In Abigail Dean’s DAY ONE, the close-knit village of Stonesmere has never known tragedy before the events that occurred at the local primary school. It will be impossible for the idyllic Lake District town to be able to fully recover from that fateful day.

“Day One” is a play put on by the older students to welcome the incoming kindergarten group, and it is typically held on their first day of school. But this year, a masked gunman appears at the back of the auditorium during the performance and opens fire on the young actors and various adults for apparently no reason. By the time the police handle the situation, there have been several fatalities --- mostly children but also beloved teacher Ava Ward, who had put the play together.

"DAY ONE is a novel to be read, thought about and discussed. Abigail Dean has penned a story that turns readers into members of the jury who might have to pass their own judgment on those behind one of the darkest moments in fictional human history."

During the fallout, the perpetrator is identified, and heroes and victims march before the news reporters and social media types. One of the heroes is Martha, Ava’s teenage daughter and an alumnus of the school. She was purported to have shielded a student from the gunfire and then ran into the hallway to help identify the shooter.

As Stonesmere attempts to heal knowing they can never move on or free themselves from this tragedy, a struggling journalist seeks to make a name for himself. Trent Casey begins looking into what he feels are obvious discrepancies in the details coming out about the shooting. His curiosity is fueled by the many conspiracy theorists who claim everything from the possibility that the incident never happened to the notion that some of the heroes like Marty completely fabricated what they told both law enforcement and the media.

The narrative begins on Day One but carries over several years as the events of that day are never far from the surface of anyone who claims to be from Stonesmere. We experience chapters told from the points of view of characters like Ava, Marty and Trent --- with the piecing together being done by readers to try to make sense of this psychological puzzle of a novel.

Setting the book in England makes for a far less politically charged story than if it had taken place on U.S. soil. But the conspiracy theorists and doubters are just as vocal as they would be anywhere in the world. We watch as Trent eventually relocates to London and takes on another job, even though he never lets go of the big exposé he intends to publish about the Stonesmere shooting.

Marty and her father are not only grieving the loss of Ava but are now watching their own town turn on them at the drop of a hat. The vitriol that is spewed by the local and online media turns Marty into a villain who is just as bad and culpable as the shooter, if not more so.

DAY ONE is a novel to be read, thought about and discussed. Abigail Dean has penned a story that turns readers into members of the jury who might have to pass their own judgment on those behind one of the darkest moments in fictional human history.