When the fictional amateur detective Carmen O’Inns is called upon to investigate the mysterious death of a boy at a prestigious school, both teachers and pupils are in the frame as suspects.

Meanwhile, the novelist Luisa Dávila, her creator, finds that memories of a tragic incident she witnessed during her own schooldays are brought to the surface when, during her daughter’s enrolment at her old school, she encounters two of her childhood friends. When a pupil dies shortly afterwards, Luisa begins to harbour terrible suspicions about the episode, seeing haunting similarities between past, present and the subject of her latest novel.

As events unfold, the boundaries between reality, memory and fiction begin to appear alarmingly blurry, and Luisa finds herself taking on some of the characteristics of her detective creation in order to find the solution. But is life really like a detective novel? Will Luisa find the answers she is looking for?

'This is a classy murder mystery whose rushing narrative is stained by a deceit perpetrated before the story begins...Luisa and the reader are discovering that secrets and lies reinforce themselves in the past, in the present – and in fiction. With the three levels expertly handled, the story hurtles on with clarity, peppered with piercing reflections on late motherhood, childhood innocence and evil, and the advantages of a Man in Your Life over a miserable marriage.'
The Independent

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Read an excerpt from Child's Play

Visit Carmen Posadas' website at www.carmenposadas.net (Spanish)

Read an interview with Carmen Posadas

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