“Somebody’s Nobody” by Helen Aitchison

It is a bad thing to kill people. No one has a right to decide when someone’s life should end, even if the life this someone leads turns the existence of others into a nightmare. This is a rule everyone raised in a civilised society accepts as an axiom and never doubts.

Unless one grows up with nothing civilised around to tether their morals to.

“Somebody’s Nobody” by Helen Aitchison is a careful exploration of the warped mind of a sociopath and so much more.

I’ve read three fiction books written by this author, and I really appreciated that in this one, she, in a way, replicated the trademark style she demonstrated in her debut novel “The Dinner Club”. Helen Aitchison gives the floor to each key character so readers can get to know them beyond their role in the crime investigation. To me, it is a prerequisite to enjoying a story. If the characters feel flat, I can’t make myself become invested in what happens to them.

By the time two horrendous crimes shook the routine of the day centre Homeless Helping Hands in Northumberland, England, I already cared about some of its employees and service users and was wary of what others might be up to.

Two men are murdered. Neither of them an angel. Both having a difficult past and not less tumultuous present. Some might say that they deserved what happened to them. But who is actually capable of carrying on the killing?

The team at Homeless Helping Hands are shattered by the events directly involving them and the people they do their best to help. Their work is hard and nerve-wracking at the best of times. But with the police swarming the premises every day, service users scared and, as a result, even more vulnerable than usual, and each team member struggling with problems in their own lives, the atmosphere becomes unbearable.

I was fascinated by how masterfully the author led me into sympathising with the killer. Delving so deeply into their mind, I couldn’t but understand, at least partly, the logic behind their cruel actions. By portraying the culprit the way Helen Aitchison does in this novel, she uncovers the unsolved issues we have in our society, which strives to offer more help to those in need. A lot of work is still to be done to have tangible results in this field. It isn’t enough to not let homeless people die of hunger by giving them hot meals. It even isn’t enough to set up a place where they can come for counselling and support. The assistance should start much earlier, before a person becomes damaged and unfit to live as per accepted standards.

This book tells the story of a traumatised child with much in-depth knowledge gained from the author’s experience working in the field. Maybe it would make someone who can do something to change the situation for the better think of new solutions or simply motivate people to help others more.

“Somebody’s Nobody” by Helen Aitchison will appeal to psychological and crime fiction fans who appreciate learning more about the characters along with untangling the threads of a murder mystery.