I chose this book because of the beautiful cover, and because I was trying to find a winter-themed crime/mystery novel - apart from the early books of Kathy Reichs and Louise Penny, they seem to be a bit thin on the ground! I had expected The Child Finder to be a standard private detective/missing child story, but it is so much more than that. It's about the strength of the human spirit and determination to survive no matter how bleak the circumstances, and the tricks the mind will play to protect itself. There are also references to folk tales, such as The Snow Maiden.

Naomi Cottle specialises in finding missing children; her own harrowing childhood means she can sometimes be more adapt than the police at finding them, even the cases that everyone else has given up on. Madison Culver disappeared three years ago on a trip to the remote, mountainous forests of Oregon, shortly before a blizzard. The authorities assume she died of exposure and have long since stopped looking for her remains, but Naomi knows that Madison could have survived - if someone else has found her.

I was completely gripped by this story and by 30% I got to the point where I couldn't put it down. Along with Naomi's search for Madison, we learn about how she has (mostly) overcome the demons of her own childhood, the mistake that haunts her, and her struggle to lower her defences enough to allow those she loves to get close. There are no real surprises in the plot, no big 'twist'; the strength is in the author's creation of flawed but fascinating characters the reader really cares about. I even found myself feeling sorry for the villain!

Child abduction and the effects of abuse make up the main plot of this detective story, but it is dealt with using a very light touch. This is not a gritty read but, as the author works in the field that she writes about, you know every word is completely authentic and from the heart. Thoroughly recommended, particularly if you've enjoyed books such as Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell, and like reading stories that are just that little bit different.


Thank you to Rene Denfeld, W&N (Orion), and Netgalley for my copy of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

I have to say, I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought i would. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Whatever I could have expected I doubt it would have been this. The story is really well told, and read quite differently to a regular crime story to me. I liked the elements of fairytales spun through it. I also really liked the second missing child tale - it was clearer there what her process was and also showed how hard it can be. The impacts of all the actions was so well written, and the psychology of it all. Better, in my opinion, than any of the child finding.
The tale of the Snow girl was to me this story’s heart. How she coped with what was happening and how she learned Mr B. And his story was equally as heart breaking, and was delicately handled considering the subject matter.
It’s hard to imagine that a book dealing with everything this one does can leave you feeling hopeful, but somehow this one does.
For me, the main downside to the story was actually Naomi. In the story she keeps herself distant. Sadly this translated across the page and she felt distant to me, very little connection. I liked her figuring out some of her own past, but it felt a little crammed in among the two stories already there. Which is a shame, because it’s a short enough book, I feel that could have been expanded a little to provide that connection. I feel the author tried to generate that at the end, with Jerome, but I didn’t really get there in the end. However, her connections with Mrs Cotter and Diane really worked for me, and did make Naomi a little easier to relate to.
Still, a beautifully told and complex story. Worth a read if you like crime and want something a bit different.

This was a surprise gem of a book. At first glance, I took it for a regular missing child mystery - a plot which has been covered many times - and I nearly passed it up. I’m so glad I didn’t because this is an elegant, atmospheric novel which tells a fairly unoriginal story in a unique, creative way.


Set in the heart of an Oregon forest, where it seems to always always be snowing, this is a beautifully atmospheric tale - you can almost see the snow topped mountains and feel the bitter cold. Denfeld makes the missing child story her own, bringing her setting and characters to life with rich, almost lyrical prose, interweaving fairy tales and magical realism with dark reality.

Madison has been missing for three years. After frustrating failed attempts to find their baby, her parents call in the Child Finder, Naomi. Naomi is an intriguing character who is passionate about her work, but she's got her own secrets and answers to find. She’s been in the child finding profession since she was young, and she’s driven by a deep-seated obsession because she was once a lost child herself.

The story is told from alternating points of view between Naomi and 'The Snow Girl' until gradually the stories come together in a stunning tapestry set against the snowy backdrop. It isn’t your typical mystery thriller; in fact the majority of it is more a psychological drama. Denfeld deftly explores the psyche of a child, the effects of abuse and the power of a child’s imagination in a quietly powerful story. A perfect winter read which will make you think.

I really enjoyed this book. I finished it in a day so it’s a real page turner and the plot is very fast paced. I liked the character of Naomi, who is also searching for clues about her own past whilst working to find out what happened to Madison. She was an interesting and complex character and I wanted to know more of her story. I did take a little while to get used to the style of writing in this book which I think is third person but I found that the switching between characters to be a bit jarring and confusing. Goodreads has this down as the first in an ‘untitled series’, however I’m not sure if that has been confirmed yet or not. I would definitely read more books if they were written but it’s also perfectly good as a stand-alone. If you’re looking for some pure escapism on a snowy winters day, I highly recommend this book. .
Thanks @netgalley and @orionbooks for the ARC copy of this title in exchange for a fair review.

A book whose impact will be felt long after the story is finished.
Naomi finds missing children. Her determination to do her best by these children is compelling, but we learn early on that it stems from her own experiences. We’re never told exactly what happened to Naomi, but it’s all too obvious that it drives her...completely.
In this novel Naomi is asked to investigate the disappearance of Madison, a young girl who disappeared three years ago when her parents drove out to the mountains to cut their own Christmas tree. Most people are convinced the five year old died that day in the woods, but we know different.
I was initially nervous that this would be a bloody, violent read. How do you write a book about what happens to a missing child without being crass? This is where the character of Naomi is so important.
The book switches from Naomi’s investigation to Madison’s experience trapped in a deserted cabin. Yes, there are inevitably details that you wish weren’t there but - amazingly - we are caught up in a cycle of awful experiences and all the characters involved are treated respectfully.
The Child Finder will not be to everyone’s tastes, but this was a dark tale that felt it needed telling.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The Child Finder is a well-written, atmospheric novel with a bit of a twist.

The plot is intriguing, with a few different strands to it – we hear from this mysterious ‘Snow Girl’, Naomi’s own thoughts and feelings and past life, and some of the other families Naomi has tried to help.

I loved the alternative narratives and the book’s twist on the usual police/ detective novel; there was more of the thoughts and feelings of people, not just the procedure of finding them – though that is in here too. Naomi is a unique kind of ‘detective’ in that she ‘finds’ children – having had some experience of being a lost child herself. I found some of the novel, around the middle, to be a little slow and at times found my attention wandering, but the pace picked up again towards the end when I was really eager to find out whether Naomi would be able to find little Madison. Some sentences did feel a little overdramatic in the way they were written but I felt that most of the book was just right.

There are plenty of emotive parts and some uncomfortable scenes which adds to the tension, and I really liked Naomi, though she had her own problems and faults – I’d like to read more about her in future books!

Rene Denfeld has written a book that is both haunting and imaginative.
Even though the content is disturbing it is so sensitively written that you are engrossed from the first page.
The characterization of each individual will ensure this story stays with you for a long time.
I'm looking forward to the next chapter of Naomi Cottle's life.

Thank you netgalley,Orion publishing and Rene Denfeld for allowing me to read and review this book.

I was immediately attracted to the blurb of The Child Finder by Rene Denfield. The thought of someone whose job was to track missing children was interesting and something that I really wanted to read. 

Naomi Cottle is an unusual character, I didn't find her particularly likeable but she was certainly interesting and her backstory was intriguing. Although the story focuses on Madison, a young child who went missing three years ago in an isolated wood while looking for a Christmas Tree with her parents, we also find out about some of the children that Naomi has found previously which helps to add depth to the story and also a sense of urgency. And we hear from Madison herself, finding out where she has been for three years and how she has managed to survive. 

The concept is great and I did enjoy reading it, but I didn't think that it was particularly well written. This didn't spoil the read for me though and it was a real journey in many ways as while tracking Madison, Naomi is forced to confront her past as it brings up some of her own childhood that she has blocked out and feels scared to remember, but also aware that it is something that she needs to do in order to stop running from her past. 

I really don't want to give too much away, but this is a great read that I really enjoyed. If you like psychological thrillers then this is a book for you.

The Child Finder

Every parent’s worst nightmare, three years ago Madison Culver disappeared while choosing a Christmas tree with her family. Desperate to find their daughter, her parents hire a private investigator Naomi, also known as The Child Finder.

This is a a beautifully written story about what can be an uncomfortable subject. This lovely mix of fiction and realism is highly recommended. Five stars from purplebookstand.

This is a melancholic, sorrowful, bleak and atmospheric crime mystery set in the vast glacial forests, snow and ice of Oregon where danger lurks for the innocent and the unwary. Imprisoned by her self imposed loneliness, Naomi is a determined child finder, her reputation precedes her, although she is not always successful and sometimes she finds a dead child. She was once a lost child, taken and kept for many years until she is recovered. There are no memories of what happened to her, she was metaphorically born when she was found. Placed in a foster home with Mary Cottle who loves her unconditionally, she grows up with her beloved foster brother, Jerome, but leaves home as soon as possible. Mary, Jerome and her best friend, Diane, are the only people she trusts. To all intents and purposes she is still a lost child, taking risks, with no future, no peace until she she feels it is safe to remember.

The parents of the lost Madison Culver beg Naomi to find her, even though she has been gone for three years. Like Madison, Naomi belongs outside, under the sky and stars, not inside. Naomi becomes the hunter, for Madison and facing deeply embedded fears to find the child within herself.
Nightmarish fairytales, folklore, nursery rhymes and the magical haunt this novel, with the requisite big bad wolves and monsters lying in wait for a child, ready to imprison them in the underworlds of cellars and basements where the unspeakable horrors await. Children are created with snow, and through dreams. In silent, dying and remote communities, Naomi follows the trail of the snow girl. This a story of the depths of hell, pain, loss, regret, guilt, and unbearable abuse. As Naomi confronts her inner desire for a child, the time comes to locate her own grief and anguish to find the promised land. Unforgettable read within which resides resilience and hope. Many thanks to Orion for an ARC.

One of the best books I've read this year. Beautiful writing, it is haunting and I won't forget The Child Finder in a hurry. I think I've found a new favourite author.

Thank you Netgalley.

This is the second book I've read by Denfield, the first being The Enchanted, and both have really affected me. She captures all the ugliness and horrors of our world and wraps it up in a story that feels almost like a fairy tale.

I doubt The Child Finder will become as popular as the recent buzz book My Absolute Darling, but it is everything I had hoped that book might be. The stories are somewhat similar - dealing with child abuse and how deeply this can affect its victims - but I found Denfield's take far less gratuitous and far more powerful. Both stories are heavily-influenced by the setting and nature, though I find the writing here much more palatable.

The Child Finder is about a private investigator, Naomi, and the missing children she finds. Having once been a lost child herself, Naomi feels a special kinship with missing children and is especially gifted at finding them. Though finding the children alive is never a guarantee.

Her latest case takes her on the three-year-old trail of a young girl called Madison. Trekking through the snowy landscape of Oregon’s Skookum National Forest, Naomi clings to the hope that Madison may still be alive. Or that she can at least find remains that will bring closure to Madison's family. Naomi's perspective is interspersed with what feels like a fairy tale - that of the snow girl who was born in the forest, who barely remembers a time before when she had a family who loved her.

It is a beautifully-written, complex tale about the cyclical nature of abuse. Denfield considers how a person can come to feel a twisted kind of love for their captor, and how the worst kind of monsters are created.

If I were to be critical of anything, I would say that the book does a much better job of handling the psychology than the investigation. I didn't feel like Naomi really "solved" anything and many of the answers felt as if they were handed to her. But, to be honest, it's okay. Because that isn't where the book's strengths lie anyway. It is called a mystery/thriller, but it is more of a sad, psychological contemporary about abuse and the way a child's mind can create a fairy tale to protect them from reality.

Generally I'm not a fan of flash back books, but the way this story is toldmakes it easy to follow without breaking the flow of the current story. The flash backs are more like a memory clearing, you are discovering details at the same time as the character which is a fantastic concept. A great way to tell the story without giving anything away.
The characters were well rounded without been overly complex or over fluffed. They are there to tell the story and they do its fabulously well.
The only downside to this book overall was the pace of the story. While the beginning was slow, taking me a couple of tries to get into, the ending felt rushed, A few less chapters in the beginning could be best used to expand on the ending.
Grab this book to a holiday read. You'll want to dip in and out of it, but you wont dare leave it unfinished.

This is a brilliant 5 star story and would make a great film. I was hooked from the first to the last page. "The Child Finder" is Naomi who is 29 years old. When she was about 9 she was found wandering in Oregon, with no memory until that day. She was fostered by a Mrs Cottle and has a foster brother called Jerome, whom she thinks she may love. Naomi spends her life looking for other children and sometimes finds them alive or dead. In this story she is trying to find 8 year old Madison who disappeared 3 years ago in the snowy mountainside of Oregon. Madison was last seen by her parents when they stopped to cut down a Christmas tree. Read on!

It’s always a special moment when I stumble across a book that’s just perfect for me in every way, containing all the elements I look for in a good thriller: a gutsy, interesting and enigmatic main protagonist with a cast of intriguing supporting characters – tick! An atmospheric, claustrophobic setting with a wonderful armchair travel component – tick! Plenty of mystery and suspense – tick! And, as an added bonus, a mystical element that adds to the intrigue and lends a dreamlike quality to some of the scenes – tick, tick, tick.

I don’t give out my five-star ratings easily, but the Child Finder was without doubt one of the best books I have read all year. From the very first page, Denfeld captured my full attention and drew me so deeply into the storyline that I only surfaced – slightly dazed and confused – for absolutely necessary tasks such as food, drink and toilet breaks, and then only reluctantly. Denfeld’s writing is beautiful, evocative and descriptive in ways that the story played out in my mind in vivid technicolour glory, to a point where I felt like an invisible spectator amongst the characters, witnessing events as they unfolded.

Naomi is a wonderful main protagonist – with her mysterious past that has shaped her personality and is fuelling her obsession, she not only got my interest but also tugged at my heartstrings. Thinking back, I realise that this was one of the rare books where there wasn’t a singly truly despicable, unlikeable character featuring in the story, despite some very dark and disturbing elements being explored here. With the current trend of featuring casts of unlikeable characters in mysteries, I welcomed the opportunity to get to know a heroine I actually liked and admired, to a point where I hope to see her back in future books to be able to follow her journey a bit longer. Showing perfect insight into the human psyche, Denfeld created a rich cast of intriguing characters, lending even the most disturbed ones a background that inspires compassion and understanding rather than disgust, as only very few books dealing with similar themes can. I loved the way Denfeld wrapped her most disturbing scenes in layers of magical realism, bringing her message across in a non-confrontational manner and highlighting the human survival instinct and ability to mask trauma with dissociation from one’s experiences – in this instance in a child’s ability to identify herself as a character out of one of her fairy tales. The story, with all its darkness, brought with it a prevailing sense of hope for me. I think that the power of the story lies in exactly this element – one becomes so emotionally engrossed in the book that its message burrows its way right into the heart of the reader.

To cut a long review short, and without giving anything away, The Child Finder is a wonderful book that easily made it onto my list of favourite reads for 2017. I am definitely going to get a copy of the author’s first book, and am hoping for many more to come. If you are a lover of the genre or are simply looking for a book to get lost in, you can’t go wrong with this one. Very highly recommended.

I’m afraid this one just didn’t work for me. I couldn’t get on with the story or the characters so I had to walk away from it.

I thought this was pretty good, but I did have some reservations about it. I read it because I thought that Rene Denfeld's first book, The Enchanted, was simply brilliant; although I enjoyed The Child Finder overall, this isn't really in the same class.

Naomi Cottle finds missing children in the USA. She works freelance and alone and has talent for locating children, dead or alive, even though they may have been missing for years and the police investigations have failed. In The Child Finder, she is looking for Madison who disappeared from a family outing in a high, cold part of Oregon three years ago. We also get a lot about Naomi's own internal turmoil, her backstory and her current emotional life.

It's all decently done; Denfeld writes well and the story is quite involving, but it all had a somewhat familiar feel to me and is rather like a lot of private detective novels in structure and feel. The two cases sit rather uncomfortably together, some of the psychology seemed a bit iffy to me and I found the ending, following a good but slightly predictable climax, rather over-sentimental and a little implausible. Nonetheless, there's plenty that's good about it and I found it quite a gripping and enjoyable read.

It's not clear whether this is the start of a series, but whatever Rene Denfeld chooses to write next, I'll read it. Despite some reservations, I can recommend The Child Finder as a well written and readable book.

(I received an ARC via NetGalley.)

Naomi Cottle has a very particular set of skills. She finds lost children. She doesn't always find them in time but her gift to the parents is closure, knowledge and sometimes their child back home. But she has her own tragedy. she was a lost child once but in many ways she was never found.

In Oregon Madison Culver has been missing for three years, and her parents will not give up hope. And Naomi thinks they may be right to believe.

It's just past 10pm, I've been awake since 3am this morning and need to be up only a little later tomorrow. But I can't stop thinking about this book. Anyone that reads my reviews knows they are often written light heartedly, a joke or two thrown in, a wee bit of silliness. Not tonight. Because tonight I finished this book and have been left emotionally crippled. Because this book is a staggeringly beautiful read. And disturbing. And yet somehow uplifting in places. It deals with hard subjects but sensitively and with great respect. This will stay with me for awhile, and I really couldn't recommend it more.

I have delayed reviewing this book, because I am so worried that my words will not do justice to this haunting and oh so perfect novel from the author of "The Enchanted".

This is a novel that gets under your skin and steals a place in your heart and head, and one that I will come back to again and again. It is a novel of untold horrors (indeed, they are mostly untold, Naomi does not remember what happened to her and the snow child escapes into her imagination to cope with her incarceration) and cruelty, but also hope, resilience and forgiveness.

The writing is lyrical and concise and have a strange fairy tale quality that really appeals to me. The depth and layers in this book are intricate and absorbing. Yes it is a story about a person who finds missing children, but it is also a story illuminating the power of the imagination, the horror of victim turned perpetrator, the growth of a human soul, the power of love and so much more.

I would urge anyone to read this book, and my thanks go to the publishers and net galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

First of all, can I just say that I really love this cover? I like the other (white) cover as well but the addition of this 'blueish tinged cover with a speck of gold' colour gives it the look of magical realism that I could imagine and it only added more delight to my reading experience with this extra touch.

The Child Finder is told mostly through the voices of Naomi and Madison. Naomi, once a lost girl herself, is The Child Finder. She's gifted in some way and has a high success rate in finding missing children through her methodical searches, even if it means they're not always found alive. Although she only takes one case at the time and there's no rhyme which case she's going to take - it's certainly not about the money - she is actually looking for two children in this novel. The children went missing under different circumstances and it demonstrated perfectly how different some cases are regarded and how you can be treated and regarded by the police and public eye if you don't fit into the mold.. at the end of the day there are just two equally distraught mothers. Thankfully, Naomi is a good and righteous person and her past (or lack of a past because she can't remember anything before the age of 9) makes her untrusting of most people but also more objective.

I liked reading about Naomi's search and I really rooted for her to get on the right track and find these children but it were really little Madison's entries that put a magic spell on me. She imagines herself as a Snow Child because she's fond of fairy tales and it's her way to cope with her captivity and Mr. B. The way that she told herself things in order to survive her imprisonment was enthralling. Even though the abuse is veiled and Mr. B in his own twisted way really likes the girl there is no doubt that Mr. B is not a good man at all. Mr. B's character, who he is and where he came from, stays pretty much in the shadows until the end of the novel and I really wasn't expecting it to pull at my heart as well when all was said and done. I really didn't want it to but I couldn't help it.. how bad is it if you find yourself caring for the villain? It is seriously twisted I know, and it takes one helluva writer. 

There is so much to be found in this story. There were also interesting parrallels in present and past for Naomi and Madison and while Naomi's looking for Madison I had the feeling that she was looking for herself too in some way and she was ready to find out the truth about herself. The further she gets in the investigation the more prominent little flashes of her past float to the surface and the more I wanted to found out more. Did she also survive a Mr.B? Where was her mother? Who is with her in her dreams? 

"The dream was like a dark demon, bringing with it scraps of the past. It was hard to tell what was a skeleton to be buried - or a treasure to be revealed."
Unfortunately, I didn't feel I really got and understood Naomi at all times. Running away from finding out her past, being scared of the unknown just didn't seem in line with her strong character. And why would you run from a good thing in your life and the only person you trust? I was a little disappointed because Naomi's memory loss was actually the second big plotline. She doesn't remember anything from before the moment she was running in a field at the age of 9 and was found by nomads. She only has nightmares that show her fleeting glimpses of a past that she can't get a hold on. I felt the ending of this plotline was largely unresolved. I actually hoped I'd get more answers in this novel. I know I know, it might have taken us too far, adding another 100 pages to the novel, but I really wouldn't have minded at all :-).

Overall, this was a haunting story, beautiful but horrific. I haven't read Denfeld's first novel The Enchanted yet but this novel certainly gives me reason to want to read more books by this author.