Saving Noah

Saving Noah (2017) is a dark psychological thriller by Lucinda Berry. Combining suspense with family drama, the novel examines how charges of child sexual abuse tear a family apart. Noah Coates, an honor roll high-school student and swimming champion, suddenly confesses to molesting children. Noah is sentenced to 18 months in a juvenile sexual rehabilitation center. Driven by her promise to love her children unconditionally, Noah’s mother, Adrianne, continues to support him, but her husband, Lucas, won’t allow Noah back into their home. It is later revealed that Lucas has a history of sexually abusing children, having received shock therapy at a mental healthcare facility as a teenager. The stigma of being a sexual offender haunts Noah to the point that he believes he should not live.

The novel—told from Adrianne’s point of view—features a complex, challenging portrayal of child abuse. Saving Noah explores themes like the complexities of mental health and the failures of the justice system. Berry, a former clinical psychologist and researcher in child trauma, examines the gamut of human nature and raises provocative questions about the limits of ethics and empathy. Berry’s novels often examine controversial aspects of human nature and the motif of

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