The most heartfelt story I have read this year is this one. The relentless search for truth and the powerful love of a sister who just couldn’t let go of a promise made almost 70 years ago. That’s when her 14 yr old sister Rosemarie disappeared without a trace. Vera was just 6 yrs old and didn’t understand why her sister hasn’t come back home. It wasn’t until the turn of the century and with advances in technology that Vera finally was able to make good on her promise to Rosemarie and bring her home. Descriptive storytelling made me feel as if I was living what I was reading. Loved it.

I'm sorry to say that I didn't like this book.
I'm not sure exactly what it is about it but something just felt off about it. I know it's based on a real story with some fictional bits added in but it all just felt so fake. It was almost as if a child wrote it.
The dialogue between characters sounded so fake. I don't care how nice a person you are or how well you get on with your family nobody speaks that sugary and sweet to each other all the time.
Despite the characters being real people there was no depth to them.
It would have been nice to have more of a backstory for them as there was nothing about them that made me care about what happened.

Thank you to netgalley for sending me an arc to read but it just wasn't for ne

What a read.
Although a lot of the book focused on the Doederlein family's lives before Rosemarie went missing, I foudn that it helped give you a better idea of the family as a whole and the life they lived. prior to leaving Germany for Canada and the reasons for the big move.
Without giving away the ending of the book, I was equally surprised and horrified as to what Vera and her daughter's internet research brought up about Montreal in the 1950's and the huge amount of missing children.
Although the answers to Rosemarie's disappearance came to late for her parents and some of the other family members, I think it brought a measure of closure to Vera.
Not the easiest of reads, especially towards the end as the reality is unveiled, but a worthwhile read none the less.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book.

I really enjoyed this book and read it in only 2 days. I have already recommended it to friends. Thank you netgalley for the early preview of this book

While this "novel" by Vera Doederlein Hastie is a true crime story, it is not mostly a true crime story. It's mostly a nonfiction turned fiction memoir of Ms. Hastie's family from 1939 Germany to the present. I will confess that at some point in the book I started losing interest in the Germany parts and began skimming. My main interest was what happened to her 14-year-old sister Rosemarie, who disappeared in Montreal in 1954.

It would be 68 years before the author learned what happened and it was indeed a heartbreaking story. No, her sister was not murdered that year, but lived the life of a Stockholm syndrome survivor for decades, never attempting to reunite with her family. It was a devastating story of being psychologically held captive by an insane man, and never trying to find her true self again even after he was gone from her life.

Parents warn their children about strangers and about how to try to get away if grabbed by one. Scream! Fight! Bite! They don't explain to their children, however, about how they might not try to get away when they can, especially after being horribly abused. It would be too confusing and fightening to a child to hear of such a thing. We will sadly never know what exactly was going through Rosemarie's mind all those years living as someone she was never intended to be. What we do know are what thoughts were going through the minds of her siblings and parents for decades after she disappeared. That, too, was truly heartbreaking.

This book was such an intriguing read for me. The tale is simultaneously beautiful and tragic.

The heartbreaking true tragedy of 14-year-old Rosemarie Doederlein's disappearance in Montréal, Canada in 1954 is portrayed in this fictionalized version. Her family never gave up searching, but it took them over 70 years to find some answers. This book, which is written by Rosemarie's younger sister, seizes your feelings and won't let go. The family's love and affection for one another, as well as their anguish over losing their sister and daughter, shine through in the pages.

My only complaint is that, although Rosemarie's disappearance was only a small portion of the novel, it appeared that it would be the focus of the whole thing. The family's experiences as a German family during and immediately following World War II were the subject of numerous chapters. Although the synopsis did not entirely match my expectations, it was still a very entertaining read.

This is a fictional account of the heart-breaking true story of the disappearance of 14-year-old Rosemarie Doederlein in Montréal, Canada in 1954. Although her family never stopped looking, it took almost 70 years for them to get some answers. Written by Rosemarie's younger sister, this book grabs hold of your emotions & doesn't let go. The family's pain in losing their daughter & sister comes off the pages, but so does the love they had for her & each other.

My one (minor) quibble is that it looked as if it was going to be mainly about Rosemarie's disappearance, whereas in fact, that was quite a small part of the book. A great many of the chapters dealt with the family's experiences as a German family in & just after the Second World War. It was very interesting to read but not quite what I expecting from the synopsis.

My thanks to NetGalley & publisher/author, Vera Christa Doederlein Hastie, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. What an interesting experience this book was for me. The story is heartbreaking and lovely at the same time. I would loved to have been able to read this on my Kindle device.