Sources of discomfort, W K Hastings

Murder That Wasn’t: The Case of George Gwaze Felicity Goodyear-Smith Otago University Press, $35.00, ISBN 9781877578991 Part of me wishes this book had not been written. It makes for uncomfortable reading. It is, of course, perfectly legitimate for an author to induce a sense of discomfort amongst her readers. Some of my discomfort, however, lies in the rather long bow the author invites us to draw from the facts of this deeply sad and, in the words of the author, extraordinary case, that will almost certainly never be repeated. Singular cases do not often form the basis of general inferences, and this case is no exception. But first to the legitimate sources of discomfort.

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