Cover Image: The Nowhere Child

The Nowhere Child

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Member Reviews

This book is a genuinely gripping tale of a small Kentucky town where a young child (Sammy Went) was abducted some 20 years ago. We alternate between two timelines - the present with Kim Leamy, brought up in Australia and approached by someone who thinks she is the missing child - and the story of how and why she was taken.

I can honestly say there is never a dull moment and that the writing is absolutely top-notch. The answer to the central mystery is slowly and tantalisingly revealed, and the characters and scenes are so realistic that you can picture them all. The town where most of the story is set is a sleepy backwater and includes vivid descriptions of a weird religious cult which practice snake-handling and exorcism.

I was amazed to find that this is the author's first publication and will look out for future offerings by him.

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I had the preview copy of this a while ago but it's just got to the top of my pile. Should've got to it sooner! Strong debut novel.
The story was told interestingly switching between present and past for each chapter and this worked well.
Touching on cult/religion, kidnap, homosexuality, murder and others, there are several strong themes throughout the book, sometimes uncomfortable though.
It was an interesting read to see how the family-tree mystery unfolded.
4 stars from me.

Many thanks for the ARC.

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Wow. I sped through this so quickly. An original premise, deftly handled, this was the best debut I've read in a while.

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An interesting take on the idea of a child kidnapping, the book opens with the child in question now an adult living in Australia, successful and happy and completely unaware that, as a toddler, she was snatched from her home in the USA. When her biological brother tracks her down, Kim travels with him to the place of her birth to try and find out the truth. The town is secretive and strange, dominated by a fundamentalist Pentecostal church where snakes form part of the worship. Some elements played out more convincingly than others, and I found the sequences in the past more compelling than those in the present day, but overall it's intriguing and well-paced.

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received from Harper Collins and Netgalley for honest read and review.

i really enjoyed this one- a good take on the circumstances surrounding when you dont know who/what you are or relly where you came from. Good starting book from author.

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Imagine discovering as a young adult that your life has been a huge lie, your family aren’t who you thought they were and you aren’t really you. This fast paced, chilling thriller opens up many questions about gay relationships 30 years ago, cults and is full of suspense, twists and surprises to keep the reader hooked.

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Another brilliant example of Australian thriller fiction. I absolutely loved The Dry, and to know this is as acclaimed drew me in immediately. An atmospheric, slow burning novel that toys through every revelation from the first few pages. Brilliantly written

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This book had a great premise but didn’t really live up to the hopes I had for it.
It started really well and kind of dipped in the middle and got weird towards the end.
I found myself reading the book to finish it, rather than enjoying the story or being ‘hooked’ which was a shame.
It was all a little meh.

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I actually bought this book and forgot to post my review, so sorry!
I read this book in two sittings; loved it.

The writing is unique, the plot was fabulous and this was just a great, entertaining read. Can't wait to read more by Christian White. Would highly recommend.

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The Nowhere Child is a quick, enjoyable read with a few twists. The chapters skip between the past and the present, giving insight into each angle of the story from different character perspectives. I enjoyed reading it but it was a bit underwhelming for me. It’s an easy holiday read

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Lived up to expectation. Brilliantly crafted. Couldn't put it doesn't. Great premise for book which if not unique, I have never read before.
Everything is hoped for.

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‘To move through life without being accountable to a higher power is to drift unanchored through a dark ocean full of monsters’.

This was my first Christian White but it certainly won’t be my last.

Melbourne, Australia, Now: Meet Kim Leamy, photography teacher at Northampton Community TAFE, sister of Amy, daughter of Carol and step-daughter of Dean. Right at the beginning of the story, she is approached by James Finn; he is convinced that Kim is in fact his long lost sister, Sammy Went, who went missing from her Kentucky home, three days after her second birthday, 28 years before. James has never believed Sammy died that night and has spent his life trying to find her – her disappearance is his obsession.

Manson, Kentucky, USA, Then: Jack and Molly Went are members of the Church of the Light Within – ‘Molly through conversion and Jack through blood’. We learn that Jack started to drift away from the church as a teenager and stopped going altogether when their eldest daughter, Emma, was born. As far as the locals are concerned, ‘if you’re not one of us, you’re one of them. A lost soul’. The Pentecostal group worship by handling venomous snakes – to be bitten is to be touched by God, and to survive is to be saved. After Sammy disappears, Jack is devastated but is also harbouring a secret…

The Eckles family: Described as a ‘rough family’. Ava, the mother is a violent drunk. Patrick – the eldest son is doing his best to keep the family together. Travis is gay at a time when this was a sin and was the favourite suspect at the time.

Kim is thrust into James’ investigation and the fundamentalist nature of the locals she meets in Manson, Kentucky. She of course immediately questions why the woman she knew as her ‘mother’ would have kidnapped her from Jack and Molly’s home all those years ago. By this time, Carol Leamy has died from cancer and Kim wants nothing more than to be able to talk to her and ask her what happened. She is upset and shocked when Dean’s reaction shows he knows more than he has ever told her and so she agrees to travel to Kentucky with James to meet her ‘family’. Things do not go as well as she’d hoped. Between her and James, they continue the investigation in order to answer once and for all, what actually happened that day 28 years ago and why?

Whilst certainly not always likeable, the characters are well rounded and believable and the details given of The Church of the Light Within are sickly fascinating. As someone with a phobia of snakes, there were a few scenes that actually made my hands clammy! I think it would make a fantastic film – although I may have to put a cushion over my face at certain parts. A fantastic, absorbing read with SO much going on – I loved it. Highly recommended.

‘Rumour is the one thing that gets thicker when you spread it’.

Only 99p on kindle at the moment – an absolute bargain.

I would like to thank both Net Galley and Harper Collins UK for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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This was a story that was something a little different. It is told in 2 timelines, "Then" and "Now", the then is the disappearance of a two-year-old girl from her home. The Now part of the story is when a woman is told that she was the young girl who went missing.

I liked the two sides of the story and it added a lot of mystery to the story. Various characters are involved in the then and they all have their part to play, it gradually builds up a picture of the town and the families and of the religion that some of the townsfolk follow.

The Now is about solving the mystery for the now grown-up girl, it leaves questions about why she was taken, and the more obvious confusion and doubt about whether her parents knew what had happened.

I enjoyed the pace of the story, although it did take me a few chapters to get going. There were some surprises along the way and also mentions of a religion that verges on the fanatical. An interesting premise that was well executed and gave a good story to sit and read. I really enjoyed it and I would recommend it.

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Unfortunately I read this book a while ago and seem to have missed it when writing reviews. - sadly I cant remember enough detail to give a full review.
However, thanks to NetGalley for the ARC :-)

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A gripping book from start to finish. I got frustrated with myself that I couldn't read faster because I wanted to find out how, what, who, where and when quicker. A very interesting and unusual concept, brilliantly executed by Christian White. It's hard to believe this is a debut novel, as the characterisation, the prose, the dialogue was all spot on and highly credible. This is also available on audio and I will definitely give it a listen as it's a worthy double-dipper. The Nowhere Child is a definite 5 star recommendation from me.

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I really enjoyed reading this book. It got me hooked straight away and had me say just one more chapter. The book reads in past and present chapters so when it leaves you hanging on one you need to keep on reading.
Would recommend this book especially for a bad weather day when you have no other plans than to sit and read.

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Fantastic writing, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I will be making sure to read the authors other books. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

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In the postscript, the author acknowledges that writing about kidnapped children isn't the most original of concepts, but that's not the point. It's how it's handled that makes a book good or not - and this is most definitely a good book.

It starts with a woman discovering she was kidnapped when she was a toddler and goes through her journey to connect with her original family, as well as the reason behind why she was taken and by whom.

It's utterly riveting and there's a whole heap of surprises along the way. The ending is perhaps a little OTT, but White had me so engaged in his tale, I didn't care.

Thoroughly enjoyable page turner.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

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A most enjoyable debut thriller from an obviously talented author. Kim Leamy is an Australian photographer and lecturer whose life is turned upside down when she meets a man who claims she is his long lost sister, Sammy Went, abducted when she was just two years old, from a small town in America. At first, Kim refuses to believe him, but as the evidence mounts up she agrees to accompany him to America to discover more about "her" past. As the narrative moves between the past and the present, secrets are uncovered and the facts of what really happened that day come to light. But the truth can be dangerous, and the fall out threatens not only Kim's happiness but also her very existence.

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A compelling thriller, full of twists and turns, secrets and lies. A brilliant debut and a well-deserved winner of the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award. Definitely a recommended read.

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