The Night Child is a quick, intense, and at times difficult read about trauma and the lengths we go to to protect ourselves from it. If you have a hard time with difficult subject matter I would give this book a pass, otherwise it is an affecting, haunting story that is absolutely worth a read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of the book

The content of this book is horrible. Sexual assault, verbal and domestic abuse and ptsd. The final straw was the development of the husbands character and the last part of the boom -this author was irresponsible.

Thanks so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for giving me access to this book. Great book! Well written, great premise and interesting characters. Heads up - It is a very emotional book - might be triggering to some readers. I will be recommending this book. Thanks again for letting have a chance to read it.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately it’s not the book for me. DNF @ 12%.

I had a really hard time with this book. I didn't know in advance about the abuse depicted. I am a trauma survivor myself and this book gave me a lot of anxiety and I cried many times. I definitely think a trigger warning should have been in place. I don't think I would have ever requested the book if I had known.
1 star


*I received a review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and Netgalley.*

Nora Brown is a high school English teacher with a young daughter and a loving husband, living a good life with little issues or problems. When it becomes increasingly apparent that something is happening to Nora that she does not understand, will the woman be able to get the help she needs? What happens when repressed memories threaten everything that Nora holds dear?

I had a lot of issues with this novel, especially the transparency of the plot. None of the characters were really all that likable, not even Nora. I finished the novel merely to see if my suspicions were correct, which cannot be considered a ringing endorsement for the book as a whole. Having read many psychological thrillers and suspense novels in the past, The Night Child just does not measure up. For the reasons listed above, I would not recommend it to other readers.

Disclaimer: Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley provided me with an Advanced Reader's Copy of The Night Child. The choice to review this book was my own.

3.5 stars

Trigger warning: sexual abuse

This was a solid read of what trauma can do to a child's future and behavior. I enjoyed the story telling but the "date stamps" were mildly distracting. The book really forces the reader into the uncomfortable territory with it's plot points and writing but I guess that was the entire point. Personally, the most fascinating part as a psych student was the exploration of mental health, pulled me into the plot and made me invest into it. Would recommend for anyone who likes the synopsis!

Unfortunately I have had to DNF this as I have PTSD and I found this too triggering. A trigger warning would have been appreciated.

I would consider reading more from this author as I enjoyed the writing style.

A haunting and beautiful book about the powers of the mind and how it can be deceiving. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

The Night Child. Anna Quinn 2018


This beautifully penned novel talks of the darkness of child abuse and the havoc it creates in the survivor’s life.

Nora is a married mother of one, a high school English teacher who begins to experience vivid hallucinations of a little girl with bright blue eyes. She writes this off as tension and exhaustion from work and the issues she is refusing to acknowledge in her marriage to Paul. But the visions keep reoccurring and Nora begins to unravel emotionally. Encouraged by a work colleague, Nora begins therapy with David, expecting to get results quickly and expel the hallucinations from her experience, but as anyone with even minor experience in counselling knows, things tend to get worse before they get better and this is true for Nora.

The writing is painterly and poetic, with Quinn never once overplaying the use of similes to express an emotion or situation. It is perfectly paced, with easy-going scenes and action-packed drama coming rapid-fire taking the reader into a descent into a kind of madness that occurs with flashbacks and recollection of horrors enacted upon the innocent.
This is a glorious story that has a high emotional impact. There is no happily ever after ending, but one that is hopeful and positive none the less. Exquisitely written, it leaves the reader wanting more.

I was not a fan of this. It was an ARC from NetGalley (shout-out for the ARC) so maybe the formatting was an issue? But it was very predictable, yet at the same time, incoherent. It skipped back and forth and was just kind of all over the place, and why did she marry her husband? He is horrible!

The Night Child was an emotional psychological thriller that gripped me right from the beginning. I was invested in the unique storyline, and sympathized with Nora and her difficult past and current mental health issues she worked to overcome throughout the story. The plot dealt with difficult topics surrounding mental health, sexual abuse, death, and more, which made this an emotional, dark read. It was a page-turner, as I was anxious to discover what would happen with Nora and the developments that continued to unravel throughout this short page-turner. It really made me think about how we handle mental health and treat those who have been affected by abuse.

* Thank you NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review *

What starts as a woman in her English classroom one afternoon seeing a child's face ends with a shocking revelation about what happened to Nora when she was younger. From start to finish you're sucked in to this dread inducing narrative trying to figure out why this child's face has appeared and the startling memories that come with it.

This a fantastic debut novel and I can't wait to see what's to come for Quinn.

Full review posted on my blog.

Fast paced!!! Good premise but something was missing. Still, I recommend this book to fans of the genre!

A very moving portrayal of how the mind protects the psyche from harmful memories. Very difficult to read in spots.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

Unfortunately the writing style was not for me. The beginning of the novel felt like a bit of an 'info dump' where the narrator just seems to go into too many details, too early on, leaving a feeling of things being forced, and details listed, rather than a natural, flowing story, where information is revealed as we go along, leaving the reader feeling intrigued, interested and eager to read on and find out more. Writing style is a huge deciding factor for me, as to whether I feel I am going to enjoy a book. So I was unable to carry on beyond the first few pages. So a false start really, where I am unable to give a full review of the entire book.

This book is about a child who is abused and molested. It deals with a lot of touchy subjects like incest but I definitely recommend this one. I am extremely happy to have read it. This is one of those books that will stay with me for a very long time to come.

This is my second novel by this author. Her writing is strong, and it reminds me of Diane Chamberlain's work. It deals with trauma, emotion, and family. Sometimes these books are meant to be read at the right time for the reader. You must be in the right frame of mind to read such a subject. I think sometimes that skews a person's perception of a book, and may have rated it higher or lower, depending if the reader was ready to receive it at the time.

I state the above for the mere fact that I was in the mood for this. Therefore, my review and rating.

Thank you for the opportunity to receive this ARC.

I finally got around to reading this book. While I didn’t love this book... I also didn’t hate it. It dealt with some issues I wasn’t really expecting and it was a hard one to get through. Verrrrrry big issues in this book. At times, it was uncomfortable to read. The ending wasn’t my favorite but appropriate.

It needs a sensitive trigger warning or something.

A psychological story about the effects of suppressed trauma and the strength of the human mind. It was a bit slower than I was expecting, but still captivating until the end.