Thank you to publishers for a complimentary ebook! So dark and twisted. A harrowing tale of a serial, deranged kidnapper who keeps women against their will, forces them to take on a different identity and be a mother to his 2 children that have never seen outside their “cabin”. I couldn’t put this down once I started. You will love this if you like BA Paris, Greer Hendricks, Gillian Flynn, etc.

This was an intense read with major Room vibes!

It's hard to review because although it was beautifully written and translated, the content is hard to process and it feels weird to say i "enjoyed" this novel.

Basically, a woman is abducted and forced to stay in a rural cabin completely isolated from society with her captor for 13 years. She has children and the children have no idea their situation is unique or unusual in any way. The story starts with the woman's family being told they might have found her and she's in the hospital, but when they arrive things aren't what they expected.

There were times reading Dear Child where I had to stop reading and take a deep breath because the abuse was described so well that I felt like it was happening to me. Similar feelings to My Dark Vanessa where the protagonist struggles to accept what has happened to her.

I liked how the child's point of view is shared and the recovery process they went through is explained--seemed very true to life and realistic.

I can see this book blowing up even though the story isn't anything new and it's hard to read, but at least it's fiction so you don't feel too bad afterwards.

#DearChild #NetGalley
Excellent read. I would highly recommend this book to literary, thriller, and suspense readers.

I found this an interesting read. A few twists and turns which keeps the reader turning the pages. This book was a quick read which I would recommend to others.

Dear child is Romy Hausmann’s first thriller book but it certainly doesn’t seem like it. It seems as though she has been writing thrillers all her life, as it’s so expertly done.

Once I started this book, I actually finished it in a few hours, because I was so engrossed in the story. The story keeps you on the edge of your seat and has plenty of twists.

Lena Beck vanished on the way back from a party 13 years ago and her father, Matthias, has been desperately searching for her ever since.

A woman is found who says she is Lena, but her parents say that it is not their daughter. After that, events start to unroll and things get quite suspenseful and riveting.

The story is told from 3 different people’s perspectives, which makes it much more engaging. The characters are very well fleshed out, and are extremely relatable.

I would really recommend this book for people who love thriller, mystery and suspense genres. I hope to read more books by the author in the future, as I really enjoyed this one. I think her debut is fantastic.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advance reader’s copy for an honest review.

Matthias and Karin's daughter Lena has been missing for thirteen years. They kept searching for her to get some closure. What had happened to her? They could not understand why there wasn't progress being made on her case. They felt like the police had given up searching for her. Until one day the police contacted Mathias and told him that they found his daughter alive! He just needed to go identify that it is her. Mathias and Karin were so excited they left right away to go see their daughter. They couldn't believe after so many years that they would be reunited with her. What happens when Mathias sees her? This is where the story twists and turns and keeps you reading non-stop until the end. I enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it!