Customer Reviews
Harrowing but not particularly well written - By: mark68068, 10 Oct 2008 
Before people criticise me for not raving about this book I should add that the content was totally horrifying & made me cry on more than one occasion. The reason was simply that the treatment of these children was so appalling, so outrageously cruel & so evil that anyone not moved must have a heart of stone. As a parent myself I found Eunice Spry's behaviour deeply upsetting & hope she is never released from prison.
The problem is the stylein which the book is written. It's not good & there are many occasions where phrases are repeatedin the same paragraph & it doesn't read well as a whole. I believe the additional writer was Andrew Holmes & his style is poor & clumsy. That's a shame as Christopher's Spry's tale is compelling & thought-provoking. But for a book like this to be a success it needs more than mere content - & one can't just praise a book because of the shocking treatment of the writer & the sympathy one feels for those who suffered at the hands of a monster as 'Mother'.
If you can cope with the child abuse depicted within I recommend you read it. But if you want a skilfully written account you might be disappointed.
Pure Evil ! - By: Ms. P. Banks, 27 Sep 2008 
I read about this casein the newspapers , so when I saw this book being advertised, I knew I had to buy it & see if the foster mother, was as evil as they made out.
And yes she is, my only dissapointment was that she only got 14 yearsin prison. She should have been hung !!! pity the death sentance is no longer used !
Good Luck to Chris, Karen & Luluin whatever you do. x
Truth hurts - By: Pamela Dowling, 25 Jun 2008 This is a 'must have' book. When JK Rowling wrote the Harry Potters series, you could witness the pain as she battled with depression. At times it was difficult to read those books because the dark side was coming out. In this book, Child C, there is a similarity, which is even more touching as this is not a made up story. Eunice Spry tricked the authorities for years, she persecuted her children & made mockery of the vocation of motherhood. The consequences of her actions will ripple forwardin the lives of all those who know & have heard this sorry tale. Christopher (the author) has written his storyin an easy to read fashion which makes digesting the difficult material easier at times. It won't put you off your food, but it will open your eyes. Too often we are unaffected by life's turmoils, books like this open up the world to us & hopefully make us all a little bit more aware. I am looking forward to reading his next book which will detail how his life has moved on since Eunice was sent to prison, I am sure that will be an even more heart moving account.
How on earth could this have happened??? - By: Gavin D. Worlledge, 14 May 2008 I feel compelled to write a review of this book. I recieved it yesterday & had read its entiretyin just a few hours, couldn't put it down. Page after page just gripped me with horror & sadness at the life this poor young guy was made to live at the hands of this evil, evil woman. Eunice Spry apparently smiled that day as she was led away from the court to start her 14 year sentence to pay for the abuse & trauma she put these 3 innocent children through almost every day up until their 'rescue/escape' Is this what religion can do to some people?? Was she just plain evil? Did it stem from a fateful childhood of her own? We shall never truly know what drove this woman to hurt these kids so viciously as she denies it anyway. To Chris, you are a very VERY brave & strong person for not only enduring the relentless torture, but also for standing up against Eunicein court. It upset me to read that you didn't really feel you should be doing this to her, but she NEEDS to be punished for what she did to you & your foster sisters. I wish you all the very best of luckin coming to terms with your horrendous past & making a happy life for yourself & the people around you.
Personally, I believe prison is too good for people like Eunice Spry. Prison is where she will recieve substantial meals EVERY DAY (No starvation punishments), she will have a clean comfortable bed every night. There will be no bleach or sticks or tcp or excrement being forced into HER mouth...and there will be officers there 99% of the time for her protection from other inmates. Did these 3 children get ANYTHING like that from the person that was leftin charge to care for them? She won't have to worry about baked bean cans or tuna cans being thrown at her, or cricket bats whacked against her legs or chair legs beating her feet. She will have NONE of this...they got it all. They were innocent...she was found guilty of horrendous abuse...yet who's being punished?? Social services may have a hard job to do, & i appreciate that, but just reading Chris' book, & also his foster sister's book "Deliver Me From Evil", you can't blame anybody from thinking somebody wasn't doing their job. There were signs that trained people that had contact with the family should have spotted a mile off. And let's not forget how recent this was...this wasn't backin the 60's & 70's when things seemed to be 'acceptable' or just swept under the carpet. Has everybody forgotten about little Ricky Nieve???
a brilliant read! - By: Ms. L. L. Lovegrove, 30 Apr 2008 I must disagree with other reviews of this book & say i was hooked from the minute i picked it up.
Christopher told everything exactly how it was, even down to how he still feels about eunice.
Being of the same age as him & living not too far away,
i found myself thinking of what i was doing at times when christopher reflected on his past, & i must say this boy suffered immensely but doesnt seem to have let it spill into his adult life,
i hope where ever eunice spry is, she has read this book & finally felt some remorse.
