My Brother the Killer: A Family Story

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I don't know how this man writes for a living, it's so bad. Part of the book feels like he's writing a personal autobiography then it switches to a true crime write up then it switches again to a thriller where he's beating the hell out of a guy in a strip club. Half of the things the author wrote about really didn't need to be included, and I swear he repeated a few things. Then on top of all that, he throws in this random theory that his brother killed Danielle Jones because he could have been molested by a paedophile from when he attended boarding school. Maybe he was, but it just felt like the author crammed the theory in there, and then hoped for the best. This was... interesting. A very smooth read, for better or worse -- there was a certain glibness to the prose at times, which, combined with the fact that this is basically a memoir, gave me the impression that Mr. Sharkey only told as much as he felt comfortable with or able to, while there were other layers to the story that were not delved into. Which I guess is only natural, but it also underscored what I felt was a certain shallowness he cultivated in his public persona -- this is someone who is very eager to tell us about his accomplishments (Parisian condo; young girlfriend; lots of money), the parties he went to, his fantastic cool friends, there's a lot of breathless hedonism that's very 1990s. Which is fine, especially considering the precarious conditions he grew up under (power to him to make it out of there), but it feels a bit weird to hear him talk about the missing Danielle and her family in between the bits about his crazy French life and whatever else he had going on; it's not like he knew the missing girl, or her family, beyond meeting them once at a family wedding, so the whole "poor Danielle; her parents must be going through hell" bit feels a bit hollow. This book was atrocious. I had to literally force myself through it, just so I could finish my first book of the month. I expected it to be about the authors brother, with inputs from the author about growing up with a brother who would become a convicted killer. This wasn't the case. A macabre beach read with a strong intro where Stuart (frustratingly) plays his mind games upon confrontation with the author. Might as well have published all the prison letters as a book instead of the last two.

Never heard of this crime story before, although it was much in the news (in the U.K.). Not an easy book to read because of the content, but it does have a coherent flow. The brother in the title is somewhat of a mystery, an enigma, so the book is really about the family. Essentially it is a memoir about the author and growing up in a rough neighbourhood outside London, with an alcoholic father, and then later dealing with the revelation that his brother has been accused of abducting and killing a 15 year old girl (and to make the story even worse, the accused is the girl's uncle). Especially since he's not even around -- his daughter lives hundreds of miles away in another country, and Mr. Sharkey is basically Fun Dad who pops over every now and then. The Danielle chapters IMO had a bit of "me me me" to them ("OMG that was MY brother, what does that mean for ME, what if the press find out that he's related to ME, what do I do now", etc. etc.), and Daughter seemed to function almost as an extension of the author.But this book is about the author, not about his brother. It is very self-centric. You'd say, fine? But it is isn't. The book covers everything supericially, except for the author's life. And not his emotions towards his brother, but about his career! I'm not sure I can say I enjoyed reading this book - purely because of the nature of what this book is about. However it was super interesting, and the idea of nature vs nurture was a strong theme within this book - particularly with the final couple of chapters. (i won't say more in case it's a spoiler) This book simultaneously reaches into the past in two different time periods, one counting the time since Danielle's disappearance and secondly to their earliest days as brothers and both timelines shine through with an honesty that took my breath away. We understand Stuart will be taking his confession to the grave and that Alix nvr really knew him once they were adults. Author did his best with what he had...but the marketing and the title means ppl would be misled into thinking this memoir will unearth more about Stuart than what's alrdy in the news. :/ I found it difficult to believe that Alix didn’t know about the extent of his brothers previous crimes and didn’t know how devious he was and in some ways abetted his crimes.

Well written, well narrated, a horrible topic of course. But it calls to my fascination with personalities and behaviours that sit outside the norm; dysfunctional families and how people survive (or not); what drives people to do the unthinkable... Yes, it jumps all over the place in time and place (that didn't bother me, I didn't find it hard to keep up), yes the answers aren't all there, its not all wrapped up in a nice neat bow (that's what makes it real). I do admire the courage it must have taken to dig into memories, to question family behaviours, to challenge family protocol as would have been required to write this. Enjoyable, no, but a good read/listen. The one thing that kind of nagged at me was the author trying so hard to pinpoint an exact reason for why his brother was attracted to adolescent girls and how he could escalate to assaulting and killing his own niece. This doesn't really come up until near the epilogue, when the author discovers that the headmaster of the boarding school his brother attended was abusing young boys, and wonders whether Stuart was one of them, or at the very least knew what was happening and was affected by it. His brother has neither confirmed nor denied, so it's only speculation on the author's part, but there's a sense that he's desperate for it to be true, as this could wrap up his entire deviation with a neat little bow. While this theory could be spot-on, it follows the same logic he used in tossing out the theory of their childhood causing him to murder – why didn't EVERY boy from that school also go on to become pedophiles and child murderers? My brother, the killer is an interesting, first hand account into the life of child-killer Stuart Campbell. It’s written by Alix Sharpley, his elder brother, and describes in great detail events such as their childhood and the murder charge itself.I read it as I wanted to understand how you would feel if you found out someone you knew - were related to - had committed a horrific crime. It certainly delivered in this regard; the book shows the authors evolving emotions from confusion, to disbelief, to anger, and then to understanding (the cause - his brother's own history of being abused) - whilst never reaching forgiveness and retaining contempt at the pain he put his victims family through. There are times where I really wished Goodreads would do half star rating increments. This would be a 3.5

In 2001, 15 year old Danielle Jones vanished on her way to school. In 2002, Stuart Campbell, Danielle's uncle, was convicted of her murder. Her body has never been found. It must be difficult for both families involved especially Danielle’s who still have no proper closure as they still do not know where their daughters body is.

Funny enough this is a hard review to write. I remember reading about Danielle Jones going missing in the papers and seeing it on the news, recently I heard it again recently on a podcast. I can't begin to imagine how the families have coped over the past 2 decades, Each time it resurfaces in the media or as in this case a new book it must feel like a plaster being ripped off for both families.. I tend to agree with what I read and hear that without full disclosure of both guilt and the location where Danielle's body is to allow her parent the opportunity lay her to rest Stuart should not be given the luxury of parole. Of course, this isn't ever a book you could say you enjoyed, purely for the nature of the crime, but it was a captivating read which was well written. I was particularly interested in the forthcoming parole hearing due at the end of this year, especially with 'Helen's Law's now in force, meaning cases where the location of a body is never disclosed a parole review is likely to be denied - no body, no parole. The author has done really well to not make the book all about himself or his brother, voicing his concerns on many occasions throughout the book of the anguish and upset Danielle's family are still going through. Stuart Campbell was a healthy, happy child but I think at some point the alluded to event did happen in turn this changed him, he became harder, more secretive. Although it didn't make it the person he became there's opinions that it could have contributed to it. Stuart was Danielle's 'Uncle', someone that Danielle should have been able to trust. It's believed that he abducted her and ultimately murdered her, but Stuart has never publicly admitted guilt or had the decency to tell the family where Danielle's body is. It seems unbelievable that he could keep that deviant and violent side of himself a secret so well and for so long, bearing in mind that he served 2 previous prison terms. A family can hold many secrets. Sometimes, a secret is just something that happened and is never mentioned again.

This is a case only really in the periphery of my knowledge, which also feels like a tragedy as the young girl was abducted, presumed murdered but has never actually been found. I love the true crime books that give you a glimpse of the twisted psychology of the killer in question. This is one such book. What this book probably doesn’t need is another review. But there are a few things I will say: Content warning as well as a profusion of foul language. That said, the author is an engaging writer (as a journalist by trade).What makes this book so special is that Alix doesn't cast himself as a wider victim, although I would disagree on some levels, but nor does he minimise the brutal childhood the boys shared. He shares his story, his fears that he shares his brother's, and father's, DNA and it is so easy for someone outside the story to truly understand how large those fears must loom. By writing the book in a way that avoids sensationalising poor Danielle's murder and focussing the story on the facts, the story is far more powerful than almost any other true crime portrait I have read by a relative of the perpetrator. Alix Sharkey is the older brother of Stuart Campbell, the man convicted in 2002 of murdering 15-year-old, Danielle Jones. Danielle's body was never found, and the author wrote this book in the hope his brother would finally do the right thing and reveal where Danielle's body is before his parole hearing scheduled for later this year. The author does a good job of detailing their family history, with the early years’ chapters interspersed with later year ones featuring information from around the time Danielle went missing and the subsequent trial. Their childhood didn't sound like a particularly happy one, suffering physical and emotional abuse at the hands of their father. It is to be wondered though, as you read, where it all went wrong - what happened to Campbell to make him become a child killer? Are you born with those tendencies or is it due to socio-economic factors (lifestyle, education, upbringing), and if so why didn't both brothers end up going down the same path? The author has recounted their past well, although the switching of the timeframes throughout the first half of the book did slow up the story of Danielle's disappearance for me. The recollection from the half way point onwards was interesting though and I found the information given throughout the trial gripping.