The most disturbing book I've ever read, retold: The Second Suspect by Heather Lewis

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Book details/Content warnings:
Title: The Second Suspect | Author: Heather Lewis | Publisher: Judy Piatkus | Pages: 261 | Publication date: 1998 | ISBN: 9780749931131 | Source: Purchased
Content Warnings: Rape, child abuse, domestic abuse, addiction
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[@JediJuniper92]

“A posh paperback” is a phrase I intense to use in the future

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Ha!

[@anotherbooktubechannel]

This reminds me of what David Lynch did with Twin Peaks, but in the reverse order. The original TV show was a "mystery" and a bit sanitized but still scandalous for TV, which didn't really show the real story of the victim Laura Palmer. But he followed it up with Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, which is a hard-R movie that follows Laura leading up to her murder and really gives her an opportunity to be a full character having terrible, disturbing experiences. Not an exact one-to-one, but kinda similar.

[@yaxomoxay]

Very true! And then he did The Return which brings it to a whole different level.

[@wakkawakka900]

Egg-xactly

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Yeah there is definitely a similarity there!

[@lauracurriero303]

There is another interesting fact about the author that i don't know if you are aware of, she was an out lesbian woman, it's interesting how queer people are able to write the most disturbing material, same with Samuel Delaney, a gay man with Hogg, i think it's because the life and experience that queer people were put through history, especially in those days, that it causes them to not care anymore about society judgement of their work, her sexuality and probably lack of acceptance also had something to do with her drug use and eventual death

[@CriminOllyBlog]

That's very true. I think Delaney's sexuality feels more central to Hogg than Lewis's does to Notice, but it's definitely there

[@lauracurriero303]

@@CriminOllyBlog I think Lewis's sexuality is more relevant in her first novel, the one that you haven't read yet, it's mostly a lesbian novel

[@Paul_Bond.]

Karin Slaughter and Mo Hayder are a bit like this Olly. It didn't take me that long to realise that women write about the degradation of women (and children) so authentically because they live through it. I maybe painting broad strokes here but I think it has an indelible and terrible truth. Just as I believe that a man, who maybe a soldier can tell me a terrible truth about the horrors of war on the front line or just the violence men are willing to inflict upon each other. Sometimes I despair.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

That's very sad, and very true

[@crawdad19141]

I honestly cant understand how any book could possibly be more disturbing than "Hogg" by Samuel Delaney. especially given the fact that the protagonist was a child. I do trust your judgment though so I will probably have to pass on these.

[@SheilaTheGrate]

I think perhaps the more interesting question is - why are publishers so ready to publish the detective novel about the aftermath, and not the true horror of what the victim experiences? If you love drinking Sherry barrel aged Scotch, at some point you have to support the Sherry industry that allows the wonderfully aged Scotch to happen. These are two pieces of the human experience - and the victim usually gets the Sherry end of the stick. They add mystery and danger and intrigue, but are treated as a prop and an afterthought in detective novels.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

That's a great analogy!

[@SheilaTheGrate]

@@CriminOllyBlog Thank you! :D

[@M-J]

I really enjoyed your breakdown of both books. Good stuff, Olly. 😊

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Thanks MJ!

[@kimotee5892]

Very interesting and articulate breakdown. I've never heard of these books or this author so it's good to learn about something new!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it

[@preemptivekicks1355]

Its part of what's called Copaganda. Putting law enforcement in favourable light solving crimes and the sort.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

This book definitely isn't copaganda, the cops don't come off well at all

[@elliyo4286]

I didn't even think of the availability of books until now, and it felt so surreal to not find a book in my local book shops! (Notice I mean)

[@BookishTexan]

Really interesting discussion about how the mystery form allows for a bunch of awful stuff in books.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Thanks, Brian

[@themiddleplace]

Excellent summary. And I agree with your distinction between unnerving and disturbing.

[@scottgraham1143]

I'm interested in how book covers subliminally influence book buyers only since reading Gore Vidal's account of a conversation with a book publisher who wondered why a good book was being outsold by a bad book and coming to the conclusion that it could only be the book cover. He reversed the covers and the good book started outselling the bad book. After that, he put his success in selling books down to choosing the right cover. I don't know anything about selling books and I'd never considered whether I'd been influenced because the vast majority of books I've read have been borrowed from the library, but the other day I found Arthur Janov's The Primal Scream, and although I've been intrigued by the process (Mother by John Lennon is an example), I have no doubt the cover was 100% the reason I bought it.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I do think covers have a huge part to play in our purchasing decisions, although I wonder if that has lessened slightly now that so many books are bought online rather than in physical shops

[@markbidwell654]

ok, so i have not read these books - which one should i read first, and would make the most sense for reading order, The Second Suspect then follow that with Notice =-? 🤔

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I would probably go with Notice first

[@markbidwell654]

@@CriminOllyBlog thank you

[@ShannonsChannel]

How interesting that she rewrote it from a different POV to get it published, and then they published the other one after she died. Are the names the same in both books or is it the same "type" of story but with different characters? So sad about her suicide. I feel a need to read Notice.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Yeah I think many of the names are the same. Notice is definitely worth reading

[@CriminOllyBlog]

@@ShannonsChannel yeah sorry 😁

[@WishAtElevenEleven]

I thought this might be a good book to check out since I think Notice might be too intense for me, but alas, this one is still $80 on amazon 😣

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Yeah I got my copy for about £3, but it seems like "the Notice effect" has driven up prices of this one as well

[@MriInterocitor]

I don’t know if you’ve read anything by James Tiptree Jr, the pen name of Alice Sheldon. Her story “The Women Men Don’t See”, set in the modern day but with an important sf element, does an astonishing job presenting the male narrator’s viewpoint credibly. There are reasons so many people though Tiptree was a man before the truth came out. Just something that comes to mind when the subject comes up.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I definitely need to read Tiptree - I did have a digital copy of a reissue of one of her books from a publisher, but the formatting was so bad it was impossible to read

[@MriInterocitor]

@@CriminOllyBlog I probably got the same one. :) Fortunately, I later got a really nice print volume.

[@suzannemartin5984]

There will never be another book more vile ,repulsive and disturbing than anything written by Marquee de Sade. I had to read his writings for an English course and partway thru I tossed it into a dumpster and left the class. I wish I could erase it from memory. I did read Notice. I believe I found a digital edition online somewhere 🤔

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Yeah I read 120 Days of Sodom and I kind of work I hadn’t. Vile is a great way to describe it.

[@dawndeeley436]

How can I get this in the UK? It says to pre order for March 2024

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Yeah Notice has been out of print for a few years, but we managed to get the publisher to print a new edition which comes out in March

[@thisbirdhasflown2554]

Not gonna lie, I just came here today to hear you say "that kind of thing "

[@CriminOllyBlog]

You're in luck, I do it 7 days a week!

[@bobcabot]

ja life is stranger than fiction they say for a reason and sometimes if an author made up stuff and then years later they eventually happen people draw strange conclusions you know like you cant write about that stuff if it is not in you ( King´s "famous" Bachman book ) so it´s hard to tell in her case...but again: there was a big case in the 80´s in Germany where a rich couple did exactly what she describes in her book...

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Horrific (but not surprising) that there is a real life case

[@centy64]

Having read Notice (after the recommendation here) I think I might give this one a miss. I'm sure it's good but I don't want to spend any more time in that world, at least for a while.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Understandable!

[@D.Trider]

Would you be interested in selling Notice? Hard to find a copy. Thx

[@jackthereader]

Gosh darn it, I said I wouldn’t buy any more books, but you’re really forcing my hand!

[@massonman9099]

lol, take a look at the prices for her books.

[@jackthereader]

@@massonman9099 I just found The Second Suspect for £2.53. Hardly extortionate.

[@jackthereader]

Oh, wait, it’s in French. Never mind lol.

[@massonman9099]

@@jackthereader merde!

[@jackthereader]

@@massonman9099 😂

[@dittekyhn1754]

Did it spoil the book having read notice first? Just finished notice.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Not really, because it does take the story in a slightly different direction

[@lesliepowell-mccarty7067]

You want a disturbing book? Read Tampa by Alissa Nutting. 😬😨

[@CriminOllyBlog]

That one is on my list!

[@JessicaFletcher-lf1lp]

How do you get these extremely expensive books?

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I got them before they were extremely expensive. In fact I think the success of my video on Notice is part of the reason it goes for such stupid money now.

[@AzariaSin]

I want to buy this book so bad online but very difficult in finding it. Notice was hard as it is but I managed to find a PDF. Second Suspect not much. I barely managed to "borrow" a copy on Archive for Second Suspect. Tbh Notice is better. I do think Second Suspect is kind of confusing and hard to follow. I didn't understand how exactly the sadist died, was he shot or stabbed? If Ingrid killed their daughter? And what happened with Caroline's partner? Very cloudy. I tried to re read the passages but was left scratching my head. It's kind of telling with these threads hanging out that makes me think Heather wasn't too fond of The Second Suspect herself. She would've never wrote it if Notice was published imo.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Yeah completely agree that Second Suspect wouldn't have been written if Notice was out there - it's a shame she found herself in the position where she had to create an inferior version of it

[@wendyvilla2904]

🖤💚 I just purchased Awake, O Sleeper of bookdepository its also by Heather. Have you read that yet? I'm hoping it's by the same Heather Lewis it sounds interesting none the less.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Just had a look and I think that must a a different author - I agree it does look interesting though!

[@wendyvilla2904]

@CriminOlly Upon more research, I believe you're are correct it is a different Heather Lewis. Owell, I now own it, so eventually, I will read it, lol.

[@bobcabot]

IT! sorry...

[@DDB168]

Hmm, interesting, I've not read any of the books.

[@jimcollins9079]

I'll put this comment here since it's regarding your disturbing book challenge. I just finished reading "The Girl Next Door" by Jack Ketchum. I normally don't read books like this, and I wanted to try it based on your disturbing book challenge ... to challenge myself. This book was ... harsh and doubly-so because it's based on the true story of the torture and eventual death of 16-year-old Sylvia Likens in 1965. The only thing that would have made it more disturbing is if it had been told from her own point of view (as you said the girl's story in Notice was). I'm not sure I enjoyed it or would recommend it, but it has certainly stuck with me and caused me a couple of sleepless nights. I can't imagine anyone not finding this utterly horrific and disturbing.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Yeah that is a very difficult one! I do agree though that at times it feels a little removed from the experience of the girls