A Silence of Mockingbirds The memoir of a Murder by Karen Spears Zacharias 364.152 Zac

      I read quite a bit of non-fiction.  I like that things are not made up to suit the plot of a story.  The problem with non-fiction is that things are not made up - and therefore this genre can be sad and heartbreaking.  Zacharias is an investigative journalist and an author.  It is not surprising that she would write a book. What did surprise me was that she knew the people involved.  And as with all the people involved, she wondered where the system went wrong and what should and could have been done to prevent such a tragedy.  It is not an easy book to read as far as the subject matter goes.  A young girl, Karly, suffers a lot of abuse but the mother, Sarah, always has a story to explain it.  Her ex-husband is suspicious, the day care provider is suspicious and others as well.  Reports were made. The reasons Karly's hair (her pride and joy) was sheared off according to her mother was because of mats that she couldn't get out. Bruises?  Well, Karly was always running into things.  We have all heard the same stories through the years.  And still young, innocent children die in horrible ways.  Sarah's boyfriend, Shawn, is in prison for the murder of Karly.  He refused to speak to the author so we don't really know what he has to say for himself.   The book is well-written but emotionally hard to read.