99 Red Balloons
by Elisabeth Carpenter
psychological thriller
ARC NetGalley
5 stars

What 's its about :
Two girls go missing, decades apart. What would you do if one was your daughter?

Eight-year-old Grace is last seen in a sweetshop. Her mother Emma is living a nightmare. But as her loved ones rally around her, cracks begin to emerge.

What are the emails sent between her husband and her sister? Why does her mother take so long to join the search? And is there more to the disappearance of her daughter than meets the eye?

Meanwhile, ageing widow Maggie Taylor sees a familiar face in the newspaper. A face that jolts her from the pain of her existence into a spiralling obsession with another girl – the first girl who disappeared…

This is a gripping psychological thriller with a killer twist that will take your breath away.

my thoughts :
This book is a must read, because once you start reading it you won't want to put it down, its the type of book that plays with your mind all the way to the every end, it makes you second guess your self, which I loved even if I did guess wrong .
Its told in different perspective : one is ageing widow Maggie , one is Grace's Aunt , and then you have one that keeps you guessing, because you don't know which little girl/ kidnapper is talking , is it both, is it Grace / her kidnapper or the other little girl / her kidnapper that went missing a long time ago, and mixed into that you have a lot of secrets and lies that need to come out , and once again your guessing , what are the secrets and lies , who's telling the truth ,and who's lying. So with that said get ready for the ride of your life . Because you won't see the end coming unit its on top of you. With that said I would love to say thinks to NetGalley for giving me this chance at reading what might become one of my new favorite books of 2017 , can't wait to pick up a copy and add it to my library.

Without doubt this Book is going to be HUGE! One of the Biggest Bestsellers of 2017. I havent been conned by a Book in such a long time but 99 red ballons absolutely floored me. Two shocking stories crash together in this compelling,addictive read. How well do we really know our family? This is the question you'll be asking yourself when you turn the final page. It's gripping...
It's shocking and rolls along with the speed of a rollercoaster! I dare you toguess the ending.....You won't see it coming! Miss 99 red balloons and you'll miss one of the biggest books of 2017!!!

So many books these days make promises about killer twists that will take your breath away or you won't see coming.So you start the book expecting something unexpected to happen but end up feeling disappointed by the time you get to the end.This brilliant debut thriller actually does have a totally unexpected twist that took my breath away and had me sitting in my comfy chair for at least five minutes waiting to get over the shock of what I had just read before I could carry on reading.

Eight year old Grace was last seen in a sweetshop.Her mother Emma is living every parents worst nightmare.But as her loved ones rally round her cracks begin to emerge.

What are the emails sent between her Husband Matt and her sister Stephanie? Why does her mother take so long to join the search? And is there more to Grace`s disappearance than meets the eye?.

Meanwhile ageing widow Maggie Taylor sees a familiar face in the newspaper.A face that jolts her from the pain of her existence into a spiralling obsession with another girl - The first girl who disappeared decades ago.

This riveting story is voiced by a number of characters in the alternating chapter format but it is mainly voiced by Emma,Stephanie and Maggie.If I'm honest although Maggie's chapters where integral to the story I didn't think they where as gripping or Intreguing as Emma and Stephanie`s chapters.There is also some chapters that are narrated by a little girl that where really heart breaking,the authors portrayal of the thoughts and feelings of a scared young girl where scarily realistic.Almost all of the adults in this story are not very likeable or trustworthy and I had my doubts and suspicions about most of them as the story unfolded.

It's a Intreguing,riveting debut thriller about families,secrets,lies and revenge.It's very well written,keeps the reader guessing and contained a twist that honestly took my breath away.I really enjoyed reading this and look forward to reading more books by this author in the future.

Great read! Looking forward to reading more by this author!

This book was a surprise in that I had no idea where it was headed. But I couldn't stop turning the pages. The twists and turns were well placed, so intriguing, and so smart. This is going on my favorites file along with my authors to watch file.

REALLY enjoyed this psychological thriller with its slight twist on the missing child plotline - almost more family drama than thriller Elisabeth Carpenter has written a really quite emotional tale of familial love and loss.

Definitely one to watch in August at which point I'll be doing a full review.

Recommended.

Emma is in a panic, her eight year old daughter Grace has disappeared. Friends, neighbors and the local authorities spring into action, looking for any trace of the little girl last seen in a candy store. Underneath Emma’s panic, questions loom. Why isn’t her mother being more helpful, why have her husband and sister been exchanging emails? And what, is anything does this have to do with the disappearance of another little girl, years before? This is a twisty thriller that kept me guessing right up until the end.