The Nowhere Child feels like a cross between Gillian Flynn and Jane Harper. Both write excellent mysteries and Christian White is no different. Atmospheric, and filled with plenty of twists, this is one that will surely keep readers guessing. If you're looking for your next addiction, this is the one for you!

Wow! I loved this book. Dark and creepy but with fantastic characters. I felt for Kim/Sammy who despite having a wonderful upbringing with a loving family discovers she was a kidnapped child. The back and current stories are compelling as you are stunningly lead to the conclusion.

When Kim is confronted by a man who claims to be her brother, telling her he thinks she is his kidnapped sister her whole life is turned upside-down. Who is she really and who can she trust?

I’m really torn in writing this review because on paper The Nowhere Child is a really good book. It has an interesting plot with lots of twists and turns, the story is told through alternating chapters of past and present which drip feeds you all the information you need through different narrators. The backdrop is a good picture of grungy, small town living, destructive family dynamics and weird cults mixed in with a mystery story of what happened to Sammy Went. In all ways I should have really enjoyed it but in actuality I just found it a little bland and forgettable. It’s taken me ages to write this review because I didn’t really know what to say. It kept me entertained for 3 days while I read it but I wasn’t hanging on every word or staying up until late at night and tearing through the pages like I usually do for a book that really grabs me. It was just missing a certain spark to light my imagination; perhaps because I didn’t really feel much for the characters which made me less invested in the plot.

Overall I found The Nowhere Child to be an okay read, it was just missing a certain something to make it truly special. Thank you to NetGalley & Harper Collins UK for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Liked the basis of the storyline, but found the now & then far to many, I don’t like anything tv books that constantly do this just my personal preference others love this type of story,line. Saying that it was a good read with quite a few twists

Oooh I do like a bit of Australian crime/suspense fiction. This takes us from Australia to the US, too, for an even stronger international flavour.

Kim is happily living her life in Australia when a man approaches her with a picture of a toddler who went missing in America more than two decades ago. Then he claims she IS that child! Her mother, who would have all the answers, is dead. Her step-father is still getting over her death. Her young sister can't know anything? What can she do?

Kim ends up flying to America for answers, where she learns about the cult the missing child was born into, the new family she might have, and the splits within it.

This is a strong debut, and I admire the writer's choice not to drag out certain elements out, which keeps the story rattling along. The only sliiiiight issue was that I wish the main character could've sat down with her Australian sister/step-father for a proper conversation before she went overseas, but then there would've have been as much of a story to tell.

Naturally, I had to stay up late to finish it (though I always find suspense books difficult to put down past the midway point) and I was pretty satisfied with the end. I'd read another by this author.

This is the real deal. Gripping, surprising and well written. Like any thriller there are parts that you need to suspend belief in but overall the plot was tight, characters well developed and the story gripping. Loved the stuff about the Church of the light . It is very different from The Dry but also excellent. Only small gripe -not sure the title does it justice as it sounds like a run of the mill thriller and it is far from that.

I loved, loved, loved this book! I read it in one sitting and was desperate to reach the end and know what had happened. The story was brilliant and I really enjoyed Christians style of writing. I cannot wait for the next book.

Thanks to NetGalley and to Harper Collins for providing me an ARC copy of this book, which I freely chose to review.
I’ve read quite a few books by Australian writers recently (Liane Moriarty, Jane Harper, Liza Perrat), and although very different, I enjoyed all of them and could not resist when I saw this novel, especially as it had won an award Harper’s first novel The Dry also won.
Although part of this novel is set in Australia, it is not the largest or the most important part of it. This novel is set in two time frames and in two places, and the distance in time and space seems abysmal at times. The novel starts with a bang. Kim, the main protagonist, an Australian photographer in her late twenties, receives an unexpected visit and some even more unexpected news. This part of the story, the “now”, is narrated in the first person from Kim’s point of view, and that has the effect of putting the readers in her place and making them wonder what they would do and how they would feel if suddenly their lives were turned on their heads, and they discovered everything they thought they knew about themselves, their families, and their identities, was a lie. She is a quiet woman, and although she gets on well with her stepfather and her half-sister, and she badly misses her mother, who died a little while back, she’s always been quite different to the rest of the members of her family, and enjoys her own company more than socialising. There are also strange dreams that bother her from time to time. So, although she does not want to believe it when the stranger tells her she was abducted from a small town in Kentucky as a little girl, she is not as surprised as she should be. At this point, we seem to be in the presence of a domestic drama, one where family secrets are perhaps a bit darker than we are used to, but the plot seems in keeping with the genre. And most of the “now” section of the book is closer in tone and atmosphere to that genre.
But we have the other part. The “then”, written in the third person, from a variety of characters’ points of view. Readers who dislike head-hopping don’t need to worry, though, because each chapter in the “past” section is told from only one character’s point of view, and it is quite clear who that is, avoiding any possible confusion. The story of the background to the kidnapping, and the investigation that followed, is told from the point of view of members of little Sammy’s family, the sheriff (I really liked him), neighbours of the town, and other characters that at first we might not grasp how they are related to the story, but it all ends up making sense eventually. This part of the novel feels much more gripping and dynamic than the other, and although we don’t always follow the characters for very long, the author manages to create credible and sympathetic (or not so sympathetic) individuals, some that we get to feel for and care, and even when they do some pretty horrible things, most of them feel realistic and understandable. And the story of what happened in the past makes for a pretty dark combination of thriller and mystery, well-paced and gripping.
I don’t want to give too much away, but I must say the town of Manson of the novel is a place that seems right out of a dark fairy tale, and I kept thinking of the opening titles of the TV series True Blood (not because of any supernatural thing, but because of some of the images that appear there). While some of the scenes seem typical of a small town in the middle of nowhere, others reminded me of Southern Gothic novels, and, a word of warning: there is violence, and there are scenes that can be terrifying to some readers (although no, this is not a horror novel, the author is not lying when he says he admires and has learned a lot from Stephen King). The story is full of secrets, red-herrings and confusing information, clues that seem clear but are not, and Kim/Sammy is a woman who keeps her emotions to herself, understandably so considering the circumstances. I am not sure many readers will connect with Kim straight away because of her personality, but I understand the author’s choice. If she was an emotional wreck all the time, it would be impossible for her to do what she does and to learn the truth, and the novel would be unbearable to read, more of a melodrama than a thriller or a dark mystery. The part of the story that deals with the present helps reduce the tension somewhat while keeping the intrigue ticking, and although it feels slow and sedate compared to the other part, it does ramp up as they dig into the past and the two stories advance towards their resolution.
Without going into detail, I can say that I enjoyed the ending, and although I suspected what was coming, I only realised what was likely to happen very late in the story. Despite this being the author’s first novel, his screenwriting experience is evident, and he has a knack for creating unforgettable scenes. This is a novel destined to become a movie, for sure, and I’d be surprised if it doesn’t.
This is not a typical mystery or thriller, and although it has elements of the domestic noir, it is perhaps more extreme and darker than others I have read in that genre. We have a very young child being kidnapped; we have murder, extreme religious beliefs, prejudice, postnatal depression, a dysfunctional family, snakes, secrets, lies, child abuse, and more. If you are looking for an intriguing read, don’t mind different timelines and narrators, and are not put off by difficult subjects and scary scenes, you must read this one.

Just wow. Could not put this book down. This plot line is unimaginable for a parent and you really feel the anguish that Jack Went gives off when Sammy is gone. Your heartbreaks for what they all go through. I had an idea of where the kidnapper came from and why but wasn’t sure of the who. A fantastic story.

This is definitely a writer to watch out for as he can certainly tell an intriguing tale that draws you in from the start.
When Kim is approached in her home town in Australia by a man called Stuart who tells her that her real.name is Sammy, that She was abducted 28 years ago from Manson USA and he is her brother, her life is not surprisingly turned upside down. The story continues in alternating chapters of Then and Now where the mystery of what happened begins to surface leaving the reader with just enough evidence to think they know who was involved and what transpired until another snippet of information is thrown in to the mix to cast doubts again. I love this types of mystery that keeps you dangling right until the very end and even then manages a final twist. A very good read!

An unusual take on the search for a kidnapped child. In this story we find out early on who the child now is, and concentrate on discovering what really happened almost thirty years ago.
There are lots of twists and turns, and some unpleasant characters encountered along the way.
An engrossing read.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC

As an Australian, I congratulate my compatriot for an engrossing read. I grew up in Melbournebut have lived most of my adult years in the UK. I have a feel for displacement as Christian so eloquently describes for our nowhere child/adult.
I understand that Christian has spent time in the movie/TV genre. The book mirrors the changing scenes in a movie, with focus on the main character then pan shots to the overall picture. As in a movie, Christian does not provide every detail and explain everything, leaving it to the reader to wonder and fill in.
We watch lots of films about state crimes where the FBI are called. I kept wondering about the efficiency of the US police. How did the Americans disappears easily. What about border control in the US and Australia? False identities.
So while I stayed awake, lapping up all the twists and turns of this book, I kept questioning and thinking beyond what we were given. I think this added to the read and left me at the end, saying to myself, "Phew, I can relax now. It's a fictional thriller."

This had me enthralled from the outset.

Very different & unusual storyline which captured my imagination. Maybe just a little too much with the snakes scene!

Thoroughly recommend & look forward to the next offering from Christian White.

4.5 stars

An awesome read. disappearing child, forbidden love, changed identities, a cult, this book has them all. the chapter alternate then and now, from the time of Sammys disappearance til modern day Kim is approached by Stuart. One book that I could not put down until the end.

There is no surprise that this book received such a prestige award because it begins at an almighty pace and just gets faster! Australian Kim Leamy was doing pretty well for herself as a photographer. Well that was until an American stranger knocked her world from under her when he announced that she was his little sister, who had been abducted from Kentucky over 20 years ago. Now that's not something you hear everyday but after a rummage among her family photos and finding nothing of her before the age of 2 and a blood test well she can't deny what he is saying. Kim packs her bags and goes to find out more about her short life in America and the family that she was taken from.
For the first two years of her life her name had been Sammy Went and her family lived in a very over the top and pretty weird religious community with a fair assortment of snakes. God fearing, deadly snakes that judge the guilty and innocent. Whoa this felt like stepping back in time. Kim was going to have her work cut out in this tight-lipped community, that really aren't the friendliest of people. Kim is determined to find out more about her family and the reasons behind her abduction.
The story dips back and forth into the past and present day with an increasing uneasiness growing the more the two time lines are coming together. There are some pretty awesome characters in this story, not all good, but real get to you sort of people who will be a long time before they fade from my mind. And there are stories within the story that just stopped me in my tracks. Could these things really happen? The story made me have that uneasy, butterfly in my stomach feeling in so many parts and in others I felt horrified enough that if I had been there I would have been frozen in fear.
What a cracking story, perfect for the super sleuth readers and mystery seekers of the truth. It doesn't lack a few dead people either. Did I mention snakes? There are plenty of very deadly snakes! Highly recommended.
I received this e-copy of the book from NetGalley and the publisher which I have reviewed honestly

Nutshell review: “The Nowhere Child” was a cracking read.

I’ve tried to keep this review as spoiler-free as possible so you can read it without too many preconceived notions about the plot, characters, or other details… because with a novel like this it’s easy to drop spoilers completely by accident.

The concept of this novel had me interested from the outset, because it poses a fascinating hypothetical question. None of us can remember very much of our early childhoods, meaning that we can only rely on documentary evidence and the memories of our parents, siblings, and others for details of our lives before we began to form permanent memories.

What if everything we were told was a lie?

That’s the reality faced by Melbourne photographer Kim Leamy when a an man seeks her out to say he believes she’s someone else, a child who went missing over two decades ago from a small town in the United States of America.

The novel alternates between the present and the past as it unfolds what happened to Kim and why. The way the author handled the two time periods is one of my favourite things about the book.

On the one hand, it would have been very easy for details drip-fed to the reader in the past section to spoil revelations and surprises in the present.

On the other, it would also have been easy for the withholding of details or the provision of misleading details to feel cheap and cheesy, done just to maintain surprises in the present.

For the most part, White did an excellent job of balancing these two risks. Information from the past gently misleads the reader on occasion, but in a way which is fair and reasonable given the unfolding situation.

Characters in “The Nowhere Child” are drawn very well indeed. Even the most unlikable of characters are somewhat sympathetic, while the cast of generally likable individuals is likewise not without its flaws.

The book does a fine job of ruminating on the subject of loss and grieving, and I also felt that the locations and times featured in the novel were evoked well, without going into enough detail to distract from the ongoing narrative.

My favourite element in the novel was the way it didn’t shy away from the fact that three of the characters involved in the narrative are not heterosexual, and the way in which it portrayed their trials and tribulations living in a small town with a strong religious community.

I definitely recommend “The Nowhere Child” to you if you’re a thriller fan. I chewed through the book in no time at all and I was always keen to find out what was going to happen next!

It’s been a while since I read a book where I didn’t want it to end, but at the same time I can’t put it down as I have to know the ending!
I felt like I really got to know the characters of this book and they got under my skin! It was as if I was there with Kim and all the others living what they were going through. This was so well written to draw you in in this way, as so many books you just read you don’t feel what the characters are feeling. With this book you really did.
The church element was really creepy, had a very cult vibe and eeek to the snakes. This story is how I imagine the Madeleine McCann story to end. A woman living her life somewhere utterly oblivious to who she was and how it would mess up her mind if someone tracked her down and unloaded this onto her. Completely ripping her life up from under her!
This was a brilliant book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! However, I’m gutted that this is the author’s debut novel as it means there isn’t a back catalogue to catch up on!

It’s hard to imagine living into adulthood and then a bombshell explodes and you have to question everything you thought was true. The Nowhere Child is a rollercoaster ride of events and emotions as Kim Leamy travels from Australia to America in search of the answers to her identity. Christian White manages to paint great pictures of both countries in this incredible debut novel that sucked me in and spat me out. This is suspenseful thriller writing at its best. Thanks to HarperCollins for the ARC.

A mystery wrapped in a familial saga which culminates in some interesting outcomes. White's debut here is a classic mystery/thriller and could be contentious with the best of them. As the cover declares that this is a book for fans of Harper's The Dry, I may go a step further and declare that it has some superiority to Harper's work...

Engaging readers from the outset, the narrative flips back and forth between the 'then' and the 'now' of the life of Kim and some intense revelations about her past. The story itself is a solid construction, which leads readers through the mystery, suspense and climactic moments of tension we anticipate from this genre, yet, all the while develops characters who have some depth and quality which allows for empathy and intrigue also.

Overall, this is a great page-turner of the most traditional sense - you are with Kim on her journey, constantly intrigued and entertained by the premise of her journey and those she encounters along the way. The Nowhere Child touches upon subject matter which is somewhat controversial, (especially in the latter half of the text), and executes events and discussion of it with taste and power. Ideas about family, religion and abuse are presented with power, relevance and remain true to the characters and narrative style of the novel's concept.
A thrilling page turner - no, The Nowhere Child may not be a feat of traditional literary fiction or necessarily even a work of eloquent prose; however it sets out to enthrall it's reader, and, boy, doesn't it just! White is a new author who is one to watch!

#netgalley #TheNowhereChild #ChristianWhite #bookstagram

An interesting idea of a story, but for me i just could not connect with the story as much as i had hoped. That is not to mean others will not enjoy the book, i liked the idea for the story a lot and the psychological thrills where there, i was left wondering what was going to happen next quite a few times. The writing for a debut author was very good, and i hope to see more from this author in the future and see their writing style develop. Worth a read, just not for me and my reading likes this time.