2021 Book Review #10: Dear Child

 

This is the author's English-speaking debut novel.  And it's a GOOD one.

I had never heard of this author...she lives in Germany, which is also the setting for the story.

STORY SUMMARY

There is a cabin in the woods.  A very remote woods.  The closest road is a half mile away down a footpath.  The cabin is more like a shack.  The windows are boarded up. And a woman has just escaped this cabin by running  through the woods, getting hit by a car, and brought to the hospital.  

She says her name is Lena.  But her name isn't Lena.  Only in the mind of her abductor is she named Lena.  So what is her name??

The real Lena disappeared about 13 years before.  Yet...this woman in the hospital fits the profile of Lena.  And she even has the same scar in the same place!  It's very distinctive!  But....the real Lena's parents Matthias and Karin)  swear that this girl is not their Lena.

And Hannah!  Hannah, a little girl,  escaped the woods with "Lena"  that evening, too and she knows things she isn't sharing with the authorities or the child therapists. Matthias learns that Hannah shares the same DNA as his daughter Lena!  And it is not the woman in the hospital!!

He  learns that he and Karin are now grandparents...and that there is also a little boy named Jonathan!  

So where is the real Lena?? 

"Lena" is desperate to begin her life again.....but she knows her tormentor is still out there somewhere....and she will remain a prisoner in her mind and in her home until the whole truth of what really happened in the woods finally comes to light. 

MY THOUGHTS

Wow.  This is a thrill ride of a book.  The ups and downs and twists and turns....all over the place as quite a psychological thriller.

This book is a bit "dark" in spots but it's quick and smooth and moves right into the next section.  The book is divided into 2 parts and there are no chapters.  Just sections in the voice of the various main characters.  Oddly enough, we do not hear the voice of the abductor. We hear the voice of Lena, the woman in the hospital, Hannah, Matthias. You must pay close attention to the voice of the woman in the hospital, especially before she is released to her own apartment.  It's rather unsettling and can be confusing if you just gloss over the section.   That's the only thing, besides a couple of editorial mistakes, that makes this not a perfect 10.

This book centers around the aftermath of an abduction. It also includes the themes of grief, abandonment, family, friendship, children on the autism spectrum, trauma, death, hope, and perseverance. 

Some reviewers have compared this to a mix of Room and Gone Girl. 

Some of the depictions of what takes place in the cabin is downright creepy. And what a page turner this is!  I spent far too many nights this past week staying up way too late because I just couldn't put this book down.

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older (due to mature content and explicit scenes).

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 9.