3.5 stars. Great beginning then the rest of the book was ok.

I think we're all at maximum capacity when it comes to "The Girl" mysteries, but this one deftly escapes a lot of the usual trappings of "The Girl" books. It's a story about a mother and her daughter who have been separated and what they will do to survive their grief of losing each other; how they find the strength to live through each day; and how they will keep hope alive. Hamer's writing is good, and impressive considering she switched back and forth from a mother's narration to a young girl's between chapters.
I will definitely pick up her next book.

The Girl in the Red Coat is a mystery/thriller where an 8-year old child, Carmel, is abducted at a festival. I'm not a parent myself, so I don't think I can fully grasp the sheer terror of losing your child but reading from the Beth's perspective, Carmel's mother, evoked such a tense fear inside of me. I completely sympathised with her and the guilt and blame she put on herself.
More so, I enjoyed Carmel's chapters and seeing the world through her eyes. I had already read The Doll Funeral by Kate Hamer, and similar to this book, I just really enjoy how Hamer writes from a child's perspective - full of imagination. She does it well in comparison to other authors that have attempted this viewpoint.
The majority of the plot is religious, with Carmel believed to have the gift from God to heal. I personally am not religious and didn't enjoy these scenes. However, I think there was enough content aside from this to not bother me too much.
I thought the book was well-paced up to the ending which was so abrupt and rushed, leaving a lot of loose threads. For instance the stories of the side characters and their significance to the plot - I think I was left with a lot of unanswered questions at the end. However, there is a sequel, The Lost Girls, which is due to be published in February 2023 which I am fortunate to have received an ARC for.
This book had me crying at the end, and I know it takes a great book to have me in tears. This is the best Kate Hamer book I've read so far and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.
Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this book to review.
4/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Did you realise how many times there was the word realise? Too many.