A little girl is discovered, abandoned outside a shop on a cold winter’s evening.
Meanwhile DS Joanna Harper discovers a man, near death, lying in the overflowing bath in his flat.
DS Harper realises after a while that these two events are connected, and the plot of Melanie Golding’s book The Replacement describes how this link came to be established.
After the engaging and curious first section, this read becomes a little disjointed and clunky. It is mostly narrated by Ruby, Joanna’s sister, who has unwittingly found herself in the middle of a situation and initially misread it, and sometimes by Joanna. It moves back and forward in time too, to establish the relationship between Ruby and the injured man and between Ruby and the child.
The history between Ruby and Joanna is also explored and really that is a lot to get through.
As a result, the underlying supernatural feel of the sea and selkies gets lost, although there are great descriptive sections of the canal journeys, the wild coastal Hebridean stretches and magical sealskins. Try as I might, I couldn’t give myself up to it as easily and comfortably as I could with Ms Goldings wonderful debut Little Darlings.

An excellent follow up to Little Darlings.
Blends a bit of fantasy into the every day.
In this book,so much is not what it seems.
It perfectly hits the tone of creepy,sinister and believable.
Golding is one to keep your eye on for sure.

In Melanie Golding’s second novel, ‘The Replacement’, her attention to plotting is a real strength. The narrative draws the reader in immediately when Leonie, a toddler, is discovered abandoned outside a corner shop. Just as social services arrive, ‘Mamma Bee’, aka Ruby, shows up and is allowed to take her away. Meanwhile, nearby, thirty-year-old Gregor Franks lies in his bath, seemingly dead. What is the connection between these events?
Over the course of the novel we learn why Franks has been left for dead and what his relationship is to the mother and daughter. Unseen at the outset but very much a central character is Constance, a highly strung young woman who has been held captive with her daughter in Gregor’s flat. She and Ruby become friends and the latter helps with childcare. Slowly Ruby realises that the good-looking, charming Gregor is not all that he appears, and neither is Constance.
This is a story about mothers and daughters, about sacrifice, familial duty, and the power of love. Golding’s use of the selkie legend is woven into the story through her use of epigraphs as well as through borrowed details. Overall, this fantasy element is charming and effective. Less so is Golding’s portrayal of a psychopath’s crimes. The details seem a little hard to believe, given just how difficult it would be for one person to plan and execute all of offences mentioned. The strength of the plot propels the reader forward but it does not do to examine some of the narrative detail too carefully!
My thanks to NetGalley and HQ for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

A young child is discovered on her own and a local shop keeper calls the police. Shortly afterwards the mother appears very upset. Mother and daughter are reunited and case closed with a happy ending. Elsewhere in the country the body of a man is discovered in a bath. Even though he is gravely injured he is very much alive to the surprise of the local police and medical team. As investigations connect the man to the mother and child the police must find out what is actually going on. It also follows folklore as well. I did enjoy this book and it kept me guessing at every turn and hoping that the police would discover what had really been happening between the people involved. However at times I found the folklore side difficult to understand. I would still recommend this book though as it is a very good read and well worth getting to the end to find out what happened.
Thank you for the ARC to review this book.

I loved Melanie Golding's first novel, Little Darlings - its blend of folklore elements with psychological thriller felt genuinely original. So, I was very excited to get my hands on her new book, The Replacement (also called The Hidden). (Thinking about it, The Replacement is an interesting title and can refer to more than one character.)

Again, Golding has taken a piece of folklore - selkies, in this case - and incorporated it into a more traditional crime story which revisits the character of police officer Jo Harper from the first book. It's best not to know too much in advance - but the story opens arrestingly (no pun intended) with a young child, toddler Leonie, left alone on a seafront street. The child's mother, Constance, has gone, but another young woman, Ruby - someone Jo knows very well - is soon there to step into the role. What has really happened, though, and what is the connection to the body of a man, found floating in a bathtub?

The Replacement is an engrossing read which lived up to my expectations, though I'm not sure it had quite the haunting quality of Little Darlings (there seemed to be just slightly less of the ambiguity which was a feature of that story). The villain here is perhaps a little *too* evil, really ramping it up towards the end. I loved the characters of Jo and Ruby though, and Leonie, the adorable almost-two-year-old at the centre of things. And the ending is genuinely satisfying. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Melanie Golding does next.

Another spectacular offering from Melanie Golding - a fantastic tale of suspense, identity, plot twists and parenthood, this book asks the question: what would you do for your child?

Gripping from the opening line, this is sure to keep you awake until the small hours. Leave the light on, although you never know who's watching...

Thoroughly enjoyable story keeping you hooked trying to work out if everyone is who they seem to be, the addition of the folklore just adds an additional dimension to the story.

Melanie Golding certainly has a way with words that immediately draws the reader into her very dark prose. This story of a child lost and a man terribly injured meet in the most surprising of ways due to police diligence and intuition.

A child is found wandering and a body is found in a bath. Are they connected? I literally started reading this last night and could not put it down. Finished it this morning and it’s been in my mind ever since. Have recommended to my friends and family. And this author has 2 other books which I’ll buy ASAP. Great novel.

This novel starts well with a seemingly lost child., Leonie. When Ruby turns up to collect her she is assumed to be the mother, so the police are satisfied that nothing is amiss. However, this is just the start of a creepy tale of control, folklore and police investigation. I really enjoyed Little Darlings and it seems as if Melanie Golding has invented a genre of her own. The mystical background of the selfie folklore is contrasted with the hard realism of Joanna the detective's life. (She features in Little darlings too). I like her relationship with Atkinson and hope to read more of their partnership, although I do not usually follow series of novels. The main reason I have only given it four stars is that Gregor is a little over done as a villain.

Rating: 3.6/5

I missed out on Melanie Golding's debut novel, "Little Darlings", which was generally very well received, so I was keen to make sure that I got my hands on her follow-up. As in her first book, this one also features the character of DS Joanna Harper. I am often wary of picking up a series part way through, but I am happy to report that this works perfectly well as a standalone read and I didn't feel that I was missing out in any way by not having read the previous story.

I have to admit that I struggled to get into this book in the early chapters and I was beginning to question whether I had made the right decision picking it up. Thankfully I stuck with it and was rewarded with an enjoyably different take on the crime fiction genre. With "The Replacement" Melanie Golding has served up an unusual, but intriguing combination of psychological thriller, police procedural and folklore.

I won't even begin to rehash the plot here - there is sufficient information in the official synopsis to give you all the background information you need before you open pages of this book, without the need for any potential spoilers from me. However, I will make a pre-emptive suggestion that there will be times when you need to prepare yourself to suspend disbelief more than you might otherwise be prepared to. It is something of a given with the thriller genre that the reader will need to allow the writer some dramatic licence, but with the folklore element of this particular tale, that requirement becomes even more essential. With that caveat, "The Replacement" makes for a well-structured dramatic thriller with engaging characters and a fair amount of background menace. Well worth a read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

#TheReplacement #NetGalley
Psychological thriller at its best.
When a small child is found wandering alone, the local shopkeepers call the authorities immediately. Twenty minutes later, the girl’s mother turns up, panicked and distraught. It doesn't take long to clear things up, and mother and daughter are soon reunited and sent on their way. Miles away, the body of a man is discovered, floating in a bathtub, but the most surprising discovery of all is that he isn't dead. Despite his injuries, he is very much alive. Two seemingly unrelated events. But as DS Harper begins to investigate, disturbing truths start to come to light that connect the man to the mother and child, and suddenly it’s not clear where the danger truly lies. Harper must find out, and quickly. Because someone, or something, is closing in and she needs to uncover the truth before it’s too late
While reading this book, I was constantly asking one question "who's she really?" And when I got my answer, I was shocked. This novel has that much impact on me.
I loved all the characters and how they have changed throughout the novel.
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for giving me an advance copy.

Oh my,,what a cracking read 5⭐️

It’s a page turning book full of twists and turns. It’s written in such a way that has you absorbed from the moment you meet Ruby and Leonie.

Ruby is a little late to pick up Leonie from Constance. Whom has to leave in a hurry to return to her own inhabitant. Only the delay in picking her up leads to a 999 call and social services becoming involved. But all has been a mistake and Ruby leaves with Leonie.

Miles away DS Joanna Harper (Ruby’s Mother) has been called to a possible murder. A murder that didn’t quite succeed of Gregor. But as the story unravels and fluctuates from the present and the past we learn quickly of connection between all the key characters.

It’s a book that needs a “clear the decks” warning. Once you start reading you can’t put it down!

An easy read, all key characters have their own stories, absorbing page Turner that transports you to feel as though you are watching a play.

Oh my what an interesting book. This is a DS Joanna Harper murder mystery - seemingly with no murder - just a good try. The story goes into the myth/legend/actuality of the Selkies. It also involves Joanna's sister/daughter Ruby. A very good read

I had to read it in one sitting - just had to know what happened. Was it worth it? Yes, it certainly was.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

This book is so beautifully written, the prose, the language just absorbs you.
On a cold and wet December day a toddler is found in front of a shop. Is she lost? Abandoned? The police arrive and soon after so does a distraught woman claiming she is the mum of the child who ran off, they are reunited, the police are relieved and and the mum and daughter leave together.
Meanwhile across town a man is discovered close to death in the bath. Joanna Harper is called and starts to investigate the mans circumstances. And the more she investigates the more confused she becomes. Until she reviews some cctv footage and is shocked to the core. This time it really is personal.
This book slowly builds,, adding detail, mythology, and uncertainty. Just when you think you’ve figured it out you realise you haven’t.