A harrowing read about losing control of your child. Amplified by the fact that the child is a genius and can basically talk and think circles around her mother, father, step-father and anyone else that should be looking out for her. The book rings of March's Bad Seed, or really any other story where a child is suspected of villainy.

In stories like these, I find myself starting out thinking, "This is just a kid, this is just a kid". Then something will eventually happen to make me say, "Oh no, this kid is super evil". There is definitely ill will and malcontent that goes along with Briella's high-level intellect, but it didn't feel like something that couldn't be parented out of her. That was just my perception of the thing, so many moments felt like breaking points for the mother. Those "Ok, this is going too far" moments, but rather than reining things in, it of course got overlooked and overlooked until we climax into a place that is past parental control.

Gifted kids are tough, but I felt that the spiralling out of control here was all on the parents. The father and mother are divorced and Briella lives with her mother and step-father (who works crazy odd hours), so unfortunately this all fell on Marian (mom).

So all that aside, the book was creepy. A lot of twists and turns and "No she didn't" moments. I enjoyed the read and it read fast and flowed well. I did feel that the relationships in general, mother/daughter, mother and her aging father, mother and her ex and current husband all felt a bit fake and forced. That's just the way it felt at the time of reading. The ending was a sharp and unexpected. That being said, I didn't love the ending. As a father I was left a bit angry about the outcome of things.

Rating: 3 Stars

Link to purchase: https://bookshop.org/books/black-wings-9781787581159/9781787581173

Review by Well Read Beard

Twitter: @WellReadBeard

I received this book from the publishers Flame Tree Press for review consideration.

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