Madeleine: Our daughter's disappearance and the continuing search for her

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There is no mention whatsoever of any attempt by wither the McCanns or by the Find Madeleine Fund to sue Halligen for his obviously fraudulent conduct. Lurid tabloid allegations suggested the couple and their friends might have been swingers and that the McCanns, as physicians, might have been in the habit of sedating their children, while others claimed inconsistencies in their version of events. Instead (to this day) they keep taking legal action against almost anyone who dares to disagree with their version of events even if their version – and that of their friends – is riddled with inconsistencies.

The following day the McCanns met several ‘important and powerful figures’, the Chief of Police and two government Ministers among them - they ‘must have had permission from the King of Morocco’. Joke of a judicial system that confuses the right to free speech with slander and libel (in the case of the pathetic figure of Goncalo Amaral, who already was under suspicion for using torture _while_ in charge of McCann's investigation). Gerry spent almost an hour on the ’phone to important people in Washington and afterwards Dr Kate says Gerry was ‘almost radiant’ (but obviously not quite) at the prospect of a trip to Washington. One thing leaps out, she definitely does not think they did anything wrong: “…considered by many to be guilty of something”. (Her italics.)Questions remain about the links to Robert Murat who their friends fingered as the ‘abductor’ but who gets a slight thumbs up in this book when he won a huge payout for libel. Now they are “false claims” despite some of them originating from the McCann camp. But no explanation is given in the book.

Ryan is everything Dawn is not. He's open, friendly, and willing to reach out to others for help. While Dawn feels drawn to the stranger and wants to help him, she's afraid that opening herself up will just lead to yet another romantic disaster. With circumstances pushing them closer together, will Dawn have the courage to let Ryan in, or will she hold to her rules and keep all the emotional complications out of her life? Earlier this year, German investigators searched a large section of the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz. German prosecutors at the time said the items discovered in the three-day operation might be linked to her disappearance but have not yet been confirmed as evidence.

I am not won over by Kate's writing and still wonder why they couldn't do what other families do on holiday - eat early and go home, take pushchairs and let em sleep next to the table or even take it in turns to go out but no THEY WENT OUT EVERY NIGHT. The McCanns now have three months to appeal against the decision. In a statement, they said they were “naturally disappointed” by the decision but much had changed since they started legal proceedings 13 years ago. But then how could she/they lie quite so blatantly if involved? Perhaps Kate McCann does present a partial version which resonates with some truth? Why do I no longer believe her yet cannot fathom how the child was moved post-mortem/post-disappearance? I found this book both compelling and tragic. It is written by Kate, Maddie's Mom, from her (Kate's) point of view and it is told well enough that I can picture things as they happened. It is sad that Kate felt she had to write this book, I suppose, in some way to help clear her and Gerry's names. And the book certainly reads well. I actually wanted to read more due its easy writing style. However, it is nothing like her more staccato diary kept at the time. I got the distinct impression it was written by at least two people, possibly more. Kate’s ‘voice’ based on her diary, jumped out and I could actually hear it – including the Scouse intonation. Other passages had a different ‘sound’ – to me, that is.

The decision to publish this book has been very difficult, and taken with heavy hearts ... My reason for writing it is simple: to give an account of the truth ... Writing this memoir has entailed recording some very personal, intimate and emotional aspects of our lives. Sharing these with strangers does not come easily to me, but if I hadn't done so I would not have felt the book gave as full a picture as it is possible for me to give. As with every action we have taken over the last five years, it ultimately boils down to whether what we are doing could help us to find Madeleine. When the answer to that question is yes, or even possibly, our family can cope with anything ... Nothing is more important to us than finding our little girl.' -- Kate McCann But she went on to credit her husband's understanding for the endurance of their long-term partnership. Not knowing what happened to her daughter placed a huge burden on her mental health, so Kate, who received her degree in medicine at the University of Dundee, quit her job as a GP. They are not actors so their anger and emotions, when dealing with the police and others to do something to find their little girl, seem very real. And yet there is still a feeling they know more than they are letting on and that some of that anger and high emotion is due to being questioned when the British Government is, and continues to be, so unquestioning of them. I asked Gerry apprehensively if he'd had any really horrible thoughts or visions of Madeleine. He nodded. Haltingly, I told him about the awful pictures that scrolled through my head of her body, her perfect little genitals torn apart".I will try and post a 'summary of critique' of each chapter of Dr Kate's book over the next few days. Being told over and over again what to believe – an abduction – served only to reinforce suspicion in this reader. How would they know what had happened? The child could have wandered off. (Ten years on, this may now be the latest theory.)