The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld – a Review

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Description:
Three years ago, Madison Culver disappeared when her family was choosing a Christmas tree in Oregon’s Skookum National Forest. She would be eight years old now—if she has survived. Desperate to find their beloved daughter, certain someone took her, the Culvers turn to Naomi, a private investigator with an uncanny talent for locating the lost and missing. Known to the police and a select group of parents as The Child Finder, Naomi is their last hope.

Naomi’s methodical search takes her deep into the icy, mysterious forest in the Pacific Northwest, and into her own fragmented past. She understands children like Madison because once upon a time, she was a lost girl too.

As Naomi relentlessly pursues and slowly uncovers the truth behind Madison’s disappearance, shards of a dark dream pierce the defenses that have protected her, reminding her of a terrible loss she feels but cannot remember. If she finds Madison, will Naomi ultimately unlock the secrets of her own life?

Review:

The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld is an exciting chilling thriller.  This is my first book by Denfeld and I was very impressed with her writing, and I will not hesitate to read any books by her.   Naomi Cottle, our heroine, is an investigator who specializes in finding missing children.  She has over time been able to find 30 missing children (either dead or alive), giving her the nickname of ‘the Child Finder’.  Naomi herself was kidnapped as a child, managing to escape and had no memory of who she was, and continues to have nightmares giving her little hints, but still no memory of her past.  Naomi ended up in a home of a woman who was fostering another child, Jerome, and brought them up to be upstanding young citizens.  Naomi devotes herself to finding the missing children, using her uncanny ability to know where to look for clues, and asking the right questions.  We meet Naomi when she takes on the cold case of 5 year old Madison Culver, who is still missing after three years.  The Culver family refuses to believe their daughter is dead, and begs Naomi to investigate, even if she feels the girl is probably dead.

The second POV is indeed Madison, and we follow her when she is found unconscious in the snow by a mountain man named Mr. B.  He will help bring her back to health, but at the same time keep her locked in the cellar of a cabin.  Madison doesn’t remember much, and soon will call herself Snow Girl, as she uses her imagination to create the world she is in and tries to learn how to live with this mountain man who cannot talk. Mr. B also has a sad past that makes him what he is today (using two extreme personalities (angry or nice) with Madison; she will be the one who brings some little bit of happiness to his life.  As much as this is a heartbreaking story, Denfeld handles this so well.

Though this is the main focus of the story, there is also a side story where Naomi also becomes involved in about a missing baby and the mother who is in jail. 

What follows is an amazing story as we watch Naomi interviewing not only the parents, the police, park ranger and all the townsfolk who live in the area where Madison disappeared.  Naomi in the beginning expects to find clues in the snowy mountains to the child’s death; then begins to look for those local people who may know more.  As she continues to take chances in dangerous situations, Naomi will also learn a little more of her past during her dreams.  The last ¼ of the book was so exciting and intense; I could not put the book down. 

Rene Denfeld has done a fantastic job writing this moving and heart wrenching story, and has created such a wonderful character in Naomi, who will do anything to either save those missing children or give the families closures that they so desperately need.  This is a standalone, but I can see this becoming a series.  The Child Finder is a must read.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher