Cover Image: Child Taken

Child Taken

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Member Reviews

This was an interesting concept and half way between a family drama and a thriller, and although I tried on several occasions, I struggled to get more than half way through the book, not for me.

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Child Taken by Darren Young.
The last thing a man expects his wife to bring back when she 'popped to the shops' is a young child. They should have taken her back, faced the consequences...done the right thing. But what happens when that innocent child instantly begins to mend a broken wife, and fix all that seemed unfixable? It's not quite so easy then. Twenty years later, another missing child, a lucky interview and the curiosity of a story-hungry trainee journalist throws up questions about what really happened to Jessica Preston when she disappeared from that beach all those years ago. When the journalist comes across someone with a secret from their past, it threatens to reveal what's been covered up for so long. Child Taken is a thrilling debut that explores the long-term impact on the lives of everyone involved in an unthinkable crime, one in which everyone has lost something. The cleverly-woven narrative follows the journey, past and present, of the abductors and the family from whom the child was taken, as well as those, who twenty years on, who just want to find out the truth. The answers seem obvious but then again, it all depends on your perspective. What would you have done?
Wow. That was a twist I didn't see coming. It certainly threw me. 5*.

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This book was just an okay read. Although there were a few twists in it the story overall was quite predictable and did not keep me interested.

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Great book! Fun story! This was a definite page turner! So hard to put down! Lots of twists that kept me guessing! Loved it.

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This book is everything a psychological thriller/mystery should be! The author created characters that are well developed and a plot that moves along quickly! I found myself completely immersed in this one! Highly recommend!

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Wow what a read! Have just finished this book and have to say i didn't see the twist coming at all!
Really well written, thoroughly enjoyed.

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This is a book that grabbed me from the first page all the way through to the last. The book is based around the mystery of a girl that was abducted or drowned on a beach 20 years ago. Laura a new reporter for a local paper gets to cover a story of a possible abduction and whilst digging up some background information falls upon the story of missing Jessica who was 2 years old when she disappeared off a beach. This thriller was believable with some good characters, I have to say there is a lot of twists and turns along the way and I wasn't prepared for the big reveal at all so it looks like I had been led right up the garden path!!
I found the characters interesting and the plot line good and didn't feel it lapsed at any point and at times the tension was ramped right up and was a little scary!! I felt at times this would make a good film.
I would like to thank Netgalley and RedDoor Publishing for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

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Loved loved loved this book - a real page turner and the subject matter was engrossing and relatable too. Lots of twists and turns. One of the best books, edge of the seat type reading I have read in a long while.

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This is the first book I have read by this author and unfortunately it will probably also be the last. I checked twice that this was indeed a book for adults and not YA as it reads like. The two main characters were in their early twenties but acted very immaturely. There was also a friend Sam whose only purpose in the book seemed to put other people down or get into their business for absolutely no reason. The book is a very fast read which is the only reason I finished it. I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review. I probably won’t be reading any more from this writer and I don’t believe I know anyone I would recommend this book to. Two stars

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Sandra Preston loses sight of her daughter for one minute, and she disappears. Everone says the child drowned, but Sandra knows she's alive..
When is a story just a story and when is it an award winning story? When the story your investigating turns out to be about you!
5 Stars

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Good book if you like suspense. I had a hard time putting it own once I started.

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I really enjoyed this book. Laura's hunt to find Jessica takes many turns. The pain of losing a child like that would be unthinkable. On the flip side I do not know how someone could keep a secret like that for so long. It must eat away at you continually. The ending is brilliant. I had worked some of it out but it was still a surprise and a good ending.

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A small girl called Jessica Preston is only 2 year old and she dissapeared from the beach . 20 years later another child goes missing and the Journalist finds out what exploded the secret . I thank Netgallery

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There is not a lot of Spoiler Free comments I can make for this review.

I read it in a couple of days. My personal rule of thumb is how long it takes me to read a book, and this book caught me so much that I really didn’t want to put it down.

A young girl Jessica went missing. Despite appeals and searches, no one seems to know anything, or care. Apart from the child’s mother Sandra. Until twenty years later another young girl goes missing and a young journalist, with a nose for a story, reviews Jessica’s missing persons story to reignite interest. Danni reads the story, and believes that she is Jessica. She contacts Laura and both women find themselves fighting for their lives in a cat and mouse chase from someone who does not want the truth to come out.
This story is unusual in the case of missing persons though as we the reader know what happened to Jessica. We also get the alternative POVs of Jessica’s mother Sandra, and the husband of the woman who took Jessica. The husband POV I found hard to read as for me, he should have taken her back and there was no justification for keeping her.

This is a rollercoaster ride of a read, and you come bumping to the end thinking What? In fact, I have had to go back and re-read the last few chapters just to make sure I picked it up right.

Recommended, and looking forward to more from Darren Young.

Thank you to Netgalley and Red Door books for their arc in return for an honest review.

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Brilliant read, really got me going. Young wrote a chilling page turner that I simply could not drop until I finished. Full of unexpected twists and turns. The book had two strong female protagonists, whose paths cross. Young really allows readers to 'get to know' the characters, giving us an insight to their everyday lives..I believe that this is an amazing debut from Darren and that everyone that loves thrillers must read.

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Twenty years ago a three year old girl goes missing from a packed beach. Everyone thinks she has drowned but her mother today still insists that she was abducted. Laura, a budding journalist, is assigned to a recent story of a missing young girl. She discovers the similar case from twenty years ago and decides to give this story some current coverage. Danni, who has recently lost her mother and is suspicious of her father, contacts Laura as she thinks she maybe the little girl taken from the beach. They both then join forces to try and solve this case. Their stories are told from their points of view in short chapters.
This is a compelling and intriguing thriller, a fantastic debut novel. I did anticipate what the twist would be but still enjoyed every chapter. Loved it!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

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I have to say that Child Taken was a massive disappointment (as most crime thrillers are these days, let's be honest). Having originally been drawn in by the book’s snappy synopsis, I just feel as though the contents inside didn’t live up to even my lowest expectations. Honestly, there really isn’t any coherence between the scenes and it just felt more like a sequence of vaguely connected ones than any sort of narrative. And it’s not disjointed in a really cool, subversive narrative style either, but instead in a way that really conveys little ability to create flow. I mean, the writing is bad. Really, really bad. Like, me if I decided to write a book bad. And therefore, even if the concept was cool, there was no way I was ever going to appreciate because of the litany of errors.
Ugh, strong pass on this one.

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His wife went out to do some shopping and she returns holding the hand of a small child. What?!? He knows his wife is out of control but he loves her and this child will make her happy. Jessica went to the beach with her family, they were out there somewhere, when this woman speaks to her. This woman is going to help her but first, they are going to have the best ice cream ever. They walk towards the parking lot. Ice cream first, then they will look for Jessica’s mommy. That’s all it took to get Jessica buckled in this stranger’s car heading off to who-knows-where.

With many different points of view, this story has many twists and turns and was one novel, that I couldn’t put down. Jessica’s new parents were bound and determined to keep their new child’s identity a secret and starting over was the safest bet. Jessica’s mother thought the search for her daughter was insufficient yet the police closed Jessica’s case. Jessica’s mother felt that her daughter was still alive and she fought against everyone else who had buried the small child thus creating more tension in an already difficult situation. Years later, a young news reporter happens upon this case. She takes it upon herself to investigate the evidence of this event to see what she can find. Little does she know what she is about to uncover.

My emotions were all over the place with the characters in this novel. I kept asking myself, who acts like this given this situation? Yet, this novel had me so drawn into his grips, I saw it. It was how they each coped with it. The author did an excellent job setting up the novels with the chapters and the characters point-of-views. I thought this was an excellent novel.

I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley and RedDoor Publishing in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for allowing me to read this arc.

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Great debut novel. Good writing, excellent storytelling. Will read more by this author.

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I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

Wait, can I have more?? I just finished, and I’m not ready for it to be over!

This book not only held my attention, but kept me on the edge of my seat! I would love to rad more from this author.

Read this book!

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