A memoir of family life in small-town America peopled by a memorable cast including her brittle mother, adoring father, and autistic brother (suffering at a time when no-one knew what autism was). The story is overshadowed, however, by the murder of a schoolfriend at the hands of a known local paedophile. 'This is a riveting book, memory lane as a crime scene that needs to be relived to be understood' Paul Theroux