SOMEBODY'S CRYING - Maureen McCarthy

Three years ago Tom’s best friend Jonty was arrested for killing his aunt Lillian. Tom's father was the lawyer who got Jonty released as there was no evidence and the police case fell apart. Jonty doesn’t remember what happened.

Now Jonty, Tom and Lillian's daughter, Alice, are all back in the town where the murder occurred. Jonty is determined to find out the truth of what happened that night and prove his innocence once and for all.

The book opens with someone crying, and it seems that somebody is crying at some point throughout the book. The story is told in the present, with a healthy number of flashbacks looking at the story from all three points of view. Each of the characters are all connected to Lillian - and treat each other with suspicion and feel guilt for witholding information from police.

Despite the fact that it is technically a good plot, with characters whom seem almost real at times, this book just didn't sustain my attention. I liked Jonty - but found the whole Tom and Alice thing to be slightly...well...sick, considering his feelings about Lillian. In the end I found it easy to put the book down and walk away for a day or so before picking it up again. The finish of the book, where all is revealed, is huge, emotional and climatic - then it just stops right there amid all the emotional. An epilogue follows but this comes almost an afterthought, as if the author decided that readers need closure so popped this last bit in. SOMEBODY'S CRYING is not as good as some of Maureen McCarthy's work such as the brilliant QUEEN KAT, CARMEL AND ST JUDE GET A LIFE.