Author(s): Sally J Morgan

Staff Picks- Read our reviews | Contemporary Fiction

'Vividly portrays the human face of young women on the margins of society, women who defy being statistics, who have their own stories and loves to tell' Sophie Ward

WINNER OF THE PORTICO PRIZE
LONGLISTED FOR THE OCKHAM AWARDS

It is 1973 and Jude - known to her friends as Toto - has just graduated from art school and moves into a house in a run-down part of Leeds. Jude is a chaotic wild child who flirts with the wrong kind of people, drinks too much and gets stoned too often. Never happy to stay in one place for very long, her restlessness takes her on hitchhiking jaunts up and down the country. Her best friend, Nel, is the only steady influence Jude has but Nel's life isn't as perfect as it seems.

Reports of attacks on women punctuate the news and Jude takes off again, suffocated by an affair she has been having with a married woman. But what she doesn't realise is that the violence is moving ever closer to home: there is Janice across the road who lives in fear of being beaten up again by her pimp and Nel, whose perfect life is coming undone at her boyfriend's hands. At the same time infamous murderers, Fred and Rosemary West, are stalking the country, on the lookout for girls like Jude.

"Set in the 1970's in the grimy north of England, we follow our protagonists. Toto and Nel, as they navigate their way through adult life after just graduating from art school. Toto is a self-described "free spirit", hitchhiking across the country, whilst her best friend Nel struggles with her crumbling relationship.

The diverse cast of characters are beautifully written, all with their own intricate lives, riddled with insercurities and inadequacies that make them wonderfully human.

This novel is achingly beautiful and the lanuage that Sally J Morgan employs speaks volumes about her skill as a writer, expertly crafting a story I could get completely engrossed in, feeling for each of the characters as they struggle finding their place in the world.  In Toto Among the Murderers, she created a beautiful and edgy novel that deeply moved me. Reviewed by Anneke"