Dear Child

Early in German author Hausmann’s outstanding debut, a woman is hit by a car in a forest on the German-Czech border. The police believe the victim may be Lena Beck, a college student who disappeared in Munich 13 years earlier. After a search of the forest reveals a windowless cabin, a horrific story begins taking shape: Lena was abducted and forced to live in captivity while giving birth to a girl and a boy. When Lena’s father, Matthias, arrives at the hospital to identify his daughter, however, he says it’s not her. But the young girl with her—the woman’s alleged daughter—looks exactly like a younger Lena. A DNA test confirms both children are, in fact, Matthias’s grandchildren. As the traumatized woman and the two kids struggle to adapt to life outside of the cabin, Matthias vows to find out what happened to his daughter. The multiple points of view and numerous plot twists sustain the breakneck pacing, but the book’s real power lies in the author’s insightful and sensitive portrayal of the characters involved in the tragedy. This darkly disturbing thriller definitely marks Hausmann as a writer to watch. (Oct.)