Dice, by Claire Bayliss (Allen & Unwin 2023)

Neil's picture
Neil

Dice is a compelling novel about a criminal trial in Rotorua, told by the individual members of the jury. The trial is of a group of teenage boys who are accused of sexual assault and rape of a number of younger girls, through a dice game where each throw 'requires' each boy to carry out a different sex act on a different girl. It rings very real and true, and is shocking and disturbing, as the reader sits through all of the evidence and cross examination through the eyes of each juror in turn. You won't be able to put this book down, as unsettling as it is.