My Brother the Killer - by Alix Sharkey (Paperback)

About the Book

In the gritty Docklands twenty-five miles from London, Alix Sharkey and his siblings grew up in awe of their charismatic yet brutally violent alcoholic father. It was Alix's fearless kid brother Stewart who defended his siblings at home, at school, and on the streets. Their fraternal bond was deep and powerful until Alix moved away. Stuart remained-and slid into a furtive life of sexual violence against teenage girls. The brothers started out inseparable, but their life paths diverged radically. Alix became a journalist, cosmopolitan and bilingual, working for magazines in London, Paris, New York, and Los Angeles. Stuart landed in jail. In December 2002, he was found guilty of the kidnapping and murder of his fifteen-year-old niece, Danielle, the daughter of his wife's brother. Despite his conviction, a lost appeal, and repeated pleas by Danielle's parents, Stuart has steadfastly refused to reveal the location of his victim's remains, condemning the girl's parents to decades of unresolved grief. In this remarkable memoir-a harrowing true story of family, violence, guilt, and atonement-Alix reflects on his own path to come to terms with his brother's terrible crimes and to find justice for the young girl his brother killed -- Page [4] of cover.

Book Synopsis

In this remarkable memoir, a harrowing true story of family, violence, guilt and atonement, a journalist reflects on his own journey to come to terms with his brother's terrible crimes--and to find justice for the young girl he killed.

In the gritty docklands of south-east England, Alix Sharkey and his younger siblings grew up in awe of their charismatic yet violent father, a vicious alcoholic. Yet it was Alix's kid brother Stuart--button-cute and fearless--who defended his siblings at home, at school and on the streets. Their fraternal bond was deep and powerful until Alix moved away from their rough hometown. Stuart remained--and slid into a furtive life of sexual violence against teenage girls, punctuated by prison time.

Having started out inseparable, their paths diverged radically. Alix became a journalist, cosmopolitan and bilingual, working for upmarket media in London, Paris, New York, and Los Angeles. Today, Stuart remains incarcerated in Britain's most notorious high security prison, awaiting imminent parole. Twenty years ago, he was convicted of the kidnap and murder of his 15-year old niece Danielle, daughter of his wife's brother. Despite his conviction, a lost appeal, and repeated pleas by her parents, Stuart has steadfastly refused to reveal the location of his victim's remains, condemning the girl's parents to two decades of unresolved grief.

How do two brothers choose such different paths? Could anything have prevented Stuart from becoming a killer? What factors contributed to his fall? What does Alix owe to Stuart--the fiercely protective kid brother--and what does he owe to the truth? With the clock ticking, can he convince Stuart to do the right thing and give the victim's family the closure and peace they've sought for so long? Or will Stuart walk free, unrepentant and defiant?

In this piercing and unforgettable memoir, laced with bleak irony and heartrending honesty, Alix tackles these questions and confronts a harsh reality: that the younger brother he once adored not only deceived their own family for decades, but destroyed another with his truly heinous crime.