Thank you Netgalley for a copy of Christian White’s new book The Nowhere Child!
This was a tough read for me, I found it slow moving, and to be honest the extreme radical religious part of the story put me right off...the ending was ok, although pretty abrupt.

I have reviewed this title for Library Journal, and it will be published either in the print magazine or online in LJ Xpress Reviews. I am prohibited from sharing my review until LJ has published it. Thanks so much for this Arc!!!~!

Australian photographer Kim is confronted by a total stranger from America with a story so far-fetched she refuses to believe it. It seems that her whole life has been a lie, and that she isn’t who she thinks she is. Through a series of time jumps and an international flight to Kentucky, author Christian White expertly unravels a story in such a way that the reader must constantly reflect on “whodunit “

Imagine if you where told that the life you are leading and the family that raised you, was a complete lie. Imagine staring at the photo of a younger version of yourself and your true parents. Photos you have never seen. Kim Leary's current world is about to collide with the past.

Kim Leary is a native of Coburg Australia and a photography teacher at night. She is told that her name is Sammy Went, from Mason, Kentucky, a child that has been missing since April 3rd, 1992. A day she does not remember. She was only two. What happened on that day? The Shadowman recurring night terror may not be just a dream but something hidden deep into the ocean. This is the journey of Kim to discover where she came from and the secrets that are hidden in the depths of the suburban town of Mason.

Christian White has repurposed the "missing child" story through a clever angle and from a different timeline. The story starts out right away with the hook. The narrative is told from alternating timelines "now" and "then". In the "now" we are alongside Kim's journey to discover her truth. In the "then" we see a family and a small town torn apart by a missing child. As the story unfolds, we are introduced to many characters that are so well rounded, flawed, and believable which engage the reader in their whole story. Often the back and forth timelines can slow the development of the plot, but the pace of the story is on point. Themes of sexual orientation in a small-minded town, alcoholism, and cult worship were well weaved into the storyline, shaping the plot. My only criticism of the novel that the ending was slightly predictable, albeit emotional and unforgettable.

The Nowhere Child is a complete and welcome surprise. A well-crafted story, well thought out, and characters that are engulfed in real life issues. I am keeping Christian White on my radar for future novels.

Thank you, NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and the author for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Imagine finding out that you are not who you think you are, that your entire life was not only a lie but a deep dark secret. That is just what happens to Kimberly Leamy in Melbourne, Australia when a complete stranger visited her at school where she was a photography teacher and told her he suspected she was Sammy Went kidnapped from Manson, Kentucky at the age of two.. Not only that but he brought a picture of the two year old child, missing now for 28 years Living in Australia, she has no one to ask as her "mother" had died 4 years earlier. So why now after all this time and why by this man? What does he know and how? For Kim the only thing to do was to go to Manson, Kentucky and seek the truth. The story is told both from Kim's perspective in present day and a host of characters from 1990 when the crime was committed.

This book will keep you riveted until the end. With the many twists and turns, this psychological thriller will keep you glued to your seat from start to finish. While this is not my usual genre, I took a chance when I requested this ARC. I was not disappointed, actually it was a fascinating novel, one that I would highly recommend. As a debut novel, this one is first rate and I will be looking for more from this author.

My thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Twenty eight year old Kimberly Leamy is contacted by a stranger, at the school where she teaches photography classes, in Melbourne Australia. The man tells her that he suspects she is Sammy Went, who disappeared at the age of two, from Manson, Kentucky. This meeting leads to Kim traveling to Manson to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of Sammy Went and to find out if she is actually the daughter of someone other than the mother that raised her. Kim's mother had died four years earlier, of cancer, so there is no way to ask her about the past, When Kim speaks to her step father about what she has learned, he urges her to leave the past buried.

Kim meets the mother, brother, and sister of Sammy Went and encounters the mysterious, cult-ish, fanatical, Church of the Light Within, that worships by handling venomous snakes and has a host of other crazy and dangerous practices. The church also holds exorcisms on those who don't live up to their rigid way of thinking and living. Although Sammy's father (born into the cult of the Church of the Light Within), sister, and brother, have nothing to do with the church, Sammy's mother Molly, is a devout follower, to such an extent that she puts the church ahead of her family.

The story is told in alternating timelines of "now" and "then", with "now" telling the story from Kim's point of view and "then" telling the story during the time of Sammy's disappearance, from the point of view of the various town folks. I enjoyed the story telling, especially the "then" timeline. There were so many things being done in secret and so much harm done by the church beliefs, that it was interesting to see how various people where affected by the church. It became clear to me that Sammy was not in a safe place, even before her disappearance, when her mother was so deeply involved in beliefs of the cult-ish church.

Kim did have a definite trait of impulsiveness that led her into a dangerous situation and I always have trouble thinking someone would be so bold to run headlong into situations that I would refrain from running into. Other than that, I really enjoyed the interactions of the family, with friends, enemies, and townsfolk. So many secrets were kept and so many of the town rumors were true. It's scary, the secrets that this small town held.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley, for this ARC.

I read tons of mystery thrillers. It’s always great to discover something new. But what originally attracted me to this one was a success story, I love those. You know, the ones where the author tries and tries and wastes years on meaningless jobs and then is suddenly discovered and given a six figure publishing deal. That’s how it was for Christian White who, going by the afterword, seems like the nicest guy and, going by the book, certainly deserves it. At first it seemed like just another genre standard, but once this book takes off, it grabs you and never lets go. It fact it’s a one sitting read, it’s just too long to be one, but it’s a book I only stepped away from for food and loo. So yeah, it’s that good. The author and his main character are Aussies, but the bulk of the action takes place in USA, specifically Kentucky, more specifically Manson Kentucky, a small town dominated by the local Pentecostal church of The Light Within. So technically and by no design my second book in a row featuring cult like religions. Pentecostals are basically Indian Jones’ worst nightmare or more precisely the final dramatic scene of this story is. Slithering creeping crawling nightmares. And Kim Leamy, a nice young woman, photographer from Melbourne, suddenly discovers that she’s actually Sammy Went, a 2 year old who disappeared from her family 28 years ago. So Kim gets on a place, travels to Kentucky and then the terrifying truths about the past start to unravel. Premise alone would have made this readable if not extraordinary, but White’s writing and his superb characterizations take it to a totally different level. The intricacy of the small community and families under duress and small town mores make for an absolutely superlative literary dramatic work with tightly ratcheted suspense throughout. Even when you’re pretty sure you have it figured out about 4/5th of the way in, it still manages to surprise you completely, changing up the narrative oh so cleverly as to basically go…gotcha. Yeah. It’s that good. White, as a kid, visited Kentucky, and though the darkness he remembers isn’t the same as the darkness of Manson, Kentucky, the creeping atmosphere is similar in spirit. So yeah, great book. Additional kudos to the author for creating such a credible not at all annoying or stereotypical (something not too many women genre authors manage) female lead. Mystery suspense thriller fans should enjoy this one tremendously. I did. Thanks Netgalley.

Who kidnapped Sammy Went? This book hooks you right from the beginning with the mystery in the front and works itself backwards. The only reason this is not 5 stars (4.5) was the ending felt rushed. Otherwise, great story, great book. Highly recommend.

Thanks NetGalley for the preview.

Wow! What an amazing debut novel. I was hooked from the first page - I read the whole book in a few hours.

What would you do if you found out you were kidnapped as a toddler? If your parents weren't who you thought they were? That you had a whole other family you didn't know? Or the crazy reason why you were kidnapped in the first place? Those questions and answers are explored in this well-organized, well-written, book that flowed beautifully from past to present.

I look forward to reading more by this author.

Thank you #netgalley and #stmartinspress for the eARC.

The Nowhere Child by Christian White is a gripping and roller coaster read! Just when you think you have it figured out, you realize you actually didn’t! A parents worst nightmare. The way the story unfolds is great though, a nightmare story told amazingly!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy of The Nowhere Child in exchange for an honest review.

Photographer Kimberly Learny is shocked when she is contacted at her home in Melbourne, Australia by an American who believes that Kim is actually Sammy Went, a little girl who disappeared from her home in Kentucky nearly three decades earlier. Kim cannot ask her mother, who is now dead, so she travels to Kentucky to uncover the truth. Traveling between past and present, this story explores the shadowy world of fundamentalist religion, including the handling of poisonous snake during revivals, the damage it caused and the lengths a parent will go to to protect a child from harm