The Girl Who Came Back is about a six-year old girl who goes missing from her own backyard, and then returns thirteen years later. Or does she?
 
I read this book in a couple of days, I couldn't put it down. This is my first book by this author, and I will definitely look out for his other work. I loved the characterization, the description of life in a tiny village in England, and the undercurrent of evil that runs through the book. Recommended highly for fans of crime and suspense.

I really enjoyed this book, it was an interesting storyline that got me hooked. I liked the side stories going on which made me think even more about how these stories slotted into the main plot. The characters were portrayed well and you got a real sense of who everyone was. I loved the twists, some I had worked out but not all. A great read, I look forward to reading more from this author.

This is the second novel I’ve read from Kerry and it did not disappoint. I read Two Sisters and it was a good one. Thanks for the publishers for the copy!

Six year old Olivia Adams disappears without a trace from her backyard without a trace. Thirteen years later she shows up to her mothers shop... Where was she? What happened? Is she really Olivia Adams?
The story is told by Olivia but from the beginning you know she’s not a reliable narrator and she’s up to something. And you think, if she’s an impersonator it will be an easy fix with a DNA test right?, well... she will take one and oh my... what a surprise! Personally, it wasn’t until the big the reveal that I had my “aha moment” and I wasn’t expecting it!

I will read anything from Kerry Wilkinson! This novel is out there now and I highly recommend.

It’s a 4.5 stars for me just because (SPOILER ALERT) I wish she would’ve told the truth about what really happened to Olivia.

I feel that Kerry always delivers a solid mystery. I love his Jessica Daniel's series. His standalone books aren't his best but you know they're going to be good.

This one begins with a woman who re-enters a life who people believe went missing when she was six. 13 years later--here she is or is it really her? Olivia doesn't need to prove anything to her Mum because mother's know their own children. Right? Other people around aren't so sure though. Is Olivia after something? Money? This is the question. As Olivia settles a little more in Stonebridge and starts to make friends, starts to love a family,......the truth will come out.

Fast paced, good characters, and a solid plot. I expect nothing less from Kerry.

**Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While I enjoyed this book and read it to the end I did find it a bit long-winded at times. Olivia went missing 13 years before, her body never found. Suddenly she turns up again. Her mum believes it's her and so does her "best friend" but nobody else does. Who is she? Can it really be Olivia? The story is alternated between Olivia and Lily a girl who has had a hard life. I think what was hard to believe is that she turns up after all that time and there is hardly any excitement outside of the village, that you would expect if that happened.

I was lucky enough to get a copy of The Girl Who Came Back by Kerry Wilkinson, prior to publication in return for a review. This book is climatic and is very gripping from the first page, till the last page.
I became a big fan of Kerry Wilkinson books recently and love the way he writes. I am so looking forward to his next book.

A young 6 year old girl called Olivia disappears from her back garden whilst she was playing. The small community of Stoneridge was thrown into turmoil. How could a child vanish in the middle of a pretty little English village? Where everyone knows each other?
But 13 years on, Olivia is back or is she? Could she be an imposter? Is she hiding a dark secret of who she is? She has fooled her mother but has she fooled her mothers new husband Max? What has Max and Olivia got in common? and its not just her mother and her half baby brother? Olivia has a past and she needs to keep her past hidden, as it will ruin everything! especially her relationship with her mother and baby brother.

I just loved this book and 5* review to be given. Well done Kerry Wilkinson another brilliant book!

I was lucky enough to get a copy of The Girl Who Came Back by Kerry Wilkinson, prior to publication in return for a review. This book is climatic and is very gripping from the first page, till the last page.
I became a big fan of Kerry Wilkinson books recently and love the way he writes. I am so looking forward to his next book.

A young 6 year old girl called Olivia disappears from her back garden whilst she was playing. The small community of Stoneridge was thrown into turmoil. How could a child vanish in the middle of a pretty little English village? Where everyone knows each other?
But 13 years on, Olivia is back or is she? Could she be an imposter? Is she hiding a dark secret of who she is? She has fooled her mother but has she fooled her mothers new husband Max? What has Max and Olivia got in common? and its not just her mother and her half baby brother? Olivia has a past and she needs to keep her past hidden, as it will ruin everything! especially her relationship with her mother and baby brother.

I just loved this book and 5* review to be given. Well done Kerry Wilkinson another brilliant book!

Reviews left on Goodreads and Amazon UK.

Olivia disappeared from her back-yard garden at the tender age of 6. Gone in an instant.
Her parents ultimately divorced, moving on with their lives as best they could. Her mother Sarah remarried and had a new baby. Her father Dan spiraled out of control and was left a crushed, defeated man.

When out of the blue, Little Olivia simply skips back into their lives as a teenager, some 13 years later, and no one can believe it...or her! Could it really be the same missing girl from so long ago? Or is this an imposter trying to embed herself into the lives of those so vulnerable and desperate to have her back.

Kerry Wilkinson delivers a very taught, twisty thriller that was extremely hard to put down. I was all-in from the beginning. I set aside a weekend to read this book but basically it took just over one day.
(Interrupted only by work)!!

Although I did figure out some of the twists along the way, it certainly didn’t deter my enjoyment of this book at all!! I still hung on every word, even reading beyond the goals we set for ourselves!

My first book from this author and will definitely be on the look-out for more! Highly recommend for all psychological thriller lovers!

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Kerry Wilkinson for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

For this review and our full traveling sister review please visit Brenda and Norma's Fantastic Traveling Sister Book Blog http://www.twogirlslostinacouleereading.wordpress.com

It seems a common story nowadays. A child vanishes. But with the abduction the story ends. There is no ransom note, no child or body of a child found and the family has to try to get back together and most of the times it fails. The pressure of a missing child who could have done what to prevent it happening, is very much part of every story of a missing child.

In this case Olivia Adams goes missing from a small English village. Everyone knows everyone else's business and Olivia and her family are known to all. Thirteen years pass and Olivia has returned. Her story is sketchy and she does not volunteer much information but she is welcomed back by her mother who has since divorced her Dad and is married again with a small toddler. Adapting to the new circumstances is not easy, especially since her step father and most importantly his brother dislike her intensely and her presence in their home. The brothers are a strange pair, they do everything together and one blindly follows the other. Olivia cannot imagine her steady, sensible mother getting involved with a moron like him but those are the circumstances to which she returns.

It is from here that the story really starts and this is the unlikely part that you would never guess unless you are really clever. I wasn't and I didn't!

The story itself is a common one, the twist in the tail wasn't. Read this one for a really good mystery read.

Goodreads and Amazon reviews are up on 21/9/2017. Reviews on my blog will appear10/11/2017. Also linked to my FB page.

Traveling Sister Review with Kaceey.

The Girl Who Came Back is a fascinating, gripping and a fast-paced psychological thriller that had Kaceey and I hooked right from start to finish. Once we started, it quickly turned into an afternoon of us messaging each other with our theories and guesses till life needed our attention or I should say someone. Lol Kaceey had her game on with this and we made a pretty good team piecing this one together with Kaceey figuring out the twists. At least I wasn't in left field again with this one.

Kerry Wilkinson does a great job creating an intriguing character here with our main character Olivia the girl who came back. Right from the start we were questioning her return and trying to figure out what secrets she was hiding. We were also intrigued by Lily’s story and the suspense increased as we tried to figure out how she was connected to the story. Kerry Wilkinson does a brilliant job weaving those two stories together and allowing us ok Kaceey to figure out the brilliant twists and keeping us interested right to the end

We really liked how the story came together in the end and were quite satisfied with the ending. In the end we were asking ourselves if “The past is the past and should some secrets remain buried”. We highly recommend!

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and Kerry Wilkinson for a copy to read and review.

Kaccey’s review and all of our Traveling Sisters Read Reviews can be found on Norma’s and my sister blog:
http://www.twogirlslostinacouleereading.wordpress.com

This author's work never fails to deliver. I love his style of writing as he is able to make you feel you are actually part of the story.

This book is no exception. The disappearance of six-year-old Olivia Adams from her back garden stuns the village and the reappearance several years later of a girl claiming to be her had me gripped. I sped through this book as I was enthralled to discover the outcome. Gripping and thrilling are not strong enough to describe this book. A definite 5*.

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

This is my first read by Kerry Wilkinson and will not be my last. When you say psychological thriller you easily could use this book as a sample. There is a lot of twist and turns and it had me sitting on the edge of my seat a number of times.

One storyline follows Olivia and the other Lily and both are interesting and someone connected. There is a bit of un-realism in the story. But then if we wanted real life we wouldn’t be reading and we would be watching the news. This book is good and keeps your interest.

Definitely not my last read from Wilkinson.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

From the very opening you know that this is going to be a book full of secrets, ones carefully constructed but which slowly, but surely, will begin to unravel. When we first meet Olivia, she is watching the woman she believes to be her mother as she works in her small cafe, oblivious to her audience. It seems simplistic enough a start to a story, but it does make you as a reader wonder. Why does Olivia not know her own mother? What has led to their estrangement?

If you have read the blurb then you will have an inkling, but if you read the opening chapter you will also know that there is more, far more, to this story than meets the eye. And this is the premise of The Girl Who Came Back. It is more than a simple story of a girl reunited with her family and friends in a town she can scarcely remember. More than a dissection of what happened in the years that she was missing. And yet it does encompass all of this with a slow building tension, an underlying sense that even in all the honest sharing of emotion between Olivia and her family, that something is still hidden. But what and by whom remains to be seen.

It is hard to talk too much about this book without dropping vital clues about the plot. I will say though that there are very few people in this book who feel truly honest. From Olivia to her family, they all seem to be hiding something. Kerry Wilkinson has been very good at creating an atmosphere which keeps you perhaps not quite on edge, but definitely looking over your shoulder. It is maybe only some of Olivia’s friends who feel completely open and transparent. Her new family certainly do not leave you with the warm and fuzzies. Her step-father and his brother are certainly suspicious of Olivia, aggressively so, but do they have good reason? Is Olivia the Cuckoo in the nest or is she really the long lost daughter? It is clear that she is far from a reliable narrator. There is something she is holding back, so much so that you are never quite certain of her motives.

The setting of the book is pretty well perfect – the small village in the middle of nowhere where nothing ever happens. Nothing other than the disappearance of young Olivia all those years ago. It leads to somewhat of a claustrophobic feeling in terms of the novel and yet informs the action too. Everyone who lives in the town seems in some way connected to Olivia, certainly everyone knows the story. That feeling of everyone knowing everyone else heightens the suspicion, ably leading the reader down the wrong path, while still feeding them vital clues as to what has really happened. It also feeds the emotional side of the story as Wilkinson deftly explores the impact the event had on the wider community and how it feeds the future generations.

Mostly told from Olivia’s perspective, there are chapters which focus upon another young girl growing up in a very difficult environment. But just who she is and how she impacts upon the story you will have to read to find out. Despite bouncing between the stories of the two girls, the book is easy to navigate and the tales compliment and inform each other well. I did find myself invested in both stories, wishing them on to a satisfactory conclusion.

I can’t claim to have been taken completely unawares by how the book concluded, but there was a certain twist that I wasn’t totally expecting and the tension does peak towards the end. The clues are all there if you want to play armchair detective. However, you could just let the story do the talking and try for once not anticipating the ending. Perhaps the novel could have been taken up a notch by delving deeper into the emotional impacts of both the abduction and the reappearance of Olivia as this sometimes felt glossed over. It was only really her father who showed the biggest reaction, descending into alcoholism. And perhaps some of them seemed too accepting of her return, too ready to believe in her even without the evidence they could so easily obtain. But then again, why wouldn’t they believe her? After all, a mother would always know their own child. Wouldn’t they?

If you’re looking for a well written read with a slow building tension that has you suspicions tingling throughout, then definitely give this book a whirl.

Olivia reappears in her home village thirteen years after her mysterious disappearance. You can taste the curiosity, the tension, disbelief and the suspicion this evokes amongst the villagers. I love this fluid style of writing which effortlessly puts you at the scene. A superb job in that it never flags or gets over-cluttered with unnecessary detail which can make you lose concentration. Those crisp, short cliff-hanger chapters work well for me. What a fertile imagination and a perfectly crafted story to confuse the reader. There is such an interesting mix of characters. Some you like; some you don't. Obviously the author studies people with great perception and adds such simple detail that create the imagery of the character or circumstances so well. May I comment too on the quirky humour, metaphors & analogies that makes this author so distinctive for me. Most enjoyable too were the tidbits of philosophy spiced throughout. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for letting me read it. I shall post it on Amazon, GoodReads and my blog.

Amazing book. A 6 year old girl abducted from the back garden. A young woman arrives in the town 13 years later claiming to be her. Is it her or someone else? Read the book to find out. My first by this author but not my last. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Olivia Adams was six-years-old when she disappeared from her family’s back garden. Her parents, Sarah and Daniel, are working with the police and doing all they can to get their daughter back.

When Olivia is 18, she returns to find her parents divorced and her mother now married to Max Pitman. Sarah owns a cafe called Via which is named after Olivia. As Olivia and her mum catch up with the past, there is one person who is sure she is not really Olivia. He is Ashley Pitman brother to Max, who is Sarah’s husband.

Lily Armitage lives with her widowed father. His grief over the loss of his wife is quite deep but he tries hard to give Lily the attention and love she needs. However, Lily’s own grief ends in her acting out and not doing well in school.

Olivia finds friends that she knew when she was in school and they come closer. She learns more about what happened after she disappeared.

The story switches back and forth between Olivia and Lily over a period of time until they “catch up” with one another.

What is the connection between these two girls? Why do the Pitman brothers not believe that Olivia is who she says she is? Is she truly Olivia?

This is a really good story that I enjoyed immensely. My only problem is that some things didn’t seem to become resolved in the end. However, that is peanuts to the actual story and the amazing imagination of the author. Well done! I know readers will thoroughly enjoy this book.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book as an arc.
I really enjoyed this book. It tells the story of Olivia Adams who was abducted from her back garden as a young child. She reappears as a young adult in her home town and her mother is immediately convinced she is telling the truth as to her identity, she can see it 'in her eyes'. However, her mother has remarried and her new husband is not convinced Olivia is genuine.
At the same time, we learn the story of Lily, who has grown up without a mother and having to look after her father. As the book progresses, we find out the link between the two young women.
This book was really gripping and kept me reading. There are a few twists in this book that really took my breath away, I am getting good at figuring out twists in general but there are definitely some unexpected crackers here! I also felt it was a very sad read at times, the repercussions felt down the years by all the family are shown very accurately. Olivia's dad in particular was just heartbreaking to read about, he slid into alcoholism and never managed to rebuild his life.
I would certainly recommend this book.

Well, I could not put this one down!

This is my second book by Kerry Wilkinson and he once again did not disappoint. This is a seriously clever thriller. And this author is quickly becoming one of my go-to's for when I'm in the mood for some good suspense.

I had a moment at the beginning where I almost stopped reading due to some shady character behavior for which I had to suspend disbelief a bit, but man am I glad I pushed through.

I tore through this one in 24 hours, it was a fast paced, exciting read.

Thank you to Kerry Wilkinson, Bookouture and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book and couldn't put it down once I got into it. I'll definitely consider another of Kerry's books in the future

This is a good, modern thriller. The story centres around Olivia, age 19, who appears one day in the village of Stoneridge. She says she is the Olivia who disappeared 13 years ago. Her mother believes her but many do not. Especially Max and Ashley, her step-father and his brother. Is Olivia who she says she is? Read on as secrets and thrills are revealed!

Whilst I have read the Jessica Daniels series and enjoyed them this is the first standalone novel that I have read by Kerry Wilkinson. And it is good, I will go as far as saying it is excellent. It is one that had me biting my nails with anticipation over what would be revealed.
When Olivia returns home to the village she was abducted from thirteen years earlier she gets a mixed response. Obviously, her parents are delighted along with family friends but there are also those who question her intent and her story. Some of the tales she tells about the life she had are a little extravagant and I was unsure at times whether to believe her, or if she wasn’t Olivia why was she insisting she was?
This was a book I raced through. Its mainly set in the modern day but there are sporadic chapters from Olivia’s childhood. These reveal what happened to her, how she was let down and how she fought back. They show a growing independence as well as a growing need to be loved. At times, they are sinister and upsetting. Some of the characters are intimidating, and not just with Olivia. There are many people in the village who were controlled and threatened by a couple of people.
One of the things that Olivia did left me a little sickened and made me question her character but when all was revealed, I understood more why she did it. Even though it was something I struggle to accept.
A great read and a reminder that I need to read the books that I haven’t read by this author. With thanks to the publisher for the copy received.