The Witch's Cradle

A Novel

“How the people love a sinner, especially when she is a woman. Witch! Witch!”

The Dark End of the Street is a television program thatpries into the business of Barry and Cheryl Higgins and their three small children, uncovering every nasty aspect of their lives on welfare in front of a fascinated and disgusted audience. The couple didn’t get rich off the wildly successful reality show, though, so why would anyone want to kidnap the kids? When the two older children are found, there is little doubt that Cheryl planned their disappearance to win the public’s affection and boost the show’s ratings. As the media and the legal system condemn Cheryl, one question remains: Where is baby Cara?

Gillian White adeptly demonstrates how the public’s need to know and to judge—and how people can profit from those impulses—is a modern kind of witch hunt.