THE NOWHERE CHILD by Christian White

Lots and lots of great reviews of this on line, and no wonder. Gripping from the first sentence - " 'Mind if I join you?'  the stranger asked." 30 year old Kim lives in Melbourne, and is on a break between photography classes when a stranger from America sits her down and tells her on the fourth page, that she is not who she thinks she is, that she in fact went missing some 28 years earlier from her family home in Kentucky, USA.

Naturally it can't possibly be true, but to her distress, it is quickly apparent that there could be more to this than Kim realises. After considerable agonising, she makes the long journey to Manson, Kentucky to find out for herself who she really is, what did happen in 1990, and how on earth did she end up in Australia?

So good, so gripping, so many possibilities. The story telling and plot unfolding is first rate, the character reveals are unexpected and chilling. I loved every page of this, and have since read this author's second novel The Wife and the Widow, also very good, but I think this is better.