13 years ago, 23-year-old Lena Beck went missing on the way home from a party. Her father, Matthias, spent the next decade hounding the police and the press, trying to get somebody, anybody, to find her – even if it means that all they find is remains.

2 weeks ago, a woman and a child were found following a car accident. The woman’s name is Lena. Could it be that Lena had been held captive all these years? Alive for all this time when Matthias had all but given up?

Dear Child is a curious thriller along the lines of Emma Donoghue's Room with elements of Lionel Shriver’s We Need To Talk About Kevin, and the mix works really well. Given that this is Hausmann’s debut novel, the amount of detail and fleshed-out characters are a pleasant surprise. It is a little slow in places, but the narrative pulls you in and keeps you guessing. Probably not one for the faint-hearted, though, given the aspects of rape and abuse woven throughout it.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A little difficult to read in some ways - just because of the translation from German to English. And to begin with I had assumed this was another take on the Home story, there have been various different variations on this. However, this did have a twist on this type of story and had a very surprising ending. And you saw it from the other perspectives, from the parents, from the children - not just from the person who had been abducted. An interesting read.

This book was a series of hills and valleys for me. Like most I couldn't help but associate it with Room, and also with true crime incidents such as the Fritzl case. And certainly there are a lot of elements to untangle. Unfortunately I feel that this intricate web begins to draw so tightly that even the author couldn't find a way out with any authority. The plot gets more and more thin, actions and motivations begin to make less sense and in the final scene we are left with a dissatisfying villainous monologue session. I still enjoyed it for the most part. Even Stephen King falls flat at endings sometimes.

Absolutely loved this book! Gripping from the first page and I read it in two days because I just couldn’t put it down! I loved the twists and turns and really enjoyed reading it.

A windowless shack in the woods. Lena's life and that of her two children follows the rules set by their captor, the father: Meals, bathroom visits, study time are strictly scheduled and meticulously observed. He protects his family from the dangers lurking in the outside world and makes sure that his children will always have a mother to look after them.
One day Lena manages to flee - but the nightmare continues. It seems as if her tormentor wants to get back what belongs to him. And then there is the question whether she really is the woman called 'Lena', who disappeared without a trace 14 years ago. The police and Lena's family are all desperately trying to piece together a puzzle which doesn't quite seem to fit.

****

I'm slightly conflicted about this book. The story itself was great, but I did get quite confused, and things didn't seem to quite fit or fully get explained. However, I don't know if this is due to the novel being translated from German to English.

This is just my opinion, and others have really enjoyed it though.

This was FANTASTIC!!! As a huge fan of Room, I was extremely excited and it didn’t disappointment. It kept me unsure and I felt the pace of the plot was very well done. Enjoyed it immensely.

A twisted dark tale of lies, deception and total misdirection. Around 80% you suddenly realise who is who and then you find out the reason why. Highly enjoyable!

I am a bit conflicted about this novel… It starts great and grabbed me by the first page. I was completely hooked by both the story and the characters, it seemed like it'd be for sure a 5-star and probably the thriller to be talked about all over 2020.

After finishing it, however, I still think it'll be talked a lot next year but also that it's going to be one of those love or hate novels.
And to be completely honest, I am absolutely unsure wether I loved or hated it.

The writing is precious. The pacing is fantastic. The setting compounds the package perfectly and each character feels real and three-dimensional. Despite all that, it comes a point when holes started to appear. Things that did not add up well enough to satisfy this reader or that were a tad too evil-villain-from-a-soap-opera-ish for my taste (<spoiler>specially the classic scene with the bad guy telling all his evil plans and deeds to his captive victims and having just enough time for a final crucial revelation before dying. Also, there remained a lot unanswered like why Jonathan was sedated for Hannah and Lena's "trips"</spoiler>) Therefore, the ending sounded forced for me.

But still, it's an intelligently written mystery that kept me wondering to the last page and one that never patronizes the reader; here it's all show, never tell, as the good writers must do

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Dear Child is a dark thriller that grips you from its opening chapters.

Lena escaped from a cabin in the woods with her daughter, Hannah. Or did she?

I will not summarise the story as I couldn’t bear to give away spoilers for this superbly written, fast paced, diamond of a book.

If you only read one thriller in 2020, make it this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

What a fantastic book! It was the comparison to ROOM that compelled me to read it.

In Germany, in a cabin in the woods, there lives a kidnapped woman and her children. Until she escapes. Who is she? Who is her abductor? What happened in that cabin?

I found this to be a real page-turner, The sense of horror and claustrophobia that the victim must have felt was palpable and terrifying. I had just watched a documentary on the Fritzl case and this really reminded me of that, which makes it even darker knowing that cases like this have happened.

A brilliant debut and an author I will look out for in the future.

A complex and chilling read that will keep you guessing to the end. Told from multiple viewpoints ‘Dear Child’ is the story of the escape from captivity of a woman and two children. But all is not as it seems. Well written, this is a tense read.

I received a digital ARC of Dear Child by @romyhausmann , through @netgalley and @quercusbooks
Dear Child will be published 14th May 2020.

I don’t want to give too much away in this review, any hints about the plot would ruin the brilliant suspense that Romy builds throughout the novel.
As per the blurb, this is the story of Lena and her two children, who have been held captive in a windowless shack in the woods, in Bavaria. One day Lena manages to flee, but the nightmare continues, and things don’t seem to be adding up for the detectives on the case.
So far, so thrilling. Dear Child is told through multiple points of view, giving you a wide overview as you try to work out the mystery - although it becomes clear that not everyone is telling the reader everything they know.
The comparisons to ‘The Room’ are apt, in that they’re both brilliantly written books, and both are about a woman escaping captivity, along with children. However to me, Dear Child is more of a thriller, it kept me on my toes the whole time I was reading it. It’s the type of book that stays with you as you put it down.

When Lena is kidnapped by a stranger and taken to a remote cabin in the woods, she is forced to rely on him for her every need - not just the food she eats and the clothes she wears, but the very air she breathes. 
At first Lena is convinced that she will be rescued. But as the years go by, and she is forced to bear her captor's children, she gives up all hope of ever being found. 

When Lena eventually escapes and is rushed to hospital with her young daughter, the mystery only deepens. Despite the fact that she looks like Lena and has the same identifying scars, Lena's parents insist this is not their daughter, and instead focus their attention on Lena's daughter, Hannah, who looks exactly like the daughter they lost. 

As the police work to unravel the truth about who is who and what is what, further secrets come to light. It seems that no-one is telling the full truth...least of all Lena herself....

I've read several books now which are based along similar lines to "Room" by Emma Donoghue, some of them disappointing copies, others genuinely original and well executed. Thankfully this is one of the latter, with the story not just being about Lena's life in captivity, but also about the mystery surrounding Lena's identity. The characters are beautifully developed, and the story unfolds brilliantly - it's well told, well paced, and genuinely shocking. I also loved that I didn't guess the last twists - I feel like a lot of the time, because I read books like this so frequently, I can see them coming a mile off, but with this one I was genuinely flummoxed. 
I don't want to say too much for fear of spoilers, but I would highly recommend this novel - it's a dark story with lots of twists, and I loved that the reader is constantly questioning the reliability of the narrator(s) as it lent an extra dimension of distrust and interest. 

An engaging, thought-provoking, and thoroughly thrilling read. 

Thank you to NetGalley, who provided me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! What a fantastic read, I was hooked from the first page. A kind of cross between Room Baby Doll yet so much more, was jam packed and full of suspense and surprises. I never would have guessed who the abductor was. Will be recommending this to everyone.

A tense, taut and creepy thriller debut from Romy Hausmann, excellently translated from German to English by Jamie Bulloch. "Dear Child" makes for compulsive reading and keeps the reader guessing throughout, as the story dips between timelines and character perspectives.

Wow what a read. I really wanted to read this once I saw the blurb and am delighted to say it even exceeded my expectations. This is a dark, twisted and twisted read. I couldn't put it down as I needed to know what was happening. The characters are really well developed and you're instinctively suspicious of everyone. All is definitely not what it seems with this one and I loved every minute of it!

I won't go into the story here, just read the blurb. I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone. This book is brilliant. The characters feel real and the story is so complex and twisty. This book would make an amazing tv series; a film wouldn't allow enough time for all of the detail of this gripping story. I will be searching out the author's other work.

Firstly thank you to the publisher for granting my wish!

As soon as I read the synopsis I knew I NEEDED to read Dear Child. The cover is also incredible.

Telling the story of an abducted woman and a family living in a small hidden cabin this story chilled my blood. It’s dark, full of thrills and written perfectly. Honestly it couldn’t get any better. This is a book you MUST READ!

5/5