The Moonlight Child

This was one absolutely captivating, intense, intriguing, and memorable story. It raises the question; how well do you know your neighbors? Sharon thought that she knew hers very well but when questioned they declared they absolutely didn’t have…nor had they ever had a daughter or any other female child…only a teenage boy. For Sharon the question now became how far would/should she go and what would she risk saving someone else’s child? A child that the neighbors say doesn’t even exist. If you love a real mystery that is deeply human with a host of secrets and outright lies as well as a truly harrowing, with issues ripped from the daily newspapers… this is your book. It will keep you awake right to the so satisfying ending.

I really enjoyed this one, honestly the only quibble I had with it is that I thought the ending was a bit too pat with regards to what happens to our "Moonlight Child" and that some of the POVs could have been dropped to make for a tighter book. Other than that, I really enjoyed this and McQuestion has a really solid book that I can see myself reading again in the future.

"The Moonlight Child" follows Sharon Lemke who lives alone in her tidy compact home in Wisconsin. Sharon is retired, but still manages to have things to do around the home and town to get herself busy. When Sharon's daughter calls her about taking in a former client (18 year old Niki) in order to give the young girl a place to say, Sharon agrees. When Sharon goes show more outside to look at the 'blood moon' she is surprised to see a young girl doing dishes at her neighbor's home. She has only seen the couple with their teen son and wonders who the young girl is. When Niki moves in, the two of them feel their way around each other, but both start to notice the young girl and wonder what the neighbors are hiding.

The book then follows both women's investigations along with the neighbor in questions along with a married couple that we don't know how they are connected to the main story until about mid-way through.

I liked that this book really does ask you how well do you know the people who live around you and also what what you do if you thought something was wrong.

The character development of Niki was great I thought and I loved her growing closeness with Sharon. I also felt for the teen son next door in this one especially when you find out what has been going on. There are a lot of villains in this one, though I thought the main one was a bit too cartoonish after a while. This person didn't feel very real.

The writing was great and I liked the information we get about foster care and CPS. And the flow for the most part as I said earlier worked. It just got bogged down here and there and the ending as I said had a whole things are now great vibe which I didn't think was very realistic. show less

The Moonlight Child by Karen McQuestion
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Audiobook review:
Wow, now this was a story. Heartbreaking and beautifully told. You cannot help but be swept up in this story. I was pulled in immediately, listening in one day! I loved the storyline, characters and sheer heart in this story. You will have your heartstrings tugged from start to finish. I smiled, cried and was moved beyond measure. This book showcases the evil sides of humans, but also the goodness and pureness of true acceptance and unwavering love. A must listen!!!! I highly recommend it for lovers of stories with great depth, richly fleshed out characters and a story you cannot stop listening to!!!

I chose this book for an October read because the cover looked spooky. It wasn’t the spooky ready I was hoping for, but it was still a great read! I was approved for the audiobook on NG and it was incredible.

This story follows three mothers and their lives, but Sharon is the main focus and my favorite character.

Suzette is her neighbor and there wasn’t one likeable thing about the woman! Even though she lost a daughter as a baby, I couldn’t feel any sympathy for her.

The third mother is Wendy. Her and her teenage daughter have a troubled relationship. Wendy doesn’t like her daughter’s boyfriend, which causes Morgan to take off with the boyfriend. Wendy plays a bigger part later in the book, as we begin to see how the lives of show more these women intersect. It’s sad and wonderful, all at the same time!

Thank you to NetGalley and Karen McQuestion for an advanced readers copy. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review.

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This book was hard to rate. It was a real page-turner to me, therefore I feel that I should rate at least 3 stars. The story goes fast and is entertaining. I finished reading the book in 4 sessions and I'm a slow reader. It follows a couple of nice characters, and one antagonist. The nice characters are well developed and believable, the antagonist is over the top. The story is set in Wisconsin (and briefly in Minnesota) and follows a young girl, foster child, who ends up living temporarily at the house of an older lady who is the mother of her attorney. Both the girl and the older lady suspect the neighbors keeping someone secretly in the house next door. The book also follows the story from the neighbors' viewpoint and for the reader show more there is no secret anymore quickly into the book.

The story is however not sophisticated, not deep. There aren't many levels, it's all plain and predictable. As mentioned, the antagonist's character is overdeveloped, over and over. And therefore not believable. Although the reading was entertaining, I was disappointed after reading the book. This could've been so much more and better. show less

Great storytelling

I read a lot. The Moonlight Child is one that was both heartbreaking and heartening. If you have ever dealt with a person who
Has an extreme personality disorder, the book may be a bit triggering. I am glad I read it, and recommend it.

Finally out of my reading slump! This book was different -- in a very good way. Liked the characters and felt involved in their problems/issues. The storyline was interesting and didn't resort to the recent unsatisfying trend of introducing a bizarre twisted element to tie things up. Listened to the audio version and the narrator was terrific.
Now I'm back in my reading groove.