Domain Review book club: Michael Rowland reviews The Nowhere Child

For a first-time author, Christian White has certainly aimed high. The Nowhere Child  is an intriguing mystery that spans continents and decades. It is an ambitious tale of stolen identity and dark family secrets that won White the 2017 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an unpublished manuscript.

We are introduced to Kim Leamy, a Melbourne TAFE teacher. Her world is tuned upside down when she is approached by a stranger, who tells Kim her real name is Sammy Went. And, what’s worse, Sammy went missing in Manson, Kentucky as a toddler 28 years ago.

From there, White builds a suspenseful journey that takes us from Coburg to small-town America, as Kim nervously explores a past radically different to the one she looks back on in Australia.

The story flicks back and forth from the present to 1990s Kentucky. We’re introduced to fictitious Manson, at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains, where people came ‘for the hiking trails and good ol’ fashioned southern hospitality’. All is not what it seems. Scandal and shame lurk not too far from the surface of the rustic charm. Manson is in the grip of an extreme fundamentalist church and the disappearance of two-year-old Sammy Went sets off a devastating chain of events.

Nearly 30 years later, Kim (or Sammy) pieces together her life through a series of awkward, painful reunions and moments of sheer terror. There are many moving parts, but White skilfully manages to weave together what is ultimately a tale of love and redemption.

Michael’s last word:

“Christian White’s debut novel is a gripping thriller that will keep you transfixed until the final page. It will be a hard act to follow.”

• The Nowhere Child  By Christian White
• $32.99, out now
• affirmpress.com.au

The next read:

Michael will review Leather Soul By Bob Murphy for the next Domain Review Book Club.

• Leather Soul is out July 30
• $39.99
• blackincbooks.com.au

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