Puppet Child
 Talia Carner
 (Reviewer - Narayan Radhakrishnan)
 2002 Mecox Hudson
  ISBN: 1930252986

Advertising executive Rachel Belmore is living the Big American Dream until one day she witnesses her husband molest their daughter.

Sr. Reviewer - Narayan Radhakrishnan writes:

Talia Carner's Puppet Child is a good legal story that is not a legal thriller, but one that provides enthralling, “thinking” reading for courtroom buffs & legal thriller lovers. It is a solid, well-researched commentary on the state of the contemporary legal system.

Advertising executive Rachel Belmore is living the American Dream -- a good career, luxuries, a big penthouse & a happy family. But one day she witnesses something that she never imagined even in her worst nightmares -- her husband, the glamorous, hi-fi surgeon, sexually abusing their daughter.

Her world turned topsy-turvy, Rachel escapes with her Ellie. The situation, however, takes a turn for the worse when Dr. Belmore accuses his wife of kidnapping.

The venue now shifts to the Family Court, with conflicting charges of kidnapping & child molestation with a young child caught in between.

In the pages that follow, Talia Carner takes us through the case as seen from the point of the mother, the media, the lawyers, the judge &, most importantly, the girl herself.

Puppet Child provides poignant & topnotch suspense reading. Though the legal framework is different over here in India, compared to that in the United States, one thing is same -- in its workings, especially in the “red tapism” involved, there is not much difference in the functioning of both systems.

Let me say some words from my personal experience -- if there is one court I hate going to, it is the Family Court -- it is a place of tears, where there are no winners, only losers. Child custody battles, charges of abuse & molestations take a toll not only on both spouses, they also most emotionally affect the children born of such wedlock.

As in Puppet Child, we often see that law & legal procedure take center stage while justice takes a backseat. In the legal framework's strictness towards procedure, justice often becomes a casualty.

I have seen many a judge like the one in Puppet Child, who just views the legal side, who goes strictly by the book with scant respect for humanitarian considerations & the concept of justice & fairness.

At the same time I have also met jurists who were strict disciplinarians, yet at the same time were also good humanitarians. I am reminded of the words of one such judge, while commenting on the aspect of law according to justice -- “think with the mind, act with the heart, justice surely will be served.” We need such types of persons, with stern & tough humanitarian fiber, who place justice above vote banks & promotional opportunities, as judges to tackle this type of judicial injustice.

Puppet Child offers poignant reading. The protagonist, Rachel Belmore, commands admiration. She is a strong character who will remain in our minds for a long time.

To say that I enjoyed the book would not be wholly correct. I found it disturbing, enjoyably disturbing.

A topnotch novel about the fine line between law & justice.
(11/24/02)

Narayan
2002©Narayan Radhakrishnan
A RebeccasReads.Com Sr. Associate Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
I am a 26 years old lawyer practicing in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Along with my legal practice, I have finished post-graduate studies for both Business Law & Human Rights. I am a self proclaimed numero-uno legal thriller lover & am the proud owner of all of Grisham's & Turow's novels. I enjoy John Mortimer's Rumpole & relish an occasional Martini & a rare Scot(ch)t-oline with a Patterson on the side.

My work A FICTION OF LAW is now about 500 pages in length & features 500 lawyer authors & 2000 legal thrillers covering a 300 year period - inclusive of entries from the USA, UK, Asia, Europe, China, Middle East etc. Still in search of a publisher.
www.keralatourism.org