Name: Child Finder
ISBN: 9780062692696

Rene Denfeld

Child Finder

A haunting, richly atmospheric, and deeply suspenseful novel from the acclaimed author of The Enchanted about an investigator who must use her unique insights to find a missing little girl. "Where are you, Madison Culver? Flying with the angels, a silver speck on a wing? Are you dreaming, buried under snow? Or—is it possible—you are still alive?" 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? Told in the alternating voices of Naomi and a deeply imaginative child, The Child Finder is a breathtaking, exquisitely rendered literary page-turner about redemption, the line between reality and memories and dreams, and the human capacity to survive.

A Novel

The Child Finder

Izza

2.75 stars | The ratings are so high for this book so I thought I would love it, but it fell a bit flat for me. The writing is beautiful, but I felt didn't really fit with the genre, the transition between narrators wasn't always very smooth and the mystery was sort of cliché :/ Super disappointed

Janice Hopper

Three stars instead of four because the subject matter (children kidnapped/lost/abused) makes for uncomfortable reading. I had actually started it once before and put it down because of what was happening to a lost child. :(

There's some talk going around these days about a genre you could think of as being the opposite of "grimdark". This (rather sweary, if that bothers you) article talks about "hopepunk" - the idea that things may be hard and horrible, and you know it, but you KEEP TRYING to do the right thing. I like this idea very much. It's what I liked about a book I read in 2018, The Right Side. The protagonist of that book was very broken, but she kept going, kept doing what she could, even when it was hard or seemed hopeless.

I found that quality in this book too. Naomi, the eponymous child finder, is still recovering from her own childhood trauma, using her tenacity and will to search for children that have been lost. And Madison, the girl that's the focus of most of her search, finds a way to keep hold of herself in the midst of her situation. There's hope in both of them, in spite of everything. I appreciated that.

It's good to have hope, and to be found.

Gisela Ayala 

“No matter how far you have run, no matter how long you have been lost, it is never too late to be found.” 

So many disturbing moments in this book- and I could not stop listening. 

My only complaint was that I think the romance/love interest was completely unnecessary. No chemistry and I got so bored with those parts where he was involved. 

Other than that, exceptional book.

Maggie Gordon

Take a mystery-crime thriller, throw in some fairy tale goodness, and a good amount of literary prose and you get an AMAZING book. The Child Finder is about Naomi, a private investigator who specialised in finding lost children. She herself was a lost child once, and her searches are intimately tied to her forgotten past. In this book, Naomi combs lonely forests, looking for Madison, a little girl who has been missing for three years. It's a horribly brutal book about abuse, but also human resiliency. There's an unfortunate romance subplot that feels unnecessary (and one that was okay), but not nearly as terrible as is the norm for this genre. A really fun twist on the usual thriller with a wonderful female protagonist.

Fraser Simons

Excellent on all fronts, if a bit long in the middle. Engaging prose, well crafted story that tackles difficult subject matter while not undermining survivors. Multiple POVs are used to render the situation and characters more vividly. I think this would have been a 5 star read for me, if it were not for the pacing and some stilted dialogue here and there that pushed me out of the fiction. Better than I expected though, hence the 4 stars.

Jenna

Maybe closer to 2.5 stars. The Child Finder follows Naomi, a sort of freelance private detective who is really good at finding missing kids, as she searches for two missing children. Madison is little girl who disappeared a couple of years ago in the freezing Oregon forest. The other is the baby of an autistic mother who is being charged with the death of the child. Naomi also has her own demons from her past to deal with.

This book was hard for me to read because you get Madison’s perspective and story as she’s held in captivity and abused (including sexually) by a much older man. I don’t think anyone likes to read about sexual abuse of a child. Just a warning in case you’re sensitive to these types of things.

This was a quick mystery/thriller. It’s one of those books where you don’t have to be really concentrating to understand and follow it. I’d say it’s somewhere around 3 stars for me, which means, “it was fine”. It looks like this is going to be the first in a series about Naomi, and I might read more because I like reading about the search for a missing person and rooting for them to be found. I wasn’t heavily invested in Naomi’s own story, though, but I could read more about her and be fine. These types of books are never my faves but I like them for what they are.

'A darkly luminous story of resilience and the deeply human instinct for survival, for love...The Child Finder is a novel that demands to be consumed and then once inside you - lingers...' A.M. Homes, author of MAY WE BE FORGIVEN For fans of THE LOVELY BONES, ROOM and THE ENCHANTED Naomi Cottle finds missing children. When the police have given up their search and an investigation stalls, families call her. She possesses a rare, intuitive sense, born out of her own experience, that allows her to succeed when others have failed. Young Madison Culver has been missing for three years. She vanished on a family trip to the mountainous forests of Oregon, where they'd gone to cut down a tree for Christmas. Soon after she disappeared, blizzards swept the region and the authorities presumed she died from exposure. But Naomi knows that Madison isn't dead. As she relentlessly pursues the truth behind Madison's disappearance, shards of a dark dream pierce defences that have protected her for so long. If she finds this child, will Naomi ultimately unlock the secrets of her own life? WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE CHILD FINDER: 'A beautifully written, gripping page turner...a book that is worth searching for, bringing home, and welcoming into your family. 5*' Goodreads 'This book is dazzling and heartbreaking. 5*' Goodreads 'A wonderful, extraordinary book. The author speaks from her heart on every page.' 5* Goodreads 'I could not put this book down until the captivating conclusion.' 5* Goodreads 'I finished the book in a day, not wanting to put it down.' 5* Goodreads 'Wow...a page turner, keeping me in all weekend.' 5* Goodreads 'Loved it and will be recommending it to everyone I know.' 5* Goodreads 'The Child Finder is one of the most beautiful novels I've ever read.' 5* Goodreads

Jenny

So beautiful, poetic, artistic! One of my favorite books I’ve ever read. Rene Denfeld is an expert at storytelling.

Shawna Gavas

I apparently didn't love this book as much as the majority of readers. I felt like I was reading through coke-bottle glasses, keeping me at a distance.

Also, why did no one question the deaf trapper's identity when there was a missing little boy (who was deaf) and the only ones around at the time he went missing were trappers? Especially because the boy went missing at the store, and the trapper was a regular at the store....Just a thought.