Victoria Leigh Bayle, mostly called Vicki, is an 8-year-old girl with a natural empathy for all living things. She is distraught upon witnessing a tragic accident involving her next-door neighbor Eric Magruder, who had killed her beloved cat earlier in the day. As one of the core eyewitnesses, Vicki finds herself responsible yet burdened with delivering the truth that could either justify or inconvenience those involved.

A Homicide in Hooker’s Point by author Gloria Taylor Weinberg depicts a moral dilemma in the eyes of a young girl who realizes that truth can easily be manipulated by adults, particularly those discrepancies that exist due to race and color. It is a compelling novel about hate and love and how the lines separating the two are often blurred.

Weinberg magnificently taps into human sentiments, making one speculate moral choices throughout the passage of this complex and emotional story. She builds compassion for her characters and elaborates on the concepts of virtue in children as being vivid and consistent. Moreover, she delivers a powerful lesson based on the prescriptiveness of truth; both fairness and family commitment validate the narrative. It captures how choices that govern moral reasoning tend to be overlooked when it comes to those that one is most obligated to protect.

Young readers will be moved by the tenderness of a young girl who sympathizes over the loss of all living things yet observes a distressful event that makes her question the reality of life and choices. Questions of right and wrong fill the pages without clear answers as readers realize the truth and what is right is clouded by perspective and life paths.

A Homicide in Hooker’s Point is a crime fiction novel that illustrates the complex realities of relationships through relatable characters. This is a psychological thriller readers can experience with the characters as they sort through facts and blurred lines of truth.

Pages: 224 | ASIN : B079K49QY2