The Nowhere Child | Christian White

Title: The Nowhere Child
Author: Christian White



Christian White's debut thriller, The Nowhere Child, is a wild, wiggly ride (and yes, that is a snake joke). This 2019 Minotaur Books publication takes the well-worn missing child trope and gives it an unconventional spin that's both absorbing and slightly unhinging. It had me hooked, despite giving me a mild case of the jitters.

 Our protagonist, Kimberly Leamy, is a photographer living her best normal life in Melbourne, Australia, until a total stranger pops up and informs her she's actually Sammy Went, who vanished as a toddler from Manson, Kentucky, twenty-six years ago. Kim is understandably skeptical. After all, who believes news like this from a random bloke? But then she checks the baby photos, and, gasp, the resemblance is uncanny! Her life, she realizes, has been one giant lie wrapped in a secret, hidden inside a cryptic admission from her stepfather, Dean. 

Kim's quest for truth takes her from the sunny stability of Australia straight into the shadowy, secret-riddled heart of Kentucky. This is where things get truly bonkers. She expected shocking revelations; she did not expect her potential new sister to immediately call the media and turn the reunion into a full-blown TV circus. And let's not forget the snake-handling church. Yes, her supposed birth mother is part of a religious order where prayer involves risking a bite. Talk about high-stakes faith! Prepare yourself, because there is a lot of snake talk. 

The author does a fantastic job of building suspense, throwing unreal circumstances at Kim at breakneck speed. Every single person in Kentucky seems to have a secret, a hidden resentment, or an extreme hobby involving venomous reptiles. The narrative held me captive, unable to wrap my head around the Went family dynamic, yet marveling at Kim's ability to absorb it all without dissolving into a puddle of existential goo.

While the ending gave me mixed feelings (perhaps the sheer quirkiness finally tipped the scale), the journey was a genuinely satisfying, exciting read. Christian White has delivered a unique story filled with eccentric characters and a few genuinely shivery moments. If you're looking for a thriller that replaces closure with a can of worms (and maybe a few rattlesnakes), pick this one up. A fabulous debut! I'll definitely be watching for more of Mr. White's books in the future. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to check my living room for uninvited reptiles.

Four out of five stars.

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