The Silent Twins, by Marjorie Wallace (Vintage, £7.99 in UK)

Distraught parents who occasionally wish for the return of the days when children - really were seen and not heard, beware - …

Distraught parents who occasionally wish for the return of the days when children - really were seen and not heard, beware - this cautionary tale follows the real life journey of the identical West Indian twins June and Jennifer Gibbons, whose almost total silence as children ended in a teenage crime spree and eventual detention in Broadmoor. Were they bad, mad or just sad? Despite Marjorie Wallace's blow by blow account, she can give no answers and none of it ultimately makes much sense.

Arminta Wallace

Arminta Wallace

Arminta Wallace is a former Irish Times journalist