Give Me the Child

By: Mel McGrath

Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh

Imagine your doorbell rings in the middle of the night.

You open the door to the police.

With them is your husband's eleven-year-old love child. A daughter you never knew he had.

Her mother has been found dead in their south London flat.

She has nowhere else to go.

Would you take her in?

Compulsive, dark and devastating, Give Me the Child is a uniquely skilful thriller with an unforgettable twist.

©2017 Mel McGrath (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Gripping and moving." (Erin Kelly)

"Dark, clever, terrifying." (Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train)

"You won't want to eat, sleep or blink." (Tammy Cohen)

A mesmerizing and terrifying story

This book was difficult to put down! It was well written and well edited. The characters are well-developed and believable. The narrator gave an amazing performance! I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy a dark domestic thriler.

Give Me the Child will give you a heck of a read!

I was thrown over, under, around and through by this book, surely a 'sleeper hit' that, in my opinion, knocks down the competition among some big-name new releases this summer.

Cat Lupo, forensic psychiatrist and leading researcher of childhood psychopathic disorders, has a problem on her hands. The police have shown up at her door in the middle of the night, accompanied by an 11 year old child named Ruby Winter. Ruby's mother has died in a freak accident, and Cat's husband Tom's name is on the girl's birth certificate. Suddenly, Cat and Tom are adding a second daughter to their family, a half-sister to their sweet and sheltered daughter Freya, who is also 11. But 'happy families' this is not. Things start to go missing from the house; Freya starts withdrawing and acting secretive and not in a healthy way forming a friendship with Ruby; the girl is horrendously rude to Cat, who can barely hide her own dislike; and Tom is getting more and more defensive about Ruby, and Cat starts to wonder what is going on behind the thin veneer of her seemingly happy marriage. Cat had an episode of psychosis herself when pregnant with Freya, which quickly resolved when she had the baby and no harm befell anyone. But the stigma follows her around like a phantom, and when Cat questions Ruby's behavior, it's Cat whose mental state gets scrutinized- and now Cat isn't sure if she can trust those she loves the most. Add in some serious work stress, and you are in for a roller coaster ride!

This book is very well written, intuitive and intelligent. The author describes Cat's own feelings as well as the children she deals with who have various forms of mental illness and disorders with sensitivity and insight. These parts of the story were very interesting and shed light on a subject that I was not familiar with- that is, severe personality disorders in young children. The dichotomy between Cat at home and Dr. Lupo at work was quite well done also. We see her struggle to balance the weight of the personal crisis in her family with the stress of workplace politics especially for an institute relying on grant money, and the upper crust of society who holds the pursestrings.

Cat will stop at nothing to protect her daughter Freya. Readers will love her spirit and her absolute focus on fighting for what is most important. Added to this is a host of great supporting characters, who each lend a hand to help her get to the ugly but necessary truth at the heart of Ruby's story.
This is truly a great read- I enjoyed it so much I couldn't put it down, and finished it on a roll in one weekend. Highly recommended!

Wow! An audictive listen from the very beginning!

A British psychological thriller indeed! I was engrossed and devoured this chilling thriller, the first for me by author Mel McGrath and definitely not my last. Exquisite narrative skills shine through by Adjoa Andoh as she was on-point. I do so prefer British books and after a previous disappointing listen, this was a welcome treat. A devious and increasingly intricate tale, a bizarre child comes into a family’s life. Not long after, creepy events and suspicions come to light; chaos ensues. Secrets, lies and surprises throughout and never a dull moment. Highly recommended! Get “Give Me the Child.” Worthy of a credit, but the price was only $2.83. I’m going to be on the lookout for more by both McGrath and Andoh. Epic! I want more, more, more!

👏✍🏻🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟👏✍🏻

Fabulous!

Would you listen to Give Me the Child again? Why?

Forgive me for not writing a review in question and answer form. (It's one of the reasons I rarely submit written reviews of Audible.com books. Note to Audible: please change this!) Anyway, Give Me the Child is a heart-stopper of a book. Narration is SUPERB. I fully recommend it. I could barely stop listening to it. I rely on my audio books to keep me company during long drives to and from work each day. This book was so gripping that I hated to arrive at my destination, to have to leave it until it was time to go home again. The writing is beautiful, and the narrator does a magnificent job. Of course, I've given it five stars for every aspect.

Loved the Narration

For the most part I really enjoyed this book. It was engrossing, and I was caught up in the momentum. There were times towards the end however when I became really frustrated with the main character. At these times the character’s actions and thinking didn’t seem to be true to the character, but who knows?

Brilliant

Great story with beautiful prose and character empathy. The narrator was perfect and I’ll now look for her.

Loved this story

Loved the main character and wondered what was up with the husband. Kept me wanting to find out more.

Okay!

Well, that was a great one!
I really enjoyed this narrator too!
Great author....
Thoroughly enjoyed...

Best I’ve read in some time

A book that is NOT about a sister who went missing 10 years ago, a private detective/cop who is haunted by the disappearance, an unrequited love, the first of six or seven installments. This book’s hero is a “brown girl who can’t dance” who is brilliant but flawed like the rest of us. Her husband’s child, conceived during a one night stand, is terrifying and his insistence upon having her join the family places the daughter in danger and draws Katelyn into a labyrinth of evil.
Lots of surprises and twists keep the story moving and an ending that is heart pounding. This is a winner and would make a fantastic movie!

slow start but enjoyed it in the end.

At times I felt frustrated with the main character. almost stopped ready twice but had to know what happened.