Description
Book SynopsisA literary family history centering around a pair of twin sisters coming of age in 60s London, told mostly through memory fragments and flashbacks described from one of the twins, later in life, as she reckons with her identity whilst living with the early stages of dementia.
Trade ReviewPraise for The Gosling Girl: ‘[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 ‘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, and I have a feeling this wonderfully compelling novel will stay with me for a long time'
Susan Elliot Wright, author of All You Ever Wanted 'A thoughtful, slow-burn exploration of how damaged children damage, The Gosling Girl asks whether some children are born evil - and shows emphatically that an abusive childhood is to blame. I felt increasing sympathy for Michelle Cameron, in all her manifestations. At times, disturbing, poignant, and thought-provoking'
Sarah Vaughan, author of Anatomy of a Scandal and Reputation ‘It was refreshing to read a thriller that wasn’t full of twists, though I kept waiting for them, as I’ve been conditioned to expect them. This well-plotted story follows Michelle, who’s recently been released from prison. Does someone who’s committed an awful crime deserve to start again?’
Prima ‘Written with compassion, and an exceptional sense of identity by Roy — born to a Jamaican father and a British mother — it is both striking and powerful’
Daily Mail ‘(a)…provocative tale of institutional racism, and how the marginalised fight back’
Stylist Magazine ‘A powerful look at institutionalised racism and the after-effects of a childhood crime'
S Magazine ‘
The Gosling Girl is one of the most moving thrillers I’ve read for some time'
Observer
