The Good Samaritan

By: C J Parsons

Narrated by: Daphne Kouma

Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

Your child goes missing. Then a stranger brings her home....

Perfect for fans of Found by Erin Kinsley, I Looked Away by Jane Corry and Now You See Her by Heidi Perks, this gripping emotional thriller will keep you hooked from the very start. 

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?

©2020 C J Parsons (P)2020 Headline Publishing Group Ltd

Amazing I’d give it more stars if I could

Not one boring part. I had no idea who the “ bad guy” was because of how brilliantly the author portrayed Carrie and showing them through her eyes. Just a wonderful book that I couldn’t put down. I hope this author has more books this fantastic! Also I just loved carrie’s voice

compelling!

the compelling main characters situation added a layer of suspense to every interaction. The writing was so evocative that the reader feels comfortably ensconced in that corner of London. All in all, a great listen.

Loved this book !

Fabulous book really well narrated Kept me guessing right to the end A Must Read !!!!

A genuine page turner!

I really loved this book! It made my heart race from the very start and kept me guessing all the way through. A genuine page turner! I got quite emotional in parts too. The story has a very unusual heroine who suffers from a condition I had never heard of before called facial expression blindness, which means she can’t tell people’s moods or reactions from their faces or body language. This makes it hard for her to know who to trust and was a unique aspect of the book that was interesting to read. I notice the author never says things like ‘he frowned’ or ‘she looked surprised’ in Carrie’s perspective because she is unable to tell those things. This book promised to keep me guessing and it did, all the way to the exciting climax. One of my top ten books of 2020.

Quirky take on an oft used theme

This is a very interesting and well observed story about Carrie, a mother with Aspergers whose little daughter is snatched from a park and then mysteriously returned by a man who seems to have an ulterior motive.

There are a lot of child abduction stories out there, but I like how this one gives a different take, that of a person living with the inability to read emotional or social cues, and therefore very vulnerable to exploitation.

I love how Carrie is obviously drawn from personal first hand experience, making her character highly believable and sympathetic to the reader.

The narrator isn't the best I've heard; her accents are pretty bad (Carrie is supposed to be Canadian but sounds more Yorkshire than anything else!) and she has an odd way of stressing words in a sentence (eg "WINTER coat") but she uses expression well and I like how she does Sophia's little voice, innocent without being squeaky.

A Great Suspense

Loved this book! I’ve read quite a few in this genre but this one is possibly one of the best along with Abby Davies ‘Mother Loves Me’. The GS is an interesting plot and keeps you listening.. saying no more here - don’t wan to give anything away! Read it!

Worth persevering

It took a while to warm to it, but it is worth persevering with.

Thin plot and boring towards the end

story started off intriguing but plot very thin and predictable and actually just boring towards the end. very good naration.

Excellent listen

I listen to so many books I only ever write a review for the ones I really enjoy. This was one of them.

perfect if you like tense thrillers!

this book is really enjoyable. I can usually work out who is the villain of a story after just a couple of chapters but with The Good Samaritan had no idea who was innocent or guilty until the very end. Each time you begin to wonder if you are on solid footing there is a twist that throws you off which makes for a very exciting audiobook. I found myself binge listening so I could find out what happened next. The central character's key flaw is beautifully exploited by CJ Parsons and also gives real insight into a little understood condition. I do hope they make this into a movie, it has all the makings of The Girld on the Train but with a more complex main character who also has far more at stake. I thoroughly reccomend The Good Samaritan!