A 5 star read. So much mystery throughout. Great characterisation and you really learned to empathise with (most of) the characters throughout.

This was white a chilling thriller that had a well written plot and intrigued me from the start. Some parts were a bit slower and predictable but overall I did quite enjoy this

This book was everything I look for in a book. It was so exciting. The plot was fantastic. It really had me on the edge of my seat, and my heart racing. It was very well written and flowed well.

This was a very well written book and had plenty of suspense at the beginning. The middle was a bit slow from then on and I just wanted to get to the end to see who had done it . I think the end was slightly disappointing for me , I expected more intrigue but it was still a book worth reading . 4 star read from me

I loved the 3 different view points in this. It feel wrong to say that I enjoyed it given the subject matter but I was drawn into it right from the start and felt every emotion possible while reading it

DEAR CHILD captured my attention like no other thriller has in the past months. However, it all fizzled out a bit by the end. If characters make choices that I don't agree with, I'm OK... For a while at least. Then when they do something that blows my mind after all the silly choices. I'm angry.

That's why I liked the book less at the end, even though it's really well-written and it's thrilling throughout. I can't say too much about the plot, because there are a lot of fun reveals.

The story is a combination of the Room with a woman who has been kidnapped and stuck for years in a cabin with her two children and their captor and Gone Girl with a media frenzy and an awkward dad who is trying to look for his long lost daughter.

Then one day, the daughter returns. Or does she?

Enough said, seriously this story is something you have to experience for yourself. If you're like me and you don't like characters making silly decisions, you might end up disliking it a little bit but my rating is still high because the story is well-told and well thought out.

I would rate this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

This was an interesting thriller - the writing was a little clunky at times but I put this down to the translation.

There were some interesting twists and I really enjoyed that Jasmin was a lesbian.

Worth checking out!

This was a very disturbing read. It was fast paced, and had a great plot. It was too far fetched. Keep in mind there is 3 narrators to keep you on your toes.

Dear Child is a gripping psychological thriller that isn’t as straightforward as it initially seems. Lena is a young woman who went missing 14 years ago. Her parents haven’t given up hope of finding her, and when a woman is involved in a road accident, claiming she has escaped captivity their hopes are raised. Is this woman really Lena?
I really enjoyed this book and thought the characters were portrayed incredibly well, with all of them being flawed in some way. It really did keep me guessing, and is written in a way that makes you question everyone’s motives and innocence.

A dark thriller full of twists and turns, Dear Child is bound to surprise you and keep you on the edge of your seat.

I read this book in German some while ago or at least I am very certain that I've started it. I did not read it for very long, so I thoght maybe I'd enjoy it more if it was English.
I did not. I can't say for sure if it was the translation or the writing style, but as a whole, this book seemed not wanting to end. I was reading for ten minutes and it felt like an hour had passed. Somehow, i managed to finish it, but I can neither remember who the villain was nor the character's name. I am picky about my thrillers and this one was not for me.

I received a free copy by Netgalley for an honest review.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for providing my eARC

13 years ago, Lena had disappeared when she was leaving a party.
In the present day, a woman was conducted to a local hospital, after she had an accident while allegedly escaping her abductor. The young woman has many point in common with Lena, the blond hair, a scar on her forehead, and her name. One problem though, her dad is sure that's not Lena.

"Dear child" is a dark thriller with an original plot. It one of the most interesting I've ever encountered. The story is well crafted and multilayered. this one kept wondering for a few days after I've finished reading it.
The writing was a little cold, and I couldn't connect with the story at some point, (maybe because of the translation), but I genuinely enjoyed the story.

The characters are complex but believable. I loved how the author included all characters' sides in the story. not all of them are innocent, and most have a dark side. I wish there were more closure about Hannah though.

The ending was a little rushed, but definitely unexpected.
If you love dark thrillers with dynamic characters, I highly recommend it.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

I'm not sure what I think about this book. I found myself confused for most of it, really only getting answers in the last few chapters. The epilogue was a real wow moment.

Firstly, a huge thank you to Quercus Books and NetGalley for providing me with this copy in exchange for an honest review.

CW: sexual assault, kidnapping, domestic violence.

Dear Child follows the lives of Lena and her family after escaping from a traumatic experience. Kept in a windowless shack with her two children, the family is ruled by the tyrant father who does everything in his power to ensure that his children are brought up properly, and that includes ensuring they have the perfect mother too. One day Lena and her daughter manage to escape but are they truly free from their tormentor? Does this mean after their daughter went missing 13 years ago, the Becks will finally have all the answers?

Now, as Dear Child is a psychological thriller there are, naturally, a lot of aspects to the plot I can’t really say much about. Thrillers aren’t my usual go to in terms of novels but there was something about this novel that really drew me to it. Reading the description it was somewhat reminiscent of Emma Donoghue’s Room, which is easily one of my favourite books however, Dear Child is much darker and a much more complex puzzle that you need to put together.

I really liked the fact that this novel was told from the perspectives of several characters, whilst you would think that this would give you more information that you, as the reader, would be in a better position in figuring out what is going on than the characters themselves - that isn’t entirely accurate when it comes to this novel. Whilst you do have information that other characters don’t, this just means that you have more questions that you want answers too, which is great. I thought we were presented with an interesting mix of characters with Lena, her 13 year old daughter Hannah and Lena’s dad Matthias. All of the characters were very complex as a result of what happened 13 years ago, which did make some of their more questionable decisions understandable but it could still be a little frustrating to read at times. I found this to be the case particularly with Matthias.

Although the novel had three different protagonists and regularly jumped between the past and the present, I found the novel very easy to follow and it kept me hooked throughout. I genuinely didn’t know what was going to happen and whilst I didn’t see the reveal at the end of the novel coming it still fit together brilliantly and you could see how much thought Hausmann had put into the plot and the little details.

Overall, this is a wonderful thriller debut from Hausmann which makes me very excited to read her future work!

This was a slow mover for me. I also could not relate to the narrator at times and I kept drifting off so I had to keep re-reading certain paragraphs. The concept is really good but I am not sure if it is as well executed as it should have been.

"In a windowless shack in the woods, Lena's life and that of her two children follows the rules set by their captor, the father."
This was an amazing psychological thriller, highly recommend

I don't know where to begin with my praise of this novel. It is just so stunningly good. Each character has an unforgettable voice in the narrative. Despite the dark and gruesome elements in the plot, the prose is absolutely beautiful.
Romy Hausmann, born in what was then East Germany, has written an addictive book with a great many layers. The plot twists and turns with scalpel-sharp precision.
This novel is everything that a good book should be and more - much more.

Thanks to Netgalley & Quercus for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The first word that springs to mind for this book is intriguing. There were some twists that I wasn't expecting and it kept my wanting to read more and get to the bottom of what had happened to Lena, who the abductor was and what the outcome would be.

The story is told from three points of view - Jasmin, Hannah & Mathias. The different perspectives worked well to tell the story and to give an understanding of life in the cabin and the impact of the abduction on the characters. The one I found least engaging was Mathias, but it was still good.

I'd definitely recommend this book and would be interested to read more from this author.

Lena has been living with a monster, forced to pretend she is the wife of the man who abducted her, and the mother of his two children.  With everything from toilet breaks to meals scheduled and strict rules, enforced with violence, Lena is desperate to escape.  When she finally gets her chance, she's thrown from a life of imprisonment to a life of confusion and fear.  

Mattias lost his daughter Lena  14 years ago, when she was abducted walking home from a party and has never stopped searching for her.  When he gets the call to say there is someone called Lena at the hospital he is overjoyed, but when he gets there, it doesn't seem that the likeliest explanation is necessarily the correct one. 

Dear Child was an explosive thriller that was both twisted and creepy.  Just figuring out one mystery was difficult enough, but there were several side mysteries too! This one was truly scary and chilling.  I kept thinking about it long after I finished reading.  I really, I don't know if 'enjoyed' is the right word, maybe appreciated? the way the author was able to show different characters reacting to the trauma they'd experienced in different ways.   Both of the children and the abducted woman had vastly different responses to the situation, just as people do in real life.  I think it's important for books to show that not everyone reacts the same to trauma/grief/PTSD.  There are varying responses and there's no one right way to act.  

Dear Child is a brilliant, dark psychological thriller and I really don't want to give too much of the story away.  The many twists and reveals are best experienced without any prior knowledge, so I'll just say, if you love those books that have you looking over your shoulder, this one is for you!

3 stars

Dear Child is a psychological thriller centering on the escape of "Lena" a woman who has been abducted and held in a cabin in the woods and the aftermath of her being discovered. The story is told from a triple point of view which definitely worked well to add variety to this read, and allowed the reader to view a rather dark and twisted tale from all sides.

I had high hopes for this book, and it delivered to a certain extent. While the plot had me interested, the writing style did very little for me. At times the writing felt convoluted and unclear, I found myself having to reread certain passages. The characters were relatively well developed though I did not find myself connecting to any of them. I found myself wanting the read the book from the point of view of the abductor, too, as I think that could have helped draw me into the book more.

Full of twists and turns, this read kept me constantly guessing, but towards the rather drawn out conclusion I found myself just wanting the book to end. Overall, I found this to be a decent psychological thriller but the pacing and writing style were a little lacking for me, but I'd definitely read another book by this author as the actual plot of the novel was great.