'Cat Step' by Alison Irvine (Dead Ink, 2020) starts with an explosion and the tension only ramps up from that point. Raw, real and riveting. Highly recommend it.

Single mother Liz is just about holding it together when she makes one small mistake that starts to unravel her life. Her child, 4 year old Emily is ill. There's no food in the house, she's just moved to the area, doesn't know anyone who could look after Emily and so she drives to the local shop.with Emily asleep in the back. Not wanting to wake her she decides to leave her alone in the car while she pops into the shop. When she comes out barely five minutes later there is a small but indignant crowd gathered round the car. A local youth has tried to break in to steal her phone and while he didn't manage to grab it, the smashing of the car window has drawn attention to the sleeping child in the back. Before she knows it her parenting skills are being judged and found wanting. It doesn't help that she herself questions her feelings towards her daughter. Yes, she loves her and this is shown throughout but she also finds (as most people do) parenting a small child a lonely and frustrating job albeit with its rewards. In this tautly written and gripping novel, Alison Irvine tackles these issues with compassion and understanding. She really helps us to get into Liz's skin and understand what it is to be grief stricken (her husband is dead), depressed and alone with a small child. We feel her rage and helplessness at the system and when ultimately she is betrayed by someone close to her it is gut wrenching. I loved this book and read it in an afternoon. It's beautifully written. We are there every step of the way with Liz and while we might question her actions from time to time, we are in no doubt as to what is causing her to behave the way she does. Other characters are fully developed and fit in well to the narrative. There has to be a special shout out to June the elderly woman who befriends her but is nonetheless hiding vital secrets. In an age where people, especially women, are pilloried and metaphorically spat on on social media sites, this is a cry for understanding, for people to be less quick to pass judgement, to be kinder. Highly recommended.