A Child Lost

A Child Lost is #5 of Michelle Cox's Henrietta and Inspector Howard novels. We are in the Chicago area, in the mid-1930s. I have missed a couple in this series, but this novel stands alone very well. Months after their European honeymoon was interrupted with the death of Clive's father, followed just recently by Henrietta losing her baby at just about 2 months PG, we are again with Henrietta and Clive in the wing of his family home as they both try to interweave their own lives. Added to the mix, Clive is taking on his father's role in the family business, both of them are working to get their private investigation business off to a good start, and Henrietta still mourning the baby that might-have-been and keeping in touch with her sister Elsie and the Hennessey family who practically raised her. Without much effort on their part, the two find themselves with two investigations added to their frantic-paced lives. A friend and former co-worker of Clives with the Winnetka police department has a job he needs to be done, investigating Madame Pavlovsky, a fortune teller, who might be hypnotizing her subjects and having them bring in treasures which they will then give to her. If Clive and Henrietta can solve that problem for them, the force at Winnetka will be pleased. It is certainly not considered something they would handle themselves, but they are getting grief from a politically connected constituent. And then a big challenge - finding the four-year-old child Anna Klinkhammer- daughter of Elsie's friend Gunther's friend Liesel, who lived in the boarding house in Heidelberg run by Gunther and his English mother after his father was killed in battle. Gunther was a student at the same university that his father had taught at before he was conscripted, and upon his graduation, Gunther was also teaching there. Liesel, suffering postpartum depression, slips away in 1931, determined to find her lover who has since immigrated to the United States. She left Anna in Guenther's mother's care, meaning perhaps to come back for her. They received one letter saying she had found work at Mundelein in the Chicago area, and then nothing more from Liesel. Three years later, Gunther conveniences his mother to immigrate with him and Anna, to get out of this war zone and start fresh in a free country. Unfortunately, his mother does not live to see the end of that voyage. Gunther winds up in Chicago begins his search for Liesel. Anna is heartbroken and missing Gunther's mother. Though Anna will not remember Liesel, Gunther is committed to finding her and reuniting mother and daughter. As he soon discovers, Mundelein was a very well-liked and respected Bishop in the Chicago area, and many many things are named for him. Streets, buildings, a city, a college, a seminary... Gunther soon finds work as a janitor at Mundelein College, hoping to find Liesel, but he has no one to care for Anna while he is at work, and so she must spend the week at a nearby orphanage, then home with Gunther on his days off. But Anna disappears after having a seizure while at the orphanage. She was transferred to a hospital and released from there, but Clive and Henrietta have trouble finding out who she was released to - and against all hope, it was to Dunning, The Chicago State Hospital, a notorious asylum for feeble-minded and insane persons. This is the same place, they soon find, where Anna's mother Liesel died after an electric shock treatment for her latest seizure. It seems Anna inherited epilepsy from her mother. And in the world of 1935, epilepsy was considered the work of the Devil...

Another great book in this series, however, I have to admit; this one is my favorite! Based on a romantic plot between two charming and witty characters, the story has some mysterious twists and turns. I just love it and can't wait to read and to find out what happens next. I hope Cox will not let me wait for too long!!!! Strongly recommend this book to all of you who love romance with suspense, super entertaining! Best Birthday gift idea for those of you who don't know what to get for someone who has it all. Get the entire series and you will be greatly appreciated for unforgettable memories.

To put it simply, I love the Henrietta & Inspector Howard series! You laugh, you love, you cry, your heart pounds, your heart breaks, your heart soars. You feel all the emotions in these books & they never disappoint. If you need to escape from day to day stress, A CHILD LOST, as well as the rest of the series is definitely for you. I received a complimentary copy of this book from Michelle Cox and was under no obligation to post a review.