The Book of Guilt

1979 and three boys are living a mundane existence as the final residents in a group home in the New Forest. They're intermittently ill with a bug and have to take medication but otherwise they're enjoying life and waiting till they're well enough to go to a glorious seaside home and spend their days living it up in an amusement park.

Nancy is doted on by her ageing parents who dress her up and treat her like a doll in their home that's overcrowded with mail order junk. She's a virtual prisoner and is never allowed to leave.

Chidgey is a mastermind at subtle chills. Everything is hum drum and pedestrian but underneath all this is an unsettling sense of growing menace as you realise that nothing about these children's lives is wholesome or healthy and that there are undercurrents of darkness. The world we're shown is comforting and familiar but also disturbingly dystopian. It's skilled writing to depict such ordinariness but make it so full of creeping threat. Its a masterclass in subtext and unease. Truly chilling.

This reminded me of Kazuo Ishiguro at his best. The first person narration from the children works well as a device and I felt wholly present in their worlds. The sense of time and place is exquisite and the slightly off kilter late 1970s world works perfectly. Gloriously unsettling.

This is already one of my books of the year for 2025. A treat of a read that I devoured in a couple of days. A definite future classic.

"Come to Margate ,where children can have the time of their lives just being children"

Being a teenager in the 70s and knowing both the New Forest and Margate, the premise of three brothers living in a 'care home' in the Forest and with their desires and hopes of travelling to Margate and visiting the wonders of Dreamland intrigued. Memories of the old theme park still linger to this day!

From the start this was a book that couldn't be put down -it captivated , enthralled and shocked to the very end

Vincent, William and Laurence are identical triplets and have lived in Scott house- named after the ill-fated explorer.- since birth. They are part of the Sycamore project- a government funded scheme to monitor certain children . The boys are cared for by three mothers- Morning , Afternoon and Night Mother. Their actions are monitored and their dreams are recorded each day in a book and any misdemeanours are noted in The Book of Guilt. Other children live in different Sycamore homes; but all is not what it seems. The residents believe that a certain stage they are rehoused to the wonderful world of Margate and life in 'The Big House" .

No spoilers but as the story progresses you are pulled deeper into the mystery that is the children's lives in 1979 ; daily tasks, socialisation days and the possibility of this move to their "Dreamland" Utopia.

Alongside their story, we meet the Minister of Loneliness who is responsible for young people as the Thatcher government decides that the project must end. We also meet a young girl called Nancy- her life is juxtaposed against the three boys.

Having not read the work of Catherine Chidgey, a comparison to other n=books can't be made but this is a 100 per cent page turner- a world was created that was spellbinding. What was the future of the boys? Why were local residents nervous of them? What was their past - why were they part of the Sycamore project? What was the projects goal?

With links to previously dark historical events and the insanity or obsession of supposed 'experts' and governments to create better societies, The Book of Guilt shocks. This is a taut knife-edge thriller but is a cross-genre read - to say any more would be to give the plot away.

Already this is going to be a book that will be a highly recommended read to others. It would be good to say more but to do so would truly spoil a brilliant read.

One of the top reads of 2025 has arrived

After the end of World War II, Sir Alastair Roach, eminent scientist, establishes The Sycamore Homes, to house children without families and to give them the very best care. Run along the Doctor’s strict guidelines, each home is managed by “Mothers”, women who give the children all the love and care their own mothers would give them if they were still alive.

At the Captain Scott Boys Home in 1979, triplets Vincent, Lawrence and William are the sole survivors due to the winding down scheme put in place by the new government, they are the very last in a long line of orphans to live at this home. Plans are made to reintegrate the boys into society, and for them to be adopted by loving families. How these aims are to be achieved is down to Sylvia Dalton, Minister of Loneliness, a woman with a monumental task on her hands.

This book will be THE book of 2025. A brilliantly constructed plot, full of suspense, with a very deep, dark atmosphere, that constantly draws the reader in. The characterisation of the Mothers teeters on evil, pulling back and forth, are they good or bad?

Shocking, threatening and chilling in equal measure, to say too much would be to spoil the suspense so artfully created. Suffice to say it will be a book talked about and enjoyed for a very long time.

Excellent 5⭐️.

Thank you NetGalley and John Murray Press.

I’m at a loss for words. I’ve spent the past hour trying to explain this book to my friend but coming up short because there’s no way to explain this, it’s something you have to read and experience for yourself. Chidgey has done it again, I was mesmerised by her book Remote Sympathy, and I find myself once again rendered speechless by her talent for weaving a story.

This is so much more than a book about William, Lawrence and Vincent. While these boys are the central characters, the story explores poignant humanitarian questions. Is evil taught or learned? What makes a human a human, is it their soul or something else? Is it right to replace someone to battle grief? There were countless passages that felt like a gut punch with what they were asking or rather forcing the reader to think about. The side characters as well, including the mothers, were pivotal for the story and added so much depth. I particularly enjoyed Mother Night and her brief yet influential role.

Everything was brought together towards the end in perfect symphony. A real masterclass in writing, plot deliverance and character development. I lost myself in the seaside home and the unbelievably bright skies of Margate. Moving and magnificent, this was something I’ll remember for a very long time.

I'm super excited for being amongst the first to have the chance to read and review this amazing book! The Book of Guilt is a dark, compelling, and hypnotic read that centres on three (triplet) boys raised in unconventional circumstances in a remote setting during the late 1970s. I sensed immediately something unsettling about the narration of one of the boys, Vincent. Living with three mothers—Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon, and Mother Night—in a government-sanctioned house, they are required to report their nightmares and take medication for an unknown virus that leaves them frequently unwell.
As the last boys in this house, they’ve seen others sent to Margate after feeling better, leaving them isolated and feared by the villagers, who keep their distance. Alongside there's the story of Nancy, a girl whose overprotective parents treat her like a porcelain doll. What could be the connection, and is she the one haunting the boys’ nightmares?
While I could gradually piece together some elements of the plot, I was still taken aback by several shocking moments. The novel is dark, atmospheric, and thought-provoking—a truly brilliant read that will linger in my mind. I give it five shiny stars!

I loved everything about this novel. A stunning read that captivated me, unsettled me and days after I finished reading it is still whirling round in my head.

Orphaned triplets Vincent, William and Lawrence have a sheltered upbringing, their home is hidden away in the New Forest funded by the government under the Sycamore Scheme they are cared for by mother morning, mother afternoon and mother night. There used to be more boys at their home but the others have all moved on to the big house in Margate, a place of sunshine, smiles and long sandy beaches. Vincent, William and Lawrence yearn for the day the 'Welcome to Margate' brochure will appear on their beds and they can go too.

None of the boys are in good health and regular medication administered by their mothers is required to protect them from the mysterious bug that is a constant threat.

Superbly written, taking the reader back to the seventies this novel is a powerful, all encompassing, gem of a novel with well developed characters and stunning scene setting. Definitely one of my stand out reads of the year, I need to check out the authors previous novels.

My thanks to John Murray Press for the early review copy, all opinions expressed are my own

"The book of guilt" by Catherine Chidgey is classified as a general/literal fiction but oh my, it's so much more...
We meet triplets that are living in a big house and being looked after by 3 women called mother's. At the beginning it seems like a orphanage that slowly crumbles down and its on the verge of closure but it's not what you think... Once Minister of Loneliness gets involved the truth unravells and the story moves to dystopian category...
Beautifully written with very clever plot that involves mystery, murder, secrets and how much power government has over the citizens and what they share with them..
This book will make you think about current affairs, social status and unjustice.. Can't wait to see it published (22nd of May 2025) - preorder your copy ASAP - you won't be disappointed
Massive thanks to @netgalley and @johnmurray for opportunity to read an early copy of this fabulous book.

It may seem like a cop out of a review as I only have one word… SPEECHLESS! One of the best books I’ve read this year. No description will do it justice, you just HAVE to read it!!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the Publishers for my ARC