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No Good Deed
Elodie Harptree comes to war-torn Central African Republic on a she will do good, help former child soldiers and prove that she is not afraid to live and love. Doctor PJ Wilcox dismisses her as a naïve tourist but he can’t help feeling protective towards the new arrival. One day, Elodie meets 14-year-old Aristide Yambissi, who was forced to fight with a militia after his village was attacked, and she resolves to save him from the streets and from his demons. But her blind inexperience and her relationship with a French mercenary with dubious connections will endanger them all, raising the question of whether anyone can ever save anyone else.
376 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 1, 2023
About the author
Clár Ní Chonghaile
5 books27 followersClár Ni Chonghaile is the author of Fractured (Legend Press, 2016), Rain Falls on Everyone (Legend Press, 2017), The Reckoning (Legend Press, 2018), and No Good Deed (Kindle, 2023).
Clár grew up in Ireland, the eldest of seven children. She left aged 19 to work as a graduate trainee journalist at Reuters in London. Clár has worked as a journalist for over 20 years and has lived in Madrid, Paris, the Ivory Coast, Senegal and Kenya.
Clár now lives in St Albans with her husband and two daughters.
Clár grew up in Ireland, the eldest of seven children. She left aged 19 to work as a graduate trainee journalist at Reuters in London. Clár has worked as a journalist for over 20 years and has lived in Madrid, Paris, the Ivory Coast, Senegal and Kenya.
Clár now lives in St Albans with her husband and two daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 11, 2023
This book is a good reminder that it sometimes pays to take a chance on an author you don't know. I was completely absorbed, from start to finish, in this tale of the Central African Republic.
Floundering after a relationship breakdown, British clinical psychologist Elodie Harptree applies for a 6-month posting with Care Circle, to work with former child-soldiers in the CAR. She hasn't worked in the aid sector before, and has never previously been to Africa, but she feels that her varied experience in the UK will be useful if not directly translatable. Hmmm. Elodie arrives in the capital, Bangui, to a baptism of fire.
Meanwhile, the life of teenage CAR villager, Aristide, has been turned upside down when the rebels attacked his peaceful village. With all of his family gone, Aristide hides in the forest with only a stray dog for company. It's not long before he is found by a group of boys, just like him. Only they aren't just like him.
In many ways Elodie and Aristide couldn't be less alike, but what they do have in common is that they are both the proverbial fish out of water in their respective new circumstances. When their paths cross, it seems like they could either save or destroy each other.
Of course, there's a lot more going on in this story around the edges, and it all comes together in a very tense climax. Along the way, the author casts a cynical eye over the aid sector and (some of) the people who are drawn to it; either to work in it or to profit from it. Her background as a journalist provides credibility here, and she really made me stop and reflect.
Overall it was a great story and I learned a few things about a country that was previously a mystery to me.
With thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an electronic copy to read and review.
Floundering after a relationship breakdown, British clinical psychologist Elodie Harptree applies for a 6-month posting with Care Circle, to work with former child-soldiers in the CAR. She hasn't worked in the aid sector before, and has never previously been to Africa, but she feels that her varied experience in the UK will be useful if not directly translatable. Hmmm. Elodie arrives in the capital, Bangui, to a baptism of fire.
Meanwhile, the life of teenage CAR villager, Aristide, has been turned upside down when the rebels attacked his peaceful village. With all of his family gone, Aristide hides in the forest with only a stray dog for company. It's not long before he is found by a group of boys, just like him. Only they aren't just like him.
In many ways Elodie and Aristide couldn't be less alike, but what they do have in common is that they are both the proverbial fish out of water in their respective new circumstances. When their paths cross, it seems like they could either save or destroy each other.
Of course, there's a lot more going on in this story around the edges, and it all comes together in a very tense climax. Along the way, the author casts a cynical eye over the aid sector and (some of) the people who are drawn to it; either to work in it or to profit from it. Her background as a journalist provides credibility here, and she really made me stop and reflect.
Overall it was a great story and I learned a few things about a country that was previously a mystery to me.
With thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an electronic copy to read and review.
November 25, 2024
No Good Deed is likely to have passed you by. The author struggled to find a publisher despite her established back catalogue, but I urge you to read this book, which pulses with the fraught and blood-soaked heat of the Central African Republic, drawing you into a world filled with both chaos and hope.
The gripping narrative follows Elodie, an English clinical psychologist on a mission with an NGO, working tirelessly to heal the scars left on teenage ex-boy soldiers. But is she really as altruistic as she first appears?
Then there’s Aristide, a brave 14-year-old schoolboy who has witnessed the unimaginable horror of his family being brutally taken from him by rebels.
And let’s not forget PJ, an Irish doctor volunteering with an organisation akin to Médecins sans Frontières, battling despair during the day and drowning his sorrows with alcohol at night.
These three lives will cross, and although this is a faithful depiction of a country struck down with hate, tribal violence, and trauma, there is love here, and there is redemption that will take your breath away. This profoundly compassionate novel is one you don't want to miss.
Grab a copy, prepare to be moved, and seriously, do keep those tissues handy. Read it and weep! 4.5⭐
Thank you to the publisher for kindly providing me with a review copy via NetGalley. As always, this is an honest review.
The gripping narrative follows Elodie, an English clinical psychologist on a mission with an NGO, working tirelessly to heal the scars left on teenage ex-boy soldiers. But is she really as altruistic as she first appears?
Then there’s Aristide, a brave 14-year-old schoolboy who has witnessed the unimaginable horror of his family being brutally taken from him by rebels.
And let’s not forget PJ, an Irish doctor volunteering with an organisation akin to Médecins sans Frontières, battling despair during the day and drowning his sorrows with alcohol at night.
These three lives will cross, and although this is a faithful depiction of a country struck down with hate, tribal violence, and trauma, there is love here, and there is redemption that will take your breath away. This profoundly compassionate novel is one you don't want to miss.
Grab a copy, prepare to be moved, and seriously, do keep those tissues handy. Read it and weep! 4.5⭐
Thank you to the publisher for kindly providing me with a review copy via NetGalley. As always, this is an honest review.
December 21, 2023
I interviewed the author about this fabulous book, you can read it here: https://sarahtinsley.com/post/can-we-...
The writer takes us to the Central African Republic with Elodie, a naive psychologist who has grand ideas about what her impact can be in a place so unknown to her. It’s a tightly strung, powerful book. Through the teenage character of Aristide we see the tragedies of civil war first-hand, while through the weathered eyes of PJ we see the disillusionment that comes with many years of aid work.The characters are really what brought this book alive for me.
There are also a lot of big issues that Clar is not afraid to address head on. The white saviour myth, the difficult questions about aid money and where and how it is spent. Through voicing opinions through her characters, she’s able to portray a tangled picture with no easy solution, even if she does ultimately offer us a slice of hope, trusting that some people’s good intentions can and do make a difference.
The writer takes us to the Central African Republic with Elodie, a naive psychologist who has grand ideas about what her impact can be in a place so unknown to her. It’s a tightly strung, powerful book. Through the teenage character of Aristide we see the tragedies of civil war first-hand, while through the weathered eyes of PJ we see the disillusionment that comes with many years of aid work.The characters are really what brought this book alive for me.
There are also a lot of big issues that Clar is not afraid to address head on. The white saviour myth, the difficult questions about aid money and where and how it is spent. Through voicing opinions through her characters, she’s able to portray a tangled picture with no easy solution, even if she does ultimately offer us a slice of hope, trusting that some people’s good intentions can and do make a difference.
October 30, 2023
Spellbinding. I am yet to read a book that has captured me more. The prose is stunning. I am glad I have a Kindle as I found myself highlighting so many paragraphs to come back to. I was totally immersed into the story both by her descriptions and incredible empathy. The story is seen through so many voices and each is entirely believable. Even the characters you cannot like are such an integral part and are so well imagined. It is an important read highlighting the complexity of the situation. It has given me pause to question so much of what I believed. This would make a wonderful movie. Reading it you practically see pictures as it is. Couldn't put it down and I'm devastated it is over. A real triumph.
September 7, 2023
A thrilling story of betrayal, redemption and love.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews