Lead Review (The Death of Us)
- Book: The Death of Us
- Location: South London
- Author: Abigail Dean
The Death of Us by Abigail Dean, a tense novel of assault and murder set in SOUTH LONDON.
I read Girl A back in the day (2021) and at the time, I thought that is a novelist to look out for. And thus I was keen to read The Death of Us, although the premise will be challenging for some.
This is the story of Isabel and Edward who get to know each other in their late teens and we find out a little about their relationship in the 1990s, together with their individual backstories. The narrative then moves smoothly back and forth to the unfolding trial 25 years later of The South London Invader, who, as it turns out, is a nondescript police officer who over many years has brought terror to the streets of South London. The story is then further fleshed out by the individual experiences of Edward and Isabel as they prepare to give impact statements in court. Isabel chooses to address Nigel, the perpetrator, directly as she sorts through her feelings, trauma and responses to what happened to them as a couple.
Nigel specifically chose couples in their own homes, did a lot of research prior to his forced entry and terrorised them jointly and individually as he set about his task.
The author vividly captures the emotional impact of Nigel’s actions, the guilt and shame and the arrival of absolute despair for both the victims (and there were many) and the police officer, who was involved for the majority of the investigation. This is a skilled rendering of emotional upheaval and trauma. The impact of an attack on a couple is significant and people going through such a terrible onslaught will often struggle to maintain their relationship going forward. The way the author handles the fall out is skilled and well observed.
I have lived off Camberwell Grove in South London, where the author has placed her couple and therefore the area felt very familiar. Of course there is the real life legacy of Delroy Grant, who attacked older people in the South London area between 1992 and the early 2000s and there are at least 200 known victims, so it makes the notion of someone breaking and entering a property with callous intentions all the more real.
I listened to this novel as audiobook and it was crisply and very competently narrated by Claire Skinner and John Hopkins and it had a similar feel to listening to a true crime podcast.
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