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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
This is my favorite book of 2019 so far. I read it in 3 hours. I literally could not put this book down. Do yourself a favor and read it.
Visit the locations in the novel
Manson, Kentucky might be fictional but it feels very very real. It’s the scene of a child disappearance and seems to be in the middle of nowhere, so it might not be somewhere you visit anyway. The Church of the Light Within in the religious family which seems to make up a large part of people’s beliefs and live here. It’s not a religious community but not far from it.
Add to that a missing child, and the sense of split in that community is huge. Molly, the mother gets more religious and I got a bit freaked out at the practices involving snakes! This added to the horror of a missing child for me with a strange sense that there was a lot wrong in this community back then and there might still be..
The story also takes place in Melbourne, where a photographer named Kimberly Leahy is working twenty years later. A man approaches her at the college where she teaches and claims that she is that missing child, Sammy, kidnapped from Kentucky all those years ago.
So many questions arise at this point. Could it really be that she is that missing child. Taken so far away from home to a different continent, to the other side of the world? Of course, she has to find out, and so she heads to the town of Manson to open up a few wounds. Things get dark and uncomfortable but the pace always keeps you wanting to know more.
It’s quite a harrowing tale which merges themes of family, lies, cults, religious beliefs and how the past really can come back to haunt you. The writing grips from the off and never lets go. The ending was nicely done and a very good surprise!
The setting of Manson may be fictional but it’s heavily influenced by the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. The dark caverns, the limited space, the claustrophobic all play a great role in the novels. And the name Manson more than rankles a few hairs on the back of your neck…
Top thriller this one. More please Mr White!
Imagine being on a break at work, in between teaching photography classes, when a man comes up to you and says to you about a 2 year old girl who went missing 28 years earlier in Kentucky. And then he tells you he thinks that girl is you.
At first Kim brushes it off, putting it down to a weird case of mistaken identity. But when the world she thought she knew starts to crack, she starts to have questions that can’t be easily answered. To find the truth, she must travel to Sammy’s home of Manson, Kentucky, and into a dark past.
I’m on a roll with books this year, and this was another cracker. An interesting mystery that explores the Church, ‘cults’ and the mystery of a child disappearing without a trace. I had my suspicions on the ending - so it didn’t keep me guessing the whole way through, but seeing as I finished it in just over a day, it definitely had me hooked!
At first Kim brushes it off, putting it down to a weird case of mistaken identity. But when the world she thought she knew starts to crack, she starts to have questions that can’t be easily answered. To find the truth, she must travel to Sammy’s home of Manson, Kentucky, and into a dark past.
I’m on a roll with books this year, and this was another cracker. An interesting mystery that explores the Church, ‘cults’ and the mystery of a child disappearing without a trace. I had my suspicions on the ending - so it didn’t keep me guessing the whole way through, but seeing as I finished it in just over a day, it definitely had me hooked!
It was good and gripping . I loved the atmosphere and all of that. I wished I read more about Australia in it rather than the American town, but it wasn't that bad. The reveal wasn't very shocking to me. But I felt that the entertainment was good in this one.
Christian White, the genius writer behind Netflix’s Clickbait has written an engrossing, well-imagined mystery thriller.
What if you found out that your wonderful life with loving protective parents was all a lie? When a stranger shows up in Australia where our main character, Kim now lives, he tells her he thinks she is abducted child Sammy Went who went missing 28 years earlier in Kentucky.
Kim (Sammy) finds herself in America to find out what really happened all those years ago.
The book moves from then and now giving the reader glimpses into the lives of the people from Kentucky and the cult-like church that many members of Manson, Kentucky were members of including Sammy’s mother.
The secrets of many different people from the past bring the now Sammy into a terrifying situation and crazy climax as she learns all about how she ended up across the world. Excellent debut by a new favorite author.
What if you found out that your wonderful life with loving protective parents was all a lie? When a stranger shows up in Australia where our main character, Kim now lives, he tells her he thinks she is abducted child Sammy Went who went missing 28 years earlier in Kentucky.
Kim (Sammy) finds herself in America to find out what really happened all those years ago.
The book moves from then and now giving the reader glimpses into the lives of the people from Kentucky and the cult-like church that many members of Manson, Kentucky were members of including Sammy’s mother.
The secrets of many different people from the past bring the now Sammy into a terrifying situation and crazy climax as she learns all about how she ended up across the world. Excellent debut by a new favorite author.
There were more twists and turns in this book than your average rollercoaster. You think you're ahead of the various narrators as the story unfolds, only to find time and time again that you were just as off base as they were.
The first one, which sets the premise of the entire book, happens so early on that you know that there's going to be no chapter left unused.
The descriptions of college and university photography students' projects made me laugh - having been there it was very accurately portrayed!
Do some of the themes feel a little familiar? Sure, it's a mystery book about a historical kidnapping. However, it's a solid debut novel and nonetheless brings plenty new to the table.
My only real criticism is that I want to know more of the aftermath, following the final reveal and the previous relationships of the characters involved in it!
3.5/5*
The first one, which sets the premise of the entire book, happens so early on that you know that there's going to be no chapter left unused.
The descriptions of college and university photography students' projects made me laugh - having been there it was very accurately portrayed!
Do some of the themes feel a little familiar? Sure, it's a mystery book about a historical kidnapping. However, it's a solid debut novel and nonetheless brings plenty new to the table.
My only real criticism is that I want to know more of the aftermath, following the final reveal and the previous relationships of the characters involved in it!
3.5/5*
4.5 stars
This is a wonderful debut and one of the better psychological thrillers out there. I love the alternating chapters of past and present, and their parallels before eventually colliding. For some reason, I preferred the 'past' chapters. Maybe because of the small town vibes and its dynamics and how the residents are connected.
The story was well-executed and had many twists that I didn't see coming; things I thought I'd figured out but turned out to be wrong and good red herrings that threw me off the scent. If only all thrillers were this clever yet believable!
I really liked the ending with its solid and emotional reveal. I wish there was more closure with some characters but all in all, I am pretty satisfied. Special shoutout and bonus points to the author's note too!
This guy totally gets it. Can't wait for more of this author's work.
This is a wonderful debut and one of the better psychological thrillers out there. I love the alternating chapters of past and present, and their parallels before eventually colliding. For some reason, I preferred the 'past' chapters. Maybe because of the small town vibes and its dynamics and how the residents are connected.
The story was well-executed and had many twists that I didn't see coming; things I thought I'd figured out but turned out to be wrong and good red herrings that threw me off the scent. If only all thrillers were this clever yet believable!
I really liked the ending with its solid and emotional reveal. I wish there was more closure with some characters but all in all, I am pretty satisfied. Special shoutout and bonus points to the author's note too!
...The relationship between the author and reader is like a sacred pact. The reader gives the author a dozen or so hours of their life, and in return, hopefully, the author gives them a story worth their time. Sometimes the reader is left feeling short-changed, but more often than not, in my experience, it's a good and fair exchange. Over the years I've read a ton of books and have always expected a lot from whoever I was giving my time. Now that I'm on the other side of the pact, I want you to know that I take this shit seriously.
This guy totally gets it. Can't wait for more of this author's work.
What I liked:
-okay Christian White might be one of my new fave thriller authors!
-the two timelines
-the kidnapped at birth story totally grabbed me from the beginning! Made me so nostalgic for my childhood fave, the Face on the Milk Carton
What I didn’t like:
-thought one of the big twists was obvious, but I thought it was well thought out
-the religion got to be a bit much for me. Not a huge fan of it as a plot point.
-okay Christian White might be one of my new fave thriller authors!
-the two timelines
-the kidnapped at birth story totally grabbed me from the beginning! Made me so nostalgic for my childhood fave, the Face on the Milk Carton
What I didn’t like:
-thought one of the big twists was obvious, but I thought it was well thought out
-the religion got to be a bit much for me. Not a huge fan of it as a plot point.
Honestly?
I probably would only rate “The Nowhere Child” a 3.5.
But after reading the end of the book and his acknowledgements, the author just sounds like a really nice guy. So there we are.
Seriously has a great twist at the end. But the protagonist was a bit hard to gel with.
I probably would only rate “The Nowhere Child” a 3.5.
But after reading the end of the book and his acknowledgements, the author just sounds like a really nice guy. So there we are.
Seriously has a great twist at the end. But the protagonist was a bit hard to gel with.