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The Kindest Thing
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Review
A painfully honest exploration of an ordinary family under stress... A stunning piece of work. --Ann Cleeves
It's always exciting to see a writer get better and better, and Cath Staincliffe is doing just that. --Val McDermid
Complex and satisfying. --Sunday Times
A modern-day Greek tragedy that keeps you rapt to the very end. --The Pulse
Complex and satisfying. --Sunday Times
It's always exciting to see a writer get better and better, and Cath Staincliffe is doing just that. --Val McDermid
Complex and satisfying. --Sunday Times
A modern-day Greek tragedy that keeps you rapt to the very end. --The Pulse
Complex and satisfying. --Sunday Times
Product Description
This is a love story, a modern nightmare and an honest and incisive portrayal of a woman who honours her husband's wish to die and finds herself in the dock for murder. When Deborah reluctantly helps her beloved husband Neil end his life and conceals the truth, she is charged with murder. As the trial unfolds and her daughter Sophie testifies against her, Deborah, still reeling with grief, fights to defend her actions. Twelve jurors hold her fate in their hands, if found guilty she will serve a life sentence. Deborah seeks solace in her memories of Neil and their children and the love they shared. An ordinary woman caught up in an extraordinary situation. A finely written page-turner, compelling, eloquent, heart-breaking. "The Kindest Thing" tackles a controversial topic with skill and sensitivity. A book that begs the question: what would you do?
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I've been a fan of Cath Staincliffe for many years and this is her best book to date. It's a story that's beautifully written, heart-stopping, and also very topical for our times.
Deborah, a wife and a mother of two children, faces an impossible dilemma. Neil, her husband, is diagnosed with motor neurone disease. Terrified of facing a long, painful decline, he begs her to help him commit suicide. He wants to have a 'good death' rather than resign himself to absolute helplessness in the wake of a vicious disease. Although Deborah is torn, she eventually relents and helps the man she loves die peacefully.
Then her world falls apart as she is charged with his murder and must pay the ultimate price for following her heart and helping the man she loves. The book follows Deborah through her harrowing experience in court. If found guilty, she will be sentenced for life. And then her own daughter takes the stand to testify against her.
The characterisation, dialogue, and plotting are all pitch perfect. Staincliffe manages to write about difficult themes without resorting to sentimentality. Deborah is a tough heroine, without self-pity, a warrior in her way.
I recommend this book especially because its theme-assisted suicide--is so sadly relevant to our times. A beautiful book about a painful subject.
Deborah, a wife and a mother of two children, faces an impossible dilemma. Neil, her husband, is diagnosed with motor neurone disease. Terrified of facing a long, painful decline, he begs her to help him commit suicide. He wants to have a 'good death' rather than resign himself to absolute helplessness in the wake of a vicious disease. Although Deborah is torn, she eventually relents and helps the man she loves die peacefully.
Then her world falls apart as she is charged with his murder and must pay the ultimate price for following her heart and helping the man she loves. The book follows Deborah through her harrowing experience in court. If found guilty, she will be sentenced for life. And then her own daughter takes the stand to testify against her.
The characterisation, dialogue, and plotting are all pitch perfect. Staincliffe manages to write about difficult themes without resorting to sentimentality. Deborah is a tough heroine, without self-pity, a warrior in her way.
I recommend this book especially because its theme-assisted suicide--is so sadly relevant to our times. A beautiful book about a painful subject.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Cath Staincliffe is a well-known crime author, the Sal Kilkenny series and the Blue Murder television programme. 'The Kindest Thing' is a new direction for her writing, yes there is a crime that is central to the story, but this is also a love story and a story of modern family life and how one decision can change your world,
So - what would you do? Your partner of over twenty years has Motor Neurone disease - he wants to choose when to die, before he becomes just a shell of the man he is. He wants you to help him - you both know that it is murder. You love him but you dont want to lose him, but you dont want him to continue to suffer. What would you do?
Deborah and Neil met at University, over twenty five years ago. They have a loving and strong relationship, they are a modern couple, professional and both with successful careers, they still have an active sexual relationship, they still have fun. They've had their problems; Deborah once strayed - attracted by another man. Their son has mental health problems, brought on by drug use - but they have survived, and look forward to an old age together.
Neil is diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease, a cruel illness that will kill him. He will get progressively worse, Deborah will have to become his carer, their roles will change. Neil cant bear it and decides that he will end his life when he feels he can bear it no longer. He wants Deborah to help him. At first Deborah resists, but she loves him and in the end she does as he asks.
The novel follows Deborah through her trial for murder. During the trial she reflects on their life together. As the prosecutor tries to make the jury believe that she is a cold-blooded killer who deserves to spend the rest of her life in prison and her solicitor tries to convince them that she was mentally unstable at the time of Neil's death.
Deborah has to deal with the fact that her daughter and mother-in-law chooses to testify against her and have her life scrutinised by not just the jury but the readers of the local newspaper too.
This is an expertly written novel - only short, around 250 pages, but the characters are brilliantly portrayed - the plot is fast paced and the dialogue very well written.
The trials and tribulations of family life, the love between a couple, the dilemma they face - all put across so well.
Page turning stuff which really makes you wonder - what would I do?
So - what would you do? Your partner of over twenty years has Motor Neurone disease - he wants to choose when to die, before he becomes just a shell of the man he is. He wants you to help him - you both know that it is murder. You love him but you dont want to lose him, but you dont want him to continue to suffer. What would you do?
Deborah and Neil met at University, over twenty five years ago. They have a loving and strong relationship, they are a modern couple, professional and both with successful careers, they still have an active sexual relationship, they still have fun. They've had their problems; Deborah once strayed - attracted by another man. Their son has mental health problems, brought on by drug use - but they have survived, and look forward to an old age together.
Neil is diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease, a cruel illness that will kill him. He will get progressively worse, Deborah will have to become his carer, their roles will change. Neil cant bear it and decides that he will end his life when he feels he can bear it no longer. He wants Deborah to help him. At first Deborah resists, but she loves him and in the end she does as he asks.
The novel follows Deborah through her trial for murder. During the trial she reflects on their life together. As the prosecutor tries to make the jury believe that she is a cold-blooded killer who deserves to spend the rest of her life in prison and her solicitor tries to convince them that she was mentally unstable at the time of Neil's death.
Deborah has to deal with the fact that her daughter and mother-in-law chooses to testify against her and have her life scrutinised by not just the jury but the readers of the local newspaper too.
This is an expertly written novel - only short, around 250 pages, but the characters are brilliantly portrayed - the plot is fast paced and the dialogue very well written.
The trials and tribulations of family life, the love between a couple, the dilemma they face - all put across so well.
Page turning stuff which really makes you wonder - what would I do?
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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.......if you ever found yourself in Deborahs' place? If the man you loved was slowly, excruciatingly wasting away in front of your very eyes - would you help him to die? Would you lie for him, would you cover for him, would you end his suffering? Deborah and Neil were lovers, partners, friends, and parents to Adam and Sophie. They'd had their wild times, and were settling into middle age contentment, when Neil was dealt a life-shattering blow - being told that he had an incurable condition that would slowly destroy him, bit by bit. We then see the hopelessness, the sadness, the inevitability of death that he and his family have to cope with - in particular Deborah as she has to remain positive and in control. Slowly, as Neil's condition worsens, Deborahs' life begins to unravel, until he asks her the ultimate question - will she end his suffering, and allow him to die with dignity? The aftermath of this question, and the consequences, are immense. Families turn on each other, skeletons tumble out of cupboards, loyalties are tested to the ultimate. The questions remain however - what would YOU do? It's a position that we all hope we'll never be in, a decision we all hope we'll never have to make....but what if...? If you end someones' suffering at their request, when there is no hope of recovery, is that murder? In the eyes of the law it is, but is it as cut and dried as that?
This book is extremely well-written, dealing with a very emotive issue, on which we will all have an opinion. It handles a very sensitive subject and raises many questions - some of which will be debated upon I'm sure. I would definitely recommend this book, and it is one that will stay on your mind for a long time after reading.
This book is extremely well-written, dealing with a very emotive issue, on which we will all have an opinion. It handles a very sensitive subject and raises many questions - some of which will be debated upon I'm sure. I would definitely recommend this book, and it is one that will stay on your mind for a long time after reading.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Certainly worth reading
I thought that this was a well written book and it was easy to read. The author tackled the issues around assisted suicide well although I think that there could have been more... Read more
Published 1 month ago by D. Ayling
The kindest thing
This book has to be one of the most touching and moving books, the argument for the right to die with dignity, the argument with both sides shown in a compassionate way.
Published 2 months ago by Fiona Massey
The Kindest Thing
It is all about a woman Deborah and how she deals with the aftermath of a mercy killing. Her husband, who she adores more than anything in the world, falls ill and he asks her when... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ady
The Kindest Thing
This is the second Cath Staincliffe Book I have read and it was excellent.
I won't go into the storyline as there is enough contained in other reviews to cover this. Read more
I won't go into the storyline as there is enough contained in other reviews to cover this. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Josell
Makes you stop and think
A book that keeps you guessing the outcome until the very end. A subject which many people have probably had a similar conversation about the future with their partner/family. Read more
Published 9 months ago by SusieQ
The kindest thing
Let me start by saying that I enjoyed this book. It was a pleasant read which is slightly odd considering the subject matter. Read more
Published 13 months ago by SueBlue
Sensitive subject, beautifully written.
I finished this book in less than two days. It was riveting, with a complex and engaging protagonist. Sensitively written, even the grittier parts.
Published 13 months ago by RG
Really enjoyed this
This book is a modern story of love that centre's around a crime. Deborah and Neil have been together for over twenty five years when Neil develops Motor Neurone disease and asks... Read more
Published 14 months ago by BookBliss
DIFFICULT SUBJECT
This was my first kindle book purchase. A very poignant book which was extremely well written and handled the subject matter well. I would highly recommend the book.
Published 15 months ago by Mrs. S. M. Davies
Sensitive, and captivating
I read this book in the space of a couple of days - after stumbling across it when searching for another book. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Sarah Gillott
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