The Ice Child
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4.5 • 2 Ratings
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- £3.99
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- £3.99
Publisher Description
Jo Harper, a successful young journalist, has only her adored two-year-old son, Sam, to remind her of her late partner. When Sam falls ill, there is only one slim hope - that his stepbrother John may hold the key to his survival. But John has disappeared. Seeking absolution for his part in the accidental death of his marine archeologist father and tortured by their failed relationship, John has set out alone against impossible odds to fulfil his father's dream - to uncover the last traces of the Franklin expedition, which vanished in the Arctic in 1847 while searching for the North West Passage.
As uncanny parallels begin to unfold between the last days of the Franklin crew and the crisis facing Sam, Jo is plunged into a desparate race against time to save both the life of her son and the soul of her stepson.
Beautifully written and deeply moving, THE ICE CHILD is storytelling at its very best.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Making her U.S. debut with this dramatic, fast-paced tale of adventure, survival, romance and enduring parental love (human and ursine), British writer McGregor should reach a broad audience here. Acerbic young London journalist Jo Harper has an assignment to interview the wife of Doug Marshall, a British archeologist gone missing in the Arctic while pursuing the mystery of the Franklin Expedition, which vanished in 1845. While Jo has no interest in the story at first, it isn't long before she is fascinated by man and quest alike. When Marshall is rescued, she begins an affair with him and has a child, though her happiness is not fated to last. Three other narratives revolve around Jo's story: Doug's 19-year-old son John's painful attempts to capture "his father's true attention"; the deadly, icebound struggle of the Franklin Expedition, told from the point of view of a 12-year-old ship hand; and a polar bear's dedication to her cub. The protagonist of each segment fears being frozen out, both literally and emotionally, and struggles to survive very private trials. The book shifts its focus without losing steam when a tragic death and another disappearance occur, and a terrible discovery shifts the balance between the searchers and the sought-after. McGregor introduces perhaps one dramatic twist too many, but her novel otherwise artfully mixes historical background, up-to-date medical information about a rare disease, a bit of pop psychologizing and some upbeat lessons about the survival of the human spirit. Major ad/promo; rights sold in Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the U.K. .
