Very clever and very well written!! Fully enjoyed this one and was read in one sitting!! Cannot wait to read more from this author !!

I wasn't sure what to expect with Dear Child initially, but it certainly kept me interested. The book dips between three main characters, each who have been very differently affected by the main storyline, The fact that all three of these characters are unreliable really adds to the intrigue of the story, you simply don't know who to trust. I would have been more interested to read more about life in the 'cabin' but overall it was a well-written story with lots of mystery to keep you on your toes.

Well that was a great surprise!! I really wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. This is what I call a gripping psychological thriller that will definitely leave you on the edge of your seat!

Without giving too much away, the story centres around Lena Beck, a Munich student, going missing after a party fourteen years ago - she basically disappears into thin air. Roll on to the current day, we meet her captor and their two children (Hannah and Jonathan) who have been locked up for all their lives in a cabin with no windows in the middle of nowhere. They don’t seem bothered because that is all they know. There lives are run according to their father’s schedule and they cannot deviate from that or there will be consequences.

The story is told from a few viewpoints including Hannah’s and Lena’s father Mathias.

There are so many twists and turns in this book and while I generally guess with other thrillers – I never saw any of them coming. The author is skilled at leaving the reader hanging at the end of each paragraph. There were a few dark and disturbing moments in this book, so readers beware.

Dear Child, Romy Hausmann

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Mystery and Thrillers,

Well, I didn't know what to expect but was seduced in by the description. I just had to know how things played out.

It was one of those reads where just as I thought I'd got things worked out another facet was thrown in to the mix. It was very complex, very multi dimensional.
It felt very real, I could feel Lena's horror, feel the anguish Lena's parents felt, understand why her dad was so angry. Yet I also got annoyed at him when he kept charging in, on an “ I know best, somebody needs to do something” I guess any loving parent in their situation would get frustrated at what they see as lack of progress.

I could feel Lena's terror, both in the cabin, when she realised just how dire her situation was, and when she escaped. You'd think relief would come from being home, but of course she's got some real PTSD issues going on. She really was in a bad place.
Then there's the children – how on earth do kids ever recover from something like this? On the face of it Hannah seems to have adjusted better, although she's a little strange she is very intelligent, and that caught me out. At the end we could see just how programmed to ignore horror she had become, even when it was right in front of her.
I just wondered what would happen to her, would she ever get past the things she'd seen? I loved seeing so much from her POV, her thoughts, her complex explanations for every little thing, the way she cited statistics and facts so thoroughly, the way everything is black and white to her, her complete obedience, devotion and acceptance of everything Papa said. I felt she'd woven a world in her head that overlapped the real world and she genuinely found it hard to tell what was real. I loved when she talked about whispers – how she described her speech and mouse voice, or when she's really insistent, the Lion voice. I could visualise her doing that. I felt Lena did so much to try to make these poor kids lives happy. I'd say normal, but that was impossible.
I guess what I had in my mind was that terrible story a few years back where some poor girl had been kept like that for 24 years, and she and the kids she had were living underground all that while. I remember then thinking how on earth can anyone pick up life after that? The characters in this book felt real to me and made me have the same feelings, wondering what kind of life they would/could lead after their escape.

Stars: five, a fantastic read, riveting and gave me much to think about.

Arc via Netgalley and publishers

Well written and intriguing this was a different style of book. I did find it very difficult to get into unfortunately.

I’ve wanted to read this book for a while and am so glad I did. Incredibly dark, eerie and twisted, the story is bleak and somewhat sad, while also being fresh and utterly gripping throughout. It’s one of those books you can see being made into a movie.

The most compelling thing about the book is how incredibly well-drawn the characters are. The author gets right into the mind and the psychology of both the victim and the perpetrator, as well as does a fascinating job exploring the story from the point of view of Hannah, a child affected by the story.

Much like with Room, the author gives such a beautiful, realistic voice to this child, and I found myself drawn to Hannah’s chapters more than some of the others, as they could get a little over-worked, frantic and confusing at times.

Haunting, atmospheric and sinister, I was gripped from the first page and recommend to readers who like dark thrillers like Room.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Dear Child by Romy Hausmann is an addictive thriller that I read in 2 sittings.
Lena Beck from Munich went to out on a Tuesday night to a student party until 5am. Whilst she was out, she phoned a friend but, after that Lena was never seen again. The police searched everywhere but, she was never found.
Thirteen years later her father got a phone call to say that a woman has been found with Lena’s description but when he gets there it’s not her. But the little girl Hannah who is with her is the splitting image of his daughter Lena. Her father never gave up looking for his daughter and hopes that she is still alive. As the story unfolds, they find that who this woman is and how she escaped going back in time to decipher what happened to Lena. Is she alive or dead?
Dear child is not your normal kidnapped, abductor scenario. It is quite a creepy eerie thriller. Especially the character Hannah, she seems to be very bright but, does not have much feeling for anything. This is cleverly written with lots of turns that kept me at the edge of my seat and a surprising twist at the end that I didn’t see coming.
Thank you NetGalley and Quercus for a copy of this book for an honest review.

I loved this book! This story follows a woman and her two children as they escape from their abductor. The story opens with their escape so I thought there wouldn't be many twists and we would just see the aftermath of their ordeal but I couldn't be more wrong! The narrative switches between three different perspectives, and flashes back to the past and present. This made the book so much more thrilling to read.
I loved all the twists and turns as well, I usually think I'm pretty good at figuring out a twist, but everytime I thought I'd figured it out something completely different would happen.
I'd definitely recommend this book if you were a fan of Room, I loved it!

This is a sad story reflecting on the effect of loss on a family.
A father and grandfather has been deeply affected by the loss of his daughter and his family has been even more affected by his behaviour and relationship with the press.
The possibility of finding his daughter throws everything into sharp focus again years later.
A dreadful scenario emerges revealing how the girl was abducted and kept by her abducter in awful conditions, subsequently further family drama is discovered!!
A dark story which left me feeling that the world can be a dreadful place!

This was a gripping novel, that I found very difficult to put down. Nothing in it was straightforward, and it is not until the end did you really have a full picture of what had been (or was) occurring. The story is told in the first person from three different points of view: Lena (the abducted woman), Hannah (Lena’s daughter) and Matthias (Lena’s father), with each chapter headed by the name of the narrator.
The story starts with Lena plotting to kill her abductor, then moves swiftly on to Hannah’s recounting of Lena’s accident, when they escape, and their arrival in hospital. I could not understand how Lena could leave her son, Jonathon, behind in the cabin prison. To Hannah, it was natural, since she was her mother’s favourite, and Jonathon had to clean up the stain on the carpet. What!!!? And was Lena really abducted and a prisoner, when Hannah reports Lena taking her (again leaving Jonathon drugged at home) out for day trips – including one to Paris. Hannah is a disturbed child – understandable given her highly claustrophobic and restrictive upbringing. It soon becomes clear, that she does tell the truth – but as she sees it – which may be at considerably variance with the way any normal person would understand what was happening. So, eventually you have to accept, that Hannah may be an unreliable narrator. But, is Lena always telling the truth? Is she any longer able to sort fact from fiction? She has been abducted, raped, imprisoned and had her identity obliterated. Who is she now?
The third narrator is Matthias. I could sympathise with him – having lost his daughter 17 year earlier, with no idea if she was alive or dead. But, I really disliked him and his attitude to all those around him. He actively obstructs the police investigations, then maintains they are not doing enough to find Lena. He is suspicious of everyone, and will not accept that he did not know everything about Lena’s life before she went missing. To him, Lena is still an innocent child, and anyone saying otherwise is a liar. Her ex-boyfriend is obviously guilty, despite having a water-tight alibi. He pretty much ignores his wife’s needs – though she is clearly as upset as he is.
A central theme of this book is love – love for a partner, love for a child, love for a friend, love of power and love of an idealised life.
“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.”
I highly recommend this book.

A really good gripping thriller which had me guessing the whole way through. It is really well written with interesting characters and a lot of twists.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Sometimes, you randomly stumble upon a book and find a treasure of a page turner with an epic story you may not have read; This is one of those books.

From start to finish I was reading on the edge of my seat, trying to make sense of what was happening, who was who and how everyone fit together. The intrigue evoked within this storyline because of those secrets we want revealed made those twists throughout shocking as they were sprung upon you when you were least expecting it! The last few chapters were like little exploding fireworks as each twist was revealed! I need to check out this authors other books!

A fantastically twisty, riveting read! Read it! Right now!

Where to even start with this book if I'm honest. This story is told from 3 POV, which may seem a lot but it is very easy to follow. I enjoyed this book and especially towards the end. In the last 40% the book moved so fast and so many twists and turns in such a short space of time I wasnt sure I could keep up. But I continued on the ride and so glad I did!

Spanning a period of 13 years the plot of this novel involves abduction, murders and house imprisonment. The central theme focusses on fathers and the unqualified love they have for their children. This, it turns out, can be both a curse and a blessing. We have one father desperately seeking Lena, his "vanished" daughter and another father effectively locking his children away from world to try and ensure they are always safe. How these fathers' stories interlink forms the core of this story. "Dear Child" is a truly chilling read that vividly portrays the psychological damage done to everyone involved - especially the two young children. One is left wondering if/how it is possible any of them can ever recover. An impressive first novel. Romy Hausmann is clearly a writer to watch.

I really enjoyed this book, and I was not sure I would. The writing style is deliberately confusing but rather than creating frustration, I just want to read more. A brilliant gripping read, would definitely recommend

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. From start to finish it kept me gripped and only very near the end did I think I knew the answers only it turned out I didn't. Hannah was a particularly well written creepy character.

Eerie, surprising and creepy thriller with a unique voice, and enough twists and turns to keep the reader interested. "Room" meets "Gone Girl" is an accurate description. An intense and emotional, page turning thriller that stays with you long after the last page have been turned.

A fresh take on your typical abduction novel. This story starts when the abductee manages to escape, but who is she and is her horror truly over?

A well-written, addictive and dark novel which is a definite must-read for any thriller fan. Fast paced and gripping, the many dramatic twists and turns will leave you hooked to the very last page.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

I found this book to be a good read, just not a great one. It is told by different characters from their perspective which, for me, made the book harder to follow. Lena, a 23 year old student goes missing and police investigate and cannot find any trace of her. 13 years later a woman is knocked down by a car by a car and taken to hospital with a young girl who is thought to be her daughter. DNA confirms the young girl is Lena’s daughter, yet the woman she was with isn’t Lena. The book had believable characters, some I liked and others I didn’t. It held my attention from the beginning and at times I thought waffled on a bit and could have been a shorter read. Quite a few turns in the story and when the abductor was revealed at the end I was surprised by who it was. 3 stars

Dark story and I had empathy for all the characters except of course the controlling villain.
I usually steer clear of story’s of abuse or locked up people in cellars ,I was sent this to read and thought I’d give it a try
Luckily this wasn’t gratuitously done ,no long scenes describing trauma but this is told without doing that .you do know what goes on enough to feel their dread confusion from being trapped and then for the children released and the world feels more like a prison to them
I do wonder what happened after for the main lead and the children and how they go on to develop .hannah was clearly becoming like her father a bit ,controlling and potentially developing as an adult like her father .
Three stars as well done and well written just not one that gripped me
It’s a story of survival ,escape, and aftermath.The sense of feeling safe is a lot to do with our experiences or lack there of and as children how we are conditioned to think something is ok and not question it and how easily we can moulded .
Ty netgalley and publishers for this advance copy