Give Me the Child

April 9, 2018
Child psychiatrist Caitlin “Cat” Lupo, the narrator of this enticing standalone from British author McGrath (the Edie Kiglatuk series), and her husband, Tom, who owns an IT company, are living an ordinary life in London with their elementary-school age daughter, Freya, when their world is suddenly turned upside down. The police bring Ruby Winter, a girl about the same age as Freya, to their door because her mother, Lilly, has died in an apparent accident, and the authorities have determined that Tom is next of kin. Tom confesses to Cat that he didn’t know until that moment that his one-night-stand with Lilly, back when Cat was hospitalized while pregnant with Freya, resulted in a child. Though Cat diplomatically agrees to keep Ruby until another relative can be located, the girl exhibits some disturbing behavior and appears to be a negative influence on Freya. Cat becomes concerned when a neighbor’s child’s iPad goes missing, believing Freya and Ruby may have stolen it. As Cat desperately tries to keep Freya safe, Tom starts to question whether she’s experiencing the psychosis she exhibited during her pregnancy. McGrath plumbs the depths of human depravity in this pulse-pounding thriller.

September 15, 2017
Jamaican-English Caitlin (Cat) Lupo is a psychologist with a checkered careerher work with very troubled children at one point involved informing the court that a boy who later went on to kill wasn't a danger to society. She questions her professional decisions constantly, but when a late-night visitor turns out to be a new, malevolent force in her family, her personal life also becomes fraught with doubt and fear. Readers will be troubled along with narrator Cat as things go from bad to worse, and she is forced to fight accusations of mental illness while saving her child from an evil that's far too close to home. While this story can edge on dreary, the many fans of The Girl on the Train will welcome another British-set look at a caring mind that's pushed to the brink, and will appreciate McGrath's astute observations and way with metaphor. A minority main character whose race isn't the focus of the story is a pleasure to find, too.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)