A Cat's Cradle by Carly Rheilan; Psychological Thriller Explores The Mindset of a Pedophile and His Victim
By Julie Sara Porter
Bookworm Reviews
Spoilers: Sometimes when reading, we have to explore some difficult topics and get inside some terrifying mindsets. Murder Mysteries, Crime Novels, and Psychological Thrillers are practically built on the trope of looking at the world through the point of view of characters that we would rather not: murderers, con artists, burglars, thieves, serial killers, mass shooters, kidnappers, rapists, racists, terrorists, pedophiles. Those are very uncomfortable places to be inside but they are useful. They help us recognize the signs, the mental process, and motives behind such acts so we can recognize them in reality. We can see the early stages in others or even within ourselves so we can act accordingly and prevent crime before it starts. That is what goes into Carly Rheilan’s A Cat's Cradle, a Psychological Thriller that explores the relationship between a pedophile and his victim in a way that is meant to be captivating and also uncomfortable.
After a fight with her bullying brothers, 7 year old Mary Crouch follows a cat to the home of eccentric recluse, Ralph Sneddon. Ralph seems like a helpful friendly sort and the two begin to bond as they put together a secret hideaway. But what Mary doesn't know is that Ralph has a history of violence and sexual abuse towards a minor. As the two become closer, Mary gets nervous, suspicious, and ultimately frightened of her new friend.
A Cat's Cradle is a disturbing book that is written in a way to purposely make the Reader uncomfortable. Since we are seeing sex crimes on a minor from the points of view of the assailant and his victim, we get up close to some terrified and terrifying mindsets.
Ralph’s thought process is that of a sociopath. Even before his relationship with Mary becomes physical, it crosses several boundaries. He wants her to keep their meetings secret from her family and gives her small gifts. His dark humor about hurting the cat or others goes from gallows humor to completely disturbing. The red flags are definitely waving for this guy.
What is even more chilling is when we get into his head through his narration.
He never believes that there is anything wrong with his behavior. He blames his first victim for haunting his memories so that he sees her in every child. He blames his mother for defending him in court out of maternal love but then throwing him out once she realized that he really was guilty. He blames society for giving him this reputation of a murdering pedophile. He blames everyone but himself.
Ralph is unable to examine himself or recognize that there is something wrong with wanting to be alone with a little girl that is not a relative and forcing her to keep secrets from her family. He treats his encounters with Mary almost like a suitor planning his romantic dates with a love interest culminating in a marriage proposal except that his intended partner is 7 years old, does not consent or even understand what he is doing, and is unprepared when he molests her. Ralph is mentally stunted and emotionally immature. He has no control over his impulses or his libido. He wants complete control over his victims to the point when Mary is unable to meet him, he sulks and rages over being “stood up.” He is a truly sick and disturbed man.
Mary is just as interesting and worrying in her own way. She exhibits some violent tendencies such as when she threatens her brothers by describing a murdered decayed cat. She is someone who has been bullied by siblings and classmates. She is also neglected by a father who abandoned her family and a mother who is caught up in her own grief and drive to get her husband back. She feels helpless and powerless so these moments when she can display violent tendencies, maintain a dark Gothic humor, and play at being a bit naughty and wicked practically liberates her and gives her a way to express herself. Unfortunately, with Ralph she meets someone who isn't just playing at being wicked.
In some ways Mary and Ralph are parallels at the beginning. They both have troubled pasts, a fixation for dark things, and are solitary introverts. It seems that they could be a match or partnership but they are not. Mary is a child who doesn't know what she is doing. Ralph does and because of that he holds complete dominance over her. Despite this being told from their perspectives, at no point does this relationship look positive or healthy. It is clearly one in which an adult takes advantage of and controls a child.
Because Mary is so young and so inexperienced, the suspense works on a subconscious level. She doesn't know what Ralph has planned but we do. We know the textbook signs of a potential molester and we can see him for who he really is. At 7, Mary doesn't yet have that built-in alarm system that tells her that this behavior is wrong. She just sees a secret adult friend who likes the same things that she does and seems to accept her. We read their encounters and want to yell “Don't trust him” but know that she doesn't understand why she shouldn't. It's when Ralph starts touching Mary that her alarm goes off and she feels uncomfortable. By the time their meetings go from quick touches to full on assault, Mary is completely besotted, traumatized, and damaged.
This narrative of perpetrator and victim builds to a climax that unfortunately falters a bit. It subverts expectations but in ways that do not fit with everything that previously happened. The build up was definitely better than the pay off.
A Cat's Cradle is a book that reminds us that there are at least two sides to every crime: the person who commits it and the one who is victimized and suffers because of it.
