“The Girl in the Red Coat” by Kate Hamer is a novel that tells the story of a mother and daughter who are separated during a festival in the UK. The mother, Beth, is a single mother who is struggling to raise her daughter, Carmel, after her husband leaves her. Carmel is an eight-year-old girl who is curious and adventurous, but also vulnerable and easily influenced.
During the festival, Carmel goes missing and Beth spends months searching for her. Meanwhile, Carmel is taken by a man named “Gramps,” who she believes is her grandfather. Gramps takes her to America and raises her as his own, but Carmel never forgets her mother and the life she left behind.
The novel follows both Beth and Carmel’s perspectives as they struggle with their separation and the different lives they lead. Beth is consumed by her grief and guilt over losing her daughter, while Carmel tries to adapt to her new life and find a sense of belonging. The story explores themes of love, loss, identity, and the complex relationship between mother and daughter.
As the years pass, Beth’s search for Carmel leads her to America, where she discovers the shocking truth about what happened to her daughter. In the end, Beth and Carmel are reunited, but their lives have been forever changed by the events that separated them.
“The Girl in the Red Coat” is a moving and emotional story that delves deep into the human psyche and the bonds that connect us. Hamer’s writing is evocative and powerful, and the characters she creates are complex and relatable. Overall, it is a poignant and thought-provoking novel that will stay with readers long after they turn the last page.
