Bad Apple by Zoje Stage

Author : Zoje Stage
Title : Bad Apple
Published : 2018
Publisher : Corgi
Pages : 432
Genre : Mystery / Thriller

     Seven-year-old Hanna has never spoken a word. She is a sweet but silent angel in the eyes of her adoring father, but with Mummy, things are different. Suzette loves her daughter but difficulties with babysitters and teachers over the years have put a strain on their relationship and her sanity. Then Hanna speaks for the first time, to Suzette alone, and what she says is chilling. Suzette wants to write it off as a scary joke, but she's becoming increasingly frightened by Hanna's little games. Could she be in danger from her own child? And when it's her word against her daughter's, can she make her husband believe her? Bad Apple is a blazing debut novel about a perfect-looking family - where sweetness can be deceptive.

     Bad Apple was a book that I had seen come across my view time and again. And to be honest I have no real reason as to why I had not picked a copy up until now. It seemed to contain all the elements I was looking for in a good thriller. I have read a few books about troubled children before. I suppose it is a worry for any parent that their child is somehow different or strange. But what if you were genuinely afraid of your child. That is your head they were not only a danger to you but others. What steps would you seek out to stop this from happening or would you simply turn a blind eye to everything they do. 

     The author tackles this most complex issue in a way that brings it home. Suzette feels like every mother out there. Doing her best to raise her child as best she can. She is over tiered and trying to juggle a busy life. You feel for her in the same way you would when you see a mother trying to calm down a toddler having a complete meltdown in the middle of the supermarket aisle. But there is also more depth brought to her. Being in her head we get sucked into her paranoia of what exactly is going on with her daughter. Starting off with just little things we grow with Suzette as she moves past just concern and into full-blown fear when it comes. to Hannah. Here the author moves on to give us something more. rather than leaving us in the hands of a mother at her wit's end. Which for our part could be just contained to our heroes mind. A fevered imagination of someone feeling cut off from the world since becoming a mother. She shifts gear and throws us into the mind of Hannah.

     For me, this adds a great deal to the way the plot plays out. For Hannah is far from normal. And the way she sees the world is not one the most children can see it. For her, it is one giant game to be played out against her mother. A game of chess, where for Hannah at least the only possible outcome is a deadly one. This is a book of back and forth's, between our leads. Hannah forever pushing further and further in an attempt to get to her goal. And in such a manner I think it will come to irritate some readers. The bulk of the book is taken up in this fashion. Maybe its because we are inside Hannah's head that when Suzette's husband repeatedly refuses to believe her that  I find my self becoming a little annoyed. You kinda want to scream at him that it's all true. But maybe that's the point. We get a direct line into how Suzette is feeling. Her frustrations are a very real and visceral feeling for the reader.  But it does walk a very fine line. you can only put up with this for so long. And as a reader, I leave that choice up to you. 

     The book does do a fair amount very well, with a creepy possibly psychotic child. It gives you the chills as you follow her every action. And there do come times when you wonder just who will survive this twisted tail. But as I said before, for some this book will not work. It will be sat aside and left to gather dust. But there is still a great deal to be enjoyed with both this author and book.