So deep and dark. A multi-facets exploration of unfathomable trauma. This one will stick with you for years to come.

You will not want to put this book down. It is a thriller right from the start. Great story with lots of twists and turns. A real page turner.

Will never stop raving about this book. Heart pounding, stomach churning, but like, only in the best way.

Thank you to the publisher for the copy - all opinions are my own,

I cannot believe that I waited as long as I did to read this book! It is so so so good, with incredible twists and slowly building tension that had me reading faster and faster as I closed in on the end of the book, so I could finally see how the end would play out. A must for thriller readers!

I picked up this book in 2021, when I first got a copy, then didn’t pick it back up again until a month or so ago. And that’s not a dig at the book or the author - I just didn’t use my Kindle for a while, and it just sat there. But alas, I have finished it, so here we go!

This is Hausmann’s debut novel, and there is a lot of potential here. Hit me with a hell of a plot twist towards the end there, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but the plot seemed to be lengthy in general for the overall story line. Since Dear Child, she’s released a few other novels - like I said, I see opportunity for greatness here, so I wouldn’t be opposed to picking up another Hausmann novel in the future.

This book was a very intense read. At the beginning of the story it took some time to get my bearings on what was happening. Even as the story developed, I had so many thoughts running through my head in imagining what was the real story. I thought it was a well written thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat!

Captivating. Unbelievably. With twists and turns. Complex. You will love it!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my egalley!

What a dark and disturbing read! Heavy doesn’t even really begin to describe it honestly but if you don’t mind dark it’s very good.

Disturbing book, along the same lines as Room but with more character detail. Told in 3 voices: Lena, the main character and mother of the children, Hannah, Lena’s 13 year-old daughter, and Mathias, Lena’s father. Lena disappeared after a college party 13 years ago. She has reappeared a after killing the man who captured her and fathered her 2 children. Their lives were horrendous and they have been left extremely emotionally scarred. As Lena keeps telling her story it is evident that something is not quite right, indeed very wrong. The police try to solve this puzzle but it just gets more puzzling. Very twisted story.

Dear Child by Romy Hausmann is a dark, compelling, and thrilling novel. It is a psychological suspense novel about a woman, Lena, who is held captive with her child for 13 years. This is unveiled after her dramatic escape when she is hit by a car and taken to the hospital. The book is told through alternating chapters from three different narrators and vivid flashbacks. There are many twists and surprises, and that makes Dear Child a dark and chilling read.

Dear Child
Romy Hausmann

This is one of creepier thrillers I’ve read recently. With multiple POV’s and a rapidly unfolding mystery, the book kept my attention throughout.

I wanted to figure out what was going on, what each character had been through, and what happened In that cabin. The premise of this book we very intriguing.

One of the POV’s is from that of a child. It’s a frustrating lens to read through but I thought Romy Hausmann did it very effectively.

This book has been compared to ROOM and although parts of the story are similar this one wins the competition if there were one.

Tense, tightly woven, with surprises around every corner. I recommend this book to readers who like memorable characters, intense scenes and descriptions, and an unfolding mystery.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Netgalley and Flatiron Books for this advanced copy!

WoWW what a thrill ride! That ending twist was pure genius, honestly I thought I knew who the "bad guy" was, like I had it narrowed down between two people, and when it was actually revealed who did this and what the hell, and why??! I was truly surprised, like there's no way I would've gotten that. So yeah, awesome work and I loved the plot and character development, everything flowing so well made the experience that much better. I'd definitely recommend this book to a friend. Whoever said The Room plus The Girl on the Train hit the nail right on the head!

4 and a half gold stars, round of applause!

Thanks Netgalley for giving me the advanced PDF so that I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all 💛

DEAR CHILD is a darkly obsessive read. Hausmann brought it with this debut thriller. There are twists and turns that only add to the suspense all the while the reader is trying to figure out what will happen next. I am not ashamed to say that this chilling read was finished in one sitting.

What to say about Dear Child by Romy Hausmann that hasn't already been said. I found this to be a slower burn than some readers and I wouldn't personally call it a fast-paced novel, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it. There are a few different viewpoints and the mix of them created a little bit of an unreliable narrative for me. I wasn't exactly sure who I could trust, and I really enjoy it when an author can make the reader suspect multiple characters of being untrustworthy. This is a thriller debut and I think Hausmann has so much potential in this genre after seeing what she is capable of. She doesn't go too in-depth with what happens in the shack, but there is plenty that gives the reader a good idea of what the characters went through. I think this is such a great novel to go into blind, and it will certainly keep you guessing.

The audiobook was really well done and narrated by Jane Collingwood, Nicky Diss & Simon Slater with a note at the end read by the author. I honestly think the best part was getting to hear the author's voice at the end and I love that it was included in the audio. She speaks to where she got the idea for the book which was fascinating, and I would listen to the audiobook simply for that reason alone. Every once in a while, I would cringe at Slater's narration because of mouth sounds but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as some audiobooks I've listened to, and his part was small enough that it didn't bother me as much as it could have. I thought the translation from German was great as well, and there wasn't anything that didn't come through perfectly in English for me. Dear Child probably isn't going to be a book I will remember forever, but it was tense and suspenseful, and I will definitely be looking into whatever Hausmann writes next.

Thank you to the publishers for my advanced listening and digital copies of this book. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

This review is originally written for Cloud Lake Literary, a Canadian literary magazine. I will add the link to the review once it has been published on their website. I will also only add the review to Goodreads once it has been published.

Book Review: Dear Child by Romy Hausmann
Written by: Rebekah Dolmat

Content warning: abduction, physical and psychological abuse, rape, sexual assault, violence

Originally written in German and later translated into English, Romy Hausmann’s debut novel, Dear Child, is a dark and disturbing, but also captivating, psychological thriller.

When a woman who goes by the name of Lena is brought to the hospital following a hit and run, she tells the police that she has been held captive by a man, in a cabin in the woods, for the past several months. As Lena divulges her story to the authorities, the reader quickly realizes that not everything is as it seems and is left wondering if Lena really is who she says she is. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that Lena is keeping secrets—both about herself and about her time spent in the cabin.

Dear Child is told seamlessly, integrating snapshots from the past and present, through three alternating perspectives: the abducted woman, known as Lena; Hannah, Lena’s daughter who is born in captivity; and Lena’s father, Matthias, who has been searching for his daughter for the past thirteen years, or “4,993 days.” Hausmann excels at constructing each character and in giving each of them their own distinct voice. The most fascinating voice, however, is that of Hannah—being a captive’s daughter means that her world view and sense of understanding is extremely limited. You can see it through her choice of words and in how she tries to describe all that is happening around her—it is absolutely heartbreaking. Lena’s and Matthias’ voices are just as tragic, but in different ways: an abducted woman whose experiences will scar her for life, and a grieving father who may never see his daughter again. To put it simply, the reader can clearly feel each character’s pain and suffering and will grieve alongside them as they each tell their own stories.

Even though Dear Child by Romy Hausmann is a translated novel, the translation does hinder the story in any way. Hausmann has successfully written a gripping, thrilling, and heartbreaking page-turner, with each chapter revealing just a little bit more of the puzzle. Dear Child is a book filled with numerous twists and turns that the reader will not see coming, and has an ending that is so unexpected and worth every second spent reading. If you’re looking for your next read to be impossible to put down, then this is the book for you!

Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the gifted electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Dear Child - Romy Hausman

Thank you @flatironbooks & @netgalley for the gifted copy in exchange of an honest review.

🖍🖍🖍

When I saw that Dear Child was being compared to Gone Girl meets Room, I knew I absolutely had to read it because those are two books I LOVED and a blend of the two sounded amazing.

I originally started the book over a year ago, and was struggling to get into it so I decided to put it down and give it another chance later, hoping it was just not clicking because I wasn’t in the mood. Sadly even after picking it up again, I still struggled to get into it but decided to stick with it this time.

🖍🖍🖍

I loved the concept, but the characters were all completely un-relatable and I felt zero emotional connection to the plot.

However! Please do not let my review deter you from picking up Dear Child, I am DEFINITELY in the minority here and nearly everyone who I know that’s read it LOVED this book!

Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for access to this ARC! "Dear Child" was one of my highly-anticipated reads and exceeded my hopes in all aspects! Mystery, thriller, twists and turns, all of it and more within these pages. Whoever said "Gone Girl" meets "Room" was right! Looking forward to future works from this author.

Below are a few somewhat brief $.02 opinions about books I've read or listened to recently but don't have time, inclination, or opportunity to review in full. Their appearance in this recurring piece generally has little to nothing to do with merit. Many of these books I enjoyed as much or more than those that got the full court press. I hope you'll consider one or two for your own TBR stack if they strike your fancy whether they struck mine or not.

BOOKS THAT BEAT MY PANDEMIC BRAIN

Dear Child, by Romy Hausmann

A nifty take on an abduction story, Dear Child begins with a young woman unconscious and hospitalized in Munich following a hit-and-run. With her is a small child, Hannah, who tells a fairly creepy story of their existence and calls the woman "mama." But is the woman her mother? What of the brother Hannah says they left behind to clean stains on the carpet? And is "mama" really Lena, a girl who went missing 13 years ago? Told from alternating perspectives, Dear Child is a super fun ride.

An accident involving a car leaves a woman terribly injured, so it is up to her young daughter Hannah to give details. As it becomes increasingly apparent, there is something very abnormal about the entire situation. Can the authorities and medical personnel find out enough to get a true picture?

Dear Child had the elements of a good mystery thriller, but the resulting story was just words on pages for me. It felt like an outline that was thrown together with some connecting sentences and very little emotion. The author tried to direct the plot with certain twists, but did not unspool the truth in a way that built suspense. As a huge reader of mystery thrillers and suspense, I was disappointed in the overall novel, but especially the conclusion. For these reasons, I would not recommend Dear Child to other readers.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy of Dear Child by NetGalley and the publisher, Flatiron Books. The choice to review this book was entirely my own.

I’m always looking for thrillers with a gripping plot & this didn’t disappoint! A real page turner that is dark & twisted.