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Rene Denfeld

Biography

Rene Denfeld

Rene Denfeld is a bestselling author, licensed investigator and foster mother. She is the author of the novels SLEEPING GIANTS, THE BUTTERFLY GIRL, THE CHILD FINDER and THE ENCHANTED. Her novels have won numerous awards, including a French Prix, and The New York Times named her a 2017 hero of the year. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Books by Rene Denfeld

by Rene Denfeld - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Ruby Spencer is known as “the exonerator.” Her job as an investigator is to free innocent men from death row, and she’s good at what she does. What many people don’t know is that she spends her time finding missing women, too. The orphaned daughter of an orphaned mother, Ruby feels a natural affinity for those who have been mistreated by the world at large. Her newest case takes her to Georgia and involves a man set to be executed in two weeks. What begins as a routine exoneration unexpectedly sends Ruby down a winding path. Pursuing the truth, she begins to uncover crimes that lead to startling revelations about her own life. With time running out, will Ruby’s search for answers ultimately lead her to danger?

by Rene Denfeld - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Twenty years ago, a nine-year-old boy was swept away by powerful waves on a remote Oregon beach, his body lost to the sea. Only a stone memorial remains to mark his tragic death. For most of her life, Amanda Dufresne had no idea she had an older brother named Dennis Owens or that he had died. Adopted as a baby, she learned about him while looking into her late birth mother and is curious to know more about this lost sibling. A solitary young woman, Amanda has always felt distanced from the world around her. Her one true companion is the orphaned polar bear she cares for working at the zoo. By getting to know her birth family, she hopes to understand more about herself. Retired police officer Larry Palmer is a widower who offers to help Amanda find answers. The search leads to shocking and heartbreaking discoveries.

by Rene Denfeld - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

A year ago, Naomi, the investigator with an uncanny ability to find missing children, made a promise that she would not take another case until she finds the younger sister who has been missing for years. The search takes her to Portland, Oregon, where scores of homeless children wander the streets. Though she does not want to get involved, Naomi is unable to resist the pull of children in need --- and the fear she sees in the eyes of a 12-year-old girl named Celia. Running from an abusive stepfather and an addict mother, Celia has nothing but hope in the butterflies --- her guides and guardians on the dangerous streets. As danger creeps closer, Naomi and Celia are forced to consider the question: Can you still be lost even when you’ve been found?

by Rene Denfeld - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

Three years ago, Madison Culver disappeared. Desperate to find their beloved daughter, the Culvers turn to Naomi, a private investigator with an uncanny talent for locating the lost and missing. Known to the police and a select group of parents as "the Child Finder," Naomi is their last hope. She understands children like Madison because once upon a time, she was a lost girl, too. As Naomi relentlessly pursues and slowly uncovers the truth behind Madison’s disappearance, shards of a dark dream pierce the defenses that have protected her, reminding her of a terrible loss she feels but cannot remember. If she finds Madison, will Naomi ultimately unlock the secrets of her own life?

by Rene Denfeld - Fiction, Literary Fiction

A death row inmate finds escape in his books and in re-imagining life around him, weaving a fantastical story of the people he observes and the world he inhabits. Two outsiders venture to this ancient stone prison: a fallen priest and the Lady, an investigator who searches for buried information from prisoners’ pasts that can save those soon-to-be-executed. Digging into the background of a killer named York, she uncovers wrenching truths that challenge familiar notions of victim and criminal.