The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld - 4 stars

[Joy D]

Page-turning contemporary mystery about a woman with a calling to search for missing children due to her own traumatic past. The main storyline, told primarily by the Child Finder and the Snow Child, is the search for a child missing for three years in the Oregon snow country.

I found both the primary and minor characters well-drawn. I could easily imagine the store owner, the poachers and trappers, the ranger, the sheriff, the best friend, and the foster mom. The language enabled me to picture the atmosphere of the snow-covered mountains of the sparsely-populated back country of Oregon. I thought the author brought a fresh perspective to an established theme by writing from the child’s point of view, using a fantasy method employed by children for self-protection. It is easy to pick up the clues along the way, but I think this is intentional on the author’s part. I found it more a story of responses to trauma, and coping mechanisms, than a standard mystery. The Child Finder exhibits lingering effects from her own abduction (which we are aware of from the beginning), such as a lack of trust, inability to form deep emotional attachments, and unexplained desire to run away from even those that care for and love her. Even though these traits may distance her somewhat from the reader, I felt it was authentic and very well done by the author. The primary drawback was the obvious setup for a sequel. For example, the romantic plot line seemed out of place.

Due to the subject matter, an extra level of warning is warranted. This book contains content related to child abduction, child abuse, and pedophilia. Sexual assault aspects are handled from a child’s perspective, so it was not as graphic as it could have been. There are also scenes related to trapping and killing of animals.

I very much enjoyed this author's style, and put her book The Enchanted on my TBR list.

[Denizen]

Joy D wrote: "Page-turning contemporary mystery about a woman with a calling to search for missing children due to her own traumatic past. The main storyline, told primarily by the Child Finder and the Snow Chil..."

I think this book could be classified under social problems. I would certainly put The Enchanted under that heading.

Strong review. I'm very much looking forward to reading this one in the next month or so.

[Joy D]

Denizen wrote: "Joy D wrote: "Page-turning contemporary mystery about a woman with a calling to search for missing children due to her own traumatic past. The main storyline, told primarily by the Child Finder and..."

You're right. I could have put it in the social issues category. I will look forward to reading your thoughts.