Nowhere Girl by Ruth Dugdall

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.

Author: Ruth Dugdall
Title: Nowhere Girl
Publishers: Legend Business
Publication Date: 31st October 2015
Links: Amazon

My Review

A Riveting read from beginning to end. I really didn't know what to expect from this book as I have never read any books by Ruth Dugdall before, however I was gripped from the first few paragraphs as soon as Ellie Scheen went missing from the fair in Luxembourg until the very end. 

Cate Austin had moved to Luxumbourg with her Police detective boyfriend Olivier and her daughter Amelia, she has left her interesting job in probation to be a lady of leisure for a while however her inquisitive mind soon kicked into action when her daughter's friend's seventeen year old sister disappeared at a local fairground. Cate can't understand why her boyfriend doesn't seem to be taking it seriously but this is partly due to the fact that Ellie has left home before to stay with a boyfriend so he automatically thinks she is a runaway and will soon be home. Until a witness says they saw Ellie's mum Bridget smack her in the fairground because she hadn't known where she was, this causes Olivier to suspect the mother and this causes a rift between him and Cate who has seen how devastated Bridget has been.

The story switches to some other characters Amina and Jodie who have been smuggled into the country from Algeria by a man called Jak. Their families think they have gone to a better life but although Amina is working in the nail bar for now, Jodie has been sent on a more sinister path and that will also be Amina's future. Amina becomes friendly with Jak and his wife's young son who is desperately ill and needs treatment but because they are illegally in the country they have to accept that he will die. Amina though so young is one of the strongest characters and she tries to think of a way to keep everybody happy.

The characters soon become entwined in a complicated situation and Ellie has to come to terms with some very disturbing news. Cate finds it hard that Olivier doesn't trust him with any of the police business and it becomes obvious that she misses her job in England. She also has to deal with some personal issues in her family that she has tried to run away from.

I found the story intriguing and although I could have had a lie in this morning I found that I woke up at the normal time and the first thing I did was reach for this book so I could finish it.

Thanks to Legend and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sincerely

Book Angel x

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.

Visit Ruth at ruthdugdall.com Twitter: @RuthDugdall

Visit Legend Press at www.legendpress.co.uk

Twitter: @legend_press