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Rene Denfeld

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

http://www.renedenfeld.com

Twitter

renedenfeld

Genre

Fiction, Nonfiction

Member Since

August 2013

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Rene Denfeld is the bestselling author of THE CHILD FINDER, THE ENCHANTED, THE BUTTERFLY GIRL, SLEEPING GIANTS, and the forthcoming THE TALKING BONE (Harper July 2026), which was inspired by her real life work exonerating innocents.

Rene's poetic fiction has won numerous awards including the French Prix, an ALA Medal for Excellence and an IMPAC listing. Rene works as a licensed investigator, including exonerating. In 2017 she was awarded the Break The Silence Award for her advocacy work, and the New York Times honored her for heroism.

By day Rene continues to work in justice, having worked hundreds of cases over the years, including exonerations, death row and helping trafficking victims.

She lives in Portland, Oregon, where she is a happy f ...more

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Combine Editions
Rene Denfeld’s books

Average rating: 3.93 · 85,388 ratings · 11,854 reviews · 23 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Child Finder (Naomi Cottle, #1) 3.95 avg rating — 46,780 ratings — published 2017 — 53 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Enchanted 3.95 avg rating — 21,313 ratings — published 2014 — 39 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Butterfly Girl (Naomi Cottle, #2) 3.82 avg rating — 13,029 ratings — published 2019 — 23 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sleeping Giants 3.99 avg rating — 3,660 ratings — published 2024 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	All God's Children: Inside the Dark and Violent World of Street Families 3.69 avg rating — 356 ratings — published 2007 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The New Victorians: A Young Woman's Challenge to the Old Feminist Order 3.59 avg rating — 63 ratings — published 1995 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Kill the Body, the Head Will Fall: A Closer Look at Women, Violence, and Aggression 3.88 avg rating — 57 ratings — published 2009 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Talking Bone: A Novel 4.20 avg rating — 35 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Das Schneemädchen: Thriller (Naomi Cottle 1) (German Edition) 4.14 avg rating — 7 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Das Schmetterlingsmädchen: Thriller (Naomi Cottle 2) (German Edition) by Rene Denfeld (Goodreads Author), Claudia Rapp (translator) 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Rene Denfeld…

2 posts
Rene Denfeld's Blog

Giveaway for The Talking Bone!

Goodreads is having a giveaway for my forthcoming novel, The Talking Bone, which was inspired by my real life experiences exonerating innocents. If you want to be taken inside the life of an investigator working death row (like me) with a poetic sensibility and heart-pounding pacing, this book is for you. Here's the giveaway:
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh... Read more of this blog post »

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Published on February 27, 2026 11:09

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Series by Rene Denfeld

Naomi Cottle (2 books)
by

Rene Denfeld (Goodreads Author)

3.92 avg rating — 59,808 ratings

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Rene’s Recent Updates

Rene Denfeld rated a book it was amazing You're Going To Die But Not Me! by Liz Scott (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This is possibly the wisest, warmest and funniest take on death I've ever read. Liz Scott writes about the narrowing road with a great deal of humility and wit. Each chapter is a dive into a death related topic (psychics and talking with the dead, th ...more
Jun 22, 2026 03:24PM · 11 likes · like · see review
Rene Denfeld has read The Book of Lamps and Banners (Cass Neary, #4) by Elizabeth Hand	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 15, 2026 07:26AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Book of Lamps and Banners by Elizabeth Hand. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Book of Lamps and Banners by Elizabeth Hand <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Rene Denfeld (?)

“The truth is, clocks don’t tell time. Time is measured in meaning.”
― Rene Denfeld, The Enchanted

170 likes

“I would think for hours how strange it was that some parts of words are silent, just like some parts of our lives. Did the people who wrote the dictionaries decide to mirror language to our lives, or did it just happen that way?”
― Rene Denfeld, The Enchanted

tags: language, life, words

97 likes

“Inside, the lies you tell become the person you become. On the outside, sun and reality shrink people back to their actual size. In here, people grow into their shadows.”
― Rene Denfeld, The Enchanted

82 likes

See all Rene Denfeld's quotes »

Polls

What should our book for January be? Nominees are the top 5 vote- books that came in second in 2019 group read and RaTW polls.

Voting will close on 21 November. You can change your vote at any time prior to the poll closing.

Voting for a book represents your intent to read it and participate in the discussion in a way you find comfortable.

She Would Be King by Wayétu Moore

4 votes, 36.4%

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

3 votes, 27.3%

The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna

2 votes, 18.2%

The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld

2 votes, 18.2%

First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung

0 votes, 0.0%

11 total votes

1 comment

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