Tell the Truth Shame the Devil, by Melina Marchetta

At first the overly complicated storyline reads more like a script for a BBC mini series than a teen novel. The main teen character Violette is seen more in her absence from the point of view of others, which is an interesting device but she comes across as hyper-real. In fact it is aspires to be more than a teen novel, with most of the action surrounding Chief Inspector Bish Ortley, using the well-worn trope of disaffected/at risk cop battling the system. There are so many plot elements thrown in and some are tied together quite loosely with some large holes and some cultural disconnect undermining credibility. Terrorism, multiculturalism and racism, media sensationalism, incipient alcoholism – the ism themes abound. Chuck in teen sex and coming out, family separation, prison, overcoming grief, divorce, competing police forces and intelligence services and coerced confession and you get a mish-mash that threatens to run out of control. Marchetta largely pulls it all together in a fast paced and entertaining read that manages to make some important points amid all the action.