Dear Child was an interesting, thought-provoking book told through three unique perspectives. Lena - a kidnap victim who escapes her captor, her daughter Hannah and Lena’s father Matthias. It followed what happened after Lena escapes whilst also showing us what really happened in the cabin.

I didn’t much care for Lena, however; I loved Hannah, and it was interesting to read through her eyes.

I found the story confusing at first, but when I’d gotten to know the characters and the format of the book, I found it worked well. The story was so good, and it was worth powering through for.

The plot was so twisty, and I enjoyed trying to put together the pieces of the mystery and trying to figure out what was really going on.

It was interesting to see trauma explored in 3 unique ways. Lena - who struggled with anxiety, fear and paranoia at every turn, Hannah - who having never seen the outside world struggled to adjust to her new life, and Matthias - who having now found out he has 2 grandchildren and the battle to find out the truth about his daughter.

I felt mixed about the ending. In some ways it felt like a letdown, like I was waiting for something bigger or more shocking to happen, however, it tied up all the loose ends and everything made sense so it was still satisfying. I would love to read more of this authors’ work in the future.

The suspense builds throughout the story and every male is a potential suspect. Some good strong characters and a terrifying story that makes you wonder how many could be taken from the streets and just listed as a missing person. Every chapter has new revelations that twist the plot a bit further and tighter. At the end it makes you wonder about the futures of the people involved in the abductions, their lives would never be the same. Brilliant writing that makes you jump to so many different conclusions and all of mine were wrong. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Now this is one of those rare books that leaves me uncertain on how much I enjoyed it and how to rate it. At times it is a hard read (abuse of Lena) and a very frustrating read (when characters know more but utterly refuse to tell anyone). However it is a very good book that will keep you hooked. Given the book title (Dear Child) I have to admit that I did expect Hannah to play a bigger role in the ending chapters - she seems to just disappear. Still definitely a book well worth a read

A solid debut novel. I was engaged from the start. I found it a little slow in parts, but it still kept me reading to find out what happened! Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy, I wish Romy well with the release of Dear Child.

An addictive thriller I read in just two sittings.
Romy Haussmann you made me look over my shoulder more than once on my dog walk recently. A story that shocks and scares at the same time. Survival and courage is needed by the characters in this well plotted intense saga of Lena, Jasmin and Hannah.
The books characters are well described and the author gets in the mind of the aggressor and the victims. I was a little unsure to begin with as I haven't read Room or similar epic novels and I am not a huge fan of Gone Girl.
Mathias Beck has lived in hope for 4825 days - the amount of time his daughter Lena went missing over thirteen years ago. His wife Karin also holds onto a small amount of hope that she will be discovered alive one day. So fast forward to a phone call that a girl had been found and is in hospital and is called Lena these parents cant believe what they are hearing. Only when they get to the hospital they discover that Lena isn't their Lena and the only person who can shed light on some of the events is a little girl called Hannah who is thirteen and looks remarkably like Lena when she was young. Huh?
Hannah has been living in a cabin with no natural light and allocated toilet times and locked in at all times.
This story keeps you guessing. I love books when the are narrated by different characters and this novel does it perfectly. Narrated by Mathias, Hannah and Jasmin.
The story chilled me and kept me racing through the pages as Jasmin's horror story is told - twists and turns and I did not guess the bad guy - didn't see that one coming. In fact I was suspicious of everyone.
Why does Hannah say Lena is her Mum? and why does Jasmin say she is called Lena?
Well written, great characters, the plot is fantastic, a great surprise at the end.
I highly recommend this one.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book which was so well written and kept me gripped throughout. There were lots of red herrings and I kept guessing the outcome but was proved wrong several times! Look forward to reading more by this author.

5 big fat stars for an absolutely stunning read !!
This is an addictive story about the disappearance of a 23 year old woman called Lena Beck who has been missing now for thirteen years and no clues to if she is alive or dead.
At the start of the book a young woman is hit by a car, badly injured and unable to speak the strange child who is with the woman says it’s her mother and that her name is Lena but is this the the missing Lena Beck and if so where has she been. What follows is a sinister and gripping story told from multiple points of view and so many damn twists I just couldn’t figure out just what the hell was happening, my head was all over the place and I was desperate to know the outcome and this for me is what makes a brilliant read that I loved and couldn’t put down.
It’s a fabulously written book that should be just picked up and read without knowing what to expect because this is a read chock full of surprises and I was glad I went into it quite blind not knowing what was going on and it was astoundingly wonderful!!
I can’t wait to hear more from Romy Haussmann and can highly recommend this book so don’t miss out, grab a copy and just read it.
My thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A huge Thank You to The author, The publisher and Netgalley for providing the e-arc in exchange for a unbiased review of these works.

inspired, unique, fresh and riviting i could not put this read down!

What a page turner - a gripping story with twists and turns and darkness. It kept me guessing, and I raced through it in one afternoon.

A father, two children Jonathan and Hannah and their mother Lena live in a wooden cabin hidden deep in the woods. Life is strict and rules are obeyed at all times. The father's role is to protect his family against the outside world. and ensure that the children have a mother. Elsewhere is a mother and father whose daughter went missing 14 years previously.
When Lena manages to escape she is hit by a car and upon waking up in hospital it soon emerges that everything is not as it appears. 'Lena' is not Lena but a woman called Jasmine. It covers everything, abuse, obsession, emotional blackmail, fear and love.
I read this in two days, it was really hard to put down. It is enthralling, heartbreaking and totally absorbing.

#DearChild was engaging and full of suspense, with a twist I didn’t see coming. It is translated very well from German, which sometimes books aren’t.

Told from the perspectives of the missing Lena (or is she?), Lena’s daughter (with her captor) Hannah and Lena’s distraught father Matthias. Each perspective is important to the story and compelling. It’s horrifying to read at some points, but I am a wimp so..... Everything is wrapped up satisfactorily which is important (to me) and I’d recommend this book to those who enjoy thrillers.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for my free advance copy in return for an unbiased review.

Romy Hausmann had delivered a brilliantly written thriller in "Dear Child'. I was captivated by the majority of the story. The first two thirds was very engaging and full of suspense as it was twisting and turning each time the character stories changed over. The last third was not as engaging and was a little more synonymous with other thrillers and suspense novels around. At first I thought it was a story about Lena and Hannah, but it was clear that this was more about Jasmine than Lena and Hannah alone. The perspectives of Mathias were also quite significant, and there was a moment where this storyline could have taken a different turn, and the author's ability to take you down one road and quickly change direction is a cunning skill to have a a writer. The remoteness of the wood where the children and family were hidden was reflected in the disconnection and remoteness of each of the main characters in maintaining a link with their past, their family and their re-connection to normality. There was also a dreadful sadness about the whole story, and this sadness was definitely an addition to creating a level of mystery and building suspense. In particular sadness round the lives and experiences of the three children. Highly recommended book. Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC.

I'm always sceptical about reading translated books however don't let this put you off as it reads perfectly .
I was hooked from the onset, it's fast paced, full of twists and turns and I was kept guessing right until the end. The story is told from 4 perspectives , all of which were good to read and kept you wanting to read more. This would make a great film!
Thank you Netgalley for this ARC

Oh my goodness, what a book!
Firstly, thank you so much to Quercus books for gifting me a copy of this absolutely thrilling page turner. I honestly could not put it down and couldn’t think of a better distraction in these current time.
There were so many twists and turns I just couldn’t keep up. And everything wrapped up really well at the end, there really was no stone unturned.
Highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a thriller!

Similar books have been written with this theme but this was a still a well written enjoyable book. I thought the voice of the characters, the impact of trauma, and loss were all captured very eloquently. Definitely, recommended.

Fourteen years ago Lena Beck went missing in the early hours of the morning on the way home from a party no one knows what happened to her. Present day a woman is found injured on the side of the road with a young child, Hannah. Hannah tells them that the injured woman is Lena, her mother.

The story is told from the perspectives of the different characters in the book Lena, Hannah, Jasmin and Lena’s father Matthias and it deals with the aftermath following the escape from captivity, slowly drawing out what really happened.

The book is really well written and translated from German. ‘Dear Child’ had me hooked from the start. Things are never quite what they seem. I didn’t see the end coming. A definite must read.

This is an excellent book. It is a translation of Liebes Kind from Romy Hausmann and unlike many translations this one reads perfectly in English. It is thrilling, captivating and fast moving. I read it in one full day, getting to sleep very late at night. I just could not put it down. I was so eager to get to the end. Hausmann tells this story from various points of view, something which contributed considerably to the telling of her story. She also delves deep into various psychological aspects and the effect that a trauma such as abduction can have on an individual. There were disappearances and disappointments when parents raced to claim their missing child, only to discover it was a case of mistaken identity. This story was full of twists and turns. I was kept guessing right up until the end. I'd highly recommend this thrilling read.

Publication Date: 14 May 2020
Publisher: Quercus Books

4.5 Stars⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

“It’s not so bad, Mama. It was just a silly accident “.

I flew through this one overnight. A well written gripping plot that will keep you guessing until the end!

I was drawn in from the very beginning, right until the very end! Each turn of the page left me wanting more! I was intrigued by the characters, particularly Hannah who is the daughter of missing woman Lena.

Matthias has never given up hope that his daughter Lena, missing for 14 years is still alive. So when a woman is brought in to hospital after a hit and run accident with Hannah and she tells them the woman is her mama and her name is Lena, Matthias is hopeful that after all this time he was right. Matthias is soon disappointed to find that it is not Lena but a woman called Jasmin. But, how then does Hannah look like exactly as Lena did at the same age?

Hannah and her brother Jonathan have been kept by ‘papa’ in the windowless cabin in the woods where they were born but with them Jasmin has been held captive for four months. Enduring fear and violence until the day she manages to escape... and papa is left for dead, unrecognisable!

The twists and turns that unfold throughout this dark psychological thriller will keep you reading well past bedtime!

"It's hard to watch this, but maybe that's how it is. Love. It's love. No matter how sick, distorted and misunderstood, it's still love. Love that spurs us on. That turns us into monsters, each in our own way."

'Lena' and children Hannah and Jonathan live in a cabin in the woods in Germany. 'Papa' is keeping them there, well keeping 'Lena' there because Hannah and Jonathan were born there so know no different. When 'Lena', escapes all hell breaks loose.

Firstly Matthias and Karin, Lena's parents, realise that Jasmin is not their daughter, who disappeared thirteen years ago. So where is Lena and are Hannah and Jonathan Lena's children? Who is 'Papa', found dead and unrecognisable in the cabin and why was he doing this? Now the nightmare really begins.

A fraught thriller, the pace of the plot never lets up. Told from well-crafted characters, Hannah's, Jasmin's and Matthias's perspectives we realise that secrets are being kept even as some are being discovered. Hannah particularly is very creepy. Cleverly written, Hausmann drip feeds crucial elements of the plot, surprises, as the novel develops. Twists and turns lead to an explosive ending. This emotional, psychological thriller is an excellent debut, well worthy of comparisons with Gone Girl. I read this over a couple of days whilst self-isolating at home due to Coronavirus.

I had to really push through to finish this book. It wasn't for me. I usually enjoy this type of story, but it didn't hold my attention for very long.