Top

We have updated our Privacy Policy Please take a moment to review it. By continuing to use this site, you agree to the terms of our updated Privacy Policy.

Dear Child

On sale

31st December 2020

Price: £9.99

Select a format

Selected: Paperback / ISBN-13: 9781529401431

Disclosure: If you buy products using the retailer buttons above, we may earn a commission from the retailers you visit.

You escaped. But he will never let you go.



NOW A MAJOR NETFLIX SERIES: A page-turning thriller perfect for fans of Room and Gone Girl



A windowless shack in the woods. Lena’s life and that of her two children follows the rules set by their captor, the father: meals, bathroom visits, study time are strictly scheduled and meticulously observed. He protects his family from the dangers lurking in the outside world and makes sure that his children will always have a mother to look after them.

One day Lena manages to flee – but the nightmare continues. It seems as if her tormentor wants to get back what belongs to him. And then there is the question whether she really is the woman called ‘Lena’, who disappeared without a trace over thirteen years ago. The police and Lena’s family are all desperately trying to piece together a puzzle that doesn’t quite seem to fit.


‘Chilling, original and mesmerising. Hausmann is a force to be reckoned with’ David Baldacci

‘A peerless exercise in suspense’ Financial Times

‘Will haunt you long after the last page’ Alice Feeney

‘Keeps you guessing’ Sunday Express


‘Intelligent and original’ Sunday Independent


‘Outstanding’ Publishers Weekly


Claustrophobic, terrifying and fiercely compelling’ Daily Mail

‘Disturbingly good’ Lesley Kara


‘Gripping, suspenseful and beautifully written’ Jo Spain

What's Inside

Read More Read Less

Reviews

S Magazine
German bestseller Dear Child by Romy Hausmann is tipped to be one of the UK's must-reads of the summer
Jo Spain, author of The Confession
I read Dear Child in one sitting, holding my breath. Such a gripping, suspenseful and beautifully written debut. I loved it!
Stephanie Wrobel, author of The Recovery of Rose Gold
One of the best thrillers I've read this year. Flawlessly plotted with a pace that refuses to let the reader come up for air - not that you'd want to
Lesley Kara, author of The Rumour
Wow! Such a disturbingly good read. Romy's knack of getting under a character's skin is impressive. I loved it
Alice Feeney, author of Sometimes I Lie
If you read only one thriller this year, choose this one. Room meets Gone Girl in this gripping novel, which will haunt you long after the last page
Peter James
Dear Child is an accomplished thriller, beautifully written, intriguing and very compelling
Barry Forshaw, Financial Times
A peerless exercise in suspense . . . Whether treated as a study in trauma and identity or a dark, well-crafted crime narrative from multiple perspectives, it is a nail-biting fare
Daily Mail
Claustrophobic, terrifying and fiercely compelling, this is heartbreaking
Sunday Express
Hausmann makes you care about her characters even while they keep you guessing
Sunday Independent
Told from multiple viewpoints which gives a satisfying complexity . . . An intelligent and original book
David Baldacci
A chilling, original and mesmerizing work. Hausmann is a force to be reckoned with. You can't stop reading
Publishers Weekly
Outstanding . . . 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.
New York Times
Equal parts mystery, thriller and family story . . . [A] tantalizingly disturbing debut . . . the overall experience is as enthralling as it is thought-provoking. Hausmann creates a dark solar system studded with twinkling stars . . . At the core of Dear Child is the constant hope that characters will be drawn back to people who mean the most to them, no matter how far apart they've been pulled. That glint of optimism is the light guiding readers as they fly through this book
Daily Express
Nothing is quite what it seems in this mesmerising debut
Sunday Express S Magazine
A mesmerising and flawlessly plotted debut