A Crime in the Neighborhood

In the long hot summer of 1972, three events shattered the serenity of ten year old Marsha’s life: her father ran away with her mother’s sister Ada; Boyd Ellison, a young boy, was molested and murdered in a woodland area behind a shopping mall; and Watergate made the headlines. Living in a world no longer safe or familiar, Marsha turns increasingly to 'the book of evidence' in which she records the doings of the neighbors, especially of shy Mr Green next door. But as Marsha's confusion and her murder hunt accelerate, her 'facts' spread the damage cruelly and catastrophically throughout the neighborhood. 'It is impossible not to be completely swept along... Berne's vision is gently humorous, ironic, quirky... And she writes with such piercing sensitivity... A compelling debut novel' The Times 'This ambitious account of a sudden coming of age reminded me strongly of To Kill a Mockingbird - and is every bit as moving and satisfying' Daily Telegraph 'Much of the pleasure comes from Berne's clear, plain and intensely evocative prose. She has distilled seventies suburbia to a range of sounds... that resonate long after you've put the book down.This is her first novel. I loved it' Observer