Someone Else's Son

I enjoyed Someone Else's Son by Sam Hayes which involves the fatal stabbing of a teenage boy, Max, at his school. His girlfriend, Dayna, is there but cannot identify the killer. Max and Dayna are both from dysfunctional families though for very different reasons. Max's parents are divorced. His mother is a wealthy high profile TV personality who specialises in exposing people who have done the wrong thing or tries to find murderers. Now she is faced with the murder of her own son and goes into emotional meltdown as she becomes the "mother" whom she has interviewed many times in similar situations. Max's father is a blind mathematician who lives in an area far below his means, probably to irritate his ex-wife. Dayna lives on an "estate" with her mother, dole-bludging step-father and her little sister. The parents of these teenagers don't really know them at all. Max and Dayna are both bullied at school and find each other because they are both "different". At the time of the murder, they are studying "Romeo and Juliet" and this play is a strong theme for the story. The book jumps into different time zones for each chapter so we learn more background and well as advancing the present story. Good read. 4/5