Yvonne‘NOWHERE GIRL‘ (Cate Austin #4) by RUTH DUGDALL
FIRST LINES / BOOK BEGINNINGS
Day 0 – Schueberfouer, August 2015
Ellie
“The ferris wheel dominates the Luxembourg skyline. A show-stopper, luring the tourists away from the City’s cathedral and the Duke’s palace, dazzling them with its brilliant rainbow of lights. It turns slowly, gaudy and bright, higher even than the supermoon that glowers above the city.
Sugar and smoke fills the air, the ground is littered with greasy wrappings and scrunched up napkins as the whole landscape of Glacis car park is taken over by waffle stalls and beer stands, roller coasters and rides. ‘Terror Train’ is especially intriguing, the crowds push but only a few actually step forward to pay. Terrified children look up to where men in black masks patrol the balconies, wielding axes that they know must be fake, but look real enough, beckoning down, daring them to try the ride. A sign across the ticket booth, where a ghostly figure takes the money, informs that ‘Terror Train’ is a 4D show, and wiser parents steer their children away, to the regal carousel with its golden camel and ivory swan, where the youngsters can be observed at all times.
Unlike Ellie.”
…
When Ellie goes missing on the first day of Schueberfouer, the police are dismissive, keen not to attract negative attention on one of Luxembourg’s most important events, its annual city fair.
Probation officer Cate Austin has moved for a fresh start, along with her daughter Amelia, to live with her police detective boyfriend, Olivier Massard. But when she realizes just how casually he is taking the disappearance of Ellie, Cate decides to investigate matters for herself.
She discovers Luxembourg has a dark heart. With its geographical position, could it be the center of a child trafficking ring?
As Cate comes closer to discovering Ellie’s whereabouts she uncovers a hidden world, placing herself in danger, not just from traffickers, but from a source much closer to home.
…
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I don’t believe I’ve ever read a novel set in Luxembourg. The plot sounds like it might get intense if it delves into child trafficking. Ellie’s age isn’t given here, but whether she’s a teen or younger, it’s a frightening scenario to contemplate.
I see this is book four in a series and from what I can gather, there might be some back story about Cate that we’re missing out on with talk of a “fresh start”. Have you read any of the earlier books?
I have been trying to cast my mind back, but I think that Luxembourg is going to be a new location setting for me too!
I haven’t read any of the earlier books, (although I beieve that this is possibly the first book I have read where the main protagonist is a Probation Officer too) however from all the Goodreads ratings, reviews and comments, it does sound that they all work perfectly fine as stand alone stories, so perhaps the back-story is explained as we go along.
I realise this may not work too well for you, given your series reading tendencies, however the storyline of ‘Nowhere Girl’ is definitely calling to me, a decision I may live to regret given the bleak nature of the premise.
Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your Sunday 🙂
takes me right back to childhood visits at Newcastle’s annual fair, the Hoppings.
I love the way those paragraphs draw the reader in.
The closest we come to either you own, or the book’s event, is Wiltshire’s annual ‘Marlborough Mop’.
Personally, I am not a great fan of fairs, as ‘Jennings’, one of the largest fair families in the country, had their over-winter site not far from where I used to live in Swindon, and I know from talking with one of the family who used to go to school with us during the winter months, just how many accidents there used to be during the course of a year!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/wiltshire/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8281000/8281255.stm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiring_and_mop_fairs
Those opening lines certainly drew me in and without the added benefit premise would, on their own, certainly offer up a false sense of security.
Thanks for stopping by and have a good weekend 🙂
This sounds great! I haven’t heard of this series before. This week I have the latest in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes historical mystery series – Island of the Mad by Laurie R. King. Happy reading!
Ruth Dugdall is also a new to me author, however all of the books in the ‘Cate Austin’ series, do sound intriguing, with some very deep and troubling storylines.
I think this is also the first time I have come across a series which has a Probation Officer as its main protagonist, so it will be interesting to see if the investigation is given a slightly different slant and emphasis to take this into account.
Thanks for taking the time to comment and enjoy your reading this weekend 🙂
I haven’t heard of this author but I really like the sound of the book. I love a missing persons case mystery.
I know that nothing is explicitly said in either the opening lines or the premise, but I am assuming that as a child trafficking ring is mentioned, perhaps we are supposed to surmise that the missing Ellie, is a child.
That doesn’t make the whole scenario quite so palatable for me, but it does generally focus an investigation to try and bring the case to a speedy conclusion, so some fast paced action might be in the offing!
Thanks for stopping by Katherine and Happy Reading 🙂
Ohhh this sounds very interesting….. I’ve never read a book about trafficking before, but this might be a good book to start with. Great post!
Thank you so much for visiting for the first time. I love ‘meeting’ new people and your thoughts and comments will always be welcome here 🙂
Trafficking is rather an ‘in’ topic right now, although it tends to be a subject which we all try to avoid talking about if we can help it. Child trafficking is just completely off the scale of abhorrent from where I’m sat, so I hope that if that is the case, as Cate Austin suspects, then the forces that be act swiftly and forcefully to end it and bring Ellie safely home!
Happy Reading and enjoy your weekend 🙂
This sounds sad and scary and the way the author describes the carnival setting sets it up nicely. Enjoy your reading and your weekend 🙂
I would never think of Luxembourg as the setting for such an intriguing and hard-hitting storyline. I always think it to be a very quiet and unassuming country.
Having read on into the first few pages, I can definitely agree that the scene is being set up nicely and the tension is building, right from the very beginning.
Very hot here today, although I don’t particularly enjoy this weather. A small family gathering to scatter father-in-law’s ashes, went off very well and was a nice way to mark what would have been their 68th Wedding Anniversary 🙂