A chilling read!

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Two years ago before Ted Conkaffey’s life was turned upside down by the accusation that he had abducted thirteen-year-old Claire Bingley, raped her and left her to die in the woods, he was a narcotics cop who had just welcomed a baby daughter into the world with his wife, Kelly. Ted had been accused because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, really. But even when the police couldn’t find evidence to press charges against Ted, the public opinion on him has never changed – he is Australia’s most hated pedophile when we see him in Redemption Point, trying to rebuild his life in the quiet small town Crimson Lake as a private investigator where he is chasing leads on two murders with his eccentric co-investigator, Amanda Pharrell.

I admired the way Fox realistically captures the damage false allegations could cause innocent “suspects,” especially when the alleged crime is something as heinous as child rape. This is not to say the police were wrong to suspect Ted in the first place with regards to Claire’s case. Ted was their best lead because Ted had, in fact, had a brief, inconsequential exchange with Claire by the road minutes before her abduction. However, what is sickening is the role the media plays after the allegation. A media outlet goes on to “unearth” another “accusation” and leaks it without doing any due diligence! It’s as if they don’t care about ruining a person’s life as long as they could attract a massive number of viewers. I suppose this is the downside of the 24-hour news cycle, but as Fox rightly points out, in this age of the internet, can a retraction to a story really erase the adverse repercussions it may have had on someone’s life?

Anyway, by the time Redemption Point begins, Ted has no hopes of ever managing to restore his reputation. Kelly had left Ted with their daughter, so he just wants to be left alone to look after the geese family he has rescued, and do his work. Ted still gets occasionally harassed by the public. But he has learnt to take their shots lying down, although things change for Ted when Dale, Claire’s father tracks him down seeking revenge – when Ted meets Dale, he understands that the only way he could come through Dale’s mission of vengeance unscathed is by finding Claire’s real rapist.

I was drawn to Ted’s own case more than the double homicide investigation he is involved in, probably because I’m interested in the subject of wrongful convictions (/ allegations). However, Fox wraps up both investigations in fitting ways making Redemption Point a decent crime read, although I feel like Fox could have made it even better if she had spent more time expanding the ending! 4 stars.