Release: April 28th 2020
Format: Ebook
Publisher: She Writes Press
Source: iRead Book Tours
Find it at: Amazon, Audible, iBooks, Kobo, Google Store, B&N
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A spiritualist, an insane asylum, a lost little girl . . .
When Clive, anxious to distract a depressed Henrietta, begs Sergeant Frank Davis for a case, he is assigned to investigating a seemingly boring affair: a spiritualist woman operating in an abandoned schoolhouse on the edge of town who is suspected of robbing people of their valuables. What begins as an open and shut case becomes more complicated, however, when Henrietta—much to Clive’s dismay—begins to believe the spiritualist’s strange ramblings.
Meanwhile, Elsie begs Clive and Henrietta to help her and the object of her budding love, Gunther, locate the whereabouts of one Liesel Klinkhammer, the German woman Gunther has traveled to America to find and the mother of the little girl, Anna, whom he has brought along with him. The search leads them to Dunning Asylum, where they discover some terrible truths about Liesel. When the child, Anna, is herself mistakenly admitted to the asylum after an epileptic fit, Clive and Henrietta return to Dunning to retrieve her. This time, however, Henrietta begins to suspect that something darker may be happening. When Clive doesn’t believe her, she decides to take matters into her own hands . . . with horrifying results.
About the Author:
Michelle Cox is the author of the multiple award-winning Henrietta and Inspector Howard series as well as “Novel Notes of Local Lore,” a weekly blog dedicated to Chicago’s forgotten residents. Also, she suspects she may have once lived in the 1930s and, having yet to discover a handy time machine lying around, has resorted to writing about the era as a way of getting herself back there. Unbeknownst to most, Michelle hoards board games she doesn’t have time to play and is, not surprisingly, addicted to period dramas and big band music. Also marmalade.
A Child Lost Review:
I have had so much fun reading this series, and “A Child Lost” was a very nice addition.
The first thing that stood out in the novel was the amount of research the author put into the locations. Personally, I found this to be darker and creepier compared to its predecessors, mainly due to the asylum setting. I have always found asylums to be very dark and disturbing, and the author makes the story atmospheric by implementing this. Moreover, Dunning Asylum (or Chicago State Hospital) was a real place, and made me curious to further research about its history of the patients.
Coming back to the story; once again, I loved the characters and their adventures to solve the mystery. Clive and Henrietta are wonderful as always. At times, my heart went out to them to see the troubles they face as a married couple, as they try to grow their Detective Agency. However, it is wonderful to see them come together for solving various cases, including one with a lost girl and one with a spiritualist! I also loved Elsie and her relationship with Gunther, continued from the previous book. Elsie shines on her own and I loved how the author makes her more prominent in each book.
Moreover, the author once again maintains consistency to the series, with the amazing the location settings and characters to resemble 1930s Chicago. She writes each book in such a gripping manner that you can read them all in any order, or as standalone (although I enjoyed reading the series in the chronological manner).
Overall, I thought this was the best book out of the 5, as it covers so many things like mystery, romance, mental health and spirituality.
Wow, Rajiv!!! High praise, indeed! Thank you so very much for your reviews. I’m thrilled. Cheers!