The Child Finder and the Butterfly Girl by Rene Denfeld

 A friend who lives in the Pacific Northwest recommended this author to me, saying these books might offer the best depiction of the area. So I had to read them. Now, at last, I'm catching up on writing book reviews.

The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld

Set in a vividly depicted Pacific Northwest, Rene Denfeld’s dark novel follows a PI nicknamed the Child Finder as she researches a cold case – the mystery of a child who disappeared three years previously.

Child Finder Naomi is herself a “lost” child, and her skills have been honed by her past. But the search for Madison threatens to open dark doors to that past, and Naomi is soon in danger of “finding” her own self – a self she keeps deeply locked away, even from those she cares for most.

A dark, haunting novel about an all-too-believably dark, haunted world, The Child Finder is an enthralling read full of character and plot.

The Butterfly Girl by Rene Denfeld

Sequel to the Child Finder by the same author, the Butterfly Girl deals with the aftermath of a young woman’s self discover. Naomi, once a lost child, has developed a reputation for finding the lost. But now it’s personal as she tries to solve the mystery of her own sister’s disappearance. On the way she meets others in need of being found, but can she split her attention between their needs and her own? Can she keep a hold on her own identity as she dissolves it in the search for her past? And can she ever stop and see the hope that tries to surround her?

Another haunting Pacific Northwest novel, it’s a captivating read.