Home Truths by Charity Norman

REVIEW

Home Truths is the latest release by one of my favourite authors who is so adept at creating stories around average families who suddenly have their lives turned upside down by a specific event. In this particular book, Scott and Livia Denby are celebrating the thirteenth birthday of their daughter, Heidi, when a tragedy occurs. While Scott is preoccupied on a bike ride with his daughter, his brother, Nicky, who is a diabetic with learning needs, unexpectedly dies, and Scott is torn apart with grief and guilt. Realising his brother was trying to contact him and had left various messages on the phone Scott had mislaid just before the bike ride intensifies Scott’s belief he has failed his brother.

A chance remark from the courier who found Nicky leads Scott to believe the attending paramedics may have not been completely invested in saving his brother’s life and Scott’s guilt leads him to seek answers which soon lead him down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories. Scott falls prey to one particular conspiracy theorist on the internet who claims to be a doctor and before long Scott is convinced routine vaccinations are dangerous and pharmaceutical companies are deliberately withholding cures to common ailments so they can keep making profits from the medicines they produce. As Scott’s paranoia intensifies, he desperately tries to tell everyone around him to wake up but his actions cost him his job and his marriage.

Home Truths begins with Livia Denby in a courtroom waiting for a jury to return a verdict of guilty or not guilty although we are not privy to the crime she has committed other than it is a serious one that may lead to her being imprisoned. While standing in the dock, Livia pinpoints that exact moment two years prior when her family life imploded. As we travel back to that fateful moment when Nicky died, the Denby family are going about their lives unaware that everything is about to change. The death of Nicky hits everyone hard and the story is told from the point of view of Scott, Livia and their thirteen year old daughter, Heidi.

The most terrifying aspect of the novel is watching how an intelligent man like Scott can succumb so quickly to the paranoia. As a teacher, Scott is well-respected by his pupils and his fellow colleagues who are astounded when he starts sharing his outlandish theories with them. When Scott shows his pupils a scary video of how vaccines can lead to death on the day his own daughter is due to get her HPV vaccine, the subsequent backlash leads to him being suspended. Realising his actions have likely brought him to the attention of the establishment who don’t want him to tell the truth, Scott’s behaviour become even more worrying and Livia is left with the stark realisation that she must protect her children from their own father.

Livia’s desperate attempt to help her husband have all failed but she clings to the hope an old school friend who has recently returned from America may be able to get through to Scott. Things soon come to ahead when the country goes into lockdown during the covid pandemic which triggers Scott’s paranoia even further and leads him into taking a drastic step that will put the lives of their children in danger. A terrified Livia is pushed to breaking point but then she makes a startling discovery that may be the answer to everything.

The ideas behind this story are so topical when you consider the countless conspiracy theories that continue to circulate and it certainly makes you think about how despair can lead people to seek them out. The harm these theories can cause though, particularly in regard to vaccines and medical treatment, is all the more terrifying when you realise the true harm it can cause. The tension is taut and there are plenty of twists along the way to keep any reader satisfied.