Cover Image: The Nowhere Child

The Nowhere Child

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Member Reviews

This book had me totally absorbed from beginning to end. The premise of the story is absolutely compelling and it's superbly written with believable characters and a clear narrative. It's a fantastic debut novel and I can't wait to read more from this author.

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I enjoyed this book and the premise was quite unique. It kept me gripped throughout and I didn't see the twist at the end coming. This was my first introduction to Christian White but I will definitely look out for future offerings. The writing style was great, as was the characterisation.

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If I'm honest, this one didn't grab me. I was looking for Aussie crime after how much I loved Jane Harper's The Dry but it turned into another 'young woman discovers she was stolen from her parents' story.

It was quite cliche heavy and a lot of the snake stuff was a bit OTT.

It was fine. Just not very memorable.

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My first experience of Christian White but certainly not my last.
An enjoyable thriller that kept me guessing right to the end. Superb!

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What would you do if a stranger said your whole life was a lie, but they had enough proof that maybe they weren't being a crazy person? That's the hook for readers, and the dilemma faced by main character Kim Leamy, in this terrific debut thriller from Melbourne author Christian White. A visiting American claims photography tutor Kim is actually Sammy Went, an infant girl who vanished from her Kentucky home back in 1990.

Could the loving parents who raised Kim really have stolen her away from her real family? Or is someone trying to swindle her now, and if so, why? White inter-cuts past and present to build delicious tension as Kim heads to Kentucky to uncover the truth, coming face-to-face with small-town secrets and snake-handling religious fanatics who might be her ‘real family’. An excellent debut from a promising crime fiction talent.

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Hard to believe this is a debut as it is so well written and intricately plotted.
Likeable, well conceived characters drive this thriller. It was hard to put down at some points. Great backstories woven throughout. Then a crescendo of a climax. Brilliant.

Thank you NetGalley, Harper Collins, and Christian White for allowing me to review this book.

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2 year old Sammy Went has gone missing from her home in Manson USA, 30 years later Kim Leamy is approached and told she is Sammy Went.

Moving backwards and forwards in time from Sammys abduction to Kim travelling to Manson, the book unravels with some great twists.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by Christian.

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This is a very interesting take on a young woman who suddenly finds out she is not who she thinks she is and that her mother is not actually her mother. The tale is quite complex with many twists and turns. The story is told between Then and Now and is told at a very gentle pace, not exciting but quite absorbing. The story gains pace as it proceeds, interesting debut.
Three and a half stars for me!
Many thanks to Netgalley/Christian White/Harper Collins for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

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A contemporary thriller that will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about your existence.

Wow. This book had me from page one. Imagine having a happy childhood and normal life, only to reach the solid age of 28 to find out you're not who you thought you were. This is the stark reality for Kim Leamy. Growing up in Melbourne with her mum, stepdad, and sister, Kim is about to teach one of her nightly photography classes when a stranger approaches her in a cafe. In his ominous manila folder, he shows Kim a photo of two-year-old Sammy Went - a child who went missing from her home in Manson, Kentucky in 1990. Her whereabouts have never been found. Until now. And her name is no longer Sammy - it's Kim.

This is not your usual kidnapping story. The author wanted to give his story an edge and he certainly succeeded. Drawing upon some of his own memories, he created a vivid setting that evoked every one of my senses. Moving between two different timelines, we are given a flashback of the past, followed with a chapter of the present day. Each chapter ended with an urge to find out what comes next. To balance this, the author kept a really steady pace which I find rare in thrillers that usually have fast action throughout. This type of writing style is rare and therefore binge-worthy. As a debut, I am very very excited to see what the author comes up with next. He has set the bar high for upcoming thrillers, that's for sure.

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I absolutely loved this book. It's hard to write a review as I don't want to give anything away. After a short while of reading it was like wow, I was gripped and couldn't wait to get to the end to find out the truth.

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Overall I enjoyed this book. Just when I thought it was finishing up the loose ends, there would be a twist. Really helped understand why people would be driven to think about kidnapping a child. A bit slow at times, but I enjoyed it.

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An interesting premise and it didn’t disappoint. As others have said it wasn’t too thrilling and my heart didn’t race but it held my attention and kept me intrigued. Enjoyable twists and turns though not in a ‘gaspy take my breath away’ way but definitely something a little different. My thanks to Harper Collins and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

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Wonderful, one of the best books I have read for a long time, one of those that it was very difficult to put down and always felt the need to read just a little bit more !

Set both in thr past and the present, this book actually kept me awake at night thinking about it.
Very impressive Mr White
Await the next one with great anticipation

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This was a truly gripping suspense novel that had me turning the pages late into the night. From the getgo we know that Kim, an Australian photographer, isn't who she thought she was. She is actually an American child named Sammy who was snatched from rural Kentucky as a toddler. Was her dearly deceased mother actually a kidnapper, a woman who could destroy a family like that? How is this possible?

The reader follows Kim as she learns the dark truth of how she came to be in Australia and how deeply it affected her original family who aren't as picture perfect as she had hoped. I was kept guessing right till the bittersweet end.

The only reason this isn't five stars is because there was pretty much no lead up to Kim learning about her true identity. She was presented with it and seemed to accept it right away without any hesitation which seems a little bizarre, especially for someone as mild mannered as Kim. I would have liked to see her struggle and fight against this discovery a little more because I think most people would find it hard to believe this stranger and his supposed DNA tests.

There is also a line in the book that essentially degrades those who rely on medication for their mental health, from a pharmacist no less. There is no shame in needing help and to read about a medical professional looking down on a patient for this is pretty shocking.

Otherwise, this was a great domestic thriller, one I would recommend to others who want a chilling tale to keep them up at night. I greatly appreciated the author's note at the end, it was a wonderful addition that made me feel connected to the writer and appreciated by him. It's nice to hear that writers do truly have their readers in mind when they write books for us.

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Really enjoyed this novel. The writing flowed and the characters were depicted very well. Couldn't wait to find out what happens next.

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The blurb gives a fairly good outline to what this book is about so I suggest you start there.

The Nowhere Child was a fairly good read. Kimberley Leamy is confronted by a strange man who tells her that she may not who she has believed to be her whole life. That she could indeed be a missing girl from America. Much confusion ensues but enough intrigue persists that Kim just can't let it go and begins to do her own research into the story. Could she really be a victim of a kidnapping? Has her whole life been a lie?

What follows is a fairly good read in following Kim's travels as she embarks on her own truth quest. Admittedly the story took me to parts I wasn't expecting ..... ie. snakes *shivers* but it is an indeed a compelling read that I was reluctant to put down. In fact, I enjoyed this more than I expected to and found it was a solid, twisty turny debut from this author. I would read more. Recommended.

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This was a brilliant read! I loved how the story unfolded and the story kept me gripped as I wanted answers so just couldn't put it down. I will be recommending this book.

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If this is the authors first novel then i CANNOT wait to read the next!!
i nearly skipped past this book as its a common title and normally all the same story line but boy am i glad i clicked read now!
this author knows how to capture his audience and keep them right there!

brilliant plot, fantastic writing 100 stars!

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This was a crazy book, so Kim is just chilling in a coffee shop in Australia minding her own business, when a man comes over and shows her a photograph of his sister Sammy, who he says went missing over 20 years ago in Kentucky.

He says she’s his sister!

Crazy see I told you, so then she goes to meet the “family” and it gets even crazier, the story flits from past to present but it’s easy to read and doesn’t get confusing.

I loved this book and the blurb and everything about it, found myself totally drawn into it until the final page. What a great book, well written and has lots of secrets and lies to keep you busy.

Great book defo want to read more from the author

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Kim Leamy (living in Australia) is approached by a stranger who claims she is Sammy Went who vanished from her home in America. Her step father indicates her mum who has died might have known something. Against the wishes of her family she goes back to her home town in Manson. Things are clearly not what they seem and the book draws you deeper into an unexpected conclusion. Would really recommend.

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