The Other Child: A Novel
*Starred Review* 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 fiancée 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 title—a 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. --Karen  Keefe