Sandbeach, South Wales. Two women have come forward to make historical sexual allegations against a pillar of the local community, Matthew Cooper. And child-safeguarding protocol demands that Social Services remove the accused from his home and his family, while a formal assessment is carried out.
The Cooper case lands on the desk of inexperienced Social Worker, Kit Goddard. Although intrepid and intuitive, she is ill-prepared for such a high-profile case.
Kit finds herself navigating a local minefield of connections and class, reputations and rumour. Unsure whether her interference is a heroic intervention or a hurtful intrusion, she knows one thing: it will have an impact. The question is whether this impact will be to expose an iniquitous lie, or destroy an innocent life.

Thank you for my gifted copy of this book. The book was a captivating read. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters are portrayed so real and I felt like i knew them. I could imagine them appearing on my screen, cameras flashing at them. The book is thought provoking and a great legal suspense novel

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

When a local business man is accused of a historical abuse of two girls, the local social worker, Kit, starts to investigate the family. Kit is a relatively new social worker but no stranger to the system having been a foster child in her youth.

Kit investigates the family and could the children be at Risk? I really enjoyed this read and the backstory about Kit added strength to why she acts the way she does. A solid story. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

When histrionic sexual abuse claims are made against local wealthy and influentially connected Matt Cooper newly qualified social worker, Kit Goddard, is allocated the case to ascertain the level of risk to the Cooper’s 3 children. Annie Cooper, the wife, is incredibly hostile towards Kit and is adamant the allegations are false and that Matt will not be charged.

As the story enfolds Kit’s own family background is revealed and she has to face issues from her own unhappy home life and experiences of being in the care system.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and liked the easy style of writing. I hope to read more by this author in the future

Many thanks to the publishers and netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I thought Allegation was a very good read indeed- with a central premise ripped straight from the headlines this one focuses on social worker Kit, who is thrown into the middle of a controversial case, where truth faces down power in a battle for the facts.

Kit is engaging and realistically flawed, her determination to treat this case as she would any other despite the people involved makes you root for her every step of the way. The author manages to get the realities and lack of resources in under the radar but with emotionally resonant authenticity, the story speaks to trust and judgment, the subject matter is haunting yet absolutely important to consider. 

Overall this was terrific. It manages to be a highly entertaining page turner, an intuitive social commentary and an emotive thought provoking story all in one go.

Recommended.

Disclaimer: I have been sent a copy of this book for review purposes. This has not influenced or affected my opinions in any way in this review.

I have honestly never before read anything like this. It is a novel full of suspense and it leaves you constantly questioning yourself. I really felt a connection to the protagonist, Kit. She comes across as instantly likeable and someone who you would ultimately get along with. Throughout this book I was hooked, and I was addicted to finding out what happens. This is because the plot is one which creates an element of not wanting to put the book down. Overall, I loved this book and I would highly recommend it.

*4 stars*

I enjoyed this book. The subject matter is very heavy & it is dealt with in an efficient manner. It is a very well written book & although it is hard going at times it gives an honest & realistic portrayal of tough subjects.

It was a heavier read concerning sexual crimes on minors and the difficulties involved in clawing through the lies and the reluctant nature of people to believe. It was enlightening to see the detailed procedure involved in cases like these, so kudos to the author for doing her research.

The protagonist is a young social worker, Kit, who had been given a high profile case she’s not sure she’s ready for, for she has the power to break up a seemingly nice family over some historical sexual allegations or put it away and risk the wellbeing of three children. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t example of a situation that left me curious if the seemingly charming man was indeed guilty of the crime he was accused of. Moreover, as the plot progressed I was left trying to figure out if Kit would manage to trust her judgement and carry out the assessment that would not end up being influenced by those above, determined to protect one of their own.

Kit’s inexperience and determination in her quest to discover the truth added to the suspense that turned the novel into a quick page-turner. I was often wondering if her not sticking to procedure at times in order to find what’s really been going on, would be the catalyst for Kit getting thrown off the case and if so, even if guilty of the crime, would the accused walk away free? I enjoyed the twist that I did not see coming and the secondary mystery to the main storyline, albeit a bit rushed towards the end. I liked how the author took things like class and explored the different challenges that can arise with safeguarding children from different backgrounds. Secondary characters were well written and I could easily imagine them in my head, like Vernon, Kit’s mentor who I found quite funny in his tardiness and disregard for the unwritten rules. Overall, it’s a good read that makes you appreciate the social workers out there and I would happily read a sequel should the author decide to ever write one.

An exceptional story. Found it quite a difficult read but that’s to be expected with such a dense message and subject matter. Well written and suspenseful x

My opinion on this book is a bit split, as I felt the storyline itself was meh I felt the book struggled to really get going.

There were too many aspects of the story and whilst they eventually all came together, the ending did feel rushed and shoved together. As if the author had realised they'd built up all these strands of the book and had to figure out a way to tie them up. It just really frustrated me as I felt it made no sense. 

On the whole, I really liked Kit's character, I felt she had something about her and she was definitely the type to do what was right even that meant getting herself into trouble, especially when it came to her family. 

I did feel though that the author didn't really develop the other characters as much, which meant we didn't get that same connection with them. Disappointing really as some of them would have made really good additions to the book!

I also found the flashbacks to Kit's life didn't add value to the book, and where the author put these in, there could have been more interaction with the Cooper family who the main storyline centres around. 

On the whole, I struggled with this book to see the storyline and to really feel like it went anywhere. It was OK but I won't rush to read it again.

Not my usual type of read if I am honest but this book had me gripped from the start. The amount of research that has gone in to this book is clearly shown by the accurate writing.

I really enjoyed this one and will look out for any future books by this author

This is a very accurate book with a huge amount of research gone into it. It is a detailed and in-depth look into the complex routine of a social worker. A great interesting read

I was a Social Worker for 25 years, although not on a Children's team, I worked on an Adults/Elderly team and was a forensic social worker in my last job.I think the author has an insight and experience in this world the atmosphere of the team and managers and procedures are spot on.I also live in South Wales and I loved the references to the local area in the book, the beaches etc. and I loved the story and Kit was a great main character.I enjoyed reading this book and thought it was very well observed and thought out,and well written.I will look forward to reading more by this author.Great book.

Having worked in this world for thirty years I can vouch for the accuracy of every last detail in this gripping novel .
Kit Goddard the rookie social worker who, whilst nursing her own history, must confront a family with the news of allegations of a father’s historical sexual abuse and then work through the safeguarding protocols which apply to everyone regardless of their social class or standing within a community. Been there, done it,...it is never ever easy and at every turn you question every move, every decision knowing that you are shifting the foundations of people’s lives whilst keeping the welfare of the children central, it’s a tough call so you’d better get it right.
From the stomach-churning meetings, the way a case can pervade your thinking, the doubts and uncertainties, the fear of missing something or getting it wrong, the home visits, the antennae and the instincts, the anxieties and the weight of responsibility all perfectly conveyed. Even down to the new manager trying to make a mark (usually for their CV before they are propelled upwards) and those moments when a case worker might go off on a frolic of their own...it’s all here.
This is not my usual fare, too much like the day job I’ve retired from, but this was a compelling, impeccably researched read, and I turned the final page saying well done to Kit and congratulations to R.G.Adams ? Elly Griffiths.