"The Girl in the Red Coat" is quite a well-paced, gripping thriller and it turns out, the first in a sequence of books. The setting is imaginative, relating to what we presume to be a fundamentalist Christian (cult?) abducting a child as it believed that she is a ‘chosen one’ with supernatural powers… The existence of ‘chosen one’ would not really be a belief adhered to by too many fundamentalist Christians in America. And we can’t really accept the characters to be part of a cult as they are portrayed as travelling around fairly mainstream churches. Certainly, there may be a few ‘alternative thinkers’ out there who may hold this type of view relating to a special child, but this just didn’t ring true to me from the outset. I also get the impression that the author has very little experience of this type of faith-based organisation as quite a few comments and viewpoints expressed by characters do not tally at all with my knowledge of this area, and a few too many of the characters prove little more than stereotypes.

That aside, this is a genuinely unusual take on the missing child trope and (getting over my reservations) the two main personal stories are handled extraordinarily well, with truly believable emotions of pain and loss and despair expressed. Hamer is obviously a talented writer; descriptive and frequently, entirely authentic. The momentum and pace of the story is also handled superbly without losing any of the effect of the mood.
There are a few plot-holes and lose ends that may have been left for the sake of pacing, but to give the benefit of the doubt, these may be rectified in the coming novel.
But coming from a position of a little knowledge of this area, descriptions and characters’ responses can sometimes feel more than a little unbelievable and jarring and I found this pulled me out of the story just a little too often to make it a great read.

The Girl In The Red Coat by Kate Hamer is a thriller dealing with the disappearance of an 8 year old girl.

There is a light fantasy aspect to this as she might have healing powers. 

I enjoyed the story, and the two points of view, the girl and her mother.  The mother's point of view always starts with the days since her daughter disappeared, and I thought that was a good way of immediately setting the scene.

I read this quite quickly as I was drawn into the story, and kept turning pages to see what was going to happen next.

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to Faber and Faber.

I enjoyed this, feel bad that it has taken so long to get to the top of my to read list. It was really well written and kept me engaged throughout. Right up my comfort zone

I was given a free copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

it started out okay and i really liked Carmel and following her line of thoughts about the world and people around her but all the jesus stuff just got annoying and her not trying harder to find out the truth or trying herself to contact her dad. I only kept reading because I could not wait for her reaction that surely had to come, when realizing the truth. but that part never came. It was a dud and i feel this book took all my energy away. boo.

A good story and totally heartbreaking as a parent. There were points when I was slightly confused as to who was telling that section but didn't take long to figure it out...

This is the first book I have read by Kate Hamer, i will definately read more.

A gripping thriller that was fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat.

A great plot

The Girl in the Red Coat is full of twists and turns and overall I really did enjoy it. The ending was very satisfying although I wish (without giving away any spoilers!) we got to read more of what happened after the last few pages. The only part I didn’t like was young Carmel’s point of view, I get why the author did it but it was simultaneously too young and too advanced for an 8 year old. I would recommend this book and will look out for more by the author in future.

Carmel loses her mother at a festival, and is found by a who claims to be her long lost grandfather. Telling her that her mother has had an accident, he takes Carmel to live with him. While her mother Beth is frantically trying to find her daughter, Carmel is embroiled in a religious cult. This is a riveting and engrossing psychological thriller.

A story of abduction and cults. When Carmel is eight years old she is taken by who she thought was her long lost grandfather and he told her that her Mother had been in an accident and she had to stay with him and his family.
The story takes Carmel across America with her preacher of a grandfather but when Carmel discovers that she isn't the only one to have to have to change her name to Mercy she begins to wonder if what her grandfather said is true.
Beth Carmels mum has never given up hope 9f seeing her daughter again but as the years pass by with no sighting can Carmel truly be still alive?

Suspenseful thriller about the abduction of an 8 year old girl into a religious healing cult by a man claiming to be her estranged grandfather.

Beth is still reeling following her divorce from Paul when Carmel vanishes at a children's festival soon after he reappears. Beth can't stop searching, believing her fear that she would lose her daughter has somehow caused this.

Carmel is very bright but has a tendency to get lost in her thoughts, which her mother and schoolteacher have both noticed, but is there more to it?

Heartbreaking to see the child accepting the lies she is told and will be interesting to read the sequel

I read this book prior to reading the sequel as I was told it really does make the story ‘real’. A new author for me and I loved her style of writing. Written from the POV’s of the two main protagonists; Carmel an 8 year old child who has been abducted and her mother Beth who is riddled with guilt at ‘loosing’ her daughter and full of angst. Both characters are written really well and I commend the Carmel narrative which really did sound age appropriate.

Briefly, single mum Beth has taken Carmel to a story festival but they get separated and while Beth is frantically searching for her daughter an elderly man tells Carmel that something has happened to her mother and he is her grandfather and he will take care of her. Carmel was then taken to America where the man, a cult preacher, tell her she has special powers to heal.

I did find it strange that Carmel was so accepting of her new situation but I suppose there was a bit of shock/Stockholm Syndrome. Beth’s perspective was quite heart rending, even to me as I don’t have children and I probably don’t quite understand how dreadful her situation must have been. A well paced read which is very emotional. Had I not been aware there was a sequel (which I am about to read next) I would have wondered about a few threads not quite tied up but I’m off to see what happened next. A good, moving psychological drama / contemporary read with excellent characterisation and a shocking storyline

Thank you for allowing me to review this book. It is the first I have read by this author. I found the story very disturbing, although it was very slow and long winded. I nearly gave up on, but persevered to the end as I wanted to know the outcome.. i am now reading the sequel that is due out in February 2023.

Wow what a book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and couldn’t put it down. It’s a story about a young 8 year old girl who becomes lost from her mother while out at a festival. A man takes advantage of this and abducts her. She then ends up leading a life of lies.

I kept reading to the end, but felt it was rather drawn out but the ending came quite suddenly and felt quire flat

Free courtesy of Netgalley

This is another new author for me to read and I did enjoy the story and it made me ask myself how I would cope if someone took my child.

The story starts with 8 year old Carmel and her mum. After her parents have separated, Carmel hasn't really seen much of her dad, but he does turn up one day and take her out. As a treat Carmel has been promised by her mum to go to a story festival, so they go off on the train to enjoy the day. During the festival a fog rolls in and Carmel gets separated from her mum but she runs into an old man who says he is her Grandfather (who has been estranged from her mum, so she has never met him). He tells her that whilst looking for her, her mother has been hit by a lorry and he has come to take her to the hospital.

Carmel is told her mother had died and her Father doesn't want her, so she needs to stay with her grandfather. Carmel's mother's life falls apart when her little girl goes missing and she doesn't know if she will ever see her again.

The story goes between Carmel and her experiences as she grows up and Her parents trying hard to find her and navigate their lives without her in it.

Even though the book was extremely well written, the ending didn't have the same thought, care and attention paid to it. There were too many questions left unanswered and I was unsure how A got to B (without giving the ending away). I would say it is still worth reading and maybe there is a sequel which will explain it.

When Carmel gets separated from her mother, Beth, at a children's festival the world changes for the pair of them & this book describes the aftermath of that event. As Carmel is looking for her mother, a man says he is her Grandfather & that something awful has happened to her mother. He explains that he is going to take care of her. Carmel, at only eight years old & naturally a well behaved child does what she is told but her world is changed totally when she finds herself in a caravan with two young girls & their Mexican mother. Grandfather is a travelling preacher. He explains that Carmel is a gifted child & we follow the life she has been dropped into. Meanwhile Beth is inconsolable. She refuses to believe she has lost Carmel forever & her faith is harrowing to read.

This was an absorbing story full of characters for the reader to love & loathe. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

This is a book that I kept reading even if I wasn't liking it. It's powerful, intriguing and gripping even when I thought it was dragging or requested to suspend my belief.
Beth and Carmel are well plotted characters and this story has some elements of thriller but it's mainly the story of a desperate mother and a child kidnapped by a religious fanatic.
The style of writing is excellent and I'm curious about the follow up.
3.5 upped to 4
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

This book was so thought provoking and moving and was a tense but fantastic read. As a mother, this story is literally every mothers worst fear/nightmare.

We meet Carmel who is a young girl living with her mother, Beth. Beth is a very protective mother and Carmel has been known to stray sometimes. Beth and Carmel's father have split and he is living with his new love. They are living in Norfolk, UK.

Beth takes Carmel to a festival of sorts, in a tent which is housing books/displays etc, Carmel has decided she has had enough of her mother and hides under a table. When she re-appears, Beth is nowhere to be seen but a man approaches Carmel and tells her that he is her grandfather and her mother has been in an accident and Carmel is to go with him. Carmel is only 8 so she believes him and goes along with him.

Basically the story is told through the eyes of Carmel and Beth, alternating between characters at each chapter. We go on the journey of both of these and see what is occurring through their eyes. Beth is a heartbroken mother who desperately wants her child back but has to try and move on with her life, whereas Carmel is on a journey with some sort of cult thousands of miles away from her mother.

The story is heart-breaking and through provoking at the same time and I love the authors writing style.

Thanks to Kate Hamer, Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

A well written book focussing on child abduction written from different viewpoints. It felt a little long in parts but a great read

This is a very different genre to my usually read but it was excellent. it is written from alternate characters, 8 year old Carmel who the story centres around and her mum who is dealing with grief and vanquish at the disappearance of her daughter.. I I was absorbed into the story and it was impossible to put down until the very last page.