A special thank you to Legend Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. .

Catching up with some long overdue reviews.

British author Ruth Dugdall delivers an intriguing and disturbing psychological thriller, NOWHERE GIRL (Cate Austin #4), where dark secrets are uncovered and some things are not as they seem.

It is Schueberfouer, August 2015. What could be more exciting than the annual fair in Luxembourg? An amusement park always offers fun, excitement, and sometimes mystery and danger. What is lurking in the shadows?

Bridget was carefully watching her daughters, Ellie and Gaynor until she turns to the wine bar, deciding she needs to sit down. She has more than one glass. Soon they realize seventeen -year -old, Ellie is missing.

Gaynor, wanted to talk to Amelia, the little blond girl who arrived from England half way through the summer term. Amelia’s mother, Cate Austin, was a probation officer. They have recently moved for a fresh start to live with her police detective boyfriend, Olivier Massard.

Ellie had been kidnapped and Bridget’s husband Achim, a senior partner with his bank, thinks Ellie has run off, as she tends to get into trouble with typical teen issues and boy named Joe. She and mom have had some disagreements ending in fights.

When Ellie comes to, she feels like she is hungover and has no clue where she is. She is locked in.

Cate wonders where the girl is. Leaving the probation service was a relief, like finally putting down a heavy load she had been carrying for so long with cases, reports, and prison visits. Her last case, Humber Boy B, had made her decision to move abroad.

Told more different POV, there is an underlying mystery. We hear from two other women, Jodie and Amina. They are not at home. Readers soon learn how all the pieces fit together.

The case does not seem to be progressing and Cate seems to be concerned. Oliver is on the case, and Cate and Oliver have a difference of opinion.

If you can read between the lines, I am being vague here-- More going on in this town than people know. Cate has enough issues without some of the new drama. Soon readers learn what has happened to Ellie and how the stories are connected.

Ultimately a psychological suspense of abuse and human sex trafficking. I have read several good books recently, revolving around this horrible crime. What they have in common is the creative ways they attract teens into this web, and unfortunately sometimes there is no escaping.

Lots of twists and turns; unfortunately; this one did not capture me completely. With the different voices, I felt there was not a main character to bond or hold the book together. In addition, the changing of past and present tense with different characters.. Cate appeared rather weak and not in full control; overall felt a disconnect and not fully immersed.

However, look forward to reading future books by the author.

This is the second of Ruth Dugdall's book that I have read.  I read Humber Boy B earlier this year and it blew me away.  I was offered Nowhere Girl to read in exchange for an honest review.

Nowhere Girl is a haunting story of life in Luxembourg City focused around immigrants to the country both legal and those illegally trafficked.  The book focusses around Cate, a British ex-probation officer who as recently left her job to move with her French policeman boyfriend to Luxembourg.  Although this follows on from the previous book, Humber Boy B and I believe these are books 4 and 5 of a series in which Cate is the main character, I have not felt like I was missing out on anything by not reading the full set.  In fact, I didn't realise they were a series as the background to Cate, and Olivier her boyfriend, is written so well in each book that you don't feel you have missed anything while equally you don't get bored with repetition of scenarios from earlier books.

My overwhelming feeling while reading this was sadness.  Sadness over the bleakness of life for illegal immigrants, as well as for the other characters. The book is dark and haunting, secrets and twists take you on a journey through the underworld of Luxembourg but this could be the underworld of any city.    Driven by strong female characters, the book is both a tale of the huge risks taken to improve your life, the results of decisions both good and bad and the strength of women to overcome their situation - in fact Amina, Auntie, Ellie, Jodie, Cate and Bridget's stories are similar and yet so different. All out of place in a strange country, all unsure of their place in that world and all with limited ability to deal with it.  Interestingly, I didn't like Cate as much in this book as I had in Humber Boy B but I can't put my finger on why.

Sinister, dark and haunting this is a book that I woke up this morning thinking about, even though I finished it yesterday.  Definitely recommended.

Thanks to Jessica at Legend Press and Netaglley for my copy for review.

When I read Humber Boy B earlier this year I found it very difficult to read. Not due to the style of writing or characters, just because of the storyline.
I found this follow up novel Nowhere Girl to be much better. Cate has moved with her young daughter to live with her partner Olivier in Luxembourg. When a teenage girl goes missing at a large fair the police don't take it seriously much to Cate's disgust. Olivier is one of the police officers looking into the disappearance and he refuses to discuss any part of the investigation with her. Struggling with the language barrier she along with Bridget, the mother and Eva a teacher start their own investigation.
Taking place at the same time is another story that concerns two teenagers Amina and Jodie. They have both been smuggled into the country from Algeria for the chance of a 'better life in Europe'. However it is not the life that they and probably their families ever imagined. The two stories merge, events from the past are revealed and things become more desperate.
There is a lot covered in the novel. People trafficking, abduction, child abuse and illness and it made a good read. I am reluctant to say too much about how they are covered because it would be easy to reveal too much. I would have liked to seen an outcome for everybody who features in the novel, there were a couple of characters I really liked. However we may, hopefully see them in future novels. I enjoyed reading about Luxembourg, a country I know nothing about and much to my shame I had to google it to find out where it actually is.
It would work as a standalone but there aspects of Cate's family life that wouldn't mean anything if you hadn't read the earlier books. Nothing is revealed about why certain events mentioned in the book are taking place but if you know what they are you understand her more.
With thanks to Jessica at Legend Press for the copy received for review.

Humber Boy B is a book that at times I really struggled up to carry on reading. I knew that I would be reading about children killing a child but combined with a tale of child neglect, child cruelty and 'Ben' trying to make friends and rebuild his life outside prison made it, for me, a very difficult book at times.
I did carry on reading and finished it, whilst I did find it harrowing I wanted to know the ending. Not really for me but I did think it was very well done.
Thanks to the publisher and the author for the copy via netgalley

I was absolutely gripped by this novel.  It is shocking, chilling and intelligent with a final chapter that was completely unexpected.

The story is based around a child murderer, Humber Boy B, and his return to society after prison. It is a situation with which we are all sadly familiar.   There are, on the face of it, some similarities with the James Bulger murder, which the author does reference but she obviously draws on her own experience as a probation officer and therefore the story feels both original and authentic.

The characters drive the story and all are flawed and realistic.  The story is written in the present day with flashbacks from each character telling their story of the day the murder took place.  There is also a hate filled Facebook campaign to find Humber Boy B that flows through the book which is incredibly chilling.

This is an incredibly sad story of how neglect and poor parenting can affect a child and whether their return to society is possible.    It made me question my beliefs on the issue of nature v nurture as well as making me think about how we as a society deal with this most awful of crimes.

Having said all that, it is also a really twisty psychological thriller with unexpected turns, gasp out loud shocks and an ending that just blows you away!

An outstanding book that I will be recommending far and wide.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.