The first thing that caught my eye with this book was the title, having been called by these names and many others over the years I just had to pick it up. When I realised it was about the murder of Sophie Lancaster and the attack on her boyfriend Rob Maltby I just had to take it home and read it (in a matter of hours as it turns out). Smyth begins by making it very clear that this book is not written to be a comprehensive look at the crime itself or the investigations and trials afterwards but is about how it affected her as a journalist and as an individual. And she is true to her word, there are no testimonies or interviews from the other people involved in the story apart from those that affected Smyth at the time or led to key events or moments in the tale. Instead Smyth shows that journalists are in fact human and can be affected by the stories they cover, even finding themselves getting involved with the victims and their families.
Smyth does cover the murder and assault as well as the subsequent investigation and trial while keeping the focus on her own thoughts and feelings about these. However she does still manage to let the reader make up their own minds as well, which for me is a vital part of the story as Sophie and Rob were attacked by those with closed minds, unable to vocalise their opinions without the use of violence. Smyth also addresses some of the misconceptions that surround the case, including showing how varied the alternatives sub cultures really are and how the labels used by the mainstream often end up encouraging misunderstandings, misconceptions and unnecessary bad feelings (honestly we are actually nice people, on the whole). Best of all Smyth uses this book to show how positive changes can come out of something so negative and horrifying.
Weirdo.Mosher.Freak review by Ecowitch on Waterstones
https://www.waterstones.com/books/reviews/isbn/9781904590279#review-71700