The Herd: the unputdownable, thought-provoking must-read Richard & Judy book club pick

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A white lie told just before Elizabeth’s young daughters birthday party takes an unimaginable turn. They weren’t exactly chalk and cheese; more like cheese and pineapple - a weird, unexpected pairing that just worked”. Do you agree with this statement about Elizabeth and Bry’s friendship? Why do you think it “just worked”? That it until the issue of childhood vaccinations rears its head, and along with it the thorny debate over whether our choice to vaccinate is personal – or one that affects the whole community. Dystopian Fiction Books Everyone Should Read: Explore The Darker Side of Possible Worlds and Alternative Futures Do you agree with the statement that there is no competition between friends if they are different?

If your book club is looking for something special then you need look no further. I'd like to thank the publishers for letting Bookbag have a review copy. The story of this book was presented in such an interesting way – I really enjoyed the alternating chapters with the extra POVs from unnamed outsiders to the court case, although I think it would have been great for this to all tie-in with the main storyline. The characters weren’t exactly likeable, but the whole thing was compelling enough to continue reading and their unlikeability even made the story more interesting. The story had a great lawyer burn and I love that I didn’t see it coming, even though there was something off – I couldn’t work out what! I felt a bit of vindictive pleasure watching it all play out since all the characters were so over the top in this debacle. But then on the flip side, there is a woman here who really needed post-partum help (as many do) and didn’t get it – and there is something to be said for bringing that to light. Overall the book was enjoyable and contained interesting observations regarding how people react to things they don’t know anything about, how parents think they know more than doctors and the lasting effects that rash decisions and judgments can have on a person’s community. Brit, VIC, 3 Stars

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Edwards said: "Frankie and the whole Transworld teamhave already been so welcoming and supportive. Their enthusiasm and vision for my novel is incredibly exciting and I am overjoyed to find such a fantastic home for The Herd." Despite such a contentious issue, the author manages to make neither heroes nor villains of the two main characters, as we watch their friendship implode after a chain of heart-breaking events that ends up in the courtroom, as well as the other characters we meet along the way. The 80-something with a polio-withered leg, the internet troll who wishes death on anti-vaxxers, the husband who wants to support his wife, while fearing for the health of his child. I can remember the exact moment I felt the first spark of an idea for The Herd . It was the sweltering summer of 2018 and I was bouncing on a birthing ball, crotchety and swollen, nine months pregnant with our first son in our overgrown garden, watching my husband James and Sophie, our birth doula, argue. Really beautifully written, compassionately told and incredibly thought provoking. A truly immersive telling of both sides of a story' Susan Lewis

However the story then seemed to become more about revenge than responsibility and the betrayed mother became the villain of the piece and her friend, who had lied to her and put her child in danger, was painted as the victim in all ways and took on that role with aplomb. Added to this there were circumstances that didn’t make sense – Clemmie was allowed to go to parties with unvaccinated children, and to school with them, but they were banned from her birthday party. These were things that confused me and I wasn’t sure if they were meant to not make sense and confuse the issue further, or whether it was an oversight. I was also a bit disappointed that the court case outcome hinged on a technicality that would have been dismissed in the very first rounds of due diligence and that I and my other book club readers had spotted as a potential banana skin very early on.

We have chosen to vaccinate our sons and I believe it was the right thing to do; both for us and to help protect others. That doesn’t mean I didn’t dread the moment the needle entered their soft bodies. But I knew it would be infinitely worse to watch them contract measles, meningitis or whooping cough – knowing I could have prevented their suffering. After studying at Edinburgh University, Emily Edwards worked for a think tank in New York before returning to London where she worked as a support worker for vulnerable women at a large charity. She now lives in Lewes, East Sussex with her endlessly patient husband and her two endlessly energetic young sons.