Other Child

Starred review from February 25, 2013
Link, a bestseller in her native Germany, makes her U.S. debut with a sophisticated and thoughtful mystery set in England. After an ominous prologue, in which a woman stumbles across an unnamed secret on a remote farm in Yorkshire in 1970, the action shifts to 2008 in the same area. College student Amy Mills leaves a babysitting gig late at night to travel home, only to find her regular, relatively safe route blocked off, which proves to be a prelude to her brutal killing. Both incidents recede into the background as Link presents a large cast of characters drawn together by the engagement of Gwen Beckett, a wallflower whose fiancé is viewed as only being after the farm she’s due to inherit. More death follows, with the motive possibly linked to Gwen’s father’s disturbing past and the tragic fallout from the evacuation of children from London during the Blitz. Fans of Ruth Rendell and Minette Walters will be enthralled.

February 15, 2013
Although she's well-known in Germany, this book marks Link's first real entry into the American market. When plain, uninteresting Gwen Beckett becomes engaged to a handsome and accomplished man with little means, an old family friend, Fiona Barnes, smells a rat. Worse, the elderly Fiona isn't shy about saying what she thinks, and by doing so, she opens a floodgate of startling developments that take place both in wartime London and on the Beckett farm located in the Yorkshire countryside. First, there's the terrible murder of a young university student who is killed by an unknown assailant following a baby-sitting job. Then, following Gwen's engagement party, things become even more dangerous, as the killer, or a copycat, strikes again. DI Valerie Almond is brought in to solve the crime, and she races to catch the murderer or murderers before he or she strikes once more. The back story of what happened to the other child in the title--a little boy whose family died in the London air raids and ended up mistakenly accompanying Fiona to the Beckett farm during World War II--is compelling and offers a fascinating look at English rural life during the war. Fiona, painted as an unlikable and selfish woman, tells the story of the other child, Brian, and her feelings about him through a series of long email letters that Gwen finds. Rich with interesting characters and a plot that only becomes a little repetitive at the end, this is a solid tale that will keep readers guessing at the identity of the killer or killers. But some readers may be put off by the way Link's characters always choose to do the wrong thing. And for those who prefer an interesting, well-developed police investigator, Almond is a disappointment--dull, one-dimensional and not very competent. A compelling story, but the cop on the case isn't likely to garner fans with her approach to crime solving.

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Starred review from April 1, 2013

After reading only a few pages of Link's U.S debut, a best seller in Germany, it is easy to see why she is the most successful female crime author in her home country. When two murders occur in the small English village of Scarborough, the second one a copycat killing that takes place months after the first, Det. Valerie Almond is at a loss. Then she learns that the murders may be connected to the evacuation of children from the area during World War II. Fiona Barnes was a young teen during that time and writes letters to a close friend detailing the tragic story of "the other child." Exactly who is the "other child" and what does this child from the past have to do with the present-day murders? VERDICT This phenomenal, multilayered mystery offers plenty of psychological intrigue and suspense. Skillfully juggling the two stories, Link sets a fast pace and weaves in characters who are both tragic and ones readers can relate to. Fans of psychological thrillers and dark mysteries will love this engrossing novel.--Amy M. Davis, Parmley Billings Lib., MT

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 1, 2013
Most readers would never guess that this gripping psychological thriller, set in a small English village, is the work of a best-selling German novelist. Link's English-language debut is a dark, disturbing novel of suspense on par with those of Minette Walters. Wallflower Gwen Beckett's engagement party should have been as quiet as the bride-to-be. But her father's old friend Fiona Barnes can't hold her tongue and accuses Gwen's fianc'e of using Gwen to escape his own lackluster life and inherit the Becketts' land. Later that night, Fiona is murdered. The crime bears similarities to the recent murder of a young college student. Could the two women have anything in common? Or could the murder be related to e-mails Fiona had recently written to Gwen's father, breaking the silence about what happened between them during the war? The passages describing Gwen's time at the Becketts' farm during the Blitz introduce us to the other child referenced in the titlea damaged orphan who attaches himself to Fiona on the train ride to Yorkshire and accompanies her to the Becketts. Link builds a sense of menace in these chapters that makes readers dread turning the page but keeps them up all night doing just that.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)