Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Christopher is 15 and lives in Swindon with his father. He has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism. He is obsessed with maths, science and Sherlock Holmes but finds it hard to understand other people. When he discovers a dead dog on a neighbour's lawn he decides to solve the mystery and write a detective thriller about it. As in all good detective stories, however, the more he unearths, the deeper the mystery gets - for both Christopher and the rest of his family.

During his investigation he discovers that his mother isn't dead as he thought but is living in London and has been writing him weekly letters which his father has been hiding. On learning that his father actually killed the dog Christopher is frightened and decides to embark on a terrifying train and underground journey to go and live with his mother in London.

Christopher has many traits that set him apart from others because of his perception of life. He is unable to recognise and comprehend facial expressions besides 'happy' and 'sad' and has difficulty in understanding metaphors and jokes. He likes lists and facts, has a fear of strangers and new places, and his favourite dream is one in which everyone except him, and 'special people' like him, die. In addition, he is oversensitive