The Black Hand, vol.39

Lucy Letby case complexities

(Friends, here’s a CW for discussion of infant murder; I don’t go into extensive detail, but if you don’t want to read this bit, you don’t have to, be kind to yourself.)

It all seemed so open and shut when it first came to light: Lucy Letby, a 34yo British nurse who worked at the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital, was arrested following a high number of newborn deaths which occurred shortly after she began working at the hospital’s care unit. She was charged with eight counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder, and was found guilty.

Her crimes shocked everyone in the UK, and seemed to follow a classic ‘Angel of Death’ pattern. The babies in her care were injected with air or insulin, overfed, or hurt in other ways. It was accepted at trial that some babies had been injected with insulin, which Letby blamed on others. She removed 250 confidential patient documents and apparently falsified other documents to remove suspicion. Letby pleaded not guilty, and was sentenced to life in prison, with no possibility of release. She is now considered Britain’s most prolific serial child killer.

But the case has become complicated by the chorus of voices outside of court who raised concerns over the evidence submitted during Letby’s trial.

The prosecution’s case relied heavily on testimony from doctors and nurses at the hospital, statistical evidence, and expert opinion on complex medical issues. There was no forensic evidence that clearly showed Letby committed the crimes, and no witnesses who saw her causing harm.

Now people are coming forward with more information about how the hospital’s unit was severely understaffed, even while taking on pre-term babies with the highest risk of mortality; that the unit was outdated, under-resourced, and unsafe; and that babies on the unit were prone to infection. Some are saying Letby was made into a fall guy for people who didn’t want NHS hospital conditions examined too closely. Others have said that expert testimony in the case was neglected or ignored. Still others have indicated that some statistical evidence may have been based on shaky foundations, that the police jumped to unverified conclusions, and that expert opinions used by the prosecution may have been medically inaccurate and biased.

This courtroom drama has been dragging on for some years now. What appeared to be a very clear case of serial murder by a mentally disordered woman has now become deeply complicated. At the end of the day, no one really seems to know what happened, and even after two trials, Letby’s motives, character, and psychology continue to be a mystery.

Saaales

Not much happening right now – the Kindle Monthly Deal period for Some Shall Break ended on 31 June, sorry if you missed it! Both Some Shall Break and None Shall Sleep are still on Kindle Unlimited though. US Target is still selling both books at a discount.

Still no sale love for my feisty-WW2-codegirl-detectives in The Killing Code – sads. But I’m hoping to do a digital discount sale of my gothic-noir circus books – the Circus Hearts series – real soon, so keep an eye out for that.

Events

I’m running an online writing workshop called Thrills, Chills, and Spills through Queensland Writers Centre on Sunday 21 July – if you’ve ever wanted to get the skinny on how to write thrillers (for YA or adult), this is your chance. It’ll be run via Zoom, so you can still attend if you’re interstate or overseas, and I’ll be pouring out everything I know about thriller writing, plus giving participants a chance to write, and ask questions – you can find tickets here.

Aside from that, I’m not doing much else in-person in July, but I’m gearing up for August, which is a massively busy time on account of Book Week. I’m visiting a bunch of schools and libraries – I’m actually officially booked out for Book Week, although I’m still taking bookings for later in the month – so keep an eye out if I’m visiting your school and come say hi!

What I’m reading

I’ve been on school break with my family and we spent some time at the beach – I’m still writing but I’ve had a lot of time for reading lately, and I got through some pretty awesome books! Here’s the rundown of some of the books I read:

Let’s Go Play At the Adams’ by Mendel Johnson – a horror classic from 1974. Incredibly brutal and horrifyingly grim story about a couple of kids who take their pretty young babysitter hostage while their parents are overseas; when they invite their neighbourhood friends to come join the fun, things get extremely Lord of the Flies. A horrible, unflinching, necessary book, which I can’t say I’d recommend as such, but is an important part of horror canon, as explained by Grady Hendrix in the intro. Please heed all trigger warnings, this is some absolutely void-dark shit. I’m glad I read this first, because it’s good to get the really depressing stuff out of the way early.

A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher – this is Ursula Vernon’s adult horror pseudonym. A great antidote to Johnson’s book above, it’s about a woman who goes home to stay for a while and finds her mother is being terrorized by something in her house. While there are some scary images, I would describe this as ‘Miss Marple gothic’, if that makes sense. Kingfisher is such a delight; she writes gutsy, smart, funny characters who don’t put up with bullshit, and every time I read one of her books, I feel happy. I also highly recommend her book Things That Move The Dead.

The Spite House by Johnny Compton – love to see more horror written by Black authors, I’d have to say that authors of colour are writing some of the best stuff in the genre right now (take a look at Gabino Iglesias, Cynthia Pelayo, Stephen Graham Jones, Tananarive Due). This is Compton’s debut, about a father on the run with his two daughters who takes a job of necessity as a caretaker of a notoriously haunted ‘spite house’. Although I didn’t feel like the author had strong control of his material, it’s a solid debut – I’m looking forward to what Compton produces next.

SOME SHALL BREAK is Davitt-nominated

It’s rare for a sequel book to get a Davitts nod, so I’m thrilled! The Davitt awards are run by Sisters in Crime, and recognise the best books by Australian women crime writers in any given year – my book is up for the YA award, along with Amy Doak’s Eleanor Jones is Not A Murderer. You can discover the nominees in every category here, and if you’d like to attend the award ceremony in Melbourne, which will have fantastic adult crime author Sulari Gentill giving the keynote, there’s also a link for tickets.

What’s happening with NONE SHALL SLEEP 3

Jesus, what isn’t happening with this book? What a ride.

In a nutshell, my publisher doesn’t want it. I know, it’s a drag. But I was kind of ‘disappointed but not surprised’ about it. Publishing is insane right now. They’re still releasing the paperback of Some Shall Break in October, at least, so phew. But yeah, it’s sad news for book 3.

I’m sorry, this means your dreams of owning a complete matching set of the series hardcovers is probably out the window. But as I’ve already said, I’m going to get the book to you anyhow – other plans are afoot.

This month, my agent and I are trying one more avenue to see if we can get the book a traditional publishing release before we give up. I think it’s a long shot, to be honest, but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I was hoping to start releasing the first chapters of None Shall Sleep 3 in my newsletters…in this edition, actually. But this puts off my plans until after we get a decision in August. Publishing is like the military, it’s all “hurry up and wait”.

If we sell the book to another house, I’ll be really happy! But if we don’t sell the book, I’ll also be really happy! Because if it doesn’t sell, then I can start releasing it to you guys. Probably that will be in August or (more likely) September.

Let’s see what happens. Keep your ear to the ground, because I’ll have more tell you next month. Until then, I’m freezing subscription costs for my paywalled newsletter Nailbiters, which will mean less annoyance for everybody - you’ll hear from me again late August, when I have the final update.

Again, I’m sorry about the None Shall Sleep 3 news – bad news may turn out to be good news in this case, though. It might mean I can get the book to you earlier.

But school holidays have been lovely. I’m back in the saddle, writing the final chapters of NSS3, and my third son is working at the same table as me, doing exam prep – we’re spurring each other on. My health has radically improved from last year. I’m feeling good! And I’m rip-raring to go.

Until we talk again, have a good month – UK friends, congrats on the big change! US friends, I hope your July 4^th was a fine one, because it looks like a long rough road between now and your election in November – I’m thinking of you. And Au/NZ friends, hope you’re staying warm over winter.

Take care, read lots, and see you again soon!

xxEllie