Eight year old Grace is growing up and wants a bit of independence so begs mum Emma into letting her walk home from school alone. Emma watches her for the first few days but finally lets her go solo. Sadly, this proves to be a costly decision as, one day, Grace doesn't come home. The police are called in but as their investigations proceed, certain things start to come out. Information that splits the family. Meanwhile, Maggie sees the picture of missing Grace in the paper. She recognises something in Grace that kickstarts something from her own past. Another missing girl from years ago. Could there possibly be a connection and if so what?
This was a very good character driven book. Told from multiple points of view and containing some very interesting back stories you could say that sometimes the characters themselves and what was going on with them overshadowed the hunt for the missing child somewhat but not in a detrimental way. There is some very clever reader manipulation going on in this book mostly by way of misdirection which did keep me on my toes throughout. There is a fine line to be had with employing this tactic as there is always the danger that the reader gets annoyed by being conned but I am very pleased to say that I never had such feelings during reading as they were so well disguised, and revealed and explained at just the right times to keep me on side. And when finally all was revealed I was quite happy to put the book down and applaud the author for a job well done.
Characterisation was also of a good quality. The author has created a cast of characters that I was well easily able to connect to / emote with. The emotional turmoil suffered by certain characters was, at times, almost gut wrenching. Especially as certain things from their pasts were revealed. It's hard to create duplicitous characters with secrets and lies aplenty and make them convincing but again this author does a great job of keeping them just on the right side of this too. The parts that were narrated by the child were very well done and convincing age wise.
Pacing was perfect and always consistent with the tone of the story and there was a good balance between description and story.
As always when I finish a book by a new author to me, I go and check out their back catalogue and I have to say that what I found here completely shocked me. This is the author's debut book. I would never have guessed that as it came across as having been written by a much more experienced author, so mature the writing, characterisation and basically everything. I am definitely going to be keeping my eye out for her second book. I do hope I don;t have to wait too long.

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

A very good thrilling novel which kept me turning the pages. Well written, and great characters. Great new author to follow.

Grace is eight years old, and instead of coming straight home from school, she decided to stop into the dairy and has been kidnapped. What will happen next is Grace's aunty Stephanie will rally with Grace's mum Emma to discover what has happened to Grace and who has taken her? As the story goes on, we also have another storyline of Maggie Taylor whose granddaughter Sophie went missing years ago in the same scenario as Grace. Maggie's daughter couldn't handle the loss and killed herself. When she sees Grace and then the press release on TV she gets a jolt as one of the girls looks a lot like her Sophie, but how can that be? Reading the book, we learn that Emma's and Stephanie's mum is hiding a bucketload of secrets and that it has to do with how Emma and Stephanie came to be? Has someone finally realized the truth and had decided to exact revenge for the disappearance years ago? 99 Red Balloons started off as a fast-paced mystery and then started to slow down in the middle, and at one point I have to admit I wanted it to speed up a bit. The other thing I found annoying was that the story glossed over Sophie's disappearance and focused quite heavily on Grace's. It would have been nice to see a bit more of Sophie's story and her reunion with her grandmother which I was disappointed we didn't get to read how it went as the story just ended. However, if you are up for a UK mystery novel, then check out 99 Red Balloons by Elisabeth (Libby) Carpenter today.

When someone releases a debut psychological thriller, I have to admit to reading with more than a little bit of trepidation. This is a very popular genre and standards have been steadily rising, bit by bit, book by book, as have reader expectations. But... Wowsers. I am very happy to say that Elisabeth Carpenter met every one of my expectations when it comes to this genre, and then some. This is a stonkingly assured and gripping debut that I would happily recommend to anyone.
Now this is a very hard book to talk about as there are elements of it which kind of put me in mind of the movie, Fight Club. The first rule of 99 Red Balloons is, don’t talk about the plot of 99 Red Balloons. It has an amazing plot that you really want to talk about, but people need to have read the book first, if that makes sense. What you need to know about the plot is very much contained above. Eight year old Grace has gone missing, seemingly taken while on a very short walk home from school. The rest of the story is focused upon her family and the impact her disappearance has upon them and widow, Maggie Taylor, who is emotionally affected by Grace's story as her own granddaughter went missing many years before. And that's all I'm saying.
This was such a cleverly constructed story. So many secrets being kept, by both Emma and Matt, Grace's parents. Neither has been entirely honest with the other, both worried that something they have done may have led to Grace being taken. While seemingly rock solid as a couple, they are being torn apart by the loss of their daughter and the way in which the author portrays this feels authentic and at times moving. The shift from anger and determination to absolute despair. They are both strong, but crumbling and in desperate need to support.
And this is where we meet Stephanie, Emma's sister. She is at Emma's side throughout the whole drama, undeniably close to her sister as her son, Jamie, is with Grace. She is perhaps not as strong as her sister and yet since childhood she has been there to protect Emma. Perhaps half of the story is told in her voice and we are privy to her dreams, nightmares even, and her fears. There is something altogether claustrophobic about Stephanie's dreams, but we are never quite sure what.
Maggie was an interesting character. In her later years, her world has continued to get smaller ever since the loss of her granddaughter Zoe. A widow, she only has one true friend and her mind always turns to Zoe whenever she hears of another lost or missing child. I could really feel a kind of sympathy for Maggie, a woman who has had her life ripped apart and to whom, it appears, the truth may never be revealed. She had a quiet strength about her, a determined nature which kept her on her path, even if the easy option would have been to give in and be with her family. You had to admire her strength.
And then there are two more voices - the abductor and the child who was taken. All four distinct voices, all tinged with their own sadness, their stories unique and yet set to converge in the most shocking of ways. And it is a very clever ploy used by the author here. I kind of had a suspicion about one element of the story, but the way in which is was executed was so skilful, so unexpected, that it truly made me smile. And argghhhh. Give me a nudge when you've read the book for yourself and we can have a chat about it.
For a debut thriller, this was a cracker and I cannot wait to read more by the author. The pacing was just right, the moments of tension dotted throughout perfectly timed to keep me as a reader on the hook. I had to keep reading. I wanted to know more. I wanted to be proven right (and wrong) and I wanted to be surprised. Most of all, because from the very first page Elisabeth Carpenter had me engaged and invested in the fates of all of the characters involved, I wanted to know everything would work out okay. I can't say that I loved all of the characters all of the time. Considering a child was missing, some of them were unbelievably selfish in protecting themselves first and Grace second. But you could not help but feel for Matt and Emma, suffering as they did with Grace's absence, and for the impact that the revelations yet to come had upon the lives of those around them.
Elisabeth Carpenter could have taken an easy option at the end. Made everything all sweetness a light, a perfectly happy, Walton's style ending and yet she chose not to, a very wise move. It made what happened ultimately more believable, more authentic, and all the more heart wrenching for it. Loved it.

Given that this is the author's debut novel, it's a highly impressive and well written story, which was a real page turner and had me gripped right from the very first page.

I thought the story plot was very well written, I loved how the story was told from different characters throughout the telling of the story, it certainly gave you an insight into things and the different view points.

You really do feel for some of the characters, in what they are going through or have already experienced. The characters were so well written that sometimes you felt like you were in the same room or place as them.

I have to say I wasn't expecting the twist, very cleverly done and honestly never saw it coming.

I'm looking forward to the author's second novel already.

The intertwined stories of two missing girls kept me guessing, but there were too many different voices telling the tale. Three adult women, and a missing girl, and the man who took her... I managed to keep them all straight, but it was like watching the story unfold from a distance. This is one of those books that makes you work to piece together exactly what's going on.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. A great debut novel absolutely thought it was brilliant and this had me hooked from the beginning

I just loved this book and couldn't put it down. I know it sounds like a cliche but it's true. The characters were easy to get to know... well I thought I knew them! The plot unfolded chapter by chapter with a build up of the tension keeping up all through.
I would have been kinder to Maggie than the author but without giving any plot away I can't say how.
I know it's an odd thing to say but I was almost put off by the title but I can't explain why. Suffice to say I'm very glad I decided to read it.

This was a good suspense book. Grace is taken one day after school. We learn all about Grace and her family. We also learn about Zoe and her family and what happened to her 25 years ago. You go back and forth between Stephanie (Grace's Aunt) and Maggie (Zoe's Grandmother). You learn about what happens to Zoe and how it could be related to Grace's disappearance. As you are reading this book you think you know everything that is going on but you don't. I was really surprised with how it turns out. This is a great mystery, suspense book that I think you should read especially if you like that type of book.

It took a little while to get into this book. Little Grace goes missing when she is taken from the shop around the corner. Her parents and Aunty are frantic with worry. We read the book from three different perspectives, at home with Mum, Dad and Aunty, a lady called Maggi and a small child. I liked the twist the book brought, and despite the abrupt ending and the pace I felt the book was led by, it was a good read.

What can I say other than wow! I could not get enough of this book and that is all down to the amazing writing of Elisabeth Carpenter. Having read books of a similar style you would think I would be wise to the inevitable ups, downs and twists but this book totally took my breath away.

The thought of child abduction absolutely terrifies me and this book encompassed all of the emotions that someone going through this nightmare would experience. It was heartbreaking to read the story of Maggie and Sarah who lost their granddaughter and daughter when she was only 5 years old to abduction but the clever linking in of the story of the abduction of 8 year old Grace from her mother Emma had me compelled to read.

I enjoyed the three different narratives and found that they were relatively easy to follow. One in particular completely took my breath away especially it transpired that there was a massive twist with who I thought the person was. So, so clever! I love it when I can be truly surprised by what I'm reading as often twists are so predictable.

The characters are extremely likable especially Maggie, who I was rooting for the whole way through the story. I desperately wanted her to reunite with Zoe and get the peace of mind that she craved. It is a skill to be able to get the reader feeling compassion for a fictional character but Elisabeth Carpenter showed an immense understanding of what the reader would want to read.

Would I recommend this? Yes, absolutely without a doubt. I simply cannot wait to read more from this author. An outstanding debut novel. Well done.

Very clever mystery story with multiple twists and complex characters. Kept me guessing and confused all the way through.

Five year old Zoe went missing 18 years ago and has not been seen since. Eventually her parents divorced. Her mom committed suicide, leaving only her grandmother to grieve daily for her family.

Grace is 8 years old. She has now gone missing. There are no clues, no evidence, no ransom notes. She walked out of sweetshop and basically just vanished.

Grace's family is falling apart. Her mom and dad, besides being worried to death, are angry at each other. Grace's aunt is trying to hold things together. But what about those emails between the aunt and Grace's father? Where is the grandmother? Taking forever to get there, she seems more interested in her nightly bottle of booze.

Is there more to the disappearance of Grace? Does the family know more than they're telling? And what is the link between Grace and Zoe?

The story is told in different voices. Grace is very vocal about what is happening to her. Her Aunt tells the story from her viewpoint. Zoe's grandmother has been watching the news and sees a lot of similarities between the taking of Zoe and Grace. And she sees something else that has her wondering....

A very well written novel of what happens when one of the worst things to happen actually happens. Some families cling to each other, but most find the grief too heavy to share and turn away from each other. The wrap-up was good ... and the ending was perfect.

Many thanks to the author / Avon Books UK / Netgalley for the advance digital copy. Opinions expressed here are voluntary and unbiased and entirely my own.

Eight year old Grace had been begging her parents to start letting her walk home from school with her friends so they finally begin to let her. Grace's mother, Emma, had at first followed her daughter and hid to keep an eye on her as she walked but once she saw she was doing alright she let the girl make the trip on her own until one day Grace didn't come home.

Frantic with worry every searches every where for the little girl finding the last place she was seen was seen in a sweetshop with no other clues to her whereabouts. Soon the police and media are involved in the search for young Grace when ageing widow Maggie Sharples sees Grace's image on the news bringing back memories of her own granddaughter being kidnapped years before. For Maggie though the face she sees on the television is a bit too familiar to be coincidence.

99 Red Balloons is a thriller that takes the thought of every parent's worst nightmare and expand the story to yet another level blending the past and present together. The overall plot is one that is sure to keep a reader on edge with a little girl's life on the line when she can't be found but for me this one also seemed to be a bit confusing with so much going on.

The story is told with alternating points of views from various different characters all throughout the book which is where I think I struggled with keeping track. Some chapters are from the family then a lady watching the story unfold and even a little girl who had been taken. By the time it all wrapped up it made sense but during the early pages and the middle there were a few times the voices within the chapters just weren't standing out enough to remember who was who.

In the end I decided to rate this book at 3.5 stars. The intensity was there to keep me wanting to know how it would unfold but I had to sometimes stop and remind myself who was who and what situation I was reading so the flow could have been a bit better in my opinion.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this book. Each chapter is from a different characters perspective. At the beginning we meet Steph who has gone to visit her sister Emma and we find out that Emma's daughter Grace has been kidnapped. We then meet Maggie who I absolutely loved and totally believed her. Maggie's granchild has been kidnapped many years before and was never found. We then follow both there stories. I found this book really enjoyable and it kept me guessing up to the end. A really enjoyable read. And I look forward to reading more by this author.

My best friend had recently received this book through netgalley and loved it and told me I defiantly needed to send my own request because it was that great! I was fortunate enough to be given a chance to read this book through netgalley! and yes my best friend was very right it had all the components I wanted for a good thriller. 1 great cover! 2 it had me going from the start all the way till the end I even had to back track at one point when I came to a great twist! 3 its a quick easy read 4 Awesome twist that I never saw coming and each character makes you feel what they are going through! I will also say that im not sure who I felt worse for Maggie or Stephanie they both lost out on so much its scary when you remember this is a fiction novel but things like this unfortunately happen all the time! I highly recommend this book!

This story follows the tales of 2 girls who go missing decades apart and alternating tales where you wonder whether Grace will be found and what connection there may be to the previous crime. It was an interesting twist on a missing child story and I liked trying to put the pieces together.
It shows you a little of the investigation and the strain this puts on family relationships and the secrets that families sometimes hold.
The horrors of wanting to give your children a little independance which goes against your inclination to keep them close and the devastating consequen

The cover and the title drew me to this book - a debut thriller from Libby Carpenter - but the writing, and the gripping multi-perspective story telling kept me reading, well into the wee hours.
This is a book that twists and turns in ways you don't see coming - but at the heart is a storyline that any parent can identify with. The horror of having to deal with the knowledge that your beloved child has disappeared and has most likely been snatched.
We all have stories in our minds from recent years of missing children - those faces we see staring at us from newspapers or round the clock news coverage on TV. So this book immediately draws the reader into that world - the world of a family imploding as they deal with the possible abduction of eight year old Grace Harper.
There are her parents, her aunt, her cousin, her somewhat distant grandmother - not to mention those on the periphery of their lives who are immediately caught up in every parent's worst nightmare.
The book also follows the story of Maggie - a grandmother who can only sympathise with what the Harper's are going through - her grand-daughter Zoe having disappeared 30 years previously leading to a catastrophic turn of events for her family. She wants to reach out to the Harpers, but has become embittered by her losses.
As I mentioned this book is told through multiple points of view, Grace's aunt, Steph, the abducted child, the abductor and Maggie but the multiple voices don't ever become confusing, Each is clear and distinct and adds a carefully crafted layer to the story.
The pace of this novel is good - and certainly as it reaches it's dramatic climax I simply could not put the book down and my heart was in my throat.
This book is exceptionally accomplished for a debut novel - there are some passages which are beautifully written, tender and genuinely very moving. Other passages have just the right amount of menace about them. It also explores how experiences can change a person - and how the mind does what it needs to do to protect us from our own harmful memories.
For me, the real gem in this book is Maggie - a beautifully written character who I was rooting from from the start. Her friendship with Jim is just perfectly drawn.

This is a book that I would love to see adapted for the small screen - and if this is Libby Carpenter's debut - I'm very much looking forward to seeing what she does next. Highly recommended.

This book is about two girls that have been abducted from a sweet shop twenty years apart. The story follows the recent abduction of 8 year old Grace who was abducted by a man in a woollen hat. It is clear that there are a lot of secrets within Grace's family which adds to the story. We also follow the grandmother of Zoe who went missing 20 years ago but was never found. The recent case reopens old wounds and we see the effect this has had on her life.

This book was very fast paced and I managed to read it within a couple of days which is extremely quick for me. I enjoyed reading about all the characters and there was lots of twists and turns on the way. I did guess the twist but I am not sure whether the author intended for the reader to figure it out early on. I felt like we needed an epilogue as I was left really wanting to know what happened afterwards.

Wow! I loved this book. It's a super fast-paced story that had me on the edge of my seat and looking back now I can see that all of the clues were there but I walked, no make that RAN, past every one of them. If reading was a race, I would have won a gold medal for reading 99 Red Balloons.

With two stories of missing children, both are absolutely heartbreaking. Firstly, the story in the present is of sisters, Emma and Steph. Emma's daughter, Grace, has gone missing and it's usually a time when the family would rally round but this family is ODD. Emma and Steph's mother virtually has to be dragged there to support her daughter and Emma's husband seems to be hiding something...something that Steph is privy to.

The past story is about Maggie whose granddaughter, Zoe, was abducted. Zoe's mother, Sarah, died of a broken heart and Maggie never gave up looking for Zoe. She knows exactly what Emma is going through and I've read enough psychological thrillers to know that the two stories would link somehow, but I didn't expect them to come together is such a spectacular fashion.

99 Red Balloons is a proper edge of your seat, race against time, rollercoaster ride that had my heart rate soaring to danger levels. A magnificent debut by Elisabeth Carpenter that will be difficult to beat. Highly recommended.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.