A very unusual tale which begins in a different time in America. Hard for us to believe such things happened. A sad tale at times with uplifting moments.

My oh my, what a great read!

This is the story of a Kim, quietly living her life in Australia with her step dad and her sister and working as a photographer. Everything is great...until a mysterious stranger steps into her life and claims that she isn't Kim at all - that she is Sammy, his little sister, who was abducted from her home in America when she was just 2 years old. Suddenly, everything that Kim thought was true is a lie....but who is lying?

This is a true roller coaster of a book. The action flip flops back and forth between Manson, Kentucky 20 years ago, and Manson, Kentucky now. We see the steps of the investigation from a number of view points and we also see Kim in present day Manson trying to come to terms with what has happened and trying to get to the truth with it all building to a terrifying final couple of chapters.

Wonderfully written, exciting and fast paced, I finished this book in just a couple of days and will definitely be looking out for more by Christian White in the future.

Kim thought she knew who she was - but does she really? Happily living in Australia, she is surprised when an American man turns up claiming to be her brother and that she had been kidnapped as a little girl. A gripping psychological thriller involving cults, kidnap and confusion. A great twist at the end. Highly recommended.

This book was a great surprise. I was hooked from the first chapter and really enjoyed following Kim on her journey of discovery. The concept was cleverly conceived and well delivered. Well worth the time to read it, give it a go, you won't regret it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Imagine if someone came up to you with proof that you are not who you thought you were, that you had actually been abducted as a 2 year old in a completely different country! This is what happens to Kim in her home city of Melbourne. The story alternates between what happened in Kentucky when the abduction took place, and present day following Kim's story after the revelation. I loved the characters and the plot kept me on the edge of my seat right to the end. Note: if you have a snake phobia, you might like to avoid this book!!! I look forward to future books from this author. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
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What a clever debut novel this is, it will keep readers engrossed.
The author must do a follow on book. I want to know what happens next!
Thankyou to NetGalley and the author and publishers

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book. Really enjoyed it. Well written and full of twists. If you enjoy dark thrillers you’ll love this!

No messing around, straight into a good story. Starts of in Australia but very Stockford to America. I learnt a lot from this book about different lifestyles. Unbelievable and hard to digest maybe but true. Fact can be harder to believe than fiction. I liked some characters and then opinions can very quickly change.

Fantastic Read.
It instantly gets you engrossed into the story.
Both plot and characters are well written.
Highly recommended book,
Thank you to both NetGalley and Harper Collins uk for my eARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review

I really liked reading this book. Starts off with a bang and never lets up. A good twist at the end that kept me guessing until the twist was revealed. A great debut and I will look forward to the next book from this author

An excellent, gripping and strong debut. Would recommend as it’s a breath of fresh air in this genre.

A little girl went missing years ago.

Read page one, and you won't stop, guaranteed. 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.

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.

The initial premise is a fascinating one, to imagine that you are not who you have always believed yourself to be, what emotions must that stir up?. Plenty of twists and quite a few red herrings will keep the reader guessing right up to a very dramatic climax. A very impressive debut novel.

A dark and gripping debut.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for a copy in return for a fair and honest review.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This is a good debut novel thriller based in Australia about Kim. Well worth a read

I really enjoyed this book. The ending was a surprise which I always enjoy. A really different tale; sneaky as a serpent ;0) I will have to remember this author

Almost from the first page I knew I was going to like this book. Imagine a stranger approaching you to tell you that they thought you had been kidnapped nearly 30 years ago from another country! This book follows the journey of this young woman to find her real roots and is written in the now and then - it was great!

Definitely recommend.
Thanks to NetGalley for my free copy.

There were more twists and turns in this book than your average rollercoaster. You think you're ahead of the various narrators as the story unfolds, only to find time and time again that you were just as off base as they were.

The first one, which sets the premise of the entire book, happens so early on that you know that there's going to be no chapter left unused.

The descriptions of college and university photography students' projects made me laugh - having been there it was very accurately portrayed!

Do some of the themes feel a little familiar? Sure, it's a mystery book about a historical kidnapping. However, it's a solid debut novel and nonetheless brings plenty new to the table.

My only real criticism is that I want to know more of the aftermath, following the final reveal and the previous relationships of the characters involved in it!

3.5/5*

(4*: I really enjoyed this book. Would happily look for more from this author, and will recommend the book to others.
3*: A decent read. I'm indifferent to reading more from this author but might still recommend the book to people who are interested by the description.)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Well this was a fantastic read! What a great premise - a two-year old child was taken twenty-eight years ago and that child was you!

Such a well-told story, set in small town Kentucky, where a strange religious cult has a strong foothold, it was told in the now and then format, so as Kim discovered more about her background, we found out the backstory of the people she was meeting. So much tension, such believable characters and a fabulously dramatic ending. Loved it!

This is a debut crime thriller set between the present day in Australia/America and the early 1990s in Kentucky.

Kim has lived in Melbourne all her life. Or, so she thinks. She is approached by a stranger one day who seems to think she is involved with the case of a missing child almost thirty years before, little Sammy Went who vanished, aged 2, in Manson, Kentucky. Only she's not just involved - this stranger thinks she IS Sammy.

This is a fast, action packed thriller that I couldn't put down. It goes back and forth between the events of 1990 in Kentucky and the present day investigation between Melbourne and Manson. I went into this fairly blind and thoroughly enjoyed it, I'd highly recommend you do the same.

Fantastic, a really well written thriller and something fresh which can be hard to find in this genre. Thanks to the publisher for granting me access via NetGalley.

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.