Hmm, blimey! Where to begin...firstly this is narratively and tecnically a very easy book to read if not particulalry well written. Somebody with the time on their hands could easily read this in a couple of hours although I accept that some people would struggle with the actual content but it is a compelling read for those with an interest in the case. This is not least because the evidence is presented by somebody with a first hand experience of the events (obviously excluding the murders) and an insight unavailable from the Wilkes book.
I have only read the first 30 pages but several points have arisen and I could easily have been annotating. Unfortunately I haven't been so I will try and remember what I wanted to raise.
First, Colin writes that Sheila was terrified of her grandmother which I find interersting as there were lots of bizarre matriarchal figures/relationships/dynamics that could have influenced the mental state of both Sheila and Jeremy. What is also interesting about this point however is the profundity of knowledge that Caffell displays. I have been married for nearly five years, I have known my wife for 18 and I could't possibly give a detailed family history akin to this! And yet, (EGAP1) he comepletely avoided the early pschological problems June suffered and only mentioned the latter ones in conjunction with Sheila and hers.
Second, he creates an incredibly specualtive and negative image of JB, stating that when he arived for a party (the night before the murders I believe) he had dyed his hair and eyebrows black and looked frightening and menacing. As well as this he goes some way to suggest that Sheila was intimidated by and terrified of JB to the point that she would not talk to him and that Colin had had his reservations even though they had once had a strong relationship.
Third, he also states that Jeremy (at the party) demonstrated his total ignorance of Sheila's illness and yet, only a couple of days later he seems to be an authority on Sheila's past and behaviour. There really are some intriguing and compelling dialogues in the first couple of chapters.
(Before I go any further I should say that I understand my language may seem inappopriate when discussing a man who lost his ex-wife and two sons but all I am offering is an analysis of the book. Neither am I passing judgement on guilt or innocence, my personal jury is still out on that one.)
Fourth, the fact that Julie offered to identitfy the bodies is given some credence here by Colin as in one very short snippet he highligts that Julie and the twins had a very close connection, but that then decries the fact that she waited so long to expose JB if he did do it and she knew, surely she could not have held it inside for that long.
Fifth, The creation of discrepancies is evident here as Colin attributes three different quotes to JB when ringing the police. Whatever he actually said to the police, there are several different versions here and he uses 'sister' 'sheila' 'crazy' etc when quoting the telephone message to police
Sixth, the arguement with June and Nevill is given a different dimension here by Colin. He very much builds up a terse and broken relationship between the two adopted children ( explained in some detail by the refusal to give Sheila a church wedding, a white dress, a limosine and to almost try and appropriate their soon to be born child) and their parents. He then goes in to some detail about the arguement that night (albeit from JBs words) and he states that they "were going to make arrangements to take custody of the children from her and place them with a young Christian family as foster-parents, in a nearby village. By doing that it would also enable them to see more of the boys themelves." I believe this arguement happened...because they were resentful of Colin from the beginning as he was poor and not good enough, he restricted the visits due to June's religious rhetoric, Daniel had become a vegetarian and the day of the killings Colin had confronted June and Nevill about both of these things. The two boys are depicted here as being physically and emotionally afraid to stay at the farm without their father the day of the murders.
Ultimately the worst thing for him and to read is the enormous power of hindsight, he paints a picture of images, messages and signals which he failed to heed and led to him losing his sons. Sheila was effectively lost as demonstrated by his response when the police told him, but his children it seems could have been saved if he only followed his instincts.
