I absolutely loved this debut thriller and already can’t wait for Christian White’s next book!

I enjoyed the way in which The Nowhere Child was written - alternating between past and present but leaving each part on a cliffhanger. I hated having to put it down and could’ve quite easily devoured it in one sitting.

The plot itself was exciting and brought a new dimension to a child abduction. For the most part, I felt desperately sorry for Sammy’s family, particularly for Molly losing her child, however once the true intentions of the church came to light, I almost felt glad that Sammy was taken. I actually ended up taking a serious dislike to Molly, both past and present!
The real victim, I felt, was Jack. I loved his character and I’m so glad he got his happy ever after with Travis.

There were a few flaws, but nothing that detracted from my enjoyment of the book. I felt that the whole scenario of how Kim simply took Stu’s word and followed him to Kentucky a little unrealistic. If it was me, I would’ve asked for another DNA test (they can easily be faked) and I would’ve been more accepting of police help and looked at the old files myself rather than accepting what the family said happened. I almost began to expect to find that the whole scenario was a hoax - there was no valid confirmation for ages that Kim was Sammy!

I also question whether Dean would’ve risked going back to his home town so easily - surely he would’ve been recognised? Or perhaps he realised that the truth was about to come out?
Also, how was Patrick’s disappearance back in 1990 explained? Surely the police would’ve put two and two together?
There are a lot of unanswered questions, but, on the whole, this is a very good book and one that should be a bestseller in 2019!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for this ARC.

4 Stars

What would you do if you discovered that you were a missing child? The nowhere child?

I had managed to finish this book in one setting; it was an absolute page turner. There were 2 alternate tenses: past and present, or 'now' and 'then' if you will. I think the story did flow quite nicely, and I couldn't predict what was going to happen.

I did like most of the characters though I have to say Kim/Sammy was not one of my favourites by a long shot. Her character was quite dull, despite what was happening in her life, and her attitude to a lot of things seemed very neutral. I did like the difference in first and third person between the 'now' and 'then' sections, it showed a good contrast, and it was nice to see the POV of many characters.

Around 80% of the way through I wasn't that happy with what was happening, but the book definitely redeemed itself in the last remaining chapters. White's style was writing was clear, and enjoyable.


A great mystery/thriller read!

Brilliant book, well written, well defined characters. I really enjoyed thos book and read it in a few days as I wanted to know who kidnapped the little girl.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of those books I was very unsure about. Not because of the subject matter, but, due to the hype surrounding it. I'd read some excellent reviews and I just hoped this lived up to them, it does.

It tells the tale of two key characters; Sammy Went, a young child who disappears from a small town in America and a photographer, Kim, a grown woman living in Australia.

The book is told from the 'then' and 'now' perspective and it weaves an interesting storyline that gradually uncovers the various secrets and lies surrounding the disappearance of a little girl and a woman trying to discover her own identity. There are many characters in the book, all interesting, some really creepy and others that illicit massive sympathy. The key for me was that I was never confused about who was who? And, as a debut novel, this is a really well written and compelling read.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publishers and Christian White for the opportunity to preview this excellent read in exchange for my honest review.

It is not often that i can read a book this length within two days, but i did with 'The Nowhere Child'. Absolutely enjoyed this book from start to finish and do hope it will not be too long before there is another book to read by Christian White. I rarely write what the story is about as i prefer one to read a book for themselves, but i do recommend.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy. This is my honest review.

The Nowhere Child is Australian writer Christian White's award-winning and superbly constructed debut thriller; I'm certainly not surprised that it's become a number one international bestseller. This novel, as spectacular as it is, exemplifies the beauty of a slow-burner with a compelling plot, a dual setting and wonderful characterisation, and it reminds me very much of Jane Harper's The Dry.

This is a dark, intense and somewhat chilling psychological thriller and explores a number of different themes - love, loss, self-identity, secretive and duplicitous behaviour, deceit, cult activity and earth-shattering, bombshell revelations. Each of these combines to create both an emotional and suspense-filled story. Slowly over the last 25% of the book, the pace increases and the tension is ratcheted up until it's palpable.

The author masterfully avoids the clichés of the genre, and everything gels together to create an absorbing family drama based over two different time frames and two different continents, namely then and now, Australia and America respectively. The ending was also truly unexpected. There appears to be no intimation that I can see which confirms this is the first in a series, but I sure hope it is. Either way, I look forward to reading more from Mr White in the future.

Many thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC.

Fabulous stuff !! Well done Christian White this book is a corkers! As fast paced as anything you will ever read and the characters are all well developed and convincing

Could have concluded a couple of chapters before it got a touch silly but no real harm done and there will be those who disagree

Really nightmare scenario for Kim the main character and how she and her family reacted feels authentic and possible

This could be possibly be the best book I've read from Netgallery, The Nowhere Child reminds me of a Gillian Flynn novel the storyline is excellent and although it burns slowly it isn't lacking in drama! I couldn't put this one down, the religion side was horrifying and I needed to know how Sammys story ended. A strong 5/5 and I look forward to seeing more work from Christian White.

Australian crime fiction is a genre i have well and truly fallen in love with.
This is a debut psychological thriller from a new author. It deals with a child that was abducted from her own home. Fast forward twenty years, a man approaches a young woman and informs her that she is the lost little girl.
Well that was me hooked. The story is set in two time periods, when the event happened and now. This is compelling reading at its best and deals with two very dysfunctional families and how they deal with explosive situation.
This book is a slow burner but I am so glad I stuck with it, it is a harrowing tale and it does pick up the pace, action and suspense. I would definitely like to read more from this author. Recommended
I would like the author, HarperCollins UK and Netgalley for the advanced copy in return for giving an honest review.

#NowhereChild #NetGalley A superb debut from this author. A story that has been told countless times before but I liked the twist that Kim found out in the very first chapter that she was, in fact, Sammy who was kidnapped 28 years previously. The story is told from two different timelines - present day Kim who is trying to come to terms with the truth and what happened and from 28 years previously when Sammy went missing. I found this a great way to fill in the background and introduce the characters. An easy to read book, that definitely picked up the pace in the last quarter of the book with lots of drama and action. Would have liked to have a bit more about the new relationships that Kim developed with her 'old' family but would definitely love to read more from this author.

I enjoyed the start of this book. Kim, an Australian photographer in her twenties, is approached by an American who believes she may have been abducted as a child from a small town in America. This is obviously nonsense isn't it - she can't be Sammy. The only person who would be likely to be able to tell her would have been her mother however she is now dead.

The book looks at this scenario is two time frames. The current one is the journey that Kim embarks on to try and find out the truth. The other thread is what actually went on in Manson (small town America) around the time of Sammy's disappearance.

I found the book pacey enough and easily readable. However I did find that this was maybe not the book I was expecting. "Girl discovers she was abducted as a young child - grows up a long way from home - finds out and gets to know her family and what happened." Maybe yes and maybe no. More deeply this is perhaps about fractured families and fractured relationships and that worked well enough for me.

I guess the overall story was enjoyable for me even if I was not blown away. Parts are quite powerful though sometimes the story strangely seemed to lack depth. If I have any real reservations about this book it would be that I did not find the characters particularly strong. Kim is good however the majority of the others seemed rather shadowy to me. I felt this was a shame as some of the people seemed interesting.

It was not a book I would have stopped reading at any stage. However I have some doubts that it will remain in my memory for all that long. I'd like to read something else by this author in the future.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this gripping novel

wow this book was amazing and what a journey it took me on...have read loads of books similar to this one but this one grabbed me for some reason

it was written in the past and present as chapters...so you had the real time adventure with the background story working towards the truth....

i lost sleep over this book just because i wanted to know who kidnapped the little girl and why...loved the style of the authors writing as well...kept the storyline flowing

gonna keep an eye out for more of this authors work

I can absolutely see why this has been compared to Jane Harper’s debut as it is gripping. I’ve read before books where the main character discovers near the end that they are not the person they have been brought up as and there whole life is a lie. The twist is that in this one Kim finds out at the beginning that her parents lied to her and she is the missing Sammy Went. Kim then travels from Australia to Kentucky to discover why she was taken.
I was enthralled from the beginning and loved how the story evolved.
I will be looking out for book two.
Thanks to Harper Collins and NetGalley for an ARC.
#TheNowhereChild #NetGalley

Christian White's debut has won the Victorian Premier Literary Award, given that Jane Harper's The Dry had won it previously, it sparked my interest in this book. This is a dark and intricately pieced together compelling psychological thriller set in Australia and the USA. In 1990 in Manson, Kentucky, Jack and Molly Went's family are devastated when their 2 year old toddler daughter, Sammy, disappears. The family limps along with their loss with Molly sustained by her religious faith through the bizarre Church of the Light Within, a fundamentalist Pentecostal group with some deadly practices that include snakes, but the Wents go on to splinter apart. More than twenty years later in Melbourne, Kimberly Leahy is a photographer. An American stranger, Stuart, an accountant, imparts some startling news in one of her classes. He claims that she is that missing child, Sammy, kidnapped from Kentucky all those years ago.

As you can probably imagine this has Kimberly in a total spin, completely shattered,her social worker mother died of cancer four years previously, so she is unable to ask her. Her stepfather Dean appears to know something when her sister, Amy drops the bombshell on him. DNA evidence confirms that she is Sammy, but how in heaven's name did she end up in Australia? Despite her closeness to her family, she has to know what happened as she sets out to revisit the past as she goes to Manson, Kentucky. The narrative goes back and forth in time as the past is unpeeled with revelations that include loss, betrayal, identity, a cult, people who cannot be relied on and secrets. This is a harrowing story of twists, menace, suspense and tension, and a totally unexpected ending. I found this a gripping family drama, well plotted, a tale that is chilling but never less than a engrossing and entertaining debut with a great sense of both locations, despite them being so different. Many thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC.

Definitely a slow burner.
For the first 80% of the book,it all seemed so tame.
Now in that 80% we had violence,cults and child abduction.... but it was done at such a pace,that to me,there felt like no urgency.
Then the last part of the book came,and it packed all the punches.. revealing the truth of what had happened to Sammy all those years ago,and also revealing a lot more than you were expecting.
The whole book is an interesting idea,something I don't think I've read for a while.