In het begin moest ik wennen aan de opzet van het boek. Maar al lezende kreeg het verhaal mij toch te pakken en heb ik het nog redelijk snel uitgelezen. Het verhaal is ruw en ook de taal is soms grof, maar uiteindelijk past dat er ook wel bij. Freedom, de hoofdpersoon heeft geen gemakkelijk leven en haar levensstijl maakt het er niet beter op. Maar als ze eenmaal de strijd aangaat, dan gaat ze er ook helemaal voor. ( )

Freedom Oliver lives in remote Oregon, close to the ocean, she works in a biker bar, has tattoos and drinks more than she should. However Freedom has a secret, she is originally from New Jersey and twenty years ago she escaped from her violent, criminal in-laws. Her husband was killed and, in return for testimony, Freedom was given a name change and placed in witness protection - the cost was that she had to give up her children. Now Freedom is looking for her children but when she hears that her daughter has gone missing from the religious community led by her adoptive father Freedom makes the decision to travel to Kentucky to reclaim her family. The problem is that she is being pursued by her obsessional and murderous former brother-in-law, recently released after 18 years in jail for the murder of Freedom's husband.

This sounds like a complex plot, in the reading of it though it becomes incredibly simple and straightforward. It took me a while to get engrossed, I didn't really feel much sympathy for the characters but the book grew on me. The plotting is clear but the details on the periphery are a little sketchy - characters appear from nowhere either as a plot device or as a way of tying up loose threads - however this is a first novel and as such leniency can be given. A really solid and exciting start. ( )

Wenn auch diese Geschichte sehr abgedreht ist, so ist das doch definitiv ein spannender und ungewöhnlicher Thriller, ein echter Pageturner.
Freedom Oliver, die nach 20 Jahren im Zeugenschutzprogramm ihre verschwundene Tochter sucht, ist ein erstaunlich guter, sehr eigenwilliger Charakter. Und auch die anderen Figuren haben was, v.a. Peter. Da kann man die gehäuften Klischees schon verzeihen. Denn das Buch ist aufregend, hat überraschende Wendungen und ist einfach unterhaltsamer Lesestoff, inklusive Tränlein am Ende. ( )

About 1/3 of the way through this book I realized what was different about the writing style. This book reads like a graphic novel with no artwork. Very reminiscent of the film "Sin City". Extremely good storytelling, it just took a minute to get used to the cadence. Really poor cover art again on this one. Interesting characters and a fast moving plot.

ARC from NetGalley. ( )

wo things I’m not a big fan of—religious, evangelistic, cult mysteries and very tense drama, and yet Freedom’s Child a debut novel by Jax Miller, which contains both of the above, had me riveted. It is tense from beginning to end.FreedomsChild

The prologue, which you should go back and read again after you finish the book, begins “My name is Freedom Oliver and I killed my daughter. It’s surreal, honestly, and I’m not sure what feels more like a dream, her death or her existence. I’m guilty of both.” From there you learn that Freedom is accused of murdering her NYPD husband, served two years in jail before investigators found and convicted someone else for the crime and Freedom was released, is under the Witness Protection Program and is living in Oregon.

Freedom describes giving up her son, Mason, and daughter, Rebekah, for adoption when it was thought she’d spend the rest of her life in prison, how she’s managed to locate them in Kentucky and follow them on Facebook. When there is a lapse in Rebekah’s status updates, Freedom begins to worry. It is her mother’s instinct that says something is wrong and she needs to find her daughter.

Freedom’s Child is told from Freedom’s perspective and many chapters open with “My name is Freedom and……” The story is interspersed with letters written (but never mailed) to her children, flash backs to her life before the murder and her incarceration, descriptions of her husband, her derelict brothers-in-law and mother-in-law. Miller keeps the suspense flowing from the beginning through to the end. While the book is not over graphic, you know how wicked the bad guys are.

Readers experience a mother’s heartbreak at giving up her children, even if she knows it’s for the best. Readers experience the heartbreak of knowing your child is in trouble and needs your help while you are thousands of miles away. Readers understand the lengths a mother would go to help a child.

Freedom’s Child is definitely one of the best books of the year. ( )