This was my first book by this author and read very good reviews of her books.
The blurb sounded exciting and I loved the first 25% of the books. Unfortunately it became repetitive and the elements that sounded so interesting were absent.
It's not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This is when it pays to read the entire blurb. I thought I was getting a thriller, and having not read the author’s previous book, was surprised when it started to blur into realms of fantasy and folklore with tales of Selkies.

While that is a whole genre I tend to avoid, it played its part well in the story and with the mysteries involving water in one way or another it gave a different and almost surreal depth to what was going on.

For me the one real grounding that I had with this book was DS Harper and while her feet seemed to be firmly on solid ground the involvement of a family member made her foundations start to resemble sand and with the tide rushing in the pace did not let up for a minute as it became a race against the clock.

Not only a genre blend this takes two seemingly unconnected events and the author cleverly hooks you in to both. A different take on a thriller and from now on I won’t be so quick to rule out certain styles from my reading material.

When a young child is found wandering alone, the police & social services are called. A short time later her mother turns up saying that the girl had run off. Everything seems to be in order so the pair go on their way. Miles away, a man is found, seriously injured & floating in a bathtub full of water, but miraculously alive. The case falls to DS Jo Harper to investigate, & she soon finds out that it hits close to home & that someone she cares about is in grave danger.

Several months ago, Ruby is caught spying on the man, Gregor, who lives across the way from her flat, & she isn't expecting them to actually meet & form a friendship. She especially doesn't expect to meet his young daughter, Leonie & her obviously unhappy mother, Constance. Gregor says that he & Constance are no longer 'together' but that Constance is still in love with him, but the more time Ruby spends with Constance & Leonie, the more she thinks there's something else going on.

This was a very slow-building story at the start, so slow that I almost gave up about 20% of the way into the book, but I'm glad I stuck with it as it eventually turned into an intriguing mystery. The main characters, Jo & Ruby, are quite to difficult to like at times, & I don't like it when intelligent female characters make obviously stupid decisions. Overall, although it turned out to be an interesting read with the mythical aspect of selkies, I probably wouldn't read it again, therefore I rate it 3.5 out of 5 (rounded up to 4).

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, HQ, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

This is a good read.
A young girl is found on her own in a shop so the Police are called. A woman then appears saying her daughter ran off and is glad to see she is ok.
At the same time, a man’s body is found in a bath full of bloody water which has overflowed, bursting the ceiling of the flat underneath. When she checks, DS Joanna Harper is surprised to see that he’s still alive.
When she discovers the identity of the woman who took the girl from the shop, Joanna finds herself in a very awkward situation, with her job and her personal life. The two cases seem to be connected and Joanna has some tough decisions to make.
This is a good police procedural but it also has an element of folklore linked to Leonie's mother. The storylines connect really well and this is an intriguing read.
Thanks to HQ and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This is a novel that blends folklore with a gripping and suspenseful thriller. I couldn't put it down and found the selkie stories incredibly atmospheric. I could almost hear and smell the sea. Well worth a read.

I cannot say that I enjoyed this folk tale mixed with a modern police procedural murder story. Everything was in place for DS Jo Harper to solve a mystery starting with small child who wanders alone into a shop at Christmas time but shortly after her mother turns up and they are reunited.

Miles away a man is found half dead in a bathtub. DS Harper is brought in to investigate the body but soon realises there is a connection between the two incidents.

Creepy, full of twists and really well written but bringing the mystical Selkies in was too much for me.

Thanks to Net Galley and HQ/Harper Collins for the chance to read and review.

i really enjoyed this book. The story is complex yet interesting and is told from multiple points of view, this adds to the story being multilayered. It is a story where nothing is as it seems and is definitely what i would call a modern day mystery

I throughly enjoyed this book. It was a great read and I’ll be looking out for more of her books in the future. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

A young girl is found alone, and it’s not long before shopkeepers call the authorities. A short time later, her mother turns, distraught and worried, but glad to see her daughter is ok – they’re sent on their way with a gentle police telling off. At the same time, a man’s body is found in a bath, though fortunately, he’s still alive. The two events cannot be connected, there’s no link but yet, DS Harper remains cautious, hesitant to rule anything out. During the investigation, it’s found that something does connect the man with the mother and daughter (prepare to be shocked) and this leads police down a dangerous path. The most worrying is that no one really know in which direction the danger lies… Combining the author’s skill at mystery writing with great characterisation and a storyline that, little by little, drags you in, will Harper find out the whole truth before it’s too late?

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is not normally a genre I would read, but I must admit I enjoyed it. A blend of folklore and mystery. I found this addictive and absorbing. Recommended.

This is not your ordinary thriller, it's part fantasy too with one of the characters, Constance, claiming to be a Selkie, a seal woman who needs to find her sea-fur coat to go back to sea. She lives with Gregor and their small daughter Leonie who they keep in the flat because she is unregistered. When Leonie is taken from the flat DS Joanna Harper is on the case but finds she is connected to a suspect. I had to suspend my disbelief reading this but the thriller plot is a great one.

I must have missed reading the bit in the blurb about folklore or I know I wouldn’t have requested this book. I do like the detective and would try another book without the fantasy mix.

A small girl, Leonie, is found alone outside a convenience shop. While Social Services are dealing with the case, a woman arrives and convinces the social worker that she is the child's mother. She takes Leonie away. Meanwhile, DS Joanna Harper is dealing with the discovery of a man found in his bath with serious head injuries. When the identity of the woman who took Leonie is uncovered Joanna finds herself in a very awkward situation where she might be forced to choose between her job and her personal life. The two cases appear to be connected and Joanna has to walk a very fine line.

This is not just a very good police procedural; it is also about an intriguing element of folklore linked to Leonie's mother. The storylines connect really well and this is a compelling read. There is a strong element of the concept of motherhood in the novel and how far someone would go to protect their child. The characters are very real and it was easy to empathise with many of them and to quickly realise that others are not what they seem. There is an ethereal feel to this story which I very much enjoyed.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ Stories for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well this was a story and a half – selkies, a woman from the sea. Not sure. On saying this I am really pleased I read this story even though I do not particularly like books that go backwards and forwards through characters and times but I found this one was ok and it was needed for the story. It begins with a little girl, Leonie almost 2, found outside a shop in Cleethorpes crying for her mom. It is a freezing cold day in December. The shop keeper takes her into the shop and calls for the Police. The Police arrive as does a Social Worker and as they are trying to sort out why Leonie was on her own her mother (or was it) arrives and convinced the authorities that Leonie had run away and she had been looking all over for her. They accept this story and let them go. The story changes time and D S Harper and her family come into the story – D S Harper being the main character. D S Harper is called into an attempted murder case and as the story evolves the “abandoned” child and the man who was found in a flat in a bad way mix together. As the story twists and turns D S Harper realises that her sister, who she is estranged from due to a family argument over Christmas, could be involved. She has to do her investigations without her colleagues finding out as they are convinced that Ruby is the one they need to find in connection with the man who is in hospital and in a coma. Harper is convinced that her sister cannot be involved in the attempted murder as she is a kind and generous especially with her time. Ruby comes into the story more and as the story progresses a handsome man turns out not to be as true as Ruby thought, Leonie’s mother, Constance, is not as strange as she thought and Leonie is not the happy child she should be. As she helps out more she realises that Gregor has a past which is not good and he is trying to keep Constance and Leonie locked away from the world saying she is agoraphobic and cannot take Leonie out. When Ruby offers to take her out this is pushed back and makes Ruby think not all is well in the household. Harper continues her investigations and trying to keep an open mind about Ruby and the injury which Gregor has. Will he wake up – interesting twist here. Ruby and Constance hatch a plan to escape and it comes to fruition that Ruby has no idea about Gregor being injured. The story ends in a way that made me happy. A good book – I could write more but am always concerned I will give too much of the story away. Suffice it to say a great read

thriller with links to folklore, not really my cup of tea, I prefer something less whimsical.. if you can get past that it’s quite a good murder mystery.
Ruby becomes involved with the couple who live opposite her. She can see Gregor performing his Yoga routine from her window and when she eventually meets him is immediately attracted to him. However all is not what it seems, he has a wife and daughter and something does not sit right. As Ruby’s friendship evolves it’s clear some desperate steps need to be taken for everyone’s safety

This book is based around the folklore of the Selkie - mythological beings who can change from seal to human form by shedding their skin. This was not atall what I had been expecting as there was no indication from reading the blurb. I don't usually read books based around folk stories, so I probably wouldn't have chosen to read this had I known the content. However, if that was the case I most certainly would have missed out as I really enjoyed The Replacement. I would describe it as a thriller and police procedural.

The story is told from the point of view of three of the main characters and is so well written. The characters are likable and I found myself feeling all their emotions of despair and fear. This book has so many different layers and covers some tricky topics including alcoholism, teen pregnancy and abuse.

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot and would recommend it.

My thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for sending me this ARC in return for an honest review.

I received this book from HQ Digital via Netgalley for a review. An absorbing police procedural and folklore, gripping from start to finish.

Loved this book. Mystical folk tale intermingled with a modern murder story.
A small child wanders alone into a shop but shortly after her mother turns up and they are reunited.
Miles away a man is found half dead in a bath. Is there a connection between the two?
DS Jo Harper is bought in to investigate the body in the bath but soon realises there is a connection between the two incidents. She also realises this case could be closer to home than she would like.
Twists and turns - you want want to put it down.

This story is genius. It’s so clever, mashing up a police procedural with seller folklore and the writing is assured throughout. I was totally hooked from the opening pages where a little girl is found wandering alone. Police are called, she’s reunited with her mother and all is well. Or is it? What’s the connection to a man in a report of a man bath some distance away? It’s a complex psychological thriller where just below the surface all is not as it seems and connecting the missing pieces is tense and compelling.

At one level, the premise is almost implausible, but it’s so well written the reader is drawn into the narrative and becomes part of the chase and race against time. It’s different and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

The Replacement begins with a little girl, Leonie seemingly abandoned on the seafront at Cleethorpes, then a woman arrives claiming to be her mother, Constance and tells the authorities that her little girl ran off and she's been searching for her, so they let them go. Then a man is found in his apartment, he has been beaten and left for dead, whilst searching the apartment for clues, they discover a locked room filled with children's toys, D'S Joanna Harper, who is leading the investigation, thinks there is a link between the two cases, and when she delves further she's shocked to see that the woman with the child is her estranged daughter Ruby, she knows that she needs to find Ruby before the police do, she will do anything to protect her child, but she's not the only one desperate to find them, question is, who will get to them first?

This story is told across two timelines; Now and Then, and narrated mainly by Ruby and Joanna, it's a well written book by the author who brought us Little Darlings and we once again get to meet Joanna Harper and learn more about her and her family. This tale is shrouded in mystery and mythology, we learn about the selkies and how they live in a different world to us, their rituals and what happens if those rituals are broken. It also shows how far a mother will go to protect her daughter whatever the cost to herself. I liked how the author started each chapter with a snippet of folklore, as she did in Little Darlings, and even though these are standalone novels they are best read in order to understand the characters backgrounds. If you like fantasy and folklore then Golding gives it all.

I'd like to thank HQ and Netgalley for the approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.