Death, destruction and deceit. It's all in this psychological thriller.
How to make mother of the Year? Follow the example of this mother.
Oh, to be a detective. I loved all the nuances that go with serving in the capacity of this smart, articulate detective.
Her partner is a great character, who doesn't want to eat junk food and not gain weight!
The race to find the child, was adventurous, scary and I held my breath all the way through, wanting, yet not wanting to know the outcome. Spectacular read. 5 Stars

Alison James
The Missing Child
Rachel Prince Book 1.

Well It looks like I may have just found myself another Series of books to follow.
For book one this was a great read. It felt that it wasn’t over complicated and made it easy to follow the story, yet it gripped me right from early pages. I was eager to get to know the character of Rachel Prince and excited to see which direction the book would go.
As usual I kept second guessing what I thought was going to happen, but oh how wrong was I.
Lola Jade Harper was taken from her home one spring night and hasn’t been seen since. A child at the centre of a bitter custody battle, the father continued to protest his innocence in the child's disappearance.
The story had been all over the news for months, but with no clear leads the media had lost interest and the police were struggling with the case.
Now though with a new lead that is the belief she was targeted and snatched to order. This surely is ever parents worst nightmare, how would you cope. With this new lead comes more complications and the father has now disappeared, which looks even more suspicious.
Now the case has been passed over to the Investigation Support at the National Crime Agency.
DI Rachel Prince takes up the case.
It’s been great getting to know a new character, and I think that DI Prince is going to be a brilliant character the more she is developed, the more we learn about her, I think the more we are going to like her. She is by no means perfect, has her flaws but is certainly dedicated to her work.

I’m looking forward to reading more in this series, and getting to know the characters and I eagerly await the next installment

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2214196471

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of The Missing Child, the first novel in a projected series to feature DI Rachel Prince of the National Crime Agency.

Rachel and her sergeant, Mark Brickall, work in Major Crime Investigative Support providing expertise and advice to other forces when required so it is no surprise to them when they are asked to assist Surrey CID in their months long search for missing six year old, Lola Jade Harper. Obviously they look at the family first, but what a family, full of secrets, lies and half truths and it isn't long before Rachel is feeling overwhelmed as she tries to reach the truth.

What an absorbing read The Missing Child is. I was hooked from page one and couldn't put it down until I'd reached the end. The twists and turns just keep coming and every time I thought I had a good idea of what was coming Ms James turns it on its head. There are recognisable aspects of the novel from recent high profile child disappearances but Ms James welds them together in her own style to produce a unique story which will have you gasping in surprise as events unfold.

I do like a police procedural with a third person narrative and a linear timeline so I was predisposed to liking The Missing Child but it has exceeded my expectations with good pacing and new revelations in every chapter. It makes for compulsive reading.

Rachel Prince is a very appealing protagonist, smart, dedicated and unafraid to get her hands dirty in the field she is less sure of herself in personal matters and is prone to relationship blunders. I look forward to learning more about her in future novels. The strength of the characterisation in the novel lies in the humour and easy camaraderie she has with her sidekick, Mark Brickall. It seems very natural, realistic and well established.

The Missing Child is a great read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

The Missing Child ( Detective Rachel Prince Book #1) by Alison James

Through " The Missing Child", Alison James introduces Detective Rachel Prince. Another police procedural with a strong female lead. So how does it stand from the others ?

Six year old- Lola Jade Harper is taken away from her home. The mother of the child blames it on her estranged husband Gavin Harper. The local police investigates and conducts search for the missing child. However, they couldn't locate the child or pin down a suspect and it becomes the most high profile missing child case in the country. When Gavin Harper disappears suddenly and is suspected to be out of the country, DI Rachel Prince is asked to assist the case.
Price and her sidekick DS Brickall team up with the local police to re-interview witnesses and family members. They follow several possible clues but everything leads them in circles. As the case progresses, the body of a local woman is found. The death at first seems unrelated, until a trail of social media posts lead Rachel to a chilling discovery. With growing pressure from the media and public, Rachel and her team struggle to bring Lola Jade home before its too late.

The missing child is more of a police procedural than a fast paced thriller. I found the ending a bit dramatic but the book kept me hooked throughout. Alison takes her time in introducing and developing her main character. The story alternates between the case investigation and messed up personal life of Rachel Prince. Rachel seems to have issues with relationships and doesn't seem to hold high ethical standard. However she is intelligent and a very capable detective. There are moments where her minute observations leading to major breakthrough in the case. She & Brickall make a great team and their interaction adds humor to a very serious story line. Though far from perfect, I ended up liking detective Prince and I'm looking forward to finding out more about her.

Thanks to Netgalley & Bookouture for the review copy.

Overall, The Missing Child is a great debut from Alison James and I would totally recommend it for fans of Kim Stone, Erica Foster & Robyn Carter.

4/5 stars

The Missing Child by Alison James a fast-paced thrilling five-star read. This is the first book in the new Detective Rachel Prince series and wow what a start, it’s going to blow you away. This book was brilliant the story was compelling and could have easily been on the wrong side of garish given some of the details, but the author dealt with the drama in such a great way that the story gripped you and refused to let go rather than being gregarious and overly done. It was possibly the best thriller I have read this year, there has been some great twist and turns but they are all dealt with and wrapped up in tight knots. The web that is weaved through the story was beautiful, every minute I wasn’t reading I was thinking about the plot and who had abducted Lola Jade, was it the same person who killed a single mother and then abducted another child? Where the red herrings in the story real twists or just there to twist your melon?
There were some things I didn’t like as much, like the partner Brickall he wasn’t a fave of mine, there was just something about him that irritated me. In some places you could tell that the author is still learning and promises the series will get better and better. The second book can’t come quickly enough for me.

A very good read about missing child. Lots of twists and turns alongside the story of the different relationships the detective is involved in. The lead character is strong and yet vulnerable which I warmed to straight away and her relationships are complicated and flawed. My inky criticism is the way she spoke to her colleague in this day and age of being pc this would not happen, however this did not spoil the read.
A good story that kept me gripped and intrigued.

Just finished this book and it really was a rollercoaster.
To sum up 8 yr old Lola Jade is missing, her dad's done a runner and there is something odd about her mother's behaviour. Detective Rachel Prince is put on the case and, along with her sergeant Bicknall intends to get to the bottom of this mystery and find the girl before it's too late.
I enjoyed this book and thought that the characters were all very well rounded and believable. The plot carried along at a nice pace and we were introduced to enough ancillary characters to keep us interested in Rachel as a person not only as eyes to see the story through. None of the side story seemed to be forced and it all played very real.

DI Rachel Prince and her sidekick DS Brickall are a change from the run of the mill detective stories and The Missing Child had so many twists and turns to make this an interesting and enjoyable read. Looking forward to the next in the series

The Missing Child was my first book by author Alison James. It was a quick read and I liked her character development.
The story was good but I feel like parts of the story was bland. There just weren't as many twists and turns as I would have liked for a storyline with this much potential.
Overall, I did enjoy it and it was exactly the kind of story I needed right now.

Really liked the characters and how it was written but found the storyline a bit boring and dragged out.

Six year old Lola Jade Harper has been missing for seven months after disappearing from her mother's home in Eastwell, Surrey.  A child likely to be at the heart of a bitter custody battle, she appears to have been abducted to order and inevitably her father, Gavin, is a major suspect.  Now Gavin has also disappeared and given that there have been reported sightings of Lola Jade on the continent, the National Crime Agency, once better known as Interpol, has been tasked to assist in finding him.  DI Rachel Prince and her Sergeant, Mark Brickall, are handed the file and told to liaise with the Surrey force in an attempt to discover whether the little girl has been taken abroad to keep her from her mother.

However, Michelle Harper may not be all that she seems.  While most of the social network comments are supportive of her, there are other indications that she is seriously unstable and very early in her involvement with the case Rachel finds herself questioning just how sincere Lola Jade's mother is wanting to find the child. Making sure that her husband takes the blame appears to be much more important. When Gavin is eventually tracked down and it becomes apparent that his daughter isn't with him attention turns back to the UK and Michelle Harper's movements come under closer scrutiny.  Why has she moved out of the family home to live with her sister and what is happening to the money that has been collected on a just giving site to help with the search?

The Missing Child raises a number of interesting questions about the dynamics of family life.  If a marriage starts to go wrong how do you deal with the growing awareness that you have made a mistake?  Rachel herself has a failed relationship behind her: one from which she has withdrawn without allowing either herself or her husband any form of closure.  What happens when husband and wife have different views not only about having children but also as to how any children should be brought up?  How much can one sibling ask of another and what are the consequences when sibling bonds are broken?  And, most pertinently, what are the consequences when love for a child is subverted by love of oneself.  Alison James successfully manages to integrate each of these different strands into both the central plot and the background material she provides about her main characters in this her first novel.  At the end of the book the reader is left not only with a satisfactory storyline but also with sufficient detail about Rachel, her Sergeant and their personal and professional histories to feel that they are real people with real lives.

This is an accomplished first novel, well plotted, with convincingly drawn characters and also stylishly written.  It isn't that often that the first in a series is strong enough to make me automatically put a writer on my go-to list of authors but I shall definitely be on the look out for Alison James' next novel.  I think she may be a writer to watch.

This book was a real let down I didn't even finish it.

I thought this book was going to be great but it was a let down . Lola Jade Harper went missing six months earlier, and they still have no ideas or clues to what happened to her. So it's down to DI Rachel Prince and DS Mark Brickall to solve the case and for me that's where the book loses me.

You can not warm to any of the characters and especially Lolas mum and dad. In some places the story seemed a bit far fetched and not a lot of back story. A real let down.

The Missing Child is the first book in the New Inspector Rachel Prince series by Alison James, and all I can say is what an opener!! 😱😱


Six year old Lola Jade Harper has gone missing from her bedroom overnight. With her parents caught in messy divorce proceedings, could either be involved or has something untoward and completely unrelated happened to Lola?


The body of a young mother is found cold in her bed, seemingly unrelated, but her social media use may hold the key to the case.


This book had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Jam packed with twists and turns, and a few moments of frustration where you think they've cracked it and the suspect has the perfect excuse 🙄. If you love crime and are as addicted to police procedurals as I am you will love this book!!!


Alison has created a world so real with her writing that at one point after I'd finished reading the book, I found myself thinking of the book and the ending as if it had been a real life crime! I also loved the balance of the case storyline and Rachel's backstory. I'm really looking forward to finding out more about detective Prince!!


Thank you so much to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for an honest review 💖💖 (I have yet to find a Bookouture book I haven't loved!!)

I would like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Missing Child’ by Alison James, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Six-year-old Lola Jade disappears from her bed in the middle of the night during which time her parents Michelle and Gavin Harper are going through a vitriolic divorce. Five months later the Surrey Police still haven’t found Lola Jade and have transferred the case to the National Crime Agency where DI Rachel Prince has been tasked to search for her. Rachel Prince and her Sergeant Mark Brickall uncover some dubious suspects, are led down a series of false turns and blind alleys before eventually discovering the truth.
‘The Missing Child’ is a compelling thriller, absorbing, dramatic and full of action. It’s been very well written with authentic characters, clever plots and unexpected twists which kept me guessing till the end. I’m looking forward to reading the second in the series.

A child, Lola Jade is abducted from her home, and the mother directs blame on her estranged husband. The police investigate thoroughly but are left with no clues. The case is then handed over to Detective Rachel Prince, along with her partner Brickall, goes deeper into this abduction. Then comes the murder of a woman along with the abduction of a second child…

Is everything connected? Are the darker parts of life in play? Is this the underbelly of a gruesome crime? Is Lola Jade alive?

This is my first book by the author Alison James, and this is the first in the Rachel Prince series. I like her main character, Rachel. She is sarcastic, she is gutsy, she is intuitive, and she never gives up. In her own words, as she says…

I need to see it through. Find my way to the very end of the maze.

Every loose end is thoroughly checked, all sightings of the child are followed through by her. She also harbours secrets about her personal life. It is her determination which made me persevere through the story.

This book feels more police procedural to me than a suspense thriller. The book deals with detailed day by day happenings. Though I got to know Detective Rachel Prince, I didn’t know much about the woman Rachel Prince, other than the fact she doesn’t cook and likes her salads, and is a health freak, running and boxing with occasional swimming.

As a police procedural, the book works well, but there are moments in the middle where I felt it dragged. I did want to skip pages, but I restrained myself and read through the entire story.

Alison James writes well, it is obvious that there is a clear plot in her head, and she has decided the parts her characters would play. So the book picks up pace after the murder of the woman and becomes interesting. I must say the ending was fun and unexpected. (I have decided not to try to guess while reading suspense thrillers as I do not want to be too disappointed)

There are some niggles… Some parts of the book felt drab to me and I felt it just went back and forth between Lola Jade’s parents without anything really happening.

For me on the whole an entertaining read I enjoyed most parts of it, especially the ending.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and publisher Bookouture and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Fabulous, intriguing and thrilling! I couldn’t wait to find out the conclusion of this story! The author did a great job with making the characters unique and interesting. The plot kept me twisting and turning trying to figure out the real culprit! I enjoyed it a lot. Looking forward to reading more about detective Prince.

I really enjoyed this book and can see how this series will be becoming one of the best.

Robyn Carter is amazing character who really shows a lot of growth from one book to the next.

I like her interaction with others and how she shows the human emotions that make her more attractive

An incredibly complex but clever and engaging plot with a good team dynamic and a touch of humour. I look forward to seeing how this new series develops.