Nowhere Girl: Page-Turning Psychological Thriller Series with Cate Austin - Softcover

Dugdall, Ruth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1910394637 ISBN 13: 9781910394632

Publisher: Legend Press, 2015

Synopsis

FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER THE WOMAN BEFORE ME

Longlisted for the Guardian Not the Booker prize 2016

From the top of the Ferris wheel, Ellie can see everything. Her life, laid out beneath her. Ellie looks up. She wants freedom.

Down below, her little sister and mother wait, watching as people bundle off the wheel and disappear into the crowd. No Ellie. Must be the next box.

But the Ferris wheel continues to turn.

When Ellie goes missing on the first day of Schueberfouer, the police are dismissive, keen not to attract negative attention on one of Luxembourg's most important events.

Probation officer, Cate Austin, has moved for a fresh start, along with her daughter Amelia, to live with her police detective boyfriend, Olivier Massard. But when she realises just how casually he is taking the disappearance of Ellie, Cate decides to investigate matters for herself.

She discovers Luxembourg has a dark heart. With its geographical position, could it be the centre of a child trafficking ring? As Cate comes closer to discovering Ellie's whereabouts she uncovers a hidden world, placing herself in danger, not just from traffickers, but from a source much closer to home.

A clever, sophisticated, psychological thriller, perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn, S.J. Watson, B A Paris and Sophie Hannah

What Reviewers and Readers Say:

'A gripping read of every parent's nightmare.' --Lisa Cutts

'Doesn't so much prod the seedy underbelly of Europe as rip it wide open.' --Mike Craven

'Timely and beautifully written... Highly recommended.' --Mark Edwards

About this title

About the Author

Ruth Dugdall worked as a Probation Officer for almost a decade in high security prisons in the Suffolk area. Now living in Luxembourg, she is currently working at a local prison. Ruth has years of experience working with children who have been convicted of murder, having been based at one of the UK’s 3 prisons that specialise in this area. Ruth’s writing is heavily influenced by her professional background, providing authenticity and credibility to the crime genre.

Reviews

In this fourth installment of the series, 17-year-old Ellie Scheen goes missing after befriending a pair of teens at an annual fair in Luxembourg. Her family is naturally frantic—especially her mother, with whom Ellie has had a turbulent relationship. Through letters to her absent daughter, Bridget reveals that she feels guilty because she is bored with her life and misses being the war zone nurse she was before becoming a wife and mother. The novel follows several other characters, including Cate Austin, a family friend, and a young Muslim teen named Amina who has come to the country to try to make a better life. As with previous novels in the series, the award-winning British author uses her experiences as a former probation officer to weave together a suspenseful story using various perspectives. Current world issues, such as child trafficking and the challenges of being an undocumented immigrant, play a big part in the plot. Although Cate's boyfriend is the lead detective trying to locate Ellie, it is Cate who uses her instincts and various clues to find the girl. VERDICT Hand this novel to teens who appreciate plot twists, for even after the orchestrator of the kidnapping is revealed, this cautionary tale is riveting until the last page.—Sherry J. Mills, Hazelwood East High School, St. Louis

Edition details

• Publisher: Legend Press
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1910394637
• ISBN 13: 9781910394632
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272