Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #53520 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Customer Reviews

A truly fantastically written heart breaking book, must buy
IF you have ever read I KNOW MY FIRST NAME IS STEVEN then a BEAUTIFUL CHILD IS A MUST. The author Matt Birkbeck goes indepth as he writes this superbly heart breaking true crime book which i highly recommend and is a "must read" for any true crime fan. The story is of Sharon Marshall a young girl of about 3 yrs old who some how falls into the hands of an evil peodophile Franklin Floyed, who he raises as his own daughter.
Sharon grows up into a beautiful young woman and even marries the peodophile of a man in which she calls daddy. This is a tragic true story which ends in disastrous consequence's, i won't reveal any more of the book buy it on amazon now and you won't be dissappointed. 10/10

'A Beautful Child' - highly recommended & unforgettable
I've read a lot of true crime but this one really got to me. Like the other reviewers say, it is reminiscent of I Know My First Name is Steven and is similarly heartbreaking.

It opens with the death of a young woman and takes us back through what is known of her life: her childhood moving from town to town, her teens where we see she is intelligent, beautiful and kind with a great future ahead. Throughout, the only 'family' she has is the man she thinks is her 'father' (who later becomes her husband). It is only after Sharon's death that those who loved her discover the hell she endured with this man, who was nothing more than an opportunistic paedophile and no relation of Sharon's whatsoever.

Friends speak with such tenderness of Sharon, as does the author, that the tragedy of her life and loss is well conveyed (not something every author manages, I don't think). There are a lot of true crime authors out there (not all good) but Matt Birkbeck has really engaged with this story and its people and it shows.

Sharon had a child shortly before she died and he too was victim to this man, who has never shared the truth of who Sharon was, how he got her or what happened to her son - even though he knows...

Not a dry eye in the house with this one
I have seen this book on Amazon for quite a while now and for some reason I have always avoided purchasing it. I absolutely love true crime books, they are my favourite type of book but for some reason I always avoid any books about child abduction/kidnap, I cant honestly say why the only reason I can say is that they are just too sad. I thought I had to give this one a go because it has had such good consistant reviews but I almost wished I hadnt. Dont get me wrong, this book is fantastic, written really well and one of those that you cant bare to put down. Its just so very, very sad...obviously I wont say too much because it will spoil the book for those who havnt read it yet, I just hope that one day there will be some more answers to go with it. There are not that many books that stay on my mind after Ive finished them (I think the last one prior to this was 'Death Cruise') but this one wont go away.