The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer

The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer
UK Publication: Feb 2015
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: [★★★]

This ARC was provided by Faber and Faber Ltd (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis from Goodreads: She is the missing girl. But she doesn’t know she’s lost.

Carmel Wakeford becomes separated from her mother at a local children’s festival, and is found by a man who claims to be her estranged grandfather. He tells her that her mother has had an accident and that she is to live with him for now. As days become weeks with her new family, 8-year-old Carmel realises that this man believes she has a special gift…

While her mother desperately tries to find her, Carmel embarks on an extraordinary journey, one that will make her question who she is – and who she might become.

My Thoughts: This is a really hard book to review because it was nothing like what I was expecting. I expected a tense thriller about a missing child instead I ended up with 2 different stories the experiences of the mother of a missing child and the story of the child who doesn’t know she is missing.

The mother’s story reminded me of Reservoir 13 for the quiet way it explores the aftermath of a child going missing. At first Beth is devastated and finds it hard to carry on living but as time passes the outside world slowly creeps back in. I felt this was well done Beth felt natural and her progression felt real.

Carmel’s story is a world away from this. At times Carmel felt too young and at others too old, she is completely gullible and her responses to the situation she finds herself in seem forced the whole kidnapping would not have happened if she had engaged common sense and the whole religious story line felt like it was trying too hard.

Overall I enjoyed this book but I would be lying if I said it was a page turner.

Who would like this? Don’t go into this expecting a fast paced thriller and you won’t be disappointed. If you enjoyed the slow paced style of Reservoir 13 give this one a go.

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