Ghost Girl

The Detective's Daughter #2

by Lesley Thomson

It is a year since her father's death, but Stella Darnell has not moved on. She still cleans his house every day, leaving it spotless as if he might return.

Terry Darnell was Detective Chief Superintendent at Hammersmith police station, and now Stella has discovered an unsolved case in his darkroom: a folder of unlabelled photographs of deserted streets.

The oldest photograph dates back to 1966. To a day when Mary Thornton, just ten years old, is taking her little brother home from school in time for tea. That afternoon, as the Moors Murderers are sent to prison for life, Mary witnesses something that will haunt her forever.

As Stella inches closer to the truth, the events of that day begin to haunt her too...

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Thriller, Ebooks, Audiobook, British Literature

497 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Lesley Thomson was born in 1958 and grew up in London. She went to Holland Park Comprehensive and the Universities of Brighton and Sussex. Her novel A Kind of Vanishing won The People's Book Prize in 2010. Lesley combines writing with teaching creative writing. She lives in Lewes with her partner.

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Won this book on first reads this is her second book enjoyed it better than her first book if you like a crime book this book is for you.

[Maxine (Booklover Catlady) · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a let down this was. I was so excited to get this book from the library and settled in to be wowed and entertained. This was not how it went. I found this book to be very long winded and more than a bit confusing. Very hard to get into it and stay interested.

The books fluctuates between the present (2012) and the past (1966) and we hear from a few different characters. It is not until nearly the end of the book that the links are made as to who/why the voices from the past are connected to the characters in the present, until then it's almost like two disjointed stories. It also was moving from first person to third person but it was really quite confusing. My brain was hurting concentrating and trying to grasp what was going on.

The plot itself had so much potential, that's why I wanted to read this book, I was expecting a lot more mystery and tension that what it offered up. There are parts of this book, whole chapters that are just boring and almost irrelevant to the plot, almost off tangent.

The daughter of a dead police detective finds a file of photos of roads and trees, the sites of car accidents that were never filed with the police. She takes on a sleuthing detective role whilst running a cleaning company. All in all I found it really too far fetched and there was nothing very exciting in the characters.

A flat line book for me that offered nothing memorable. I am left feeling empty and still not grasping what on earth it was all for. Yes, things are revealed at the end and the past and present collides but it really was not that spectacular. The waffle going on around things was driving me nuts also, so many words that were not needed, that added nothing to the book. My first taste of Lesley Thomson and probably my last. I can't even be bothered to write one of my longer in-depth reviews I normally write as it's just not worth the effort.

[Bruce Hatton · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this, the second novel of the series, Stella Darnell, who runs a successful cleaning company, once again finds herself drawn into an unsolved case of her late father, Detective Superintendent Terry Darnell. In the locked basement of Terry’s house, Stella discovers an old case file consisting of fifteen photographs of seven empty streets. Stella is once gain joined in her investigations by the eccentric Jack Harmon, a Tube train driver who is also her best cleaner. They soon discover that, over the years, the streets have been the sites of fatal road accidents.
There are also occasional flashback chapters set in 1966 concerning the Thornton family, parents Robert and Jean and their children Mary and Michael, who have recently moved to Hammersmith from Holloway. . It soon becomes obvious that Mary is the most interesting of these and could well be relevant to Stella and Jack’s investigation. Stella also finds herself starting to get romantically tangled with a new customer; a recently widowed David Bowie lookalike.
As with its predecessor, the settings are extremely atmospheric; abandoned buildings and cemeteries are where much of the crucial action takes place.
This is a rather long and often complex novel and I should imagine many may have found it difficult to complete. However, I’m glad I persevered as I found it highly rewarding.

[Maxine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a funny old book for me. The first half of the book was full of very distinct and separate stories of the main characters, in a very similar way to the way Stephen King starts his stories. They then start to merge, but sadly for me I had already worked out who the murderer was, and that always annoys me. The other problem I had with the book, was that l really didn't like the characters, other than Jack, who seems less shallow than the others. Stella in particular is irritating and I don't know exactly what it is about her, but I found her being the "detective" completely unbelievable, whereas Jack, although a main character, would have been much better as the star of the show. The plot is pretty good, but for me the characters lacked depth, and therefore made the telling a bit stilted.

[Michele (michelethebookdragon) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just don't know what to make of this book. I didn't 'get it'. Is it because I have not read The Detectives Daughter? Would things have made more sense if I had? At times it felt like a supernatural thriller with Jack acting like he wasn't even being seen by ppl and talking about hosts and what not. It was just weird. I wanted to read and see what was going on, but just didn't get what it was all about.

[Chloe · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book - phew, it felt like a marathon! It's certainly not an easy book to get into and I must admit, I nearly gave up many times. There seems to be 2 separate story lines for most of the book, and that got confusing. The whole story is rather convoluted and drawn out. Not what I was expecting so was a little disappointed.

[Ian Sear · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so excited to read this book after loving 'The Detective's Daughter' which introduced us to Stella and Jack and how they solve a cold case left behind by Stella's detective father who had just died.

This book introduces another unsolved mystery, this time concerning the deaths of men that had previously hit and killed children with their vehicle. Our duo find a connection between several of these based on photos that Stella finds in her late father's basement.

The story itself was nowhere near as gripping as the previous one. I really wasn't that bothered about whodunnit or why they did it. The flashbacks to the past didn't really work for me either.

I sense that the author's writing style is evolving and I'm afraid to say that it's not to my liking. I kept finding sentences where it wasn't clear if what was happening was actually happening or if the character was thinking about it happening. For example (without giving spoilers): a scene with Stella might contain the sentence 'Jack had arrived'. He hadn't. She had just been thinking it but there was nothing to show it was a thought, so it became really confusing. If this had happened just the once it wouldn't have bothered me too much but it seemed to keep happening.

I do still really like the character of Stella and it was great to see some character growth. I'm not sure where else this series can go if it does continue as they can't keep finding unsolved cases without it becoming a bit silly and unbelieveable. 3.5 Stars.

[Rebecca Hock · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book to read as i really enjoyed the author's previous book, The Detective's Daughter. I did not enjoy this one nearly as much. I enjoyed the characters in the book but the storyline at times seemed pretty confusing.I stuck with it and finished the book but I have to say that at times I almost gave up on this book. At times I quite enjoyed it but at other times I was so tempted to give up on it as I got somewhat confused about the details. Not one I would be quick to recommend to others.

[Anne Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am asking myself why I felt obliged to read to the end of this book? There are so many other, better and more engaging books available, so I really cannot answer my own question. The characters are so quirky, the scenarios are odd and the writing is really off at times. I struggled to make sense of the first half of the book then somehow battled my way to the end. Apparently, the first book in the series is better, so perhaps other people should hold off this one and read that one first! Still puzzled...

[Justin Hopkins · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very very disappointing - Good story, when you managed to work your way through the blindingly difficult structure of the book. It was almost as if the book was written and then each chapter rearranged in the finished book. So confusing, did not know who was who at times, and some of the characters completely bamboozled. Anyhow, I did finish it. Could have been shorter without the merry-go-round way of writing. Good story, predictable which is probably why it was written in that manner. Only one star, because you cannot put a minus rating.

[Tracey Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst books I’ve ever read. Not a bad premise but completely disjointed. Could not care about the characters one little bit. Stella- sad. Jack- mad. So one-dimensional. And why have a character called Jackie and one called Jack? Really? I’m forcing myself, slowly and painfully, to finish it, but it’s pathetic.

[Anie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thought I'd give this author one more try. Gave up after two chapters. Story is even more disjointed than her first book, and characters (from the little bit developed in two chapters) are simply too weird to be believable. There are too many goid books to waste time on those that are so poorly crafted .

[Keith Nixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the second Detective’s Daughter mystery, accidental detective and owner of a cleaning business, Stella Darnell, inherits another case. Her father, Superintendent Terry Darnell, has been dead for a year but Stella is unable to move on. She still visits his house daily, almost expecting his return any time, and keeps it spotlessly clean. During her ministrations in his basement office Stella discovers what appears to be an unsolved case – a folder of unlabeled photographs of deserted streets. This strikes her as odd – her father was a stickler for order. Every case he’d ever worked on was correctly filed in the Hammersmith station where he was based. Why is this one different? She believes he’s left her a mystery to solve from beyond the grave, one he never could close out himself. Unable to resist the challenge Stella decides to investigate and calls on Jack, one of her employees, to help her.

The oldest photo dates back to the day in May 1966 when 10-year-old Mary Thornton was taking her brother home from school and the Moors murderers Myra Hindley and Ian Brady were sent to prison for life. Mary witnessed an accident that changed her life forever. During her investigation Stella learns that the photos relate to a series of road traffic accidents on the streets of London spanning 40 years and are linked to the event that affected Thornton so much…

Stella Darnell’s first outing was in the smash hit novel, The Detective’s Daughter, which reached number one on the Amazon chart and was voted Sainsbury’s Ebook of the Year in 2013. Interestingly her publisher describes Thomson as ‘the dark horse of fiction in 2013′ as The Detective’s Daughter was very much an unexpected hit.

Though Ghost Girl follows on from The Detective’s Daughter, it is sufficiently independent to act as a standalone. There are references to previous events, but these are minor in scale compared to the driving force of the narrative. It is this aspect which is the strongest element of the novel. Ghost Girl is incredibly rich in description, every sentence oozes texture, depth and colour. Essentially there are three story arcs, each from the perspective of one of the characters. Two take place in the present day as Stella and Jack investigate the crime, but in amongst them we get Mary’s perspective from back in 1966. The three arcs develop the story and over time blend together. It’s an interesting approach.

Which leads to another element that is well handled, that of character development. Because there are three stories going on, the opportunity for this is limited. The three stories also means there is a large supporting cast of secondary characters, which sometimes proves distracting and a need to flip between the three which can break the flow.

Stella, through her cleaning business, spends a lot of time looking after others, whether it’s her increasingly forgetful mother, her customers or her dead father, whose house she still regularly visits and attends to. Jack is one of her employees, popular and good at his job he also helps Stella with cases, mainly by breaking and entering other people’s properties in unusual ways. Everyone wants his time. But there’s something strange and hidden about him. And Mary, a calculating, self-serving child again with hidden depths and a darkness about her. It’s all a bit grey, somewhat grim, slightly seedy. Mystery abounds in Ghost Girl as a result.

The story unfolds at a steady pace, developing each plotline in turn, while Stella manages her company, her day to day life and the personal traumas associated with it. The revelations will creep up on you, so don’t expect wham-bam action and intrigue; this is slow burn, cerebral stuff which needs thought applied when delving into the plot.

Originally written for Crime Fiction Lover.

[Marguerite Kaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, I think 3 stars is generous for my reading of this. I flicked through about the last half of it only to satisfy my own curiosity about the murderer - and I was pretty much right. I enjoyed the first in this series, but this book just didn't resonate with me. Once again, looking at other reviews, I seem to be in the minority.

It's a whole load of things I didn't like. I found Stella, the detective's daughter, really quite irritating. Instead of empathising with her inability to move on, and understanding that she's mourning her father by solving his cases as I did in the first book, I wanted to give her a good shake. Her relationship with her mother is very exaggerated, by which I mean it's moved on from being understandable to being (for me) stereotypical. And her relationship with Jack is just plain rude.

I found this plot highly unbelievable, mostly because it was full of way too many coincidences. I guessed most of it from the start, and so for me, the suspense wasn't a page turner. I found the plot device of the model of London streets linked to Jack's A to Z really kind of pointless and really quite unbelievable. I kept trying to picture it, and every time I did, the room that contained it had to grow, so that it seemed to me it must be the size of a football field. And I found one of the things lots of people loved - the intricate street by street description of London's streets - just unnecessary. It reminded me one of the things I'd not liked about the Black House book, the detective set on Port of Ness - I felt like I was reading a satnav. Yet lots of people liked this.

But it was the style that really put me off. The book in the first half alternates between 2012 and 1966, which tells a bit of the back story. In the back story, we are supposed to be seeing things through the eyes of Mary, a 10 year old (I think) child. Which we do. But the author shifts from a sort of first person narrative told in stream of consciousness style, to third, from paragraph to paragraph. So one minute we get a Mary's-eye view of the swing park, for example, and the next we're observing Mary as a little girl in the swing park. I realise that this is my own internal editor unable to switch off, and I suspect I'd never have noticed this before I started writing myself, but it's one of those things that once you do notice it, you can't let it go and it becomes wholly distracting to the point where it kind of ruined the book for me.

I'm afraid I'm not going to be going back to another from Lesley Thomson. I hate posting negative reviews, I hope I've explained myself enough. And I console myself with the knowledge that she's doing extremely well without me. Sorry.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to this as an unabridged audiobook and to be quite honest, if I'd actually had to sit and down and given it my undivided attention, I wouldn't have made it to the end!

The book jumps between the 'present' (2012) and the past (1966) and, as is usually the case in this type of narrative, the two stories eventually converge. By the time they did though, I had lost all interest.

I found the book to be confusing jumping between apparently unrelated stories and switching between narrators and first and third person narratives. I found the lead character, Stella, annoying and I'm afraid her spreadsheet/ chart although helpful to her, was not helpful to me. it also seemed as though huge sections of the book just seemed to ramble on and on without adding anything much to the actual story.

All in all, this was a rather convoluted story with a far more complicated plot than was really necessary that failed to hold my attention. I only finished it because I have set myself a 52 book challenge and can't afford the time to read half a book and not finish it. On the basis of this one, I don't think I'll be reading another of Lesley Thomson's books.

[Michael Rumney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started off with a good premise then fell away drastically into a fireball of confusion. Over written with so many threads left dangling in the air. Some chapters didn't move the story along at all and it seemed the author had no real idea where she was going with the narrative. There were so many plot holes I gave up thinking you can't do that.
I was questioning throughout how a cleaner, Stella and the sidekick, Jack, a tube train driver had the time to investigate the mysterious deaths.
Jack was a confusing character as he went in search of 'hosts' with no explanation of why he did this or exactly what hosts were.
There were scenes with Stella's mother, Suzanne and Stella where I couldn't help thinking they were given the wrong names as Stella feels it should be the name of an older woman.
The book went between 1966 and 2012 and it was relatively easy to distinguish between the years although it didn't work for me that the author tried to link the trial of the Moors Murderers Brady and Hindley with what was happening in 2012.
A mess of a book which didn't tidy things up even in the epilogue.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second in a series about Stella, a grieving daughter of a newly deceased detective, as she teams with an off-beat tube driver, Jack, to solve criminal investigations her father left unfinished - in this case, a series of photos of deserted streets, with troughs. She runs a cleaning company which is a clever career solution for a private detective character, giving free access to people's homes. The story was set in 2012 but interleaving flashbacks to the 1960's childhood experiences of two siblings. I found it really difficult to get into the story; it was confusing trying to work out what was going on - particularly with Jack, who, essentially stalks people who he refers to as 'hosts' or murderers, breaking into and staying in their homes. Both he and Stella describe things that turn out to be dreams or imaginings. About half way in, when the investigation side of the story kicked in, the plot became more intriguing involving the deaths of men in car accidents who had previously killed male children in hit and runs. But overall, it felt confusing and poorly narrated and the characters were bizarre and unconvincing.

[Karen Broughton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I jumped into this book straight after reading detectives daughter which I really enjoyed. this one definitely didn't disappoint either. I really have to say that I am loving this series.
having got used to the authors style of writing there was no slow start like I had with dectives daughter for me the story flowed. I found myself speed reading to its conclusion I so wanted to see how it panned out. mary/Myra the little girl from the 60's She blew me away who she grew up to be.
I love the characters, Stella and Mark with the subtle undercurrent of slow burning love , I am willing them to get together. I love the fact they have insecurities and we can see them, as humans we are all flawed in some way and I love reading how Stella and Mark cope with insecurities/stress.
I felt a sadness for mary/Myra the little girl who for no fault of her own became the bad person. I really wanted to wrap my arms around her and love her bless her heart.
The author wrapped all the loose ends up brilliantly and am so excited to read the next one.
absolutely fantastic read.

[Woofas · Rating 2 out of 5]

This must rate as the most farcical book I have read in many a year! I chose it based on the comments on this site but can only conclude that these reviewers were suffering from the "Emperor's new clothes" syndrome. Either that or they accept that fiction can disregard all logical thought.
The method used by the so called murderer could have conceivably worked once but to suggest that it could be used some six times stretches belief beyond limits. Similarly, the model of West London seemed to grow & shrink to suit the author's imagination at the time, varying from a whole neighbourhood complete with tidal river to individual leaves on a tree. All this in an attic!
If you can suspend all normal belief then maybe you can enjoy this book, otherwise - there is plenty to choose from elsewhere.

[Maria · Rating 1 out of 5]

After reading numerous positive reviews of the "Detective's Daughter", I was delighted to receive a copy of the second book in the series "Ghost Girl". However, despite starting the book over three months ago, I have yet to finish.
The reason? Well, confusion to put it simply. The story jumps from between 1966 and the present with several characters giving their own voice to the story. While it is possible to keep track of the story, the change between the 1st and 3rd person for a character, leads to a misleading narrative, where sometimes it is difficult to tell if an event has occurred or is merely the thought process of the character.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I began reading The Detective's Daughter in between books in a different series, not realizing this was also a series, and not expecting much. I was very pleasantly surprised. The atmosphere is dark, the writing good, the characters realistic (mostly), and the ending surprising. I thought I knew what the ending would be like, and I had no idea. The main reason that I have been giving 4 stars is that there are several places where words are misspelled or out of order. I can understand what the author is trying to communicate, but it bugs me. Overall, I have not yet been able to put the books in this series down. They are very good reads.

[Jersey Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A grudging 3, more 2.5. Thompson's writing style in this Detective's Daughter series is an acquired taste. I'm sure many will find the side treks, personal difficulties, and other distractions interesting. I do not. This volume stretches to over 400 pages when more likely 200-250 would have sufficed. Somewhere within there is a interesting cold case being followed by the D's D and her 'friend.' There is a particular 'relationship' in this one which I found very far fetched, but that's me. After reading the first two of this series, I will not be continuing with the rest.

Just my two sense. . . .

[Sandra Leivesley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh dear! I loved The Detective’s Daughter but this was not up to the same standard. I listened on Audible and I hate to not finish a book but I struggled to get to the end of this one.

Nothing much seemed to happen until the last third of the book and then it did begin to get a bit more interesting. The audiobook is 15 ½ hours long and I really think the story could have been told in half that time and would have been a better book.

Such a shame, but I will give book 3 in the series a try in the hope that it’s more like the first in the series.

[Bookread2day · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately I have read the 2nd boook Ghost Girl as my very first reading by Lesley Thomson. And very unfortunately I could not get into this story at all. For me personally there was nothing to get my teeth into. It is very rare for me not to be able to get into a book. I think it the whole story is way too long and very over priced at £14. However I do have the first book still to read by Lesley Thomson so I am in hope that I will enjoy that bettter than her 2nd book.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I probably should have read The Detective's Daughter first, because much of this book makes reference to events and characters in that book. I was a bit lost with the whole "Host" thing Jack was on about. This is a bit of an odd detective series..the main character, Stella, is more interested in cleaning than anything. I read it and dropped it a dozen times, and eventually just finished it out of duty.

[Heather Copping · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is not many books I give up on but this is one of those! I found it too confusing where it jumps between the different timelines and I couldn't get to grips with the characters. Maybe if I had read book one in the series may have been different. I picked up this book from my church fayre along with book three, both looked like they hadn't been read much, and I don't think I will read the third book in the series. Sorry not for me

[Trudy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange book. I gave it 3 stars because clearly, somebody must like this series.
To me it seemed like all the characters were written as borderline psychotics with no positive attributes. There was nobody to like or to identify with. Not to mention it was slooow getting going. I only managed a couple of chapters before giving up and looking for something a little less heavy on the description, a little lighter in tone.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

See my review of the first in this series. More of same singing of praises. I thought this mystery plot sadder than the other, but I don't really like "cozy" mysteries — so sad is not detrimental. Thomson combines certain elements of strangeness with an underlying ordinary humanity — really fine work.

[Lili · Rating 2 out of 5]

The 2nd in this series that I've read. Unfortunately the rambling, dis-jointed style the author adopts results in the reader losing their way. It is a shame because the story (plot) is quite unusual.

[Vicky Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Struggled to get into this book, found it slightly confusing at the beginning. However I persevered. Not as good as the first book The detectives daughter, however I'll still give the next book in the series a chance x