The Gosling Girl

Written by Jacqueline Roy

Narrated by Jessica Alade

‘[The Gosling Girl] interrogates the context of a child's crime and simplistic notions of evil by society and the media. It fosters understanding & empathy and draws us deep inside the protagonist's psychology’ Bernardine Evaristo

Monster?  Murderer?  Child? Victim?
Michelle Cameron’s name is associated with the most abhorrent of crimes. A child who lured a younger child away from her parents and to her death, she is known as the black girl who murdered a little white girl; evil incarnate according to the media. As the book opens, she has done her time, and has been released as a young woman with a new identity to start her life again. 
 
When another shocking death occurs, Michelle is the first in the frame. Brought into the police station to answer questions around a suspicious death, it is only a matter of time until the press find out who she is now and where she lives and set about destroying her all over again.
 
Natalie Tyler is the officer brought in to investigate the murder. A black detective constable, she has been ostracised from her family and often feels she is in the wrong job. But when she meets Michelle, she feels a complicated need to protect her, whatever she might have done.
 
The Gosling Girl is a moving, powerful account of systemic, institutional and internalised racism, and of how the marginalised fight back. It delves into the psychological after-effects of a crime committed in childhood, exploring intersections between race and class as Michelle's story is co-opted and controlled by those around her. Jacqueline writes with a cool restraint and The Gosling Girl is a raw and powerful novel that will stay with the reader long after they have turned the last page.

Praise for The Gosling Girl:

‘This intriguing procedural is above all a portrait of two damaged women and a moving demonstration of how race and class have affected their lives' The Times and The Sunday Times Crime Club

'This is a beautifully written, insightful and thought-provoking novel. Michelle's story drew me in immediately, and while it's heartbreaking in places, it's uplifting in others. Jacqueline Roy writes with deep compassion and empathy...' Susan Elliot Wright, author of All You Ever Wanted

'A thoughtful, slow-burn exploration of how damaged children damage... At times, disturbing, poignant, and thought-provoking' Sarah Vaughan, author of Anatomy of a Scandal and Reputation

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio UK
• Release date: Jan 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9781398512368

Reviews for The Gosling Girl

[schlachterfisch · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Usually not my genre, but this book is excellent, even though it is often painful and made me very angry.
I think I learned to better understand some aspects of the struggles BIPOC (still) experience, which as a white person I can only learn by listening to them.
At the same time I could often relate to other difficulties the main character faces which I had myself. In the beginning she annoyed me a little but this quickly changed after I better understood her (and my own reasons for being annoyed).

[Emma Flavell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely brilliant, very believable, relatable characters, sad at times, I admit to crying more than once.

[Caro S · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A nuanced portrayal of childhood, racism, whites privilege, criminal and social injustice. Never didactic, the story zigs and zags, resists romance, and unmasks the self-delusions of those who deny racism and class. Like the complex heroine, the reader hopes for justice and rests instead in truth.

[Brian Walker · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a well told, compelling story in an easy to read style. The characters are very real. All flawed but trying to do what they perceive as right. The portrayal of racism is also real, as is the righteous indignation of people with no insight or compassion.

[sana.haroon710 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic! Listen to the reading of this brilliant intelligent gripping story. Very well performed.

[Akona Ludidi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was one helluva story. The characters felt raw and gritty and so real.
Less of a thriller than a study

[Marina · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The pacing of this book was a bit off. There is also no resolution, which is realistic I suppose but not very satisfying as a reader.

[Tina Freedom · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The author takes ya through twists and turns.....very good ending. I could hardly put it down.

[Pamela Stewart · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Meh. I do a lot of thrillers and suspense books, and this was neither thrilling nor suspenseful. So depressing too! Narration was not engaging. I really had to struggle to make it to the end.

[Rosie John-Baptiste · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a great book, albeit a roller coaster ride of multiple emotions. The narration and writing style makes it easy to become engaged in the character’s life, observing her missteps, and cheering her along the way when good things finally happen to her. A deliciously twisty ending to a thoroughly recommended book.

[Maneet · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Interesting read but many times along the course ofthe story, it actually felt draggy. All throughout I thought that we would actually get to know what really went wrong in the early years but we were mostly left to pick up the pieces here and there and join them together. In the end, I felt like I just missed out on something and couldn't really put my finger on it

[Seb Harper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

WARNING SPOILERS

The story of Michelle Cameron pulls you in as you walk side by side with her exploring life after leaving prison. The more you learn about her past, the crime she committed and how she is treated by just about everybody, you realise how this book paints the terrifying picture of what life is like for Black women. The feelings of anger build as the book goes on, especially towards the end of the book where we finally see Zoe's true colours and also meet Michelle's mother. Every part of Michelle's experience of the world and her feelings are completely natural in the face of trauma, yet she is made out to ONLY be mentally ill. Natalie Tyler's factual statements about racism playing a part in Michelle's arrest are seen as emotional and a symptom of PTSD. The 'diagnosis' of 'borderline personality disorder' only strengthens the reality of what women, and again more precisely Black women face when they speak the truth and have coping mechanisms from trauma.

Roy allows our rage to come to halt when you find out the end, wasn't actually the end for Michelle. We're allowed to leave this book with a slight feeling of relief, which is my only critic of this read. I've never been one for happy endings and although it's not written to be a fairy tale ending, it could have been left as Michelle being dead. For me this would feel more realistic and believe it could then allow the reader (even more so) to go away with those feelings of anger and start to address their own biases and the systemic racism, sexism and ableism that surrounds us in every day living.

This is one of my most favourite reads for a good while and will definitely have me looking into what else Roy has to share. Thank you for writing this.

[Dalia Soles · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Heartbreaking story about how the world can so easily fail people born into abuse. Kept me captivated throughout

[Teresa Roberts · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Really a very interesting story! Keeps your interest! Good narrator also.

[Sarah Gates Hester · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Disturbing, sad, suspenseful, I literally couldn't stop listening. Definitely some trigger warnings.

[Lynne Ward · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It hardly kept my attention, it took me a very long time to finish it.
No major twist or suspense.

[Kim Ring · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Loved this book! Most of the characters are mainly un likable but we'll developed. Only gave it 4 stars cuz it is a sad, sad story!

[Roja · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I felt it was not very captivating. Characters did not sink into me. At the middle of the story, I lost track of what was happening. I let it finish just like that, as it was not that much interesting

[Sharon Czudak · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Quite good, different. Interesting to see how you felt about the main character knowing her history.