Customer Reviews

Presumption of Guilt

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Charles King is living a nightmare. Gifted, verbal and extremely articulate, the 7-year-old has been guarding a secret. The secret comes out when Charles' mother, also bright and articulate and extremely driven finds a pair of blood stained briefs that belong to Charles. This discovery is tantamount to removing the lid from a Pandora's box. Horrors abound. Who caused Charles to bleed? Why would anyone harm an innocent child?

The list of suspects is quite long, from a neurotic, gay sitter who insists on bathing all of his young male charges; possibly an adult guest or even one of Charles' father's legal colleagues. But who? Charles isn't talking. His sister, Vivian, a musical prodigy retreats into her music and Charles is left to try to sort out what has taken place.

His life takes a drastic down turn. His contentious parents separate; he has to endure a painful physical examination and contend with a questionable psychiatrist with an agenda of her own. The high point of his trauma takes place in court. The questions that crop up there are not really resolved. Did Charles identify who really injured him? Who did it?

The story closes ten years later. Charles, then in college picks up the ruins of his boyhood. He has moved out of state and keeps his contacts with his parents and older sister to a minimum. He tries to avoid people he knew as a boy. It is just a question of time before he has to confront his inner demons and unmask the REAL culprit.

A boy is found with bloody underwear. His babysitter, a male high school senior is immediately suspected of molestation. The little boy is very bright but is certainly very vague about what happened to him. Psychologists are brought in, with their own agendas. The prosecutors, parents, judge and the victim all have their own agendas. The reader is left to try to guess what really happened.

The point of view is usually that of the little boy who is trying to navigate his way through the adult court system while keeping his secrets secret, his famlily intact and do what is right, as far as he can tell. I really can't go into much more detail without spoiling the plot.

This is Brown's first book. He is a state supreme court justice from Ohio and I hope that this disturbing piece of fiction was not based on a true case. This book was well-written, compelling and, like I've already said, disturbing.