I finally got around to finish this one.

It's a decent thriller. The plot was fine, the suspense was there. The problem, however, is that I wasn't invested in the characters, at all.

Kim, as a main character, didn't seem to have much of a personality. She didn't even have many opinions towards the end.

The twist at the end also felt meh to me. I didn't expect it because I wasn't really guessing anymore at that point.

Imagine being approached by a stranger, and being told that you are a missing person. Someone missing since they were a toddler.
And they show you a photograph, and it looks like you.

Your whole life being brought into question.
Your family. Your memories. Your mother and sister. All false?
Nothing to anchor you down, as your reality shifts.
And when you find out that the missing girl is from another continent?

How alien it must feel when people start calling you by a different name.
Assuming a familiarity based on a blood connection you didn’t even know about until weeks before.
Finding out the deepest darkest secrets of these new “acquaintances” and being expected to forgive and forget past misdeeds.

This first novel by the author captured my interest straight away.
I was intrigued at first, and that was followed quickly by shock, horror, and a spiralling anxiety that didn’t really dissipate even after the final sentence of the book.

The characters were well developed, the story was believable, and I really couldn’t put the book down as I needed to know the outcome, and hoping for a happy ending.

An excellent first novel from this author, with a well deserved 4 stars!

Kimberly is living her life. As long as she remembers she has lived in Australia, grown up, schooled and now works in Australia. How would YOU cope if someone came to you one day to tell you that you are not who you think you are but someone that was stolen in America as a baby and he knows because he is your brother.
The story follows a family in America, the devastation within the community following the disappearance and Kimberly's journey to find the truth in the present day.
Complex story line and family dynamics. Not a thriller but well told with plenty of surprises.
#netgalley,#christianwhite,#thenowherechild

The nowhere child had me gripped from start to finish! I really wanted to know if Kim really was Sammy and the twist at the end was great!! You really feel for the characters and wanted to know more about them, if this is the author’s first book then I can’t wait to read his second!!!

This Australian novel has had a lot of hype around it, having won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award which was previously won by The Dry and The Rosie Project both of which I loved. I’m happy to say I loved this one too! It definitely lived up to the hype; a clever and emotional psychological thriller which takes the reader on a journey from Melbourne to small-town USA and back again in Kim Leamy’s journey to find answers.

What if you found out everything you’d believed about your childhood was a lie? That your parents may not actually be your parents, and you were abducted from another country as a toddler. This is what happens to Kim in this compelling debut.

To find answers, she has to leave her hometown of Melbourne and travel to Manson, a small town in Kentucky. We go on a journey with her as she meets her potential real family – the Wents, and dysfunctional is an understatement for this lot. There’s Stuart, the accountant brother, Emma, who now lives in a trailer park and calls the media at the first opportunity and her mother – a dedicated member of the Church Of The Light Within, a bizarre cult which handles snakes in their ceremonies.

The story is told along two timelines; one following the Wents in Kentucky at the point when Sammy disappeared, and one in the present when Kim is searching for answers. Through both storylines, the truth is gradually revealed with plenty of twists and turns along the way. It’s the perfect blend of small-town mentalities, religious fanatics and explosive secrets which kept me riveted. For a debut, it’s hugely impressive and deserves all the praise it’s already receiving.

An interesting debut novel about a young girl who is kidnapped. A dark thriller which was engrossing and was written between 2 continents.

I didn’t know what to think about the subject matter but this worry was swiftly overcome and I fell fully immersed into a great story which was cleverly told and beautifully plotted - enough to give a brief insight into what happened, but never enough to satiate and therefore I had to keep reading. Always a great sign! I can’t believe this is a debut as the writing is so confident and assured. Can’t wait for the next one

Right from the start, I thought “I’m going to enjoy this book”...and I did!
When a two year old girl disappears in one continent, and is discovered in another, nothing will be straightforward.
And with a cult involving venomous snakes added to the mix, it was never going to be a straightforward story!
I was on the edge of my seat all the way through, hardly daring to breathe......excellent!

Absolutely loved this book from the very first page, right through to the most satisfying conclusion.
It's extremely entertaining, with some beautiful phrases and just enough description to pique your interest without getting bored.
There are a couple of very tense moments in the novel (one near the end which I read late at night stopped me turning the light out) and what could be described as a family saga has some absolutely delicious twists and shockers in there along the way.
I am really looking forward to curling up with the next book by this author. Many, many thanks for the opportunity.

Wow!! What a read! It immediately hooks you in and grabs your attention! You know the plot from reading the cover but I literally couldn’t not put this book down! The storyline has so much more to it than it first appears and this is why this book stands out against a normal kidnap story! I couldn’t see half the twists coming (which I love-there’s nothing worse than when you guess the biggest twist half way through) and it kept you guessing and adding ideas up in your head right until the last pages! My only slight disappointment was how the book ended-it felt like a checklist of loose ends to tie up just to make sure you knew how everything ended and felt quite rushed.
I wanted to know more about other big characters in the book and felt like they got forgotten about in the hurry to finish the book. Overall though I read this book in less than two because it was simply unputdownable!!

A strong debut and worthy award-winner. I found it hard to put down and an enjoyable read as it gathered pace till the nail-biting finale. I was a nervous wreck by the end. I was also impressed by the inclusion of some themes still considered taboo, eg religious practices and complicated familial relationships. Looking forward to more from this author.

“The Nowhere Child” is a debut psychological thriller by Christian White and it was so special! Several things cast their spell - my favourite genre; a very smart cover design; winner of the Victorian Premier Literary Award; and great ratings from the offset. It could only be a winner!

The book opens with an introduction to the main protagonist Kimberly (Kim) Leamy who is a photography teacher in Melbourne, Australia. Twenty-six years earlier, Sammy Went, a two-year-old girl vanished from her home in Manson, Kentucky. James Finn, an American accountant who contacts Kim is convinced she was that child, kidnapped just after her birthday. She cannot believe the woman who raised her crossed international lines to steal a toddler.

Jack and Molly Went’s daughter Sammy disappeared from their Kentucky home in 1990. Already estranged, the couple drifted further apart as time passed. Jack did his best to raise and protect his other daughter and son while Molly found solace in her faith. The Church of the Light Within, a Pentecostal fundamentalist group who handle poisonous snakes as part of their worship, provided that faith.

Now, with proof that she and Sammy are in fact the same person, Kim travels to America to reunite with a family she never knew she had and to solve the mystery of her abduction that will take her deep into the dark heart of religious fanaticism.

For me, Christian White’s writing is captivating and extremely well structured. Although the theme of a child being stolen is not particularly original, the clever telling of this story made it a joy to read. The chapters alternate between the past and the present, maintaining the reader’s attention. The chapters narrated in the past explore the impact of Sammy’s disappearance on her family and the community in which they live. The other chapters follow Kim’s pathway of discovery to the truth about her past.

The most gripping parts of “ The Nowhere Child” were the chapters about the past, as the author unearthed long-buried secrets of Kim’s grieving family. It seemed that nearly every character from her past had something they wanted to be kept hidden. Revelations were made that included identity, betrayal, secrets, loss and a sinister cult. A tense story of menace and suspense, the story held my interest from start to finish and the way in which Christian White brought everything to a conclusion was just fabulous.

I loved “The Nowhere Child” and I would recommend it to anyone who likes this genre. It has left me eager to read more from this author in the future.

Thank you to #NetGalley, and HarperCollins UK for a free ARC of #NowhereChild in exchange for a voluntary, honest review.

This book is cleverly written, taking the reader from past to present throughout the story. This story of an adult who was abducted as a child is complex and completely absorbing. It kept me guessing until near the end, and I am still thinking about the complexities of this story days after having finished reading it. I also read the afterword and this too was very interesting as it explains how the author came up with the idea of writing this story.

What a fabulous suspenseful story this is. Really enjoyed the ‘now’ and ‘then’ see sawing of the story and the way the backstory first misleads the reader and then takes it to a conclusion. Didn’t guess the ‘who dun it’ aspect at all either, which is always great in a mystery. Will read more from this author.

Twenty years ago, Sammy Went was taken from her home in Manson, Kentucky. She’s now a photography teacher called Kim Leamy, living in Australia, completely unaware of her forgotten past until her long-lost brother Stuart tracks her down.

Flying back to America, Kim and Stuart try to get to the bottom of why she was kidnapped and how she ended up living on the other side of the world. Having lost her ‘mum’ years ago and unable to get the truth out of her stepfather, Kim has no choice but to dive into the deepest, darkest parts of Manson. Of particular interest a snake-obsessed cult called The Church of the Light Within, who seem to have brainwashed her mother shortly prior to her abduction…

When I first finished The Nowhere Child I gave it four stars, because it filled me with adrenaline. It has a hugely climactic ending that had me rushing to finish and a twist-filled resolution that I didn’t see coming, and it’s not often that thrillers surprise me!

However, after a couple of days reflection I’ve realised that one of the reasons I didn’t see the ending coming was because the red herrings placed throughout are done in an extremely unskillful manner, purposefully duping the reader and not making much sense to the wider plot.

The detective in charge of the case arranges a date with someone with the surname Leamy, making it impossible to believe it’s anyone other than Kim’s kidnapper – it’s a very unusual surname, after all – but she’s dropped in and then never revisited, so it’s not very satisfying to be misled in such an unsubtle way.

Then there’s the surname of the main family. A girl with the surname of Went gets kidnapped? Jeeeeeesus, that’s some heavy-handed naming. Cringe.

The plot of The Nowhere Child is intelligent, but these simple choices definitely detract from the impact of the book. It’s frustrating, because they’re such easy things to change, and I’m surprised that they weren’t altered during the editing process: if the red herrings had been gentle hints rather than forceful shoves in the wrong direction it would have been a far more enjoyable novel.

However, those aspects are only enough to get me to drop my rating down to three stars, because I still enjoyed the majority of The Nowhere Child. Bouncing from the present day back to when Sammy was taken, we get to learn more about the Went family and the people of Manson, and I found myself interested in all of their stories.

This book features a very strong cast of characters, from Sammy’s mother – struggling with post-natal depression and embraced by a cult – to Sammy’s father, who himself is struggling with his sexuality. Although I didn’t like some of the characters, I enjoyed reading about all of them, and I would have happily read this as a duology – one book taking place at the time when Sammy was taken, and one picking up the story twenty years later when Stuart managed to track Kim down.

I’m certainly going to be looking out for Christian White’s work in the future, because The Nowhere Child shows an author with a lot of potential. It’s not a surprise that it’s won the same award that The Dry by Jane Harper took home a few years ago (and you all know how much I love The Dry!) so hopefully I’ll enjoy Christian White’s future novels just as much as I adore Harper’s.

What a different type of story; I didn’t know what to expect, but it wasn’t what I got. The story had me guessing all the way. It was chilling in places, but not a horror book at all, everything was so cleverly described. The characters were interesting with each having a good story to tell. I would recommend this book, but not if you don’t want to be reading it all night to find out what happens.

Overall a fair read.

A woman finds out that she was abducted as a child but has no recollection of this. As she travels to Kentucky and meets her biological family, she sees the effect her abduction has had and manages to uncover the secrets hidden in the small town.

I liked the twist on the abduction, however the characters were a bit formulaic and I thought some of the plot was predictable.

One day, Kim Leamy is approached by Stuart Went and is told that she is his long lost sister, Sammy, who disappeared in Manson , Kentucky over 20 years ago. Kim's stepfather, Dean, who knows more than he is telling her advisies her not to go to Manson. Kim's story is told in alternate chapters with Sammy's.

The alternating chapters is annoying at first as the reader is mainly interested in what happened in the past. It is only when Kim discovers more of her story does the plot of both past and present speed up. I nearly gave up at the beginning, but am glad I stuck with it as I really enjoyed the book finishing the last third in one go.

A really good read so don't be put off by a slow start.

Kim is a college lecturer having an ordinary day preparing for class when she is approached in a café by a man who says that he believes she is his sister, Sammy, who disappeared as a toddler in the 1990s. Kim lives in Australia, and had a happily uneventful childhood with her mother, sister and stepfather. Stuart and his family are from Kentucky.

It soon becomes clear that Kim is Sammy. The Nowhere Child is about how Kim comes to terms with the news, and the mystery of how she ended up on another continent. She agrees to travel to the US with Stuart and meet her birth family.

The narrative follows two timelines, Kim’s present and her family’s story in the period immediately before and after Sammy’s disappearance.

I thought the story of Sammy’s disappearance and her family’s reaction was well done, especially the inner conflicts of the family. Her father has left a fundamentalist religious community which includes snake handling in its rituals but is still struggling to come to terms with his own beliefs. Conversely, his wife has converted and become a devout follower of the church. As the parents become increasingly estranged, Sammy’s adolescent sister is trying to make sense of it all.

I was less sure of the present-day story. Events don’t move at the pace you would expect. Kim and Stuart decide to take a road trip to see the various members of their birth family (without even phoning ahead!) apparently not considering that the news will travel faster than they will. The media do cover the story, but doesn’t intrude. A local police officer asks Kim to meet him for coffee and a chat at her convenience. Surely they would be subject to round-the-clock media attention and the scrutiny of the FBI?

Kim is a photographer so you would expect her to have an intense visual awareness, but in her narrative I didn’t get much sense of curiosity about the unfamiliar world she finds herself in, or sensitivity to what she perceives.

The ending for me also felt oddly muted. Once Kim learns the truth, it upends everything she understood about her life to date, but her response is to give a philosophical shrug and look to the future.

This is worth a look if you like good pace and plot but for me the author didn’t quite follow through on the implications of the premise.

A child was stolen twenty years ago
Little Sammy Went vanishes from her home in Manson, Kentucky – an event that devastates her family and tears apart the town’s deeply religious community.

And somehow that missing girl is you
Kim Leamy, an Australian photographer, is approached by a stranger who turns her world upside down – he claims she is the kidnapped Sammy and that everything she knows about herself is based on a lie.

How far will you go to uncover the truth?
In search of answers, Kim returns to the remote town of Sammy’s childhood to face up to the ghosts of her early life. But the deeper she digs into her family background the more secrets she uncovers… And the closer she gets to confronting the trauma of her dark and twisted past.

****

I really really enjoyed this book. It was something quite different. I thought the plot was very cleverly woven together.

To say this is a debut book, I cannot wait to see what the author comes up with next. I also really liked his note to the readers at the end of the book. Highly recommended by me!