Review: 'Ghost Child' by Caroline Overington (2014)

The photograph shows four smiling children. But look closer and you can tell that one of the boys has been crying.
Weeks later, that little boy is dead. His mother and her boyfriend are in prison for his murder, and his brother and sisters have been fostered to separate families.
No one knows for sure what happened that day, except, possibly, the three remaining children, and they’re not talking.
But the past cannot be buried forever, and years later, when the truth about what happened is revealed, will it bring a final healing? Or will the legacy of fear that the children have lived with for so long, finally destroy them?
Caroline Overington's latest novel, 'Ghost Child', was released on the 11th of September 2014 by Arrow. I was quite excited when I found a review copy of the book in my mailbox, because I had the chance to be introduced to Caroline Overington's writing last year when I was asked to read and review 'I Came to Say Goodbye' (click here to read my review). The novel was a really fascinating read and one that made quite an impression, and I looked forward to checking out more of her books. Both the cover and the blurb of 'Ghost Child' don't give too much away about the story inside, so I was curious to discover more about it!
In 1982, 5-year-old Jacob Cashman is sent to the store together with his younger brother Harley to buy cigarettes for his mother. What happened after that is unclear, but as soon as the emergency services arrive at the Cashman residence a few hours later, Jacob is dead. His mother says Jacob and his brother were attacked by strangers on their way back home, but eventually Jacob's mother and her boyfriend are the ones who end up in prison. For the remaining three Cashman children, Harley, 6-year-old Lauren and 18-month-old Hayley this means the start of a life filled with foster parents and far-away family. Twenty years later, Lauren, who is a nurse's aide, is part of another court case. As soon as people realise she's a Cashman, her past comes back to haunt her and it might be time for the truth to finally be revealed...
One of the absolute strengths of Caroline Overington's work is the thin line between fiction and non-fiction. Her stories are based on real-life events, but she gives these her own twist and manages to create a realistic and truly captivating collection of different points of view, recounting the same event, in this case the death of 5-year-old Jacob Cashman. The four Cashman children are described as pale with white hair; a slightly haunting description that makes the story even more powerful. I personally really enjoyed reading all the different voices from characters such as a social worker, a foster mother, a reporter and a police officer, but also the Cashman family. One downside to this way of writing is that as a reader you don't develop a particular liking for or bond with a certain main character, but I have to say this didn't really bother me while reading this book. 
The author's writing is really easy to read, well-paced and convincing; from the first chapter I was already intrigued by the story and this feeling only increased as I continued, until the very end. It's obvious Caroline Overington did her research before writing this book, since lots of different topics are dealt with such as foster families and child abuse. Fans of drama and/or based-on-real-life novels will definitely not regret picking up Caroline Overington's work, with 'Ghost Child' also being a novel great for book clubs because of it's conversational plot and many different topics to discuss with other readers. Overall, 'Ghost Child' is an engaging, confronting and powerful read; another Caroline Overington novel that left an impression!

Rating:8/10

  For more information about this book: Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com / Goodreads   Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Giveaway to celebrate 10.000 views!

Thanks to all you lovely people out there, I've managed to reach 10.000 views on this blog within just a couple of months! Since I consider this quite a special occasion, I think it's a great opportunity to organise a giveaway, open worldwide!

The last review I posted, and which resulted in hitting the 10.000 views mark, was for Caroline Overington's fabulous new release, 'I Came to Say Goodbye' (click here to read my review). I'd like to offer one lucky person a copy of this book, which is a read you will not want to miss out on, trust me! 

I am pleased to let you all know that this giveaway will be international, as long as you are willing to share your address if you're the lucky winner! 

In order to be in with a chance, please make sure you follow me on Twitter (@happyspoonful), and retweet this tweet.
If you don't have Twitter, please leave a comment on this post explaining how you found my blog and why you deserve to win. It really is as simple as that! :)

The giveaway will run for the next two weeks, closing on Wednesday the 23rd of October at 11.59 pm. The winners will be selected at random and will be notified within the next few days.  

Good luck to everyone and once again, thanks for visiting! :)

Review: 'I Came to Say Goodbye' by Caroline Overington (2013)

It was four o'clock in the morning.

A young woman pushed through the hospital doors.

Staff would later say they thought the woman was a new mother, returning to her child - and in a way, she was.

She walked into the nursery, where a baby girl lay sleeping. The infant didn't wake when the woman placed her gently in the shopping bag she had brought with her. There is CCTV footage of what happened next, and most Australians would have seen it, either on the internet or the news.

The woman walked out to the car park, towards an old Corolla. For a moment, she held the child gently against her breast and, with her eyes closed, she smelled her.
She then clipped the infant into the car, got in and drove off.

That is where the footage ends.

It isn't where the story ends, however.
It's not even where the story starts.

I think I am not the only one who was immediately taken in by the blurb of Caroline Overington's latest release, 'I Came to Say Goodbye' (admit it, you must have been at least a little bit intrigued, right?). The novel was published in the UK on the 29th of August 2013 and I was lucky enough to receive a review copy, thanks to the amazing people at Arrow. I didn't really know what to expect from the novel at first, because I hadn't read anything by Caroline Overington before, and the blurb is definitely gripping, but doesn't give too much about the plot away. So, I just started reading, and before I knew it I was completely taken in by the story inside and couldn't put the book down until I had finished it!

Med Atley is a single father living in Australia in the 1970's, trying to raise his three children on his own, after his wife suddenly left him, never to return. His daughter Kat and son Blue are already teenagers and living their own lives, but toddler Donna-Faye, nicknamed Fat, is still dependent on her dad. Years later, and also where the reader meets Med for the first time, he is 60 years old and writing down his life story, which ultimately leads to the event that is at the core of this novel, the abduction of a small child from a hospital. The main question: how did we get there and what exactly happened? 

As soon as I started reading the first pages of this book, I got lost in the story and only managed to get out as soon as I finished it. 'I Came to Say Goodbye' is told from the perspective of 60-year old Australian Med, a character to which I warmed straight away. There's something about his voice that immediately spoke to me, and I just wanted to keep on reading to find out about everything he had to say. All the characters in the novel felt extremely real (I personally really enjoyed reading the parts told from Kat Atley's perspective), and Caroline Overington manages to capture topics like grief and family ties perfectly.

I don't want to give too much away about the plotline, because it would definitely spoil the reading process and that would be a real shame for those of you who plan on reading this book. I really enjoyed the way in which the novel was written, namely like a letter, and from different perspectives, but all third parties, instead of the main character whom it all evolves around. As soon as you discover the background and use of the letter you are reading, the story becomes even stronger and it really added another fascinating layer to it all for me. If I have to criticize something, it has to be the choice of cover. The child with the prominent tear on its cheek caused me to expect a completely different story from what this novel is actually about, something in the line of a basic drama, while this is a original and captivating book, a book that needs a cover that shows this and immediately draws people in, just like the story itself.

Overall, 'I Came to Say Goodbye' is a compelling, heart-breaking, thoughtful story which will keep your mind occupied; a story with a powerful voice at its core that will stick with you for quite some time after you've finished it. A must-read!

Rating:9/10