Little Boy Found

by LK Fox

Quercus Books



Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 06 Jul 2017

I am reviewing a copy of Little Boy Found through Quercia Books and Netgalley:

Nick thought finding his little boy meant his nightmare was over, little could he know it had just begun.

Nick dropped his son off at school one day, and ended up in a minor collision with another car, the other driver won't surrender his insurance details so he takes a picture of the license plate, but when he gets home and enlarges the photo he realizes Gabriel was in the back seat being driven away.

Nick had been drinking the night before, and people do not believe Gabriel was really taken. Gabriel was found dead. A year after it was ruled an accident will they find differently.

What really happened to Gabriel? Was it murder or accidental?

Find out in Little Boy Found!

Five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Little Boy Found tells the story through of a missing little boy, relayed through the eyes of teenage Ella and her teenaged way of thinking, and adult Nick, the father of missing Gabriel. At first I found this concept a little confusing, and the alternating chapters with Ella seemed out of place - the prose from Ella's account seemed so unrelated to what Nick was telling us, that I had to actually go back and re-read the previous chapters to see if it made sense. This happened for the first quarter of the book, however eventually you come to see how the lives of both Ella and Nick are relevant to the story, at which point the story gathers pace and starts presenting the reader with lots of questions to keep them reading on.

Some parts were rather predictable, but to balance this out nicely there were quite a few bits of that plot that took me by surprise. On the whole, I feel this was a really good mystery, and what really made this work was the alternating chapters from Nick and Ella. It just goes to show how important it is to persevere with a book, as the writing style that initially put me off turned out to be the what actually made the book for me. My main criticism of Little Boy Found however, is that the way the story came together at the end all seemed largely very unrealistic, and as a realist I find it difficult to enjoy reading things when I am imagining that is is unlikely that they could ever happen.

On the whole, this was a good well-rounded mystery with enough intrigue to propel the reader to the end, if at times a touch unbelievable.

Little Boy Found is the latest book by author Christopher Fowler under a new pen name LK Fox. Having not read any of his Bryant and May novels I had nothing to compare his writing to so I went into reading this story with fresh eyes and have to admit I found it a bit too disjointed. That's not to say it's a bad book as it isn't, it just took me quite some time to get into it and if I hadn't agreed to review for the blog tour I would potentially have given up on it quite early on.

The story is told from the viewpoints of two central characters in alternating chapters, Nick, who is still struggling to come to terms with the abduction of his son Gabriel, and Ella, a troubled young woman. At first it it didn't seem like there was any obvious connection between the two of them so it felt like there were two separate storylines at play but eventually the clues started to appear that tied them together and it all started to make sense.

This was a slightly different take on a 'missing child' story in so much as we the reader know right from the start what the outcome is, but it's only through the chapters that unfurled that we get to know the answers as to the how and why it came about in the first place.

I have to admit that I think one of the reasons this book didn't really gel with me is that I didn't really connect with either of the main characters but I can't really go into detail as to why without giving spoilers. But that being said I am glad that I did continue reading Little Boy Found until its conclusion to get the answers although personally I thought the epilogue was a step too far and could have been left out. I'll leave you to read for yourself to see whether or not you agree with me...

It's not something that I usually comment on, but I have to say that I love the cover of this book - the colours work so well together and the blurry boy reaching out from behind the glass gives me goosebumps...more so now that I have read the book. So what's it all about?

Nick drops his son off at school and bumps into another car. The driver isn't very forthcoming and leaves the scene before details are swapped, luckily Nick manages to snap a picture of the car reg on his phone. When he enlarges the picture, he can't believe what he sees - his son Gabriel in the back of the car. How can that be? He's just dropped him off at school, but when he rings the school Garbiel's name is not on the register. Nick's mind is in turmoil as he tries to make sense of what has gone on.

Meanwhile we encounter another story, that of Ella who is infatuated with Ryder, the lead singer of a band. Ella would do anything to meet Ryder but when her dream comes true it rapidly turns into a nightmare. What on earth does this have to do with Nick's story? A-ha! Even my suspicious mind couldn't work this one out and, although it seems quite unrealistic, it was still a pretty good storyline.

Little Boy Found is quite a page turner and although you hope for a happy ending, you do fear that it may not happen. Nick's life is put completely under the microscope and his history is revealed, warts and all...some of it I guessed and other bits of it, I didn't. I did get a surprise at the end but with so many unhinged characters, I did feel as if anything could happen!

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

I was totally taken by the blurb of "Little Boy Found", and let's be honest, the cover is also incredibly eye - catching and heart - breaking at the same time. I haven't read any books by LK Fox who is, in fact, Christopher Fowler, but maybe this is why I so wanted to read this novel, and I started it as soon as it landed on my kindle, with great expectations, hoping for a story that will blow me away.

But guys, you know, it is complicated. This book has it all that a good psychological thriller needs but somehow, it just didn't work for me. It made me lukewarm, I was not as engaged and to be honest, the most acclaimed twists didn't blow me away and I didn't feel the tension as much as I'd like to. I felt confused at the beginning, with the characters appearing in the story and it seemed they have nothing in common, that they are random people, and I was wondering where this book is going to take us. Told through the perspectives of Nick and Ella, it eventually slowly starts to unwind and we learn about the connections between the characters. And the ending didn't sit with me. I think that if it ended a few pages earlier, it would be much better for the whole story - but it's just my opinion.
Yes, I did want to find out what has happened and discovering the truth truly broke my heart. There were some twists in this story but sooner rather than later I found myself guessing their outcome. Yes, I kept reading, out of stubbornness and hoping that something really huge is coming, but the story stayed on the same steady level. You know, it bothers me a little, the fact that I can't put my finger on what was it that didn't sit with me so much.

So please, do not get me wrong. It was brilliantly written and it had tons of potential and I am incredibly sad that it didn't work for me as much as I was hoping for. Nevertheless, I still do think this book is worth reading as it shows a really different perspective on the "child missing" concept to other books. So yes, I am truly torn about this novel but even with my reservations I think it is worth recommending - it is dark, it is different to all other thrillers and mysteries and it is interesting, and I hope you're going to find it captivating.

The book had some formatting issues still which didn't help, but I struggled with the storyline also. I felt no empathy for the characters and I couldn't get to grips with the jumps between the two characters. Overall it just didn't grip me, and I found myself not wanting to pick the book up again.

Excellent book. Great storyline and wonderful main characters. I would recommend this book.

I did not find this book engaging and really struggled to get into this psychological thriller. It really did not keep my attention although there were plenty twists in the story. I did not like the ending and the character of Ella irritated me immensely. Thank you Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Goodreads.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I found this book alright . There were bits I wasn't convinced by,there were twists that kept the plot ticking along nicely,and the pages turning quite swiftly

Little Boy Found

A psychological thriller with a few twists and shocks throughout the book. This is a different take on the "child missing" books that are aplenty at the moment so it was quite refreshing to read. I loved the way the story was told from the perspective of Nick & Elle, it kept the story moving a quite a good pace.
Nick drops his young son at school on the fateful day it happened, he has a minor collision with another car and when the other driver refuses to get out of the car to give insurance details Nick takes a photo of the rear of the car to get the licience plate. When he gets home he looks at the photo and sees his son through the rear window of the car!! This is just the beginning of a chain of events that Nick is unable to get his head around or make any sense of. Good paced psychological thriller that will keep you turning the pages.

It is such a shame as this could be a five-star read, BUT the ending was not an ending at all it left more questions than answers. The book was so engaging and fantastic all the way through to the end which was so uncomfortable to read.

This is a psychological thriller written by Christopher Fowler as LK Fox. I adore Fowler's Bryant and May series, not to mention some of his other offerings such as Spanky. This read is a more uneven experience for me. Whilst I loved aspects, such as Nick and Gabriel's interaction, and there are twists galore with all the ingredients that would comprise a psychological thriller, somehow it didn't grab my attention as Fowler's other works. Having said that, I still wanted to find out what was going on. This story is narrated through the perspectives of Nick and Ella. Nick is gay, and married to Ben whose young son from his first marriage, Gabriel, has minor aspects of Asperger's Syndrome. Ben is ambitious, and more distant with his son whilst Nick is much closer to Gabriel. Ella is a bright young teenager, who is isolated and remote from her peers, her mother is dead and her father has married a younger woman, Karen. She connects with neither her father or Karen.

Nick wakes late suffering from a heavy hangover, he is hurrying Gabriel up from his bed and get ready for school for which they are running late. It is pouring with rain, Nick drops off Gabriel, but scrapes his car with a BMW car whose driver is not interested in supplying insurance details. Nick takes a photo of the vehicle and licence plate. On returning home, he looks at the photograph more closely and discovers to his horror that Gabriel is in back of the car. We learn that the abduction of Gabriel is the least of Nick's problems as we become privy to what happened to Gabriel which is far worse. Nick is determined to find out who the abductor is, what motivated him and grows increasingly suspicious of those around him. Ella, like so many teen girls, is obsessed with an obscure band, and the lead singer, Ryder, in particular. There is a naivety about Ella, that is compounded by her loner status. She happens to meet Ryder, who notices her, but his jealous girlfriend, Baby, the bass player, throws a bottle at Ella which injures her. With romantic daydreams about Ryder and their future together, Ella manages to win a backstage audience with Ryder at a pub gig which leads to deadly and traumatic consequences.

This is a well written novel that shows how both the lives of Nick and Ella unravel. The characters of Nick, a horticultural therapist, and Ella are interesting but their development at times feels less than authentic. I do think it is a book well worth reading, and others might well disagree with me about the unevenness of the tale. Many thanks to Quercus for an ARC.