A review by robynnewilliams
My Brother the Killer: A Family Story by Alix Sharkey

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

3.5

My Brother, The Killer is an interesting account into the life of child-killer Stuart Campbell. It’s written by Alix Sharkey, his elder brother, and describes in great detail events such as their childhood and the murder charge itself. 

It must have been a mammoth task for Alix to reach so far back into him and his brothers shared past. It’s an incredibly emotional account, with subjects such as living with their abusive father being discussed.

Alix switches back between writing about their childhood, to events after the crime took place. It gives the reader a greater insight and a deeper context into Stuarts mindset, allowing us to make our own decisions and theories about why he could commit such a heinous crime. You get the impression that Alix consistently asks himself “what if?”, and feels partially responsible for his younger brothers actions. I felt sick to my stomach at moments within this book, such as Stuart’s reluctance to reveal the whereabouts of Danielle’s body.

Overall, it’s a disturbing and heavily emotional read, but an interesting one nonetheless. 
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