Yvonne
This is a meme for all you ‘page surfers’ out there!
‘DEAR CHILD‘ by ROMY HAUSMANN
TEASER TUESDAY EXTRACT
KINDLE 51%
JASMIN
“Chest of drawers, second drawer down. I’m still sitting on the mattress, watching Kirsten feel for the right pair of socks, then unroll it. I gaze at her face. Her eyes, usually so clear, now cloudy. Her lips thin and drawn. With shaky fingers she’s taken the shard of glass, still with dried, brown streaks of blood on it, from the tangle of socks.
‘Was this…?’
‘That is the piece of the snow globe that the police didn’t find.’
‘Why did you take it with you from the cabin? Surely not as a souvenir?’
I shake my head.
‘Hannah gave it to me. In hospital. The doctor had administered a sedative and I was fairly out of it. Then Hannah came into my room and put the piece of glass in my hand. She said: I remember every detail. I thought I’d dreamed it when I first woke up. but then I realised I was clutching the piece of glass.
‘But why did she give it to you?’
‘I couldn’t find an explanation for that, either, at first. But after seeing that letter, I think she was trying to remind me of my guilt.’
…
If you still need to know more, check out those all important opening lines at:-
‘Book Beginnings On Friday‘
Just to help you get all those words into some context – check out the premise below.
…
‘DEAR CHILD‘ by ROMY HAUSMANN (Translated from the German by Jamie Bulloch)
A windowless shack in the woods.Â
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 14 years ago.Â
The police and Lena’s family are all desperately trying to piece together a puzzle which doesn’t quite seem to fit.
…
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Ambrosia at:-
‘The Purple Booker‘
Each week she shares her own teaser lines and invites other bloggers to do the same.
So if you have a few moments, why not stop by and see what’s on offer this time, after all, you never know where that next great read is going to come from!
…
Hmm…. the story sounds really dark. It also sounds really interesting too. I placed a hold on it at my local library, so as soon as it is returned, I can borrow it. I don’t usually read fiction, especially dark stories, but this one is intriguing.
Hi Anca,
Yes! this one is definitely ‘dark’, but also very emotional.
This is certainly a story you would expect to see plastered all over the tabloids and news channels, as something which had happened in real life – which something similar has on several occasions I can think of!
However, ‘Dear Child’ has many twists and turns in the storyline, which might make it ‘too good to be true’, but which will have you on the edge of your seat and holding your breath!
I gave it the full 5 star rating, as did many other readers and would highly recommend it. I don’t think you will be disappointed 🙂
What an interesting and cryptic excerpt this time! I still see some similarities to Room, which I read years ago…. but I have a feeling it’s quite different in other ways.
Hi Kelly,
I checked out ‘Room’ again, (which by the way I need to read myself) and I can definitely see where you are coming from. A couple of things were eerily similar but ‘different’. However, I do believe that ‘Dear Child’ is a lot more psychologically challenging for the characters and the premise is much more chilling.
I can’t really explain the teaser lines without giving too much away, so if I say that Hannah is a child who has seen far too much in her short life, and leave it at that.
I definitely recommend you read this one, it really does deserve its 5 stars! 🙂