I'm delighted to be one of today's stops on the blog tour for The Winter's Child by Cassandra Parkin. I've never read any of Cassandra's books but after reading the blurb when I was offered a review copy by the publisher Legend Press, I jumped at the chance.
Five years ago, Susannah Harper's son Joel went missing without trace. Bereft of her son and then of her husband, Susannah tries to accept that she may never know for certain what has happened to her lost loved ones. She has rebuilt her life around a simple selfless mission: to help others who, like her, must learn to live without hope.
But then, on the last night of Hull Fair, a fortune-teller makes an eerie prediction. She tells her that this Christmas Eve, Joel will finally come back to her.
As her carefully-constructed life begins to unravel, Susannah is drawn into a world of psychics and charlatans, half-truths and hauntings, friendships and betrayals, forcing her to confront the buried truths of her family's past, where nothing and no one are quite as they seem.
A ghostly winter read with a modern gothic flavour. A tale of twisted love, family secrets and hauntings.
Susannah is at a local fair with her sister and niece and nephew when she is tempted into a fortune tellers tent. She has visited various psychics and mediums over the years since her son Joel went missing and despite being let-down by them, she is still secretly searching for one who will give her the answers she needs. There is something about this particular fortune teller that pulls her in and when she's told that Joel will be back by Christmas Susannah's hopes are raised.
Susannah is now torn between her hope that the fortune tellers prediction will come true and her past experiences with charlatans who prey on people like herself, desperate for answers and a tiny glimmer of hope that their loved ones aren't lost. She is so passionate about this subject that she writes a blog warning other parent's whose children are missing about how easy it is to be taken in by these unscrupulous people who pray on their misfortune as well as sharing her day to day feelings and thoughts on life in general.
When Susannah meets Jackie, another mother who's son has gone missing, the two women quickly form a bond and a friendship is forged. Jackie has been following Susannah's blog and has found it comforting to read her posts so when Susannah tricks her into visiting a psychic Jackie rightly feels betrayed but have they found the one person who can truly help them find out where Joel is?
The Winter's Child is a beautifully written book that will tug at the heart strings. The author has done a wonderful job of making the characters believable and putting a real twist on the missing child plot. This is a dark and atmospheric read, perfect for this time of year, where the nights are drawing in and the shadows play tricks with your eyes and maybe even your mind. Cassandra Parkin has written a hauntingly evocative story that deserves to be savoured and one that had me absolutely enthralled from beginning to end. I wish someone had told me about this author before as I've clearly missed some amazing books if this one is anything to go by!
You can follow the rest of the Blog Tour with these wonderful blogs:
With kind thanks to Imogen Harris at Legend Press for the review copy in exchange for an honest review and for asking me to take part in the blog tour.
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