The Child Finder

A Novel

By: Rene Denfeld

Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan

Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

A haunting, richly atmospheric, and deeply suspenseful novel from the acclaimed author of The Enchanted about an investigator who must use her unique insights to find a missing little girl.

"Where are you, Madison Culver? Flying with the angels, a silver speck on a wing? Are you dreaming, buried under snow? Or is it possible you are still alive?"

Three years ago, Madison Culver disappeared when her family was choosing a Christmas tree in Oregon's Skookum National Forest. She would be eight years old now - if she has survived. Desperate to find their beloved daughter, certain someone took her, the Culvers turn to Naomi, a private investigator with an uncanny talent for locating the lost and missing. Known to the police and a select group of parents as "the Child Finder", Naomi is their last hope.

Naomi's methodical search takes her deep into the icy, mysterious forest in the Pacific Northwest and into her own fragmented past. She understands children like Madison because once upon a time, she was a lost girl, too.

As Naomi relentlessly pursues and slowly uncovers the truth behind Madison's disappearance, shards of a dark dream pierce the defenses that have protected her, reminding her of a terrible loss she feels but cannot remember. If she finds Madison, will Naomi ultimately unlock the secrets of her own life?

Told in the alternating voices of Naomi and a deeply imaginative child, The Child Finder is a breathtaking, exquisitely rendered literary listen about redemption, the line between reality and memories and dreams, and the human capacity to survive.

©2017 Rene Denfeld (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Good but Strange

I have some mixed thoughts about this one. At times the story was exciting and moved quickly -but then sometimes I couldn't figure out where it was trying to go. At the end it all made sense of course but some listeners may not have the patience to see it through. It's also a bit of a unique style of storytelling - the kind where you have to pay more attention in the "boring" parts or you'll lose track of what's going on. The ending (last few chapters) were quite exciting and wrapped most of it up nicely. There might be a book 2 because some things were left unresolved.

captivating

This story is well paced and engaging. the voice was a little monotone but still very worth the listen.

Tough but good read.

Very creative and descriptive. Which for some parts is tough to keep reading. But beautiful and painful and uncomfortable and hopeful story. Couldn't put it down.

G-Rated Novel

The story is simple and predictable. It appears as though the author wrote to appeal to the widest audience possible, being careful in her use of language, not being particularly graphic in her description of violence in the story as well as the reading level (6th grade).
The material was handled in a very simple and straightforward manner all wrapped up with a bow for the reader.
This made it easy to listen to for a day trip as it didn't require careful attention.

This book is phenomenonal.

I was left speechless. so beautifully written, such well-written characters. I'll listen this again and again, I'm sure.

The search

I liked how the story unfolded.
I felt the heart of the woman searching.
Fully understood the need of children to adapt in the circumstances of their lives. Bright children have an advantage I feel.

Unique style, but a winner!

The style of writing in this novel is not anything like I have heard before. Very unique and not only that, the actual style of writing seemed to change in various parts of the book. Each character has a different story to tell, and the author actually changed the say she wrote for that character's "voice". It wasn't always "my style", but I admired it, ad appreciated the effort. The story is really interesting, as well. Both the protagonist and the antagonist were sad stories, and people put into very bad situations, and dealing with them as best they can. The narration was great, as well.

Kept My Interest

Book was pretty good and kept my interest throughout most of the listen. It did drag a bit during the flashbacks of the heroine's past, but how she tracked down the missing children was facinating. The parts from the child's point of view were both horrifying and riveting at the same time. Listened with adult family members on a road trip to the beach and all agreed book was definitely worth the time.

Kept asking questions

While the story’s premise is interesting, there were what seemed to me to be obvious questions. A recurring one was how a 5 yr old had such advanced powers of deduction & an advanced vocabulary while being in captivity for several years.

The main character’s final words of wisdom were pedestrian to the point of silliness and the author’s lead-in to her next book was a bit too obvious.

The value of a book like this for me is heightened awareness of these missing & exploited kids. For that, Denfeld is to be commended.

Beautiful, inspiring .

This book was intense . Not your usual child abduction book . It was serious , profane . A beautiful character . Will say this , if I had young children today , would chain them to me . The monsters are real . Buy this book , you won't be able to put it down