Thanks for the response. I think you’re right that, “if something truly does make no sense, that doesn't make it unrealistic.” I’ve watched documentaries or dramatisations of events that happened in real life (my wife is a also true-crime aficionado) and thought that if this plot or character was a work of fiction, I wouldn’t buy it. My memory isn’t that good either so I can’t think of any recent examples from TV/film.

However, the first time I heard about the CIA’s MKUltra project, I assumed that it was a 70s’ conspiracy theory but was shocked to then discover that it’s true. Dosing non-consenting victims with hallucinogenic drugs outside of a controlled clinical test made as much sense as the US military’s psychic spies and “men who stare at goats” program. I was similarly shocked to learn about the Tuskegee Syphilis Study (though less surprised, given US history), particularly that it continued right up until 1972 – this really made no sense as antibiotics had already been proven to be an effective treatment back in the 40s. More recently, when I first heard of the systemic sexual abuse and rape of thousands of mostly white English under-age girls by gangs of mostly Pakistani men in places like Rotherham, Rochdale, Oxford and Peterborough, it sounded like a far-right racist fantasy. I still find it hard to wrap my head around that one; I still see – and want to see – people as being essentially good/moral and this conflicts with that narrative.

Sorry for going off on such a disturbing tangent. I want to start reading more books and will add the Silo series to my list.