The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld

Three years ago Madison Culver went missing at the age of five while looking for a Christmas tree with her family. Private investigator Naomi Cottle continues the investigation and believes that Madison's disappearance can only be the result of an abduction. Naomi's personal journey from foster child to adulthood parallels her search for Madison, and as her fears and sources of determination come to light, the narrative also dips into Madison's mind, allowing readers to experience her terrifying ordeal at the hands of her captor.

Trigger warning: Child Abuse.

I picked this book up expecting a garden variety thriller about a missing child and ended up with so much more. The subject matter is pretty standard but the book itself is magical. The author's use of language is beautiful as she weaves her thriller into something akin to a fairy tale; albeit a dark fairy tale. The story is told from two perspectives: Naomi, the child finder and Snow Girl. Naomi is actually involved in two cases at the same time, which is no how she normally conducts her business. The reader discovers that a number of things in Naomi's life are in upheaval and her story is told in parallel to Snow Girl's story. I loved the main characters, finding myself fully vested in their outcomes from the first chapter. In the end I was blown away by this unique reading experience and I will definitely check out any additional offerings from this author.

The writing was really nice and I really loved how it went back and forth to Naomi and back to Madison with Mr. B. I could not put the book down. I wasn't too keen on the romance but I liked Naomi thoughts on about Mrs. Cottle and Jerome, her family. I can't explain how heartfelt it was reading Madison parts, it was really raw and innocent like to read what she was viewing everything. Overall I'd give this a 4/5. I'd definitely would re-read this when book 2 comes out this year!

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