A Thousand Cuts: A Novel - Hardcover

Lelic, Simon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670021504 ISBN 13: 9780670021505

Publisher: Viking, 2010

Synopsis

A stunning debut novel that unravels the hidden story behind a school shooting

It should be an open-and-shut case. Samuel Szajkowski, a recently hired history teacher, walked into a school assembly with a gun and murdered three students and a colleague before turning the weapon on himself. It was a tragedy that could not have been predicted. Szajkowski, it seems clear, was a psychopath beyond help. Yet as Detective Inspector Lucia May- the only woman in her high-testosterone office in the Criminal Investigations Department-begins to piece together the testimonies of the various witnesses, an uglier and more complex picture emerges, calling into question the innocence of others. But no one, including Lucia's boss, is interested.

As the pressure to close the case builds and her colleagues' sexism takes a sinister turn, Lucia begins to realize that she has more in common with the killer than she could have imagined, and she becomes deter­mined to expose the truth. Brilliantly interweaving the witnesses' accounts with Lucia's own perspective, A Thousand Cuts is a narrative tour de force from a formidable new voice in fiction.

About this title

About the Author

Simon Lelic has worked as a journalist and currently runs his own business. He was born in Brighton, England in 1976 and lives there now with his wife and two sons. This is his first novel.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* When Detective Inspector Lucia May is assigned to investigate a school shooting, she is expected to interview witnesses and wrap things up quickly. Recently hired history teacher Samuel Szajkowski walked into a school assembly and shot three students and a fellow teacher before turning the gun on himself. But what Lucia discovers about why Samuel, a socially awkward but very dedicated teacher, did what he did is nearly as appalling as the horrific crime scene. A toxic school culture, in which students bullied each other as well as their teachers while the administration turned a blind eye, has personal resonance for Lucia, since she, the only woman in her department, has been on the receiving end of increasingly hostile remarks from her male colleagues. Lelic, a former journalist, switches points of view between firsthand accounts of the event given by students, teachers, and parents and third-person narration of the investigation, an incredibly effective technique that gives his debut novel great immediacy and depth. Lelic wastes not a word in this searing indictment of a culture inured to cruelty: “Why were the weak obliged to be so brave when the strong had license to behave like such cowards?” --Joanne Wilkinson

About this edition

• Publisher: Viking
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0670021504
• ISBN 13: 9780670021505
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304