I enjoyed the less usual dystopia of women ruling the world and men being curtailed by curfew. Well thought out and with nice counter arguments from the characters for and against the tagging of all males over 10.
I liked the unfolding of the story via the murder investigation of a woman found in a park. The investigation itself was cleverly woven into the various lives of Sara, Cass and Helen and allowed some background to the curfew and tagging systems to meld seamlessly into the story.

I am not sure I would want to live in that world!

I was given an ARC of this book and it was enthralling.

It’s set in a world where men are ankle-cuffed so that they have a curfew. This law was put in motion by the fact that violence, in the majority, was caused by men and since ‘Curfew’, violent crime dropped drastically.

The story is from several points of view, but only Pamela’s (the police detective) is in the first-person narrative. Other voices are from Sarah, Cass and Helen. Each has their vulnerability, their story and their agenda. Men certainly do not have a positive stance in the book.

There is a murder of a woman, her identity not known, and the perpetrator unknown. There are questions – how could it have been a man due to curfew and yet...

I liked the mystery, the unfolding of the characters and their lives, and though part of me welcomed the idea of men being controlled in this way, I did wonder if it was a knee jerk reaction rather than intelligently thought-out – surely not every single male was violent and controlling? Maybe education was necessary? Although, I can understand the basis because the facts are that men can be violent and domestic abuse is on the rise in today’s world. When I think back through history, it shows how much women have been controlled and denied the right to even live as they want. Definitely debatable and changes need to be made, but to the extent of ‘curfew’, I’m not sure.

This is a wonderfully thought-provoking story and being a woman, I could see the logic behind the decisions but also felt sad that things had become so frightening and isolating.

I was hooked from the beginning to the end of this unique murder mystery. I thought Cass seemed far younger than eighteen, while Helen was in denial and Sarah’s man-hating, although understandable, very sad. Pamela seemed the voice of reason.

Overall, I loved this well-written, compelling story.

Highly recommended.

This book caught my attention from page 1, it didn’t take me long to be hooked, a read in one night Book is the best kind of book in my view! Very timely and will stay with you long after the final page.