The Girl in the Green Dress by Cath Staincliffe: Review

 Eighteen-year-old Allie Kennaway and her friends are off to their school prom, all dressed up in their finery and excited at the prospect of an evening of fun and dancing. But the evening ends in tragedy when Allie’s body is found in a street near the venue, the victim of a brutal attack. Allie happens to be transgender - is she the victim of a hate crime?

DI Donna Bell and her keen young DC Jade Bradshaw are charged to investigate the murder and begin to close in on their suspects. But someone very near at hand has powerful reasons for not wanting them to get to the truth...

Will justice be done for Allie and her grieving family? 

This was a brilliant read which packed a heavy emotional punch. I constantly moved between sadness, anger and hope. I thought Allie’s trans identity was handled very well - she has had her issues to contend with of course, but with a loving and supportive family and friends, her future seemed bright. The tragedy of her senseless death and the effect on those left behind is never glossed over. As Allie’s death occurs right at the start it would perhaps have been good to have another, not-dead trans character to mitigate the risk of a “trans = tragic victim” message. But I think Cath Staincliffe has tried hard to avoid any such message anyway.

All the characters were very well drawn. I could definitely relate to Donna, balancing work and family but with her partner acting as the main carer (I’m also in this position and it’s not often reflected in fiction). Jade was a particularly unusual and interesting character, who clearly has a significant back story which is only hinted at here. She has huge potential as a police officer but is volatile and sometimes acts in ways which can only lead to trouble. I’d definitely like to read and learn more about Jade.

Allie’s family, father Steve and little sister Teagan, are also really well depicted (as are the extended family) and their feelings and reactions as the investigation progresses are very believable.

There is not a huge amount of mystery here - the perpetrators and their motivations are established relatively early on. The story, and the tension and doubt, mainly comes from the fight to bring those responsible to justice, when there is a real threat of the investigation being seriously derailed. 

The Girl in the Green Dress is an excellent police procedural with its heart firmly in the right place. I loved it.