#BlogTour The Good Samaritan by C. J. Parsons

 

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour The Good Samaritan by C.J. Parsons.

About the Author

C J Parsons was born in Britain and grew up in Canada. She graduated from Montreal's McGill University with a degree in psychology and went on to earn a graduate degree in journalism. She worked as a newspaper reporter at Canada's Globe and Mail before moving to Hong Kong, where she became a columnist at The South China Morning Post. 

She also spent two years covering crime, seeing first-hand the disturbing forces that drive people to kill, something that has informed her writing to this day. After returning to Britain, she moved into television news, working as a broadcast journalist for both the BBC and CNN International. C J is now a senior producer at CGTN. She lives in north London with her twelve-year-old daughter.

Follow @charlopar on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit cjparsonswriter.com, Buy The Good Samaritan

About the book

When five-year-old Sofia is taken from the park, her mother, Carrie, is beside herself with worry. Carrie has a condition which means she struggles to read facial expressions, so she is terrified she missed something that put her daughter in danger.

But just days later, Sofia is found unharmed. The police immediately suspect Josh, the man who found Sofia, but with no evidence against him they are forced to let him go without charges.

Josh is keen to make sure Sofia is safe and well and Carrie is charmed by his kindness. Carrie also befriends Tara, a mother from the park who helped with the initial search party. But with the identity of Sofia's abductor still unknown, how much should Carrie trust those who have offered their help?

Are they good Samaritans or has Carrie missed the warning signs?

Review

When Sofia is enticed away from her mother and disappears it is fair to say that a nightmare begins for Carrie. Could it be the child's own father, who struggles with mental health issues, was Sofia targeted or was she just a child in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Luckily the child is returned by a friendly stranger who just happens to find her. Instead of calling the police or calling for help, he just carries the child home. Slightly odd or just in shock from finding a young child who has been abducted? Carrie finds herself enamoured with more than just one good Samaritan on the day her daughter goes missing and is returned.

I think the automatic reaction for many will be the lack of understanding when it comes to the reactions of the mother, regardless of her diagnosis. It makes it seem, at least from her outward responses, as if she is missing any normal maternal instincts. Saying that, there are plenty of women without any difficulty with their social interaction skills and emotional responses, who also lack the ability to listen to a gut instinct, simply lacked maternal instincts or just don't care.

It's a dark domestic thriller, a worrying tale of trust and betrayal. How easy it is to lose what it is you love the most, despite your best efforts to keep everyone safe. Parsons writes the story from the perspective of a main character who doesn't interact with the world in the way society expects, and questions whether our lack of comprehension in that regard enables a lack of safeguarding for those on the spectrum. When it comes to both adults and children. It's an interesting take on the regular crime scenario.

Buy The Good Samaritan at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Headline ; pub date 26th November 2020 Paperback | £8.99. Also available in Ebook & Audio. Buy at Amazon com.