The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld

When all hope disappears for finding a lost child, there is Naomi.  Parents find her through word of mouth; she is a legend in the field.  She only takes one case at a time and spends whatever time is necessary until there is a result.  She has found children missing for years; she has found bodies returned to grieving parents.  She is unstoppable and has tunnel vision until she reaches resolution.  What parents don't know is that Naomi was a lost child herself.

Madison Culver has been missing for three years.  Her parents turned their backs for one minute on a family Christmas tree expedition in the forest and she was gone.   No one believes she is alive.  The weather was horrible that day and winter was brutal.  No body has been found.  Naomi agrees to take the case.

What Naomi can remember of her life begins the night she escaped.  She came running out of the dark to a migrant campfire, naked, in shock and unable to remember what she was running from.  She was around nine although her birthday was lost in the clouds that shroud her past.  She knows only two things; that her name is Naomi and that her mother is dead.  She is taken to a wonderful foster mother where another child lives also.  He is around Naomi's age and becomes the only friend of her childhood; the only one she tells her secrets to.

As Naomi searches for Madison, she meets the people of the remote area in Oregon where the child was missing.  She is not welcomed and as she searches, she starts to uncover local secrets.  There is a ranger who worries about her who also searches for those missing in his area and a policeman who serves as a resource for Naomi.  She uses their help but gets close to no one. 

Rene Denfeld has created a compelling character in Naomi.  Her own story lends authority to her searching as she is, in a way, always searching for herself, and for the child who she starts to remember running with her that night.  Naomi has seen the worst in human nature and yet she perseveres to give the lost children a voice and a way home.  This book is recommended for thriller readers.