

'On the eve of the presentation of the memorial to the public, a blind woman comes out of the rain and into the architect's studio. She is the mother of one of the victims and she demands to be heard. Over the next hour the two women do battle over what it means to memorialise the dead, what it means to be a mother and what it means to believe.

'Like A Fishbone is both a psychological thriller and a haunting puzzle about faith, compassion and the danger of telling the truth.' (From the publisher's website.)

'In November of 2005 the Iowa State Legislature passed a bill making it a criminal offence for a registered sex offender to live within 2,000 feet of a school. Many towns in Iowa and nearby states have added to the list of prohibited places: day-care centres, parks, shopping malls, public swimming pools, bus stops and libraries. Due to the systematic eviction of sex offenders from their homes, 20% of known sex offenders in Iowa have now disappeared from the public record.

'In a brave and compelling story, writer Anthony Weigh asks us to examine how seemingly reasonable legislation can have awful consequences, as one small town deputy sheriff struggles to enforce the law and protect the innocent from the fear, revulsion, violence and rage surrounding child sex offenders.'

Source: Belvoir Street website, http://www.belvoir.com.au/
Sighted: 12/11/2007