Review: The Child Finder

The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: September 5, 2017
Pages: 275 pages
Genre: Adult Fiction, Mystery & Thriller
Rating: 4/5

Synopsis:

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?

Review:

Well, this book turned out different than I expected. I was anticipating a mystery novel solely about the stated investigation, but the book also delved more on exploring the human psyche, both in children and adults. In the end, it was a very powerful story told by compelling writing.

The heart of the narrative focuses on the private investigator Naomi, the titular character. She is driven by her quest to find missing children throughout the nation; she herself was a missing child in her past and suffered from abuse. The bulk of the novel follows Naomi's investigation in locating Madison Culver, a girl who has been missing for the past three years after disappearing in the wilderness, as well as other anecdotes recounting other children Naomi has tried to locate. Throughout the novel, there is a feeling of despair and helplessness, especially when Naomi knows that the children she is trying to find are most likely ghosts of the past, though their loved ones hold on with any sliver of hope. However, there is also promise, mainly in Naomi's resilience and determination to find Madison and other missing children.

Denfeld crafts the novel primarily through two perspectives, in addition to a scattering of secondary characters. First, there is Naomi, who narrates the investigation with snapshots of her past and her own mistreatments. Second, there's the perspective dubbed the "snow child". I think this point of view truly captures Denfeld's command and mastery of her own prose. Within this bleak tale, the snow child provides the narrative with an aura that feels like a fairy tale. It is written with a childlike innocence while masking its true intentions: loneliness, naivety, and abuse. There is even evidence of Stockholm syndrome.

The true strength of The Child Finder as I've stated is the prose. I appreciate how Denfeld presents bits and pieces of the case, and how everything melds together like a jigsaw puzzle. However, if I was going to be picky, I do wish the investigation was solved a little better. Where Denfeld adeptly handles the ideas surrounding abuse and the human mind, the investigation feels a bit convenient. Naomi has everything handed to her and is able to follow through (with of course the occasional misstep). I also found the change of perspectives within the same chapter to be a bit jarring. I would have preferred that each chapter had a different perspective, or that even within the same chapter, the narration be a little longer for each perspective. The tonal shift got some getting used to and the breaks were too frequent in each chapter.

Other than that, a very powerful and moving novel.