The Child Garden
Print and e-book, 314 pages
Published September 1st 2015 by Midnight Ink
Eden was its name. "An alternative school for happy children." But it closed in disgrace after a student's suicide. Now it's a care home, its grounds neglected and overgrown. Gloria Harkness is its only neighbor, staying close to her son who lives there in the home, lighting up her life and breaking her heart each day.
When a childhood friend turns up at her door, Gloria doesn't hesitate before asking him in. He claims a girl from Eden is stalking him and has goaded him into meeting her at the site of the suicide. Only then, the dead begin to speak—it was murder, they say.
Gloria is in over her head before she can help it. Her loneliness, her loyalty, and her all-consuming love for her son lead her into the heart of a dark secret that threatens everything she lives for.
My thoughts about The Child Garden ~~
(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first lines.)
First line—"It was far from silent in the dark wood."
Okay, that's a fabulous first line. What kind of creepiness can the reader expect after that line?
With a cover like this one has, the reader knows from the start that this story is going to be quite a page-turner. I think the cover is amazing, by the way. And The Child Garden was definitely a pager-turner for me.
I think this is one of the best lines in the book, and sort of sums of my thinking through the whole story. "The worst thing is not knowing who knows what." I'm not sure I ever felt comfortable with any of the characters and I never knew who to trust. I doubted everyone and everything. And I loved it!
I received The Child Garden via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
About the author
Catriona McPherson was born in South Queensferry. After finishing school, she worked in a bank for a short time, before going to university. She studied for an MA in English Language and Linguistics at Edinburgh University, and then gained a job in the local studies department at Edinburgh City Libraries. She left this post after a couple of years, and went back to university to study for a PhD in semantics. During her final year she applied for an academic job, but left to begin a writing career.
These days, McPherson lives with her husband on a farm in the Galloway countryside, where she spends her time writing, gardening, swimming and running. ~ Goodreads
These days, McPherson lives with her husband on a farm in the Galloway countryside, where she spends her time writing, gardening, swimming and running. ~ Goodreads
Connect with Catriona
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This book sounds creepy and unsettling! Which means I would absolutely love it.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same as Dianna! I'd love to read this one. Thanks for the great review.
ReplyDeleteThanks gals, for stopping and reading my review. This was a very interesting book. And isn't that cover just the creepiest?
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