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Naomi Cottle #1
The Child Finder
A haunting, 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.
"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.
288 pages, Paperback
First published September 5, 2017
About the author
Rene Denfeld
15 books2,372 followersRene Denfeld is the bestselling author of THE CHILD FINDER, THE ENCHANTED, THE BUTTERFLY GIRL, and SLEEPING GIANTS.
"Rene Denfeld is one of the handful of living writers I most admire, and Sleeping Giants may be her masterpiece. Haunting, frightening and moving in equal measure, her new novel is a sublime page turner, evoking beauty and terror in the same moment. I read it in an afternoon, enthralled, and am still under its spell."
— Elizabeth Hand, author of A Haunting on the Hill and Generation Loss.
Rene's poetic fiction has won numerous awards including the French Prix, an ALA Medal for Excellence and an IMPAC listing. Rene works as a licensed investigator, including exonerating innocents from prison and helping rape trafficking victims. Rene is the happy mother to several children adopted from foster care. In 2017 she was awarded the Break The Silence Award for her advocacy work, and the New York Times named her hero of the year.
To book a 1:1 convo with Rene reach out on https://www.skolay.com/writers/rene-d...
"Rene Denfeld is one of the handful of living writers I most admire, and Sleeping Giants may be her masterpiece. Haunting, frightening and moving in equal measure, her new novel is a sublime page turner, evoking beauty and terror in the same moment. I read it in an afternoon, enthralled, and am still under its spell."
— Elizabeth Hand, author of A Haunting on the Hill and Generation Loss.
Rene's poetic fiction has won numerous awards including the French Prix, an ALA Medal for Excellence and an IMPAC listing. Rene works as a licensed investigator, including exonerating innocents from prison and helping rape trafficking victims. Rene is the happy mother to several children adopted from foster care. In 2017 she was awarded the Break The Silence Award for her advocacy work, and the New York Times named her hero of the year.
To book a 1:1 convo with Rene reach out on https://www.skolay.com/writers/rene-d...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 5,402 reviews
September 5, 2017
I cannot in good conscience give this anything less than 5 stars. I'm not sure I have the words to properly describe just how The Child Finder made me feel; it was heavy and disturbing in many ways but contained a haunting beauty that only Rene Denfeld seems capable of mastering. The writing was lush and exquisite, containing her signature trademark stamp of magical realism. I was completely lost in this icy, poignant world, and I can honestly say that I wouldn't have changed a single aspect in her crafting of this fine tale. Highly recommended with caution, as the content could be a little much for some readers (more on this below).
Without spoiling any details or going too far into the plot, you know from the blurb that this story changes between various POVs, but is mainly regulated to Naomi and "The Snow Child". Naomi is our protagonist, known simply as the child finder, and she is perfection in her flawed nature and broken past. As she leads the investigation in searching for long time missing Madison, we also get glimpses into another mind, a young girl who will be identified later in the story. The time jumps are not broken up by chapter, so we flow between narratives quite frequently which kept the novel fresh and my attention rapt.
I think the reason I'm so drawn to the author's work is how she can insert an essence of magical realism that leans heavily on the realism side. Think a character escaping a horrendous ordeal through their imagination. Once again, this story is really quite disturbing in a sense, but not in the gory, graphic way that most thrillers and action novels tend to be. Most of what happens is implied through this magical realism and child like innocence, but for those sensitive to abuse scenarios, you may have trouble reading this. For me, I felt these plot points only added to the brilliance of the story and were fully necessary and tastefully done.
I can't express how, even with the darkness surrounding the story, Denfeld manages to give her books such a hopeful, light filled feeling; in my humble opinion THIS is what makes her books so readable, relatable, and compulsive in nature. If you read her first book, The Enchanted, and loved it, you'll likely enjoy this as well; while the plots are completely different they both contain that fairytale like quality shrouded in a contemporary novel. Highly, HIGHLY recommended as I cannot say enough good things about this book, and I cannot wait to see what Rene dreams up next!
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my copy; it was a pleasure to provide my honest thoughts here.
Without spoiling any details or going too far into the plot, you know from the blurb that this story changes between various POVs, but is mainly regulated to Naomi and "The Snow Child". Naomi is our protagonist, known simply as the child finder, and she is perfection in her flawed nature and broken past. As she leads the investigation in searching for long time missing Madison, we also get glimpses into another mind, a young girl who will be identified later in the story. The time jumps are not broken up by chapter, so we flow between narratives quite frequently which kept the novel fresh and my attention rapt.
I think the reason I'm so drawn to the author's work is how she can insert an essence of magical realism that leans heavily on the realism side. Think a character escaping a horrendous ordeal through their imagination. Once again, this story is really quite disturbing in a sense, but not in the gory, graphic way that most thrillers and action novels tend to be. Most of what happens is implied through this magical realism and child like innocence, but for those sensitive to abuse scenarios, you may have trouble reading this. For me, I felt these plot points only added to the brilliance of the story and were fully necessary and tastefully done.
I can't express how, even with the darkness surrounding the story, Denfeld manages to give her books such a hopeful, light filled feeling; in my humble opinion THIS is what makes her books so readable, relatable, and compulsive in nature. If you read her first book, The Enchanted, and loved it, you'll likely enjoy this as well; while the plots are completely different they both contain that fairytale like quality shrouded in a contemporary novel. Highly, HIGHLY recommended as I cannot say enough good things about this book, and I cannot wait to see what Rene dreams up next!
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my copy; it was a pleasure to provide my honest thoughts here.
August 11, 2022
this is something I know: no matter how far you have run, no matter how long you have been lost, it is never too late to be found.Rene Denfield’s first novel, The Enchanted, was a dazzling look into a dark place. It showed that even under the bleakest circumstances life and hope can find a way to make the unbearable into a transcendent experience. No sophomore jinx here. Denfeld has done it again.
There are similarities in core concept between The Child Finder and The Enchanted. Both deal with imprisonment, with imagination as a tool for psychological survival, for transporting oneself beyond one’s immediate chains.
In The Enchanted The Lady represented death row inmates, looking for the truth in their cases, and ways to keep them from dying. In this story Naomi is The Child Finder, a freelance investigator with a passion and a gift for locating missing kids. Her motivation is pretty clear. She had been taken as a child herself.
On a winter day in rural Oregon, five year old Madison Culver had vanished. Three years on, the authorities have abandoned hope. Having exhausted all other options the girl’s frantic parents call in Naomi. There is no such thing as a cold case for her. She finds a way, discovers the clue everyone else missed, considers things from a new perspective, haunts relevant locations. She is fearless, fierce, and coldly relentless.
Rene Denfeld - image from Gannett
The narrative switches between Madison’s and Naomi’s point of view. Madison is held by a man known only as Mr B. We track the development of the relationship between Madison and Mr B. Watch as Madison’s will to survive digs in, as she moves on from victim to actor, from object to powerful player, using her native intelligence and keen observation to give herself at least a chance of surviving. The other tool she uses is her imagination. A favorite fairy tale becomes a mechanism by which she feels hope and a limited sense of freedom even while imprisoned. In talking about The Enchanted, Denfeld addressed a theme relevant to The Child Finder.
I think the fantastical elements are important, as they show how the narrator copes with being in solitary confinement for so many years. He escapes through his imagination, including astonishing interpretations of his world. I've worked with men and women facing execution, and am often thunderstruck at how humans can persevere despite horrific circumstances. - from the GR Q/ANaomi follows clues in a procedural style, checking with this person, then that, noting oddities, poring through public records and old newspapers, her feel for a trail making some items stand out. She is shown working on another simultaneous case, and we learn of some of her past successes and failures.
Naomi is beset by what she calls The Big Dream, a recurring nightmare that may hold clues to her past. Her investigative prowess has failed so far to let her find out who she really is.
As always, after having the dream, she tried to uncover the truth. What part was reality and what part was fantasy? Are the stories we tell ourselves true or based on what we dream them to be?Naomi is a powerfully crafted character, a beautifully moving portrait of anguish, strength, and compassion. She recalls her own escape and subsequent upbringing with an amazingly warm foster mother. Her relationship with her foster brother, Jerome, is a core element here, and it sings. Her brief dealings with an older detective seemed far too brief. I hope that when Naomi returns in subsequent volumes we get to see more of him.
As with The Enchanted, Denfeld makes use of her poetic sense, and sparkling command of language, to paint a grim world with great swaths of beauty. And there is considerable darkness here, but graphic unpleasantness is kept to a minimum. (I feel strongly against graphic violence that is vicarious, or exploitative. After working with so many victims, I feel sensitive to honoring how unspeakable crime can be. - from her GR Q/A) The emotional connections are beautifully written. There is a scene in which a very patient foster mother is finally allowed in by a damaged child. If your eyes don’t gush, it’s time to being to bring them in to your ophthalmologist. Something is not working right.
As with her earlier work Denfeld offers an insightful look at the baddie, a nuanced portrait of a damaged person engaging in unspeakable behavior. This has particular resonance with the death row characters of The Enchanted, an interest not merely in extinguishing the darkness but in understanding how it came to be. We are also treated to some insight into psychological elements of surviving captivity. Denfeld knows a fair bit about such things, as her day job entails investigating on behalf of death row inmates. She is also a foster mother.
In addition to offering keen observation of the world Naomi inhabits, (Naomi ate a large breakfast in the diner, where the waitress no longer called her hon, but nodded indifferently, like she was a local. ) The Child Finder offers a rich supply of supporting imagery, concept and insight. The sometimes necessarily porous line between the real and the imagined is considered. As is the virtue and value of patience, whether as a captive, a caregiver, or an investigator. Where does dreaming leave off and memory begin? There is a balance between seeking the lost and hiding out. The earth, the ground, serves as a worthy image here. In one case, an opening in the earth yields a cornucopia of inspirational stones, a sacred place, in another a dark pit fraught with peril. Naomi as a child and Madison are held in subterranean, cave-like places. Naming issues are considered as well. Madison thinks of herself as the Snow Girl from her favorite fairy tale. Her captor is only ever Mister B to her. Even Naomi does not know her real name. What it means to be human comes in for a look. Ironically, Mister B feels more human for having Madison with him than he had felt before. Madison subsumes her humanity at times under her alt-reality fairy-tale persona.
The gripes here are few. There are some moments in which the sentiment expressed seem a bit Hallmarkian. (Her entire life she had been running from terrifying shadows she could no longer see—and in escape she ran straight into life.) There a few of these. In one moment of peril, a rescue seemed a bit deus ex machina for my taste. These small stumbles may keep The Child Finder from quite matching her previous work, but really, can you gripe at Herman Melville for not matching Moby Dick with his next effort? This is still an amazing book.
The Child Finder is a beautifully written, gripping page turner, rich with psychological insight, emotional engagement, life-and-death peril, and a memorable cast of characters, rooted in a darkly atmospheric landscape. It is a book that is worth searching for, bringing home, and welcoming into your family.
Review first Posted – 5/12/17
Publication
-----Hardcover - 9/5/2017
-----Trade Paperback - 8/7/18
=============================EXTRA STUFF
The author’s personal, Twitter, and Facebook pages
Denfeld had more than her share of hard knocks growing up. You can get a sense from her essay, The Other Side of Loss, that she has suffered much of the pain and sorrow of which she writes.
August 11, 2017 - NY Times - GR friend Andrea clued me in to this very moving piece by Denfeld on adopting her own kids, another form of the heroism that is her life - Four Castaways Make a Family
Interviews – these relate mostly to Denfeld’s previous novel, The Enchanted, but are worth a look
-----with Jane Eaton Hamilton
-----Denfeld and author Stephanie Feldman talk with each other about genre - Writing to genre stinks: Two debut novelists on the hard line between fantasy and realism — and why it doesn’t make sense - on Salon.com
-----Crimereads.com - Denfeld’s close call - MUST READ!!! - The Green River Killer and Me
Other Denfeld books I have read and reviewed
-----2019 - The Butterfly Girl (Naomi Cottle #2)
-----2014 - The Enchanted
November 9, 2017 - The Child Finder is among the nominees for Amazon's book of the year - Mysteries and Thrillers
The Harper Book Queen included a look at this book in her TBR Tuesdays FB live broadcast from 8/7/18 - it begins at about 8:28
November 4, 2017
"What were you running from, then?" she had asked.
"Monsters," was all that Naomi could remember.
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.
Very powerful.
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November 20, 2017
My reviews can also be seen at: https://deesradreadsandreviews.wordpr...
I was very excited to read THE CHILD FINDER. This was another novel that I flew through as once I started reading it, I did not want to put it down.
"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, after three years missing, you are still alive?"
Three years ago, the Culver family drove to the forest to cut down a Christmas tree. They turned their backs for just a moment and when they turned back, their five-year old daughter, Madison had disappeared. They were frantic and looked everywhere, but it was snowing hard and soon all tracks were covered...Madison was gone.
Of course searches were done but there was no sign of Madison. Presumed dead as no one, especially a five-year old child alone could survive the cold. But her parents refused to give up hope.
Now three years later, Madison's parents have sought out Naomi's help ....
Naomi is known as The Child Finder. She doesn't advertise her services but she gets plenty of work through word of mouth. Everyone who knows her or knows of her, knows she's the best at finding missing children.
When Naomi is asked how she finds the children, she tells them it's "because she knows freedom".
Madison would be eight, if she was still alive.
Naomi is honest with the parents she works with and tells Madison's parents that even if she does find Madison, she won't be the same.
"she will come back needing you"
Child Finding is not a job to Naomi but a calling. Each case takes her new places, with different people and cultures. She's found 30 children. There's no border she won't cross. Naomi is a contradiction. She can be both suspicious and trusting both afraid and fearless. The wilderness doesn't bother Naomi. In fact, she feels safer out in the wild then in a room with the door shut and locked. Naomi knows who to go to for answers, where to look for clues. There's a reason she is so good at what she does. Naomi's past. A time that she was lost...then found. There's so much she can't remember. A sense of loss. Wanting answers but at the same time terrified at what she might find. The big dream she's had off and on for so long. Waking with more questions than answers.
Naomi normally never works more than one case at one time. But now she's working two cases in the same town. She prefers to work on her own. Will she learn that there comes a time that everyone can use some help? Will she accept what's being offered to her?
The story is told from a few different perspectives and interspersed throughout the book are very unique fairy tales which help the story along. The inclusion of Naomi's other cases added to the story. The descriptions of Oregon's Skookim National Forest were vivid. I could feel the chill of the snow and cold. I could picture the millions of acres of forests, lakes, and rivers.
As the book deals with some very important and sensitive issues, it can be upsetting at times. However, I felt that the author treated these issues with complete respect and the underlying sense of hope and love made me want to keep reading.
The characters were excellent. The author did a fantastic job of bringing them all to life. Many of them will stay with me. I loved Naomi...of course. But there was such an excellent cast of supporting characters as well. Jerome, her friend Diane (we all need a Diane in our lives), Ranger Dave, and more. But one of my very favorites was Mrs. Cotter, who taught children how to feel safe and how to love again.
With a thoroughly engrossing plot and excellent characterization, The Child Finder is a fantastic book that I highly recommend.
"This is something I know: no matter how far you have run, no matter how long you have been lost, it is never too late to be found." - The Child Finder
Thank you, HarperCollins Canada for providing an advanced readers copy of this book for me to read in exchange for my honest review.
I was very excited to read THE CHILD FINDER. This was another novel that I flew through as once I started reading it, I did not want to put it down.
"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, after three years missing, you are still alive?"
Three years ago, the Culver family drove to the forest to cut down a Christmas tree. They turned their backs for just a moment and when they turned back, their five-year old daughter, Madison had disappeared. They were frantic and looked everywhere, but it was snowing hard and soon all tracks were covered...Madison was gone.
Of course searches were done but there was no sign of Madison. Presumed dead as no one, especially a five-year old child alone could survive the cold. But her parents refused to give up hope.
Now three years later, Madison's parents have sought out Naomi's help ....
Naomi is known as The Child Finder. She doesn't advertise her services but she gets plenty of work through word of mouth. Everyone who knows her or knows of her, knows she's the best at finding missing children.
When Naomi is asked how she finds the children, she tells them it's "because she knows freedom".
Madison would be eight, if she was still alive.
Naomi is honest with the parents she works with and tells Madison's parents that even if she does find Madison, she won't be the same.
"she will come back needing you"
Child Finding is not a job to Naomi but a calling. Each case takes her new places, with different people and cultures. She's found 30 children. There's no border she won't cross. Naomi is a contradiction. She can be both suspicious and trusting both afraid and fearless. The wilderness doesn't bother Naomi. In fact, she feels safer out in the wild then in a room with the door shut and locked. Naomi knows who to go to for answers, where to look for clues. There's a reason she is so good at what she does. Naomi's past. A time that she was lost...then found. There's so much she can't remember. A sense of loss. Wanting answers but at the same time terrified at what she might find. The big dream she's had off and on for so long. Waking with more questions than answers.
Naomi normally never works more than one case at one time. But now she's working two cases in the same town. She prefers to work on her own. Will she learn that there comes a time that everyone can use some help? Will she accept what's being offered to her?
The story is told from a few different perspectives and interspersed throughout the book are very unique fairy tales which help the story along. The inclusion of Naomi's other cases added to the story. The descriptions of Oregon's Skookim National Forest were vivid. I could feel the chill of the snow and cold. I could picture the millions of acres of forests, lakes, and rivers.
As the book deals with some very important and sensitive issues, it can be upsetting at times. However, I felt that the author treated these issues with complete respect and the underlying sense of hope and love made me want to keep reading.
The characters were excellent. The author did a fantastic job of bringing them all to life. Many of them will stay with me. I loved Naomi...of course. But there was such an excellent cast of supporting characters as well. Jerome, her friend Diane (we all need a Diane in our lives), Ranger Dave, and more. But one of my very favorites was Mrs. Cotter, who taught children how to feel safe and how to love again.
With a thoroughly engrossing plot and excellent characterization, The Child Finder is a fantastic book that I highly recommend.
"This is something I know: no matter how far you have run, no matter how long you have been lost, it is never too late to be found." - The Child Finder
Thank you, HarperCollins Canada for providing an advanced readers copy of this book for me to read in exchange for my honest review.
October 27, 2019
Update: WOW... Kindle $1.99 special today ...
Christmas Eve special. .... If you have missed this wonderful book - ‘great price’ today!
Wishing everyone who celebrates Christmas a joyous wonderful day!!!!
Lately I feel like a broken record ....."This is the best book".....sad, beautiful....extraordinary....written exquisitely!!!
Another book - where I was choked most of time. I can't imagine 'anyone' not being completely affected by this book.
Author Rene Denfeld outdid herself. "The Enchanted" was phenomenal... yet this is more so. There have been many books about missing children....but Rene Denfeld gave us very unique storytelling- that is so powerful - she gave me hope - and faith - ( where I didn't think was possible) - regardless of how this novel would end.
She really 'did' create magic. Beauty from evil. Love from violence.
I absolutely loved the characters - Naomi ( The Child Finder) and Madison ( The Snow Child.... the child who loves fairytales).....
Naomi and Madison both melted my heart!!!!! Unforgettable characters!!!
Mrs. Cottle, who raised Naomi - her foster care mother- also had my heart. She was the first person that Naomi let's get close to her. Later, Jerome, also a foster child.
Well, the very 'first' creature that Naomi let get close to her was a family cat.
Several scenes stand out for me-- or 'words':
.....Mrs. Cottle washing Naomi's back when she was young
.....Twigs
.....filtered darkness
.....wet roots, smelling their strange savage scent
.....rocking
.....greasy, pungent, musky
....."A snow girl must never fall in love because she would melt and die"
....."fairytales are our milk"
....."everyone needs faith: faith even though the world is full of evil, a suitor will come and kiss us awake; faith that the girl will escape the tower. The big bad Wolf will die, and even those poisoned by malevolence can be reborn, as innocent as purity itself".
****.....RIGHT WHEN I READ THIS LINE ... my phone rang-- I was interrupted- a called from my doctor. Results came in from the pathology lab. I have skin cancer on my nose. ..... without thinking - but kinda shaking - I got off the phone and kept reading....this line:
"Naomi felt tired in a sad way--the kind of tired where you want to run and cry at the same time". ( I could relate).
The most 'smiley' moment for me:
"OODLES OF NOODLES"..... and glorious purple stretch pants.
HOLY MOLY...... this is a 5++++ book!!!!!
Christmas Eve special. .... If you have missed this wonderful book - ‘great price’ today!
Wishing everyone who celebrates Christmas a joyous wonderful day!!!!
Lately I feel like a broken record ....."This is the best book".....sad, beautiful....extraordinary....written exquisitely!!!
Another book - where I was choked most of time. I can't imagine 'anyone' not being completely affected by this book.
Author Rene Denfeld outdid herself. "The Enchanted" was phenomenal... yet this is more so. There have been many books about missing children....but Rene Denfeld gave us very unique storytelling- that is so powerful - she gave me hope - and faith - ( where I didn't think was possible) - regardless of how this novel would end.
She really 'did' create magic. Beauty from evil. Love from violence.
I absolutely loved the characters - Naomi ( The Child Finder) and Madison ( The Snow Child.... the child who loves fairytales).....
Naomi and Madison both melted my heart!!!!! Unforgettable characters!!!
Mrs. Cottle, who raised Naomi - her foster care mother- also had my heart. She was the first person that Naomi let's get close to her. Later, Jerome, also a foster child.
Well, the very 'first' creature that Naomi let get close to her was a family cat.
Several scenes stand out for me-- or 'words':
.....Mrs. Cottle washing Naomi's back when she was young
.....Twigs
.....filtered darkness
.....wet roots, smelling their strange savage scent
.....rocking
.....greasy, pungent, musky
....."A snow girl must never fall in love because she would melt and die"
....."fairytales are our milk"
....."everyone needs faith: faith even though the world is full of evil, a suitor will come and kiss us awake; faith that the girl will escape the tower. The big bad Wolf will die, and even those poisoned by malevolence can be reborn, as innocent as purity itself".
****.....RIGHT WHEN I READ THIS LINE ... my phone rang-- I was interrupted- a called from my doctor. Results came in from the pathology lab. I have skin cancer on my nose. ..... without thinking - but kinda shaking - I got off the phone and kept reading....this line:
"Naomi felt tired in a sad way--the kind of tired where you want to run and cry at the same time". ( I could relate).
The most 'smiley' moment for me:
"OODLES OF NOODLES"..... and glorious purple stretch pants.
HOLY MOLY...... this is a 5++++ book!!!!!
July 26, 2023
The Child Finder left me speechless; a rare feat indeed.
This book was way more powerful than I initially anticipated. The last few lines chilled me to the bone.
Naomi was once a missing child. She remembers nothing of her life 'before' being found. The only thing that is clear is that she escaped from a horrific situation.
Now as an adult, her solitary focus is finding others who need to be found.
Her current case is that of a 5-year old girl, Madison, who went missing in the mountains while on a family trip to get a Christmas tree.
Gone for three years, long thought dead, as how could a little girl survive alone in deep snow and freezing temperatures, Madison's parents hold out hope that she could still alive.
What struck me most about this story is the overall tone of the writing. Obviously, Naomi experiences lasting effects from her early childhood trauma and it was beautifully handled.
She is plagued with strange dreams and over time more detailed pieces become available in her memory. We learn about her foster mother, Mary, and adoptive brother, Jerome, and their relationships.
There is a lot about this book that is heartbreaking, but it is told in such a magical, whimsical way. It's like all of the horrors of the real world packaged into a old-time fairy tale.
With this being said, I can see how some people may not enjoy this as much as I did. It is a slow-burn and there is nothing about it that will keep you on the edge of your seat. However, if you love to sink your teeth into some good, solid writing with engaging characters, this book is for you.
There is a second book set to release following Naomi and I absolutely will be reading it.
This one leaves off in a perfect place to continue on with Naomi's personal story and I am really looking forward to it. Well done, Denfeld!
This book was way more powerful than I initially anticipated. The last few lines chilled me to the bone.
Naomi was once a missing child. She remembers nothing of her life 'before' being found. The only thing that is clear is that she escaped from a horrific situation.
Now as an adult, her solitary focus is finding others who need to be found.
Her current case is that of a 5-year old girl, Madison, who went missing in the mountains while on a family trip to get a Christmas tree.
Gone for three years, long thought dead, as how could a little girl survive alone in deep snow and freezing temperatures, Madison's parents hold out hope that she could still alive.
What struck me most about this story is the overall tone of the writing. Obviously, Naomi experiences lasting effects from her early childhood trauma and it was beautifully handled.
She is plagued with strange dreams and over time more detailed pieces become available in her memory. We learn about her foster mother, Mary, and adoptive brother, Jerome, and their relationships.
There is a lot about this book that is heartbreaking, but it is told in such a magical, whimsical way. It's like all of the horrors of the real world packaged into a old-time fairy tale.
With this being said, I can see how some people may not enjoy this as much as I did. It is a slow-burn and there is nothing about it that will keep you on the edge of your seat. However, if you love to sink your teeth into some good, solid writing with engaging characters, this book is for you.
There is a second book set to release following Naomi and I absolutely will be reading it.
This one leaves off in a perfect place to continue on with Naomi's personal story and I am really looking forward to it. Well done, Denfeld!
February 9, 2020
It is never too late to be found....
Absolute highlight of 2017!
When I read 'The Enchanted' by Rene Denfeld I was in awe and speechless... The beauty and the darkness of that book made it exceptional and really something else. This second book of this wonderful author, The Child Finder is equally beautiful and dark, grim, deeply disturbing even... a weird but also fascinating combination. And a book full of emotion, hurt, love... The last 20 or so pages are raw, emotional and made me cry. Wonderful writing. Poetry and darkness together, how is that possible, well... it is. What an author.... Denfeld. Five stars, no doubt, highly recommended.
This is the story: 3 years ago, Madison Culver disappeared when her family was choosing a Xmas tree in a national forest. Desperate to find their beloved daughter, who would be eight years old now, if still alive - the Culvers turn to Naomi, a privat investigator specialized in locating lost and missing children. As Naomi relentlessly pursues and slowly uncovers the truth behind Madison's disappearance, shards of her own past, a dark dream pierce the defenses that have protected her. Once, she was a 'found' child. The chapters are told alternatively by Naomi and the missing kid. Creepy, chilling and heartwarming. Highly, Highly recommended....
Absolute highlight of 2017!
When I read 'The Enchanted' by Rene Denfeld I was in awe and speechless... The beauty and the darkness of that book made it exceptional and really something else. This second book of this wonderful author, The Child Finder is equally beautiful and dark, grim, deeply disturbing even... a weird but also fascinating combination. And a book full of emotion, hurt, love... The last 20 or so pages are raw, emotional and made me cry. Wonderful writing. Poetry and darkness together, how is that possible, well... it is. What an author.... Denfeld. Five stars, no doubt, highly recommended.
This is the story: 3 years ago, Madison Culver disappeared when her family was choosing a Xmas tree in a national forest. Desperate to find their beloved daughter, who would be eight years old now, if still alive - the Culvers turn to Naomi, a privat investigator specialized in locating lost and missing children. As Naomi relentlessly pursues and slowly uncovers the truth behind Madison's disappearance, shards of her own past, a dark dream pierce the defenses that have protected her. Once, she was a 'found' child. The chapters are told alternatively by Naomi and the missing kid. Creepy, chilling and heartwarming. Highly, Highly recommended....
October 25, 2017
See this review @ https://readrantrockandroll.com/2017/...
After witnessing many friends rate and review this book so highly, I had to read it! I was lucky enough to be the first in line for it at my library.
The story begins with Madison, a young girl who is in search for the perfect Christmas tree alongside her parents in Oregon’s Skookum National Forest. She’s only five-years-old and suddenly disappears. Her parents are distraught and search teams have come up with nothing. Madison’s parents find Naomi, a private investigator with an interest in child finding. It’s been three years and Madison is now eight-years-old if she’s still out there. Her parents are desperate, having trouble in their marriage, and cannot move on until they know what happened to Madison and whether or not she’s still alive.
Madison Culver is a five-year-old girl. Her parents say she likes reading, writing, and going for nature walks. She was excited to get a Christmas tree.
As Naomi begins to search, her own past comes into light and readers learn that Naomi was once a lost child too. The book flips back and forth between Naomi’s past and the present search for Madison and also another case, a missing baby.
In the dream it was night and she was again a naked child running across a dark field. She was ageless, shedding her name and false self the way she had shed her clothes. The fields were wet and black and sticky. her feet were churning, her naked knees rising, and she could feel the wind in her hair, on her cheek, and around her helpless, clutching hands.
It took me forever to get into this book and I just couldn’t get used to the format and writing. When I first started reading it, I thought it was going to be so awesome. I liked all of the characters, but I wasn’t sure about how I felt about the story switching back to Naomi’s past. Learning about Naomi’s foster mom and the love she instilled in her after she’d been found was heartwarming and fills you with hope, but I just couldn’t connect with it, and for some odd reason it felt out of place and seemed like the details were lacking. I felt the same with her relationship with Jerome. I liked the interaction between Naomi, Detective Winfield, and Ranger Dave, but it felt a tad underdeveloped to me as well, although I still enjoyed it.
As the story continued, I found it moving and even poetic. This book was definitely haunting and hard to read at times, but for me, this wasn’t a thriller until page 240. At that point, it was a race to the end. I'm really hoping for a second book to find out if Naomi will solve her own mysteries and I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from this author.
I did enjoy this and my rating on it is 4 stars.
After witnessing many friends rate and review this book so highly, I had to read it! I was lucky enough to be the first in line for it at my library.
The story begins with Madison, a young girl who is in search for the perfect Christmas tree alongside her parents in Oregon’s Skookum National Forest. She’s only five-years-old and suddenly disappears. Her parents are distraught and search teams have come up with nothing. Madison’s parents find Naomi, a private investigator with an interest in child finding. It’s been three years and Madison is now eight-years-old if she’s still out there. Her parents are desperate, having trouble in their marriage, and cannot move on until they know what happened to Madison and whether or not she’s still alive.
Madison Culver is a five-year-old girl. Her parents say she likes reading, writing, and going for nature walks. She was excited to get a Christmas tree.
As Naomi begins to search, her own past comes into light and readers learn that Naomi was once a lost child too. The book flips back and forth between Naomi’s past and the present search for Madison and also another case, a missing baby.
In the dream it was night and she was again a naked child running across a dark field. She was ageless, shedding her name and false self the way she had shed her clothes. The fields were wet and black and sticky. her feet were churning, her naked knees rising, and she could feel the wind in her hair, on her cheek, and around her helpless, clutching hands.
It took me forever to get into this book and I just couldn’t get used to the format and writing. When I first started reading it, I thought it was going to be so awesome. I liked all of the characters, but I wasn’t sure about how I felt about the story switching back to Naomi’s past. Learning about Naomi’s foster mom and the love she instilled in her after she’d been found was heartwarming and fills you with hope, but I just couldn’t connect with it, and for some odd reason it felt out of place and seemed like the details were lacking. I felt the same with her relationship with Jerome. I liked the interaction between Naomi, Detective Winfield, and Ranger Dave, but it felt a tad underdeveloped to me as well, although I still enjoyed it.
As the story continued, I found it moving and even poetic. This book was definitely haunting and hard to read at times, but for me, this wasn’t a thriller until page 240. At that point, it was a race to the end. I'm really hoping for a second book to find out if Naomi will solve her own mysteries and I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from this author.
I did enjoy this and my rating on it is 4 stars.
September 23, 2017
"Once upon a time," she said, "before I can remember."
And like a crisp Russian folktale encased in icy frost and deep layers of snow, Rene Denfeld combines a fairytale-like setting with the harsh edges of this world's razored reality.
Naomi stares at a frontdoor yet to be answered. She knows only too well what lies beyond. Naomi is a private investigator known as "The Child Finder". The Culvers' daughter went missing three years ago in Oregon's Skookum National Forest while on a holiday trip to find the perfect Christmas tree. Little Madison would have been eight years old by now.
Naomi offers no magical words of false hope when all indications are that Madison suffered the fate of being lost in the impassable terrain of the forest. But Naomi will try to bring her back one way or another. For you see, Naomi still suffers from a lost identity herself as a child. She was found wandering alone with no sense or recollection of her past experiences.......only that they were brutal and left her with quivering fear. After reaching adulthood, she dedicated her life to searching for unsearchable children. "It will be people like us that save the world, she said: those who have walked the side of sorrow and seen the dawn."
I must tell you, in all honesty, I closed this book after the first few chapters because I didn't think that I could carry the weight of this storyline. It would haunt me. But as I read further and further I became wrapped in the tendrils of words and passages so eloquently written by Rene Denfeld that I knew that this was going to be a memorable read. Denfeld implements snippets of folktales and fine-tuned descriptions of mountain life and its people in which the reader tumbles in and hangs on page after page. She has a gift of turning her characters' heads upward to meet you eye-to-eye.
I highly recommend The Child Finder in order to view the world beyond the simplicity of good and bad. It will certainly leave its fingerprint upon your heart for many a time to come.
And like a crisp Russian folktale encased in icy frost and deep layers of snow, Rene Denfeld combines a fairytale-like setting with the harsh edges of this world's razored reality.
Naomi stares at a frontdoor yet to be answered. She knows only too well what lies beyond. Naomi is a private investigator known as "The Child Finder". The Culvers' daughter went missing three years ago in Oregon's Skookum National Forest while on a holiday trip to find the perfect Christmas tree. Little Madison would have been eight years old by now.
Naomi offers no magical words of false hope when all indications are that Madison suffered the fate of being lost in the impassable terrain of the forest. But Naomi will try to bring her back one way or another. For you see, Naomi still suffers from a lost identity herself as a child. She was found wandering alone with no sense or recollection of her past experiences.......only that they were brutal and left her with quivering fear. After reaching adulthood, she dedicated her life to searching for unsearchable children. "It will be people like us that save the world, she said: those who have walked the side of sorrow and seen the dawn."
I must tell you, in all honesty, I closed this book after the first few chapters because I didn't think that I could carry the weight of this storyline. It would haunt me. But as I read further and further I became wrapped in the tendrils of words and passages so eloquently written by Rene Denfeld that I knew that this was going to be a memorable read. Denfeld implements snippets of folktales and fine-tuned descriptions of mountain life and its people in which the reader tumbles in and hangs on page after page. She has a gift of turning her characters' heads upward to meet you eye-to-eye.
I highly recommend The Child Finder in order to view the world beyond the simplicity of good and bad. It will certainly leave its fingerprint upon your heart for many a time to come.
November 2, 2017
5 magnificent stars!!
It is so rare that a book deeply touches me, leaving me emotionally taxed by the end. This one did just that.
Naomi calls herself the child finder. She has dedicated her life to finding missing children. Parents seek her out when law enforcement is unable to bring their kids home. Once lost herself, she knows only too well the evil that lurks out there. And she knows equally well how to hunt down these despicable predators and their lairs.
A young family heads into the Oregon high country in search of the perfect Christmas tree. Their joy and excitement quickly disintegrates into a nightmare when their young daughter Madison vanishes. After heart-wrenching years of holding out hope she’ll be found, they turn to Naomi. Their last chance to bring her home. Meanwhile, young Madison has relied on her love of Russian folklore and her favorite story of The Snow Girl to keep her safe and provide the strength she needs to survive.
Throughout the book, Naomi fights her own demons from the past, yet is able to channel them to assist her in her search. All the while, fearful to let anyone close to her.
“No matter how far you have run, no matter how long you have been lost, it is ever too late to be found.”
This book is so tastefully crafted. With a subject matter as difficult and disturbing as child abduction, Rene Denfeld handled it in such a delicate way. Once I picked up the rhythm of the writing, as the points of view and timelines changed, I became completely enmeshed in this wonderfully touching book. It pulled at my heart-strings throughout.
I was left breathless and exhausted. An absolute must read. Can’t recommend it enough!
An amazing Traveling Sister read with Brenda!
It is so rare that a book deeply touches me, leaving me emotionally taxed by the end. This one did just that.
Naomi calls herself the child finder. She has dedicated her life to finding missing children. Parents seek her out when law enforcement is unable to bring their kids home. Once lost herself, she knows only too well the evil that lurks out there. And she knows equally well how to hunt down these despicable predators and their lairs.
A young family heads into the Oregon high country in search of the perfect Christmas tree. Their joy and excitement quickly disintegrates into a nightmare when their young daughter Madison vanishes. After heart-wrenching years of holding out hope she’ll be found, they turn to Naomi. Their last chance to bring her home. Meanwhile, young Madison has relied on her love of Russian folklore and her favorite story of The Snow Girl to keep her safe and provide the strength she needs to survive.
Throughout the book, Naomi fights her own demons from the past, yet is able to channel them to assist her in her search. All the while, fearful to let anyone close to her.
“No matter how far you have run, no matter how long you have been lost, it is ever too late to be found.”
This book is so tastefully crafted. With a subject matter as difficult and disturbing as child abduction, Rene Denfeld handled it in such a delicate way. Once I picked up the rhythm of the writing, as the points of view and timelines changed, I became completely enmeshed in this wonderfully touching book. It pulled at my heart-strings throughout.
I was left breathless and exhausted. An absolute must read. Can’t recommend it enough!
An amazing Traveling Sister read with Brenda!
May 4, 2018
"There is something I know: no matter how far you have run, no matter how long you have been lost, it is never too late to be found."
Three years ago, five-year-old Madison and her parents were picking out a Christmas tree in Oregon’s Skookum National Forest. Somehow, she got separated from her parents and has not been seen since. She would be eight years-old today. Her parents have never given up hope and have hired Naomi who is known as "the child finder." to find their daughter. She is their last hope. The police have investigated, the park service has searched the park for her, search parties have looked for her - no lead have ever been found. She is presumed to be dead, buried deep beneath the snow. That is not an image any parent wants to visualize. Nor do they want to imagine that she has been taken and held captive. All they want is for their daughter to be returned to them and desperately hope the child finder will find Madison.
Naomi has a gift for finding lost children as she is a little lost herself, some say she is afraid of being found. When Naomi was younger she was found by migrant workers while running across a field. With no memory of her ordeal, and only knowing her first name, she was raised in a loving home by her foster Mother. She had/has a foster brother Jerome, who is the only person she fully feels safe with.
Naomi searches the park and questions locals; her dreams haunt her. She recalls parts of her past as she desperately searches for Madison in hopes of giving her a future with her parents. While investigating Madison's disappearance, she takes on another missing child's case as well. Both cases are devastating and tug on the readers heart strings. While searching for the lost children, the reader is given glimpses into Naomi’s dreams and memories. She is a tough yet tender woman with a strong drive to find lost children.
This book is atmospheric, chilly, devastating, and captivating. From the very first page I was hooked. This book became a page tuner for me. I could not put it down! There are sections which are disturbing and may not be easy for some to read. I love how she wove the story of various characters throughout the narrative.
This book is well written and draws in the reader with sympathetic characters and not so sympathetic characters. I loved that this book is told through various characters perspectives and touches on mystery, utilizes fairy tales and uses nature as a character. This book has earned all the stars and then some!
I highly recommend this book!
See more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com
Three years ago, five-year-old Madison and her parents were picking out a Christmas tree in Oregon’s Skookum National Forest. Somehow, she got separated from her parents and has not been seen since. She would be eight years-old today. Her parents have never given up hope and have hired Naomi who is known as "the child finder." to find their daughter. She is their last hope. The police have investigated, the park service has searched the park for her, search parties have looked for her - no lead have ever been found. She is presumed to be dead, buried deep beneath the snow. That is not an image any parent wants to visualize. Nor do they want to imagine that she has been taken and held captive. All they want is for their daughter to be returned to them and desperately hope the child finder will find Madison.
Naomi has a gift for finding lost children as she is a little lost herself, some say she is afraid of being found. When Naomi was younger she was found by migrant workers while running across a field. With no memory of her ordeal, and only knowing her first name, she was raised in a loving home by her foster Mother. She had/has a foster brother Jerome, who is the only person she fully feels safe with.
Naomi searches the park and questions locals; her dreams haunt her. She recalls parts of her past as she desperately searches for Madison in hopes of giving her a future with her parents. While investigating Madison's disappearance, she takes on another missing child's case as well. Both cases are devastating and tug on the readers heart strings. While searching for the lost children, the reader is given glimpses into Naomi’s dreams and memories. She is a tough yet tender woman with a strong drive to find lost children.
This book is atmospheric, chilly, devastating, and captivating. From the very first page I was hooked. This book became a page tuner for me. I could not put it down! There are sections which are disturbing and may not be easy for some to read. I love how she wove the story of various characters throughout the narrative.
This book is well written and draws in the reader with sympathetic characters and not so sympathetic characters. I loved that this book is told through various characters perspectives and touches on mystery, utilizes fairy tales and uses nature as a character. This book has earned all the stars and then some!
I highly recommend this book!
See more of my reviews at www.openbookpost.com
August 13, 2017
I read this quite a while ago but held my review until it was closer to the publishing date. As you can see I was blown away by her writing and the fantastic way she assembles her story lines. As in the first book, she tackles imprisonment, but in this book it takes a new form. She also highlights the strong will to survive and the ways this is managed, even in horrific circumstances. In her first book she used a form of magical realism, in this another form of magic, the power of stories, in this case fairytales.
Naomi is a child finder she has gone through some traumatic experiences in her past, and we get glimpses of this throughout the story. She usually tackles only one case at a time, and in this her main case will be that of a missing five year old girl. Naomi's past has made her a dogged searcher, able to piece together things others cannot. I wish she would have stuck with her one case rule because the second case she takes was a small wrinkle in an otherwise almost perfect reading experience. Really couldn't see the need for this case, though it did concern a missing child, it was I thought an unnecessary diversion.
Still there is no getting away from the fact that this is a story that pulls one in, the setting and season adds to the tension. Gorgeous writing as well. I love how she shows that people are not just one thing, that everyone has hidden layers,. Many have had horrible experiences in life, and have found unique ways of dealing with them. This does concern the sexual abuse of children but nothing is graphic, again it is handled extremely well. I wonder if since we never get the full details of Naomi's life if there might be a sequel, would like to learn more about this intriguing character.
ARC from publisher.
Naomi is a child finder she has gone through some traumatic experiences in her past, and we get glimpses of this throughout the story. She usually tackles only one case at a time, and in this her main case will be that of a missing five year old girl. Naomi's past has made her a dogged searcher, able to piece together things others cannot. I wish she would have stuck with her one case rule because the second case she takes was a small wrinkle in an otherwise almost perfect reading experience. Really couldn't see the need for this case, though it did concern a missing child, it was I thought an unnecessary diversion.
Still there is no getting away from the fact that this is a story that pulls one in, the setting and season adds to the tension. Gorgeous writing as well. I love how she shows that people are not just one thing, that everyone has hidden layers,. Many have had horrible experiences in life, and have found unique ways of dealing with them. This does concern the sexual abuse of children but nothing is graphic, again it is handled extremely well. I wonder if since we never get the full details of Naomi's life if there might be a sequel, would like to learn more about this intriguing character.
ARC from publisher.
November 27, 2017
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.
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.
August 23, 2019
"Each child she found was a molecule, a part of herself still remaining in the scary world she had left behind. Eventually they would all come together and form one being, knitted together in triumph. We are not forgotten, her action told her. You will not put us aside." - The Child Finder
Madison Culver disappeared in the woods one snowy day as her family searched for a Christmas tree. One moment she was there, the next she was gone. The snow swiftly covering her tracks. Madison was presumed buried in the snow or scavenged by animals. How could a 5 year old girl survive for long in the cold, snowy woods?
Love and hope go hand in hand. After 3 years, Madison's mother still believed someone had taken her and that she was alive. Desperate but unwilling to give up on her daughter she contacted Naomi, a private investigator known as the Child Finder, for help.
Naomi had a special talent for finding missing children. There had been a time when Naomi herself was a lost child. There are many questions in regards to Naomi's past. The trauma she endured is buried deep within her. Fragments of memories inevitably coming to the surface in her dreams. Is her mind protecting her from what had been done to her or from her own terrible guilt?
The story unfolds from various perspectives giving us different insight at various points in the story as it switches from the past to the present. We get a first hand account of Madison's captivity and it was heartbreaking. It literally broke my heart to read those parts. Denfeld wrote with sensitivity, her words almost poetic in their blending of Madison's nightmarish reality with her magical fairytale like fantasies. Yet there was no mistaking the imagery - the moments were still dark, terrifying and horrible. She endured horrors no child should ever have to endure.
It feels almost impossible to explain how a book seeped with such darkness and sorrow was also full of love, hope and bravery. Yet it was. I look forward to reading more from Rene Denfeld and seeing what happens with Naomi in the future.
"No matter how far you have run, no matter how long you have been lost, it is never too late to be found."
Madison Culver disappeared in the woods one snowy day as her family searched for a Christmas tree. One moment she was there, the next she was gone. The snow swiftly covering her tracks. Madison was presumed buried in the snow or scavenged by animals. How could a 5 year old girl survive for long in the cold, snowy woods?
Love and hope go hand in hand. After 3 years, Madison's mother still believed someone had taken her and that she was alive. Desperate but unwilling to give up on her daughter she contacted Naomi, a private investigator known as the Child Finder, for help.
Naomi had a special talent for finding missing children. There had been a time when Naomi herself was a lost child. There are many questions in regards to Naomi's past. The trauma she endured is buried deep within her. Fragments of memories inevitably coming to the surface in her dreams. Is her mind protecting her from what had been done to her or from her own terrible guilt?
The story unfolds from various perspectives giving us different insight at various points in the story as it switches from the past to the present. We get a first hand account of Madison's captivity and it was heartbreaking. It literally broke my heart to read those parts. Denfeld wrote with sensitivity, her words almost poetic in their blending of Madison's nightmarish reality with her magical fairytale like fantasies. Yet there was no mistaking the imagery - the moments were still dark, terrifying and horrible. She endured horrors no child should ever have to endure.
It feels almost impossible to explain how a book seeped with such darkness and sorrow was also full of love, hope and bravery. Yet it was. I look forward to reading more from Rene Denfeld and seeing what happens with Naomi in the future.
"No matter how far you have run, no matter how long you have been lost, it is never too late to be found."
January 6, 2018
Denfeld takes us into the deep, dark recesses of a child gone missing for 3 years. The stories conjured up as part of survival. The imagination and its vividness making the missing girl, no longer Madison, but instead now, Snow Girl.
Enter Naomi "the Child Finder". She hunts missing children, some more successfully than others. Her own tragedy the catalyst for her search. But this one brings home the truth of her own abduction.
Denfeld is a marvel. Interspersing fairytales with the story being told from both snow girl and Naomi. Vivid imagery. And again she successfully does the unthinkable - have us feel sympathy for a monster.
Denfeld, you moved me with The Enchanted and did it all over again with The Child Finder. My first 5⭐️ of the year and I'm glad to share it with you.
Enter Naomi "the Child Finder". She hunts missing children, some more successfully than others. Her own tragedy the catalyst for her search. But this one brings home the truth of her own abduction.
Denfeld is a marvel. Interspersing fairytales with the story being told from both snow girl and Naomi. Vivid imagery. And again she successfully does the unthinkable - have us feel sympathy for a monster.
Denfeld, you moved me with The Enchanted and did it all over again with The Child Finder. My first 5⭐️ of the year and I'm glad to share it with you.
September 10, 2017
You've got that right. But it's not Gaston who has slayed me this time, it is Rene Denfeld's exquisite new book, The Child Finder.
Denfeld has left me breathless before, with her incredible debut novel, The Enchanted (see my original review), which made my list of the best books I read last year. With her second novel, she proves her talent for creating exceptionally memorable characters and beautiful stories which you cannot get out of your mind.
Naomi is an investigator with an uncanny ability of finding lost children. She is often the last resort for desperate parents and police, sometimes even defense attorneys, who call her the "Child Finder." But as successful as Naomi has been at finding out what happened to these children, even saving many of them, Naomi was once a lost girl, too, and she can't quite remember what happened to her before she was found.
"Each child she found was a molecule, a part of herself still remaining in the scary world she had left behind. Eventually they would all come together and form one being, knitted together in triumph. We are not forgotten, her actions told her. You will not put us aside."
Naomi is hired by the Culver family to find their daughter Madison, who went missing three years ago in Oregon's Skookum National Forest, when they were looking for a Christmas tree. No one can figure out what happened to Madison—did she get lost, did she fall into an abandoned mine hole or other crevasse, or was she taken by someone watching the woods? While the latter option is a disturbing one to ponder, the bitter cold and snow makes it unlikely she might have survived otherwise, let alone still be alive three years later.
Naomi is methodical in her search, knowing that one misstep, or misjudging the weather, could prove dangerous. Yet as she tries to figure out what might have happened to Madison, whether she is alive, and if so, where she might be, she has her own struggles to deal with. She wants to figure out what the nightmares that have her running in her sleep and waking with a howl mean, and where the missing pieces of her own childhood memories lead.
"Her entire life she had been running from terrifying shadows she could no longer see—and in escape she ran straight into life. In the years since, she had discovered the sacrament of life did not demand memory. Like a leaf that drank from the morning dew, you didn't question the morning sunrise or the sweet taste on your mouth. You just drank."
She must also understand why she can never stay in one place, and why she doesn't allow people to get too close to her. And more than that, she faces a decision about her future, and how she feels about the one person who has been a consistent figure in her life for as long as she can remember.
I fell in love with The Child Finder from its very first lines. This is a quietly powerful and emotional story, one of tragedy and triumph, loss and hope, of the balance between uncovering the truth and letting memories be. The chapters are narrated alternatively by Naomi and a magical child, and the characters in this book will find their way into your mind and your heart.
Denfeld is an exceptional writer, and she knows how to draw you into a story and keep you hooked from start to finish. This is a must-read, and if you've never read The Enchanted, run, don't walk, to get that one as well. I will now wait impatiently for Denfeld's next book.
See all of my reviews at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blo....
September 17, 2017
The Child Finder is a disturbing, yet magically beautiful tale about survival and freedom.
When children go missing, Naomi, a private investigator, makes it her life’s mission to find them. Once a lost child herself, Naomi seems to have a magical ability to find those who seem to be lost forever.
“It will be people like us that save the world, she said: those who have walked the side of sorrow and seen the dawn"
Naomi takes on the case of 5 year old Madison, missing for three years in the dark depths of the mountainous forest. No one believes Madison has survived, not even Naomi, but she will not stop until she finds something to bring this little girl home to her family--dead or alive.
Naomi is fighting her own demons, as she once lived in a horrific world filled with pain and abuse. She escaped when she was nine, and taken under the wing of her foster mother and foster brother, Jerome. Juxtaposed with Naomi's story is Madison’s plight in the enchanting, yet sinister forest.
“Are the stories we tell ourselves true or based on what we dream them to be?”
The Child Finder is an awe-inspiring read. It’s enchanting and horrific at the same time. It’s fast-paced, original, and beautifully written. I cannot wait to read more by Rene Denfeld. This is one of my top reads of 2017. Highly, highly recommend!
When children go missing, Naomi, a private investigator, makes it her life’s mission to find them. Once a lost child herself, Naomi seems to have a magical ability to find those who seem to be lost forever.
“It will be people like us that save the world, she said: those who have walked the side of sorrow and seen the dawn"
Naomi takes on the case of 5 year old Madison, missing for three years in the dark depths of the mountainous forest. No one believes Madison has survived, not even Naomi, but she will not stop until she finds something to bring this little girl home to her family--dead or alive.
Naomi is fighting her own demons, as she once lived in a horrific world filled with pain and abuse. She escaped when she was nine, and taken under the wing of her foster mother and foster brother, Jerome. Juxtaposed with Naomi's story is Madison’s plight in the enchanting, yet sinister forest.
“Are the stories we tell ourselves true or based on what we dream them to be?”
The Child Finder is an awe-inspiring read. It’s enchanting and horrific at the same time. It’s fast-paced, original, and beautifully written. I cannot wait to read more by Rene Denfeld. This is one of my top reads of 2017. Highly, highly recommend!
September 10, 2017
An absolute 5 star read!!
A five year old girl goes missing during a family outing to the woods to find a Christmas tree, much snow falls here in Oregon and it is a difficult search.
Naomi, a renowned Child Finder is sought out by the parents to work this case after a few years of no leads. Naomi has a personal history of being lost herself.
This is the story of Madeline, the missing girl and also of Naomi's search in finding herself.
I just loved this book!
A five year old girl goes missing during a family outing to the woods to find a Christmas tree, much snow falls here in Oregon and it is a difficult search.
Naomi, a renowned Child Finder is sought out by the parents to work this case after a few years of no leads. Naomi has a personal history of being lost herself.
This is the story of Madeline, the missing girl and also of Naomi's search in finding herself.
I just loved this book!
October 9, 2017
Madison Culver disappeared three years ago when her family was choosing a Christmas tree in Oregon's Snookum
National Forest. They tried to find her but she was nowhere to be found. Later a blizzard happened so they thought she might of been buried in the snow or scavenged by animals.
No one could survive for long in the woods. Especially not a five year old girl dressed in a pink parka.
Madison Culver loves Reading and writing and going for nature walks. Her favorite fairy tale was The Snow Girl.
The Snookum National Forest was very dangerous. The word Snookum means danger. It is a native word.
Naomi Cottle was called The Child Finder. She had an expertise of finding lost and missing children. She was a foster child. She didn't remember who she really was and didn't remember her legal name, so she made up the name Naomi Cottle. She was a lost child too. She is a private investigator and she is the Culver's last hope in finding Madison. She uses her expertise to find Mandy. It reminds her of an awful loss that she doesn't remember. She has a traumatic and haunted past.
My thoughts
This book was so beautifully written. It is written in prose. The descriptions of the setting is done very well. I love a setting in a forest or woods. The forest and woods is my tranquil and serenity spot. I just love nature. This is a dark and disturbing book so the setting isn't so tranquil but it is beautifully done. It was so good.
The character development was done very well. I loved the fairy tale of The Snow Girl!
Close to the end, I was on the edge of my seat. It was so intense and I was holding my breath not realizing it and I had to take a couple of huge breaths to be able to breathe again. I had an adrenaline rush. It made my heart beat fast. It had lots of twists near the end. I loved this book and it was an easy 5 star rating for me.
December 30, 2018
This story is heart-wrenching and told from two perspectives: a woman named Naomi whose life is dedicated to finding lost children, and a young girl whose imagination and creativity help to make her life situation more bearable.
Naomi has a gift for finding lost children and each case unlocks a tiny sliver in a heavy door that lies between her and aspects of her past that she cannot recall. Her tenacity and her ability to place herself in the minds and hearts of young victims have given her a special weapon that police services and other search and rescue people do not have. She never gives up.
Three years after Madison disappeared, Naomi finds herself in the middle of one of her most challenging charges: to find this little girl, dead or alive, somewhere in the vast, craggy, snowy and unforgiving environment of the Oregon mountains.
Rene Denfeld’s writing drew me in to the story and held me spellbound. There were a couple of times that I felt two things: (1) that the author lost a little control over her story, and (2) conversely, a couple of small areas where the story felt a bit forced.
At the same time, both the child finder’s perspective and that of the child narrator had the same feeling of loss of control and a need to force events, so it made sense from that point of view. The key is that I should have felt it without being quite so aware of it. In other words, it didn’t flow completely from the narrative and it pulled me out of the story a couple of times.
While this story and its characters may not have been perfect for me, they come very close – close enough that I could experience with the characters their thoughts and feelings, their determination, and their will to not just survive but to also do whatever is necessary to redeem themselves in their own eyes.
I adore Rene Denfeld’s writing and her ability to create strong, believable characters who are on a quest to achieve a goal or goals despite the odds against them. Her writing is lyrical and weaves a spell that is not easily broken. I look forward to reading more of her work in the near future, and recommend this book to anyone drawn to adventure stories with gritty and realistic mysteries entwined.
With thanks and appreciate to Jamie for lending me the use of a computer to write and upload my review. May my computer’s current shop visit be the last one for a very long time!
Naomi has a gift for finding lost children and each case unlocks a tiny sliver in a heavy door that lies between her and aspects of her past that she cannot recall. Her tenacity and her ability to place herself in the minds and hearts of young victims have given her a special weapon that police services and other search and rescue people do not have. She never gives up.
Three years after Madison disappeared, Naomi finds herself in the middle of one of her most challenging charges: to find this little girl, dead or alive, somewhere in the vast, craggy, snowy and unforgiving environment of the Oregon mountains.
Rene Denfeld’s writing drew me in to the story and held me spellbound. There were a couple of times that I felt two things: (1) that the author lost a little control over her story, and (2) conversely, a couple of small areas where the story felt a bit forced.
At the same time, both the child finder’s perspective and that of the child narrator had the same feeling of loss of control and a need to force events, so it made sense from that point of view. The key is that I should have felt it without being quite so aware of it. In other words, it didn’t flow completely from the narrative and it pulled me out of the story a couple of times.
While this story and its characters may not have been perfect for me, they come very close – close enough that I could experience with the characters their thoughts and feelings, their determination, and their will to not just survive but to also do whatever is necessary to redeem themselves in their own eyes.
I adore Rene Denfeld’s writing and her ability to create strong, believable characters who are on a quest to achieve a goal or goals despite the odds against them. Her writing is lyrical and weaves a spell that is not easily broken. I look forward to reading more of her work in the near future, and recommend this book to anyone drawn to adventure stories with gritty and realistic mysteries entwined.
With thanks and appreciate to Jamie for lending me the use of a computer to write and upload my review. May my computer’s current shop visit be the last one for a very long time!
September 30, 2019
Wow! This book was an absolutely fantastic 5 star read!
Traveling Sisters Read with Norma & Lindsay
CHILD FINDER by RENE DENFELD is a disturbing, haunting, unique, captivating, and an absolutely exceptional novel that had us totally engaged, entertained, and intrigued throughout this whole book. This book was so magically well-written with such beautiful prose that had us savouring every single word while we were reading it. We really wanted to take our time and enjoy the writing style instead of rushing right through it to get to the end. Even after finishing it we are still finding that we can’t stop thinking about this book.
RENE DENFELD delivers a vivid and beautifully written story here with absolutely fantastic character development, wonderful narrative, and an extremely enthralling storyline. We both really enjoyed the magical realism aspect within the storyline and thought it was an absolute perfect mix of fiction and fantastical elements.
The story is uniquely told from multiple points of view and incorporated into the storyline from Madison’s point of view are fantastical elements which really added to the storyline which was extremely unique and compelling to show us how she coped with being held captive for so many years. Through the strong female character of Naomi’s perspective and The Child Finder we delved into her hidden past and her story and character kept us intrigued and captivated right to the very end.
To sum it all up it was an interesting, engrossing, unforgettable, emotional, and an enjoyable read that left us both feeling totally satisfied with the extremely touching ending. It just left us wanting a little bit more from our main character Naomi as we still have a few questions about her past as we would love to learn more about her and would absolutely love it if perhaps there might be a sequel in the future! We would absolutely love that! Would highly recommend! This book quickly went into our favourites read shelf for 2017!
We are definitely going to be reading Denfeld’s previous novel, The Enchanted! We both can’t wait to read that!
Cautionary warning - There is an element of child abuse, but it is nothing too graphic and in our opinion it was handled extremely well and with care.
All of our Traveling Sisters Reviews can be found on our sister blog:
https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com
Traveling Sisters Read with Norma & Lindsay
CHILD FINDER by RENE DENFELD is a disturbing, haunting, unique, captivating, and an absolutely exceptional novel that had us totally engaged, entertained, and intrigued throughout this whole book. This book was so magically well-written with such beautiful prose that had us savouring every single word while we were reading it. We really wanted to take our time and enjoy the writing style instead of rushing right through it to get to the end. Even after finishing it we are still finding that we can’t stop thinking about this book.
RENE DENFELD delivers a vivid and beautifully written story here with absolutely fantastic character development, wonderful narrative, and an extremely enthralling storyline. We both really enjoyed the magical realism aspect within the storyline and thought it was an absolute perfect mix of fiction and fantastical elements.
The story is uniquely told from multiple points of view and incorporated into the storyline from Madison’s point of view are fantastical elements which really added to the storyline which was extremely unique and compelling to show us how she coped with being held captive for so many years. Through the strong female character of Naomi’s perspective and The Child Finder we delved into her hidden past and her story and character kept us intrigued and captivated right to the very end.
To sum it all up it was an interesting, engrossing, unforgettable, emotional, and an enjoyable read that left us both feeling totally satisfied with the extremely touching ending. It just left us wanting a little bit more from our main character Naomi as we still have a few questions about her past as we would love to learn more about her and would absolutely love it if perhaps there might be a sequel in the future! We would absolutely love that! Would highly recommend! This book quickly went into our favourites read shelf for 2017!
We are definitely going to be reading Denfeld’s previous novel, The Enchanted! We both can’t wait to read that!
Cautionary warning - There is an element of child abuse, but it is nothing too graphic and in our opinion it was handled extremely well and with care.
All of our Traveling Sisters Reviews can be found on our sister blog:
https://twosisterslostinacoulee.com
September 27, 2017
5+ stars! Fantastic book! I'm in awe! I can't stop thinking of these characters. Wow!
I was looking forward to reading this book after seeing all the amazing reviews and it certainly lived up to all the hype.
I was worried that the magical realism element might be too much for me as that is not something I typically enjoy, yet the way it was integrated into this beautiful story was done so extremely well that I absolutely loved it! It was the perfect mix of fiction with a touch of magical realism.
I highly recommend this unforgettable novel. It was a pleasure reading this along with my lovely Norma. To find our full Traveling Sister Read review, please visit Norma and Brenda's fabulous blog at:
https://twogirlslostinacouleereading....
I was looking forward to reading this book after seeing all the amazing reviews and it certainly lived up to all the hype.
I was worried that the magical realism element might be too much for me as that is not something I typically enjoy, yet the way it was integrated into this beautiful story was done so extremely well that I absolutely loved it! It was the perfect mix of fiction with a touch of magical realism.
I highly recommend this unforgettable novel. It was a pleasure reading this along with my lovely Norma. To find our full Traveling Sister Read review, please visit Norma and Brenda's fabulous blog at:
https://twogirlslostinacouleereading....
April 9, 2019
My cup is overflowing! This is the second stunningly beautiful five star book I have read in two days. I picked this one up because I so enjoyed The Enchanted but I was wary because the blurb indicated it was going to be a very different kind of book. And it was different but still so very, very good.
Naomi Cottle has made finding lost children her vocation and she is very good at it. As we read the stories of her searches for five year old Madison and baby Danforth we also discover Naomi's own heart breaking history. This is a book to be read with a full box of tissues to hand.
Rene Denfeld just writes so well! The pacing is brilliant and I was totally unable to put the book down. I very much enjoyed her descriptions of the Oregon landscapes and the snow, and loved the little inserted stories about Madison and the Snow Child.
Okay Ms Denfeld I am now officially a fan and I will be anxiously awaiting your next book:)
Naomi Cottle has made finding lost children her vocation and she is very good at it. As we read the stories of her searches for five year old Madison and baby Danforth we also discover Naomi's own heart breaking history. This is a book to be read with a full box of tissues to hand.
Rene Denfeld just writes so well! The pacing is brilliant and I was totally unable to put the book down. I very much enjoyed her descriptions of the Oregon landscapes and the snow, and loved the little inserted stories about Madison and the Snow Child.
Okay Ms Denfeld I am now officially a fan and I will be anxiously awaiting your next book:)
September 17, 2017
My first thought after finishing this book was to question how in the heck this author can make characters come to life in just over two hundred pages whereas sometimes it never happens in some puppy-squishing books?
Because Wow.
Madison went missing three years ago when her family drove to the woods to pick out a Christmas tree. It's always amazing how simple your day can be when tragedy strikes. Her parents have not given up hope that she will be found.
They turn to the "Child Finder" Naomi. She seems to be able to find children where so many can not. There is not always a happy ending and Naomi makes sure that parents are ready for that also.
The thing about Naomi is...she was also a lost child. She was brought to a local sheriff's office but has no memories of her lost time other than she was running from monsters. She doesn't trust easily and is always aware that someone may not be good behind that smiling face. This stood out to me as different. We read too many books and watch too many movies where the person puts trust in the wrong character when the reader knows that something is up. I LOVED this even though idiot me wanted Naomi to trust more than she did.
Everyone needs faith: faith that even though the world is full of evil, a suitor will come and kiss us awake; faith that the girl will escape the tower, the big bad wolf will die, and even those poisoned by malevolence can be reborn, as innocent as purity itself.
For such a horrible subject matter this book is a frigging knock out of the ball park. I never imagine that I would EVER want to write a book but this is one of those few books that you can't help but wish you wrote.
All the stars.
Someday, she said, we will take over the earth. It will be people like us that save the world, she said: those who have walked the side of sorrow and seen the dawn.
Because Wow.
Madison went missing three years ago when her family drove to the woods to pick out a Christmas tree. It's always amazing how simple your day can be when tragedy strikes. Her parents have not given up hope that she will be found.
They turn to the "Child Finder" Naomi. She seems to be able to find children where so many can not. There is not always a happy ending and Naomi makes sure that parents are ready for that also.
The thing about Naomi is...she was also a lost child. She was brought to a local sheriff's office but has no memories of her lost time other than she was running from monsters. She doesn't trust easily and is always aware that someone may not be good behind that smiling face. This stood out to me as different. We read too many books and watch too many movies where the person puts trust in the wrong character when the reader knows that something is up. I LOVED this even though idiot me wanted Naomi to trust more than she did.
Everyone needs faith: faith that even though the world is full of evil, a suitor will come and kiss us awake; faith that the girl will escape the tower, the big bad wolf will die, and even those poisoned by malevolence can be reborn, as innocent as purity itself.
For such a horrible subject matter this book is a frigging knock out of the ball park. I never imagine that I would EVER want to write a book but this is one of those few books that you can't help but wish you wrote.
All the stars.
Someday, she said, we will take over the earth. It will be people like us that save the world, she said: those who have walked the side of sorrow and seen the dawn.
December 14, 2017
5 Stars......... and to think I wasn't even going to read this book
Rene Denfeld's prose is beautiful and magical, a captivating and realistic tale, sad and haunting and yet so much beauty in her descriptions of people and mountain landscapes.
I listened to this one on audio and the story was beautifully narrated by Alyssa Bresnahan, the pace was excellent and authors tone really added to this wonderful experience.
This book surprised me as I was one of the very few people who didn't connect with Rene Denfeld's The Enchanted and was wary about trying this one, but gentle nudges and beautiful reviews by my Goodreads's friends gave me the push that I needed and I am so glad to add this captivating novel to my favourites list for 2017.
I loved the characters and I felt Rene Denfeld transported me to this rural mountain town of settlers in Oregon's Skookum National Pk. This is the sort of book on finishing I just want to buy a copy for my book shelf so I can admire the stunning cover and re-read agin some time in the future.
There is sadness in the story but the book does make you think and feel and I thoroughly enjoyed the read and have been recommending this one to many of my friends.
This is the sort of book that would make a great bookclub choice as plenty to discuss in this one.
Rene Denfeld's prose is beautiful and magical, a captivating and realistic tale, sad and haunting and yet so much beauty in her descriptions of people and mountain landscapes.
I listened to this one on audio and the story was beautifully narrated by Alyssa Bresnahan, the pace was excellent and authors tone really added to this wonderful experience.
This book surprised me as I was one of the very few people who didn't connect with Rene Denfeld's The Enchanted and was wary about trying this one, but gentle nudges and beautiful reviews by my Goodreads's friends gave me the push that I needed and I am so glad to add this captivating novel to my favourites list for 2017.
I loved the characters and I felt Rene Denfeld transported me to this rural mountain town of settlers in Oregon's Skookum National Pk. This is the sort of book on finishing I just want to buy a copy for my book shelf so I can admire the stunning cover and re-read agin some time in the future.
There is sadness in the story but the book does make you think and feel and I thoroughly enjoyed the read and have been recommending this one to many of my friends.
This is the sort of book that would make a great bookclub choice as plenty to discuss in this one.
December 16, 2017
5 snowy stars for the Child Finder and the Snow Girl❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️
WOW WOW WOW!!! This book was simply sTUNNING!!!
I am currently putting together a list of my top Reads of 2017 this book is definitely on that list.....
Rene Denfeld did not just tell you a story with this book she made you feel the story.... you felt Naomi‘s strength and inner struggles.... you felt Madison’s fortitude and innocence.... you felt the parents pain and hope.... you felt the cold and barren landscape....
Naomi had a troubled past and it is now her calling in life to find lost children.... Naomi and I probably have very little in common, but she was so relatable and so likable, I just felt as though I always knew where she was coming from (even though I’ve never been there myself).... I want to give major props to the fact that she had a wonderful foster mother.... so often in books foster parents are villainized.... it was so nice and refreshing to see a foster parent portrayed in a positive light.... Jerome, Naomi‘s love interest (kind of) was also quite the amazing guy! I need to find me a Jerome (although I’d probably walk right by him)....
Madison theSnow Girl was quite a remarkable little girl.... I really loved that Rene Denfeld gave her a voice.... her point of view was so compelling and real..... truth be told sometimes it was tough to read....
The star on the top of the tree for me (because it is Christmas time) was those magnificent FairyTales.... it just added the perfect amount of charm to this book filled with some pretty dark subject matter....
I obviously strongly recommend this book! And I hope you love it as much as I did!
🎧🎧🎧 you can find all my reviews at my brand new blog as well as a review of the audiobook narration....
https://audiokilledthebookmark.com/
WOW WOW WOW!!! This book was simply sTUNNING!!!
I am currently putting together a list of my top Reads of 2017 this book is definitely on that list.....
Rene Denfeld did not just tell you a story with this book she made you feel the story.... you felt Naomi‘s strength and inner struggles.... you felt Madison’s fortitude and innocence.... you felt the parents pain and hope.... you felt the cold and barren landscape....
Naomi had a troubled past and it is now her calling in life to find lost children.... Naomi and I probably have very little in common, but she was so relatable and so likable, I just felt as though I always knew where she was coming from (even though I’ve never been there myself).... I want to give major props to the fact that she had a wonderful foster mother.... so often in books foster parents are villainized.... it was so nice and refreshing to see a foster parent portrayed in a positive light.... Jerome, Naomi‘s love interest (kind of) was also quite the amazing guy! I need to find me a Jerome (although I’d probably walk right by him)....
Madison theSnow Girl was quite a remarkable little girl.... I really loved that Rene Denfeld gave her a voice.... her point of view was so compelling and real..... truth be told sometimes it was tough to read....
The star on the top of the tree for me (because it is Christmas time) was those magnificent FairyTales.... it just added the perfect amount of charm to this book filled with some pretty dark subject matter....
I obviously strongly recommend this book! And I hope you love it as much as I did!
🎧🎧🎧 you can find all my reviews at my brand new blog as well as a review of the audiobook narration....
https://audiokilledthebookmark.com/
December 14, 2017
"HOLY MOLY" - 5 BIG ONES! - SUCH A GREAT READ!
"Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Madison. Madison didn't know how to be brave. But snow girl thought she could."
Naomi is an experienced and determined investigator....a child finder, and her present case takes her on a dangerous search in the snowy Oregon wilderness for eight year old Madison Culver missing for three long years.
Multi-layered, THE CHILD FINDER intertwines the search for Madison as well as a search for memories Naomi herself keeps buried deep inside....her own story of monsters too horrifying to remember....a past that holds a devastating secret.
It is also a story of parental love and hope, of a foster mom with a big heart, and a man who lost a part of himself, but continues to fight for what he wants. AND, there's heartbreak here, more lost souls....always more to be found, but for Naomi....Who is safe to trust?
Rene Denfeld's prose is exquisite. The way she handles difficult abusive situations with special words from a child's mind is amazing!
DON'T MISS THIS ONE! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
October 21, 2017
This powerful book helped me get out of what has felt like a serious fiction slump. I have a fully -- and I mean fully -- loaded kindle. But as I was browsing through a bookstore at the airport before boarding a five hour flight earlier today, I couldn't resist buying The Child Finder. And I read it cover to cover in one sitting -- thankfully I was not plagued by chatty seatmates.
I spent the whole flight entranced, and trying to hide my teary eyes from fellow passengers. This is the first book by Denfeld I have read. It doesn't fall easily into a particular genre. It's kind of a mystery, but the writing is beautiful and the characters are so richly depicted. Naomi is in her late 20s and works as a private detective specializing in child abduction. She is obsessive and relentless about her work, and it turns out she has her own complicated personal history. She is hired to find a child in Oregon, close to where she grew up. The story focuses on the case Naomi works on and her own history. I don't want to say more to avoid spoilers, but Denfeld deals with the experience of child abduction from abrilliantly multi layered perspective. There's no need to avoid this book if you're troubled by graphic content. It's not particularly graphic or brutal -- but it is definitely emotionally potent -- so be prepared.
It's also worth reading Denfeld's brief acknowledgments at the end because it adds some context to the book.
I spent the whole flight entranced, and trying to hide my teary eyes from fellow passengers. This is the first book by Denfeld I have read. It doesn't fall easily into a particular genre. It's kind of a mystery, but the writing is beautiful and the characters are so richly depicted. Naomi is in her late 20s and works as a private detective specializing in child abduction. She is obsessive and relentless about her work, and it turns out she has her own complicated personal history. She is hired to find a child in Oregon, close to where she grew up. The story focuses on the case Naomi works on and her own history. I don't want to say more to avoid spoilers, but Denfeld deals with the experience of child abduction from abrilliantly multi layered perspective. There's no need to avoid this book if you're troubled by graphic content. It's not particularly graphic or brutal -- but it is definitely emotionally potent -- so be prepared.
It's also worth reading Denfeld's brief acknowledgments at the end because it adds some context to the book.
December 18, 2017
Lukewarm turns to hot!
See these hands? They weren't jones-in’ to pick up this book. Oh, I was all grabby at first, gimme gimme gimme, as I began reading. I was dying for a repeat performance of Denfeld’s The Enchanted, one of my all-time favorite books. So I was all wide-eyed, at attention, anticipating nirvana. And of course, as is so often the case, my expectations were too high. I kept hearing my wise friend say, “Lower your expectations.” Yeah, right.
It wasn’t that this book was bad, absolutely not! It just wasn’t anything special at first. And it seemed slow. I noticed that when I’d be telling my hand to pick up my Kindle, I’d find my fingers clicking to open Words with Friends instead. Hm. Why am I not dying to find out what’s going to happen? How can this be, after I was such an Enchanted slut?
So really, it all comes down to the fact that I was expecting a variation on The Enchanted. Denfeld’s poetic, haunting, and sort of ethereal language was there all right, but not as much as in her earlier book. When she does do her cool language thing, it slays me. The words and images are hypnotic and addictive. But I’m greedy—I wanted more of it. Whenever the child finder (Naomi) talks to the park ranger—or anyone else, for that matter—it’s pretty blasé. And their dialogues took up too much space.
I know it’s probably boring, but I can’t help myself: Comparison with The Enchanted continues! This storyline—a person searching for a child who has been missing for three years—isn’t a new one, so no matter what you do with it, it can’t compete with the completely unique and bizarre storyline in The Enchanted. In that book, I had absolutely no idea where the plot was going. I was pretty sure I knew where the Child Finder was going, which cut out some of the suspense (how it was going to resolve was still suspenseful, however).
I found myself wondering what Denfeld was going to do with the story to make it unique. I fantasized storylines. If I took time to do that, it means I wasn’t engrossed as much as I should have been. I did like it that she added one additional missing child case. Many people resented that side trip, but I liked it.
There are two main characters (one is Naomi the child finder, of course), and for the first half of the book I just wasn’t feeling anything for Naomi. It wasn’t love at first sight or at middle sight, for that matter. She has an intriguing secret past, and we get some glimpses into it, but I felt like she was sort of lacking in personality, sort of dull. The other character, wow. Now she had my full love and attention. There’s also an evil person, complex and scary, who also got my full attention.
Ah, and then there are fairy tales. Surprise surprise, I don’t like to be taken out of the real story and be made to pay attention to a fantasy story. Luckily there aren’t many, and the few that are there helped set the mood, so they didn’t drive me totally nuts.
I had a super minor complaint about something one character said. Don’t ask me why it bugged me enough to mention it.
Okay, at about the halfway mark, I found that I was totally absorbed. It was already scary, but it got scarier. Even though I still didn’t feel all warm and fuzzy for the brave Child Finder (and I never would, it turns out), I desperately wanted to see what she uncovered and how it would all work out. The other character’s story continued to be amazing, with beauteous language that described intense emotions—fear, sadness, confusion, hope—in a totally unique way, and which got under my skin. There was brutality, but Denfeld didn’t go the route of gore; she implied much of the violence, which made the story more intense. A plus for me was the psychological insight. I could add more about the wonder of it all, but I don’t want to give anything away. Believe me when I say it’s haunting and very powerful. And the ending had me sitting on the edge of my seat.
This was an atmospheric story, set in the cold, snowy mountains of Oregon. You really get a strong sense of the bleakness without getting endless blobs of description. Being a West Coaster, I’ve always thought of Oregon as having a tame terrain. I really have never associated snow and cold and desolation and fur traders with this mostly temperate and friendly state (I think of rain, Powell’s bookstore, people wearing Birkenstocks, and the show Portlandia). It was interesting to think of the state in a different way. It was realistic; I just never had thought about people living in the snowy mountains there before.
One of the big themes is how imagination helps people cope and survive. This is an understatement, but I don’t want to expand on it for fear of giving too much away. Denfeld gets the prize for creating amazing stories based on this premise (yes, of course, The Enchanted has this same theme).
I must add a warning: There is child abuse, so if this is a trigger for you, you’ll want to skip this one.
Here are summaries of the Joy Jar and the Complaint Board.
Joy Jar (summary):
-Lots of language to die for.
-One strong, memorable character with a beautiful imagination.
-Psychological insight.
-Tense, fantastic scene at the end.
-Shows the power of imagination in survival.
-Big-time atmospheric without clumps of invasive description.
-Denfeld can do confinement like no other.
Complaint Board (summary):
-Not a unique storyline.
-Some boring dialogue.
-Slow first half.
-Not attached to the Child Finder.
-Fairy tales detracted a little from story.
There is a fantastic feel to this dark and disturbing book, which for me didn’t happen until the halfway mark. It’s hard to talk about this book without giving too much away. I’d advise avoiding the blurbs if you can.
I definitely didn’t like this one as much as The Enchanted (which I’ve made perfectly clear, lol). I’m thinking that The Child Finder is the first in a series. If that’s true, I’m not sure I would sign up for more, since it seems it would be the exact same theme and outcome, just with different missing children. And I didn’t find the child finder very interesting, despite her secret past. I dunno. We’ll see.
Who am I kidding? I’ll read everything Denfeld writes! She’s one cool chick who writes from her heart and from experience. She has suffered big losses and because of this she does really good things with her life (she’s a foster mom, for one; oh, and she works with prisoners). Check out this amazing article she wrote:
http://www.themanifeststation.net/201...
(Thanks go to Will, who included this link in his brilliant review. Hope it’s okay that I snatched it, Will!)
Poetry, atmosphere, imagination. This is what you’ll get in spades. Check this book out!
See these hands? They weren't jones-in’ to pick up this book. Oh, I was all grabby at first, gimme gimme gimme, as I began reading. I was dying for a repeat performance of Denfeld’s The Enchanted, one of my all-time favorite books. So I was all wide-eyed, at attention, anticipating nirvana. And of course, as is so often the case, my expectations were too high. I kept hearing my wise friend say, “Lower your expectations.” Yeah, right.
It wasn’t that this book was bad, absolutely not! It just wasn’t anything special at first. And it seemed slow. I noticed that when I’d be telling my hand to pick up my Kindle, I’d find my fingers clicking to open Words with Friends instead. Hm. Why am I not dying to find out what’s going to happen? How can this be, after I was such an Enchanted slut?
So really, it all comes down to the fact that I was expecting a variation on The Enchanted. Denfeld’s poetic, haunting, and sort of ethereal language was there all right, but not as much as in her earlier book. When she does do her cool language thing, it slays me. The words and images are hypnotic and addictive. But I’m greedy—I wanted more of it. Whenever the child finder (Naomi) talks to the park ranger—or anyone else, for that matter—it’s pretty blasé. And their dialogues took up too much space.
I know it’s probably boring, but I can’t help myself: Comparison with The Enchanted continues! This storyline—a person searching for a child who has been missing for three years—isn’t a new one, so no matter what you do with it, it can’t compete with the completely unique and bizarre storyline in The Enchanted. In that book, I had absolutely no idea where the plot was going. I was pretty sure I knew where the Child Finder was going, which cut out some of the suspense (how it was going to resolve was still suspenseful, however).
I found myself wondering what Denfeld was going to do with the story to make it unique. I fantasized storylines. If I took time to do that, it means I wasn’t engrossed as much as I should have been. I did like it that she added one additional missing child case. Many people resented that side trip, but I liked it.
There are two main characters (one is Naomi the child finder, of course), and for the first half of the book I just wasn’t feeling anything for Naomi. It wasn’t love at first sight or at middle sight, for that matter. She has an intriguing secret past, and we get some glimpses into it, but I felt like she was sort of lacking in personality, sort of dull. The other character, wow. Now she had my full love and attention. There’s also an evil person, complex and scary, who also got my full attention.
Ah, and then there are fairy tales. Surprise surprise, I don’t like to be taken out of the real story and be made to pay attention to a fantasy story. Luckily there aren’t many, and the few that are there helped set the mood, so they didn’t drive me totally nuts.
I had a super minor complaint about something one character said. Don’t ask me why it bugged me enough to mention it.
Okay, at about the halfway mark, I found that I was totally absorbed. It was already scary, but it got scarier. Even though I still didn’t feel all warm and fuzzy for the brave Child Finder (and I never would, it turns out), I desperately wanted to see what she uncovered and how it would all work out. The other character’s story continued to be amazing, with beauteous language that described intense emotions—fear, sadness, confusion, hope—in a totally unique way, and which got under my skin. There was brutality, but Denfeld didn’t go the route of gore; she implied much of the violence, which made the story more intense. A plus for me was the psychological insight. I could add more about the wonder of it all, but I don’t want to give anything away. Believe me when I say it’s haunting and very powerful. And the ending had me sitting on the edge of my seat.
This was an atmospheric story, set in the cold, snowy mountains of Oregon. You really get a strong sense of the bleakness without getting endless blobs of description. Being a West Coaster, I’ve always thought of Oregon as having a tame terrain. I really have never associated snow and cold and desolation and fur traders with this mostly temperate and friendly state (I think of rain, Powell’s bookstore, people wearing Birkenstocks, and the show Portlandia). It was interesting to think of the state in a different way. It was realistic; I just never had thought about people living in the snowy mountains there before.
One of the big themes is how imagination helps people cope and survive. This is an understatement, but I don’t want to expand on it for fear of giving too much away. Denfeld gets the prize for creating amazing stories based on this premise (yes, of course, The Enchanted has this same theme).
I must add a warning: There is child abuse, so if this is a trigger for you, you’ll want to skip this one.
Here are summaries of the Joy Jar and the Complaint Board.
Joy Jar (summary):
-Lots of language to die for.
-One strong, memorable character with a beautiful imagination.
-Psychological insight.
-Tense, fantastic scene at the end.
-Shows the power of imagination in survival.
-Big-time atmospheric without clumps of invasive description.
-Denfeld can do confinement like no other.
Complaint Board (summary):
-Not a unique storyline.
-Some boring dialogue.
-Slow first half.
-Not attached to the Child Finder.
-Fairy tales detracted a little from story.
There is a fantastic feel to this dark and disturbing book, which for me didn’t happen until the halfway mark. It’s hard to talk about this book without giving too much away. I’d advise avoiding the blurbs if you can.
I definitely didn’t like this one as much as The Enchanted (which I’ve made perfectly clear, lol). I’m thinking that The Child Finder is the first in a series. If that’s true, I’m not sure I would sign up for more, since it seems it would be the exact same theme and outcome, just with different missing children. And I didn’t find the child finder very interesting, despite her secret past. I dunno. We’ll see.
Who am I kidding? I’ll read everything Denfeld writes! She’s one cool chick who writes from her heart and from experience. She has suffered big losses and because of this she does really good things with her life (she’s a foster mom, for one; oh, and she works with prisoners). Check out this amazing article she wrote:
http://www.themanifeststation.net/201...
(Thanks go to Will, who included this link in his brilliant review. Hope it’s okay that I snatched it, Will!)
Poetry, atmosphere, imagination. This is what you’ll get in spades. Check this book out!
September 5, 2017
“‘My husband thinks I should go back to work,’ the mother said.
‘Work is good,’ Naomi said gently.
‘I can’t,’ the mother said, and Naomi understood. You can’t leave your house if at any moment your child might come home.
The door opened to a room of perfect sadness. There was a twin bed, covered with a Disney quilt. A series of pictures on the wall: ducks flying. MADISON’S ROOM, read the appliqué letters above the bed. There was a small bookshelf and a larger desk covered with a mess of pens and markers.”
“The smell was of dust and staleness—the smell of a room that had not be occupied for years.”
There’s a feeling in Denfeld’s “The Child Finder” of despair, a darkness born of some unknown, veiled wickedness, and yet there is a simple childlike hope and belief in goodness that flows through this story. It is tested again and again, as Naomi, aka The Child Finder begins a search for a child who vanished when she was five years old, three years earlier.
Naomi understands what it is like, the aftermath of being taken as a child still haunts her, her dreams. She can’t escape the nightmares of her past, but she can’t remember them clearly, either. She uses what she recalls, not so much memories as momentary visions, feelings, to try and connect with those missing on a personal level, trying to channel their inner thoughts and feelings.
”Where are you, Madison Culver? Flying with the angels, a silver speck on a wing? Are you dreaming, buried under the snow? Or is it possible, after three years missing, you are still alive?”
When Madison is found by Mr. B., she copes with her new life by envisioning herself a snow child, created by him, for this life in a remote cabin in the snow. Her imagination becomes her tool for survival; the fairytales of her childhood become a saving grace.
”You were born of the snow, her mind told her. Born of the beauty.”
With this remote setting where beauty accompanies the seasonal changes, with an atmosphere that encloses this world silenced by snow, where innocence and evil sit side by side, and characters so desperate for a life they can only vaguely recall, still cling to the beauty in life.
Once again, Denfeld offers us a story that reveals how the actions of one affect another and the chain that becomes a part of all the lives it touches. Layer upon layer it builds, changing the course.
Still, there is hope. Redemption.
”This is something I know: no matter how far you have run, no matter how long you have been lost, it is never too late to be found.”
Of Note: while there is nothing graphic in the depiction, the sexual abuse of children is integrated into this story; however, I felt it was handled without sensationalizing it or adding any gratuitous “shock value.”
”Remember, those who are loved are never lost.”
‘Work is good,’ Naomi said gently.
‘I can’t,’ the mother said, and Naomi understood. You can’t leave your house if at any moment your child might come home.
The door opened to a room of perfect sadness. There was a twin bed, covered with a Disney quilt. A series of pictures on the wall: ducks flying. MADISON’S ROOM, read the appliqué letters above the bed. There was a small bookshelf and a larger desk covered with a mess of pens and markers.”
“The smell was of dust and staleness—the smell of a room that had not be occupied for years.”
There’s a feeling in Denfeld’s “The Child Finder” of despair, a darkness born of some unknown, veiled wickedness, and yet there is a simple childlike hope and belief in goodness that flows through this story. It is tested again and again, as Naomi, aka The Child Finder begins a search for a child who vanished when she was five years old, three years earlier.
Naomi understands what it is like, the aftermath of being taken as a child still haunts her, her dreams. She can’t escape the nightmares of her past, but she can’t remember them clearly, either. She uses what she recalls, not so much memories as momentary visions, feelings, to try and connect with those missing on a personal level, trying to channel their inner thoughts and feelings.
”Where are you, Madison Culver? Flying with the angels, a silver speck on a wing? Are you dreaming, buried under the snow? Or is it possible, after three years missing, you are still alive?”
When Madison is found by Mr. B., she copes with her new life by envisioning herself a snow child, created by him, for this life in a remote cabin in the snow. Her imagination becomes her tool for survival; the fairytales of her childhood become a saving grace.
”You were born of the snow, her mind told her. Born of the beauty.”
With this remote setting where beauty accompanies the seasonal changes, with an atmosphere that encloses this world silenced by snow, where innocence and evil sit side by side, and characters so desperate for a life they can only vaguely recall, still cling to the beauty in life.
Once again, Denfeld offers us a story that reveals how the actions of one affect another and the chain that becomes a part of all the lives it touches. Layer upon layer it builds, changing the course.
Still, there is hope. Redemption.
”This is something I know: no matter how far you have run, no matter how long you have been lost, it is never too late to be found.”
Of Note: while there is nothing graphic in the depiction, the sexual abuse of children is integrated into this story; however, I felt it was handled without sensationalizing it or adding any gratuitous “shock value.”
”Remember, those who are loved are never lost.”
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