Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this chilling true crime book by Andrea Dunlop and Mike Weber, with the audiobook narrated by the authors. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!
Munchausen by proxy has fascinated and horrified both professionals and the general public since this disturbing form of child abuse was first identified. But widespread misinformation still swirls around these cases, because who could believe that a parent (especially a mother) would intentionally harm their child?
This is such a disturbing subject, but this book tackled it as sensitively as possible, from the viewpoints of a novelist whose own family experienced MBP and a detective who has worked on more medical child abuse cases than anyone in the country. With most cases where mental illness and crime intersect, it's difficult for the public, medical professionals, and the justice system to understand and treat these perpetrators, but this book should open eyes to the fact that these cases aren't a rarity and something must be done to protect the innocent children. It was an in-depth look into 3 cases as well as the author's own family connection, and it was heartbreaking. I liked the fact that the authors narrated the book, making it feel even more personal. Hopefully this book shines more light on this very dark issue.
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