The Replacement - Melanie Golding

Reading Challenge Category: Free ARC from NetGalley

Official Blurb:

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…

My Thoughts:

This is the highly-anticipated second book from Melanie Golding after her debut novel ‘Little Darlings’ was such a hit!
It was certainly a really different and intriguing read. I hadn’t been expecting anything less after the strangeness of ‘Little Darlings’. So I went in expecting the unexpected, and that is what I got.
The whole way through, you aren’t really sure what to make of what is going on. There are intertwining chapters of past events and present ones. We are also seeing an investigative side to the story from Jo Harper. The characters are so bizarre I just couldn’t get my head around Constance at all until all of a sudden, you can. You find out what makes her tick and what has happened to her, and everything starts to become a little clearer.
The ‘coat’ element was a bit too far-fetched for my liking, though. I could accept what Constance thought and felt about herself, but not leaving the horrible situation because of her ‘coat’ just went a bit too far. Especially the amount of time that passes where she doesn’t manage to find it but then suddenly does. That felt a little weak. I can understand some of the bad reviews because of the folklore element that this ‘coat’ fell into. If you are not into that kind of thing and just want to read a good thriller, then this book probably isn’t for you. However, I don’t think it made up enough of the book to annoy me that much it was just a bit unrealistic.
The story as a whole was really enjoyable. I liked how the past and present parts collided. That was all very well written. It had a perfect twisty turvy ending and kept me on the edge of my seat, holding my breath quite a few times.
A solid four-star read.