Dear Child
Dear Child by Romy Hausmann
Print and e-book, 352 pages
Expected publication: October 6th 2020 by Flatiron Books
Gone Girl meets Room in this page-turning thriller from one of Germany's hottest new talents.
In a windowless shack in the woods, Lena and her two children live a life that follows the rules set by their captor, the father: Meals, bathroom visits, study time are strictly scheduled and meticulously observed. He says he is protecting them from the dangers lurking in the outside world.
One day Lena manages to flee, but the nightmare continues. There is the question of whether she really is the woman named "Lena," who disappeared without a trace fourteen years ago?—she has the distinctive scar, but the family swears she isn’t the girl they lost. The police and Lena's family are all desperately trying to piece together a puzzle that doesn't quite seem to fit. And it feels to Lena as if the tormentor she fled still somehow wants to get her back.
Dear Child is told from three points-of-view: the woman who escaped and is coming to terms with life outside the shack; the missing Lena’s father, who would do anything to get her back and is becoming more and more unhinged; and the daughter raised entirely in that isolated world, a little girl with Asperger’s and a photographic memory who may know more than she’s letting on.
Twisty, suspenseful, and psychologically clever, this captivating thriller, which starts where others end, has all the ingredients of a breakout hit.
My thoughts about Dear Child ~~
(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first lines.)
First lines—"Student, 23, missing in Munich. Munich (LR) - The Munich police are searching for clues relating to the whereabouts of Lena Beck, 23, from Munich-Haidhausen."
This book drew me in from the very first sentence and had me racing through the pages. I was taken on a rollercoaster ride all the way to the amazing ending.
The story, told in three different points of view, had me confused as to what was really going on. Who was the 'bad guy' and what was the truth? As the author weaves and then unravels the story of Lena, I found the answers to my questions. Honestly, they were not at all what I expected them to be. I love that in a story—when the author takes the story to a place that I had not seen coming.
Dear Child is the debut novel for this author and she hit it out of the park. This is one that you just have to read! I can't wait to see what Romy writes next!
I received a copy of Dear Child from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.
About the author
Romy Hausmann was born in the former GDR in 1981. At the age of twenty-four she became chief editor at a film production company in Munich. Since the birth of her son Romy has been working as a freelancer in TV. Dear Child is her thriller debut. Romy lives with her family in a remote house in the woods near Stuttgart. ~ Amazon
This was absolutely on my reading list recently! You confirmed my desires to read it :)
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