Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately it’s not the book for me. DNF @ 17%.

This is a nicely twisty procedural. It's atmospheric (loved the setting) and creepy in spots. Leah and her brother Finn are both law enforcement and they make an interesting pair. It's a good read for fans of the genre.

I got 20% into this book and had to DNF, this book just couldn't hold my attention and I can't red something that I am not fully invested in.
Thank you for the opportunity.

Really great thriller/mystery. Loved this, and could not put it down. Well written, easy to read, great characters. Couldn't want anything more.

It consists of a few strands to its plot that can be confusing to follow. Selena’s case alone is a complex one and add murder to the mix and it’s sure to keep your gears turning. Told in several points of view and interspersed with kidnapping reports from Selena and husband’s Ed’s business, it makes up for an intriguing read and helped build the suspense. Though sometimes, the alternating POVs can also be puzzling as it’s not always clear whose narrative it is.

The subject of kidnap and ransom was given with much details which I find fascinating but not that relevant to the story aside from it being Selena’s business. There are few twists and turns that’ll definitely throw you off but there’s some that I don’t think is necessary and just ended up adding confusion. The abrupt ending was okay and plausible but I was expecting for a bit more as it left some questions unanswered. Still, I find The Missing Hours cleverly written and a good read overall.

The book started off with a bang, with a young mom disappearing, or going missing, and when she returns, her memory and the time she was gone, has also went missing.... This sent the background to another thrilling read by a prolific author. Recommended.

I was pretty impressed. I knew absolutely nothing about the intense world of Kidnapping and Ransom and this book had some fascinating details. I know it's all a hush-hush industry, but this book would make a really intense movie! I liked the characters and the way that things unfolded, the secrets were surprising and continued throughout the novel.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in return for my honest opinion.

This was the first book I have read by this author and I can tell you, it wont be the last. What a fantastic thrill ride! I loved the way it was told by different voices and was surprised at the ending. Loved it

There were a lot of things I really liked about this book - it was a really great premise that mixed interesting characters and a lot of suspense.

There were some hiccups, but it didn't take away too much from my overall enjoyment of the book, which is a great ride from the first chapter until the last.

Selena Cole disappears one morning only to reappear 20 hours later, with no memory of what happened to her. Then a body appears, dumped alongside a country road. Siblings DC Leah Mackay and DS Finn Hale work the cases and begin to think they may be linked.

The book is interspersed with excerpts from the case files of Cole's company, which specializes in kidnap and ransom negotiations.

I really liked the concept of the book and it was really well executed, with the case files sprinkled in among the story of the cases. I like books that switch around perspective, because it gives you the chance to really understand the characters better and it cranks up the suspense.

Plus, with so many suspects, this book kept me guessing the whole way until the end.

However, sometimes the characters would jump around timewise, suddenly flashing back to events from the night before in the middle of a scene. It made things confusing at times. Also, there was a lot of information in the case files that was hard to keep straight after reading a bunch of them.

But a I said, those issues weren't enough to make me dislike this book. I really enjoyed it and did not see that ending coming. It was really brilliant.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable book, filled with suspense and drama. Mystery fans will enjoy this book very much.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This novel follows the theme of several others that are out at the moment about disappearing children, I enjoyed reading it but could not say that it was any better or worse than others I have read. Sorry

I read this in 6 hours because I could not put it down. It was exceptional! It was twisty and full of surprises. I kinda guessed at the big reveal, but wasn't for certain that it would turn out that way. I so want to see more of the brother/sister detectives. I like how Kavanagh doesn't shy away from looking at motherhood closely. It's rough, and sometimes it's not pretty. Kudos for being willing to look at the feelings we moms won't admit we have.

I really enjoyed this book. I was glad to have the opportunity from NetGalley to be able to read it in advance.

A psychological thriller and police procedural that takes us into the murky world of Kidnap for Ransom.

The narrative alternates between brother and sister police team DS Finn Hale and DC Leah Mackay, investigating the disappearance of a mother and the seemingly unrelated murder of a lawyer.

There is plenty here to keep you turning the pages.

Re-released February 28th!

Wow! The Missing Hours was not what I expected in the most fantastic way. Welcome to the underground world of kidnap and ransom (K&R), a world that until this book, I knew nothing about. Although this is a work of fiction, how fascinating and sad that this world truly exists. The story begins with the disappearance of Selena Cole, co-founder of the Cole Group, a consultancy firm that specializes in negotiation and release of K&R victims. Detective Leah Mackay is on the case! But when Selena resurfaces several hours later alive and well, and shortly thereafter Detective Mackay is called to the site where Dominic Newell's dead body has been dumped, the question on everybody's mind is, "What happened during the missing hours?"

Props to Emma Kavanagh for keeping me guessing the entire way with this one! I was thoroughly confused in the best possible way the majority of time I was reading this book. I mean, on more than one occasion I thought to myself, "Where the heck is this thing going?" But, I was so intrigued I flew through the entire thing in a matter of a few days (stopping only to watch The Bachelor Finale.... for five hours.... because.... ABC). And in the end, (cue lots of ohhhhhh's and oh-my-goodness-how-did-I-not-see-this-coming's) all the pieces fell right into place.

This is a whodunit with a twist! Highly recommended.

-This book was gifted to me in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Emma Kavanagh, and Kensington Books for the opportunity to review.-

A body is found. A woman has gone missing. For the quiet countryside on the border of Britain and Wales, this is something that doesn't happen much. So when the missing woman--Serena Cole, a psychologist who also helped fund The Cole Group, a Kidnap and Ransom cases--turns up the next day, all police resources are focused on the murder. But DC Leah Mackay isn't ready to let go of her gut feeling: something isn't right about the Cole case. Going against her newly-promoted brother, DS Finn Hale, Leah keeps investigating Serena and the Cole family. How can a woman disappear without a trace and come back unharmed, with no memory of what happened to her? 

The push and pull between sibling connection and needing to respect the chain of command is only one layer of conflict that plays out in Emma Kavanagh's The Missing Hours. Finn feels that Leah's connection to the Cole case is because of the guilt she feels for working too much and not being there for her children. Leah, while acknowledging these feelings, knows in her gut that there is more to the story than Serena going missing. 

Jumping between multiple points of view, and case files and articles on kidnappings the Cole Group handles, Kavanagh keeps the reader guessing as to how it's all connected. Close readers will see how the case files begin to inform the story, but the case files also serve as a way to up the suspense of the novel.Truthfully, I'd be eager to read a book solely about the cases the Cole Group has handled. 

The main story of The Missing Hours echoes more of a domestic fiction rather than suspense: to see how the characters themselves evolve and overcome their personal conflicts as they deal with the murder and missing persons cases. All the while, Kavanagh makes it impossible to trust any of the characters Finn and Leah run into and impossible to decipher whether or not the murder and missing persons cases are actually connected. 

The Missing Hours is the perfect page-turner for mystery fans looking for a story that focuses on more than just the case. Themes of family, identity, and gender equality are explored in the world of police work and kidnapping and ransom businesses.

This book began with promise but, for me, it became somewhat muddled in too many characters and details. I found it difficult to determine which of the brother and sister were narrating because they sounded so similar. Some of the details were quite interesting - the ransom business etc. but overall, this book - while not bad - was just ok for me.

The Missing Hours explores the world of Kidnap and Ransom. There is a murder and a widow missing for hours, but the most fascinating part for me involved the intrigue of Kidnap and Ransom. I believe that the ending was supposed to be a twist, but half way through the book I had already figured it out.

The Missing Hours by Emma Kavanagh is a thriller read that is told from multiple points of view throughout the story. There is also bit of reports, mails etc between the chapters that pertain to what is going on in the story at any given time.

The book starts off with a little girl at a playground who has wandered off from her mother and younger sibling but when she returns her mother is nowhere to be found. This opens up an investigation introducing one of the detectives in the story.

Now after a reader starts learning of the missing woman another case comes up when the body of a murdered lawyer is found and there’s a second investigation started. Detective Constable Leah Mackay and her brother, Detective Sergeant Finn Hale have each been given one of the cases and as they delve into them there starts to be clues that maybe these aren’t separate events.

The general idea of this story sounds like one that would have grabbed me right from the opening and have the pages flying by but that simply wasn’t the case with this book. It wasn’t a bad read but it never really gripped me and hooked me into the story. It’s really an incredibly slow paced read which is always a struggle for me but I think having all the extra reports and things between chapters slowed it even more leaving me struggling to finish. In the end this one just wasn’t my style leaving me to rate it at 2.5 stars but I’m sure others out there will love it more than I did.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

"You do not go looking for kidnap and ransom. It comes looking for you."

Incredibly tense police procedural and complicated mystery involving a woman's disappearance and a man's murder -- that just may be connected.

Dr. Selena Cole vanishes from the playground near her house, just leaving behind her young daughters. When she reappears over 20 hours later, she can't remember anything of the missing hours. Or is she lying?

Defense solicitor Dominic Newell is found dead on the side of a mountain road. He was respected and well-liked. Who killed him and why?

Sister and brother Detective Constable Leah Mackay and Detective Sergeant Finn Hale of Endleby -- on the border of England and Wales -- work in the Criminal Investigation Department of a small police force there. Leah is on the Cole case and newly promoted Finn is working the Newell homicide. As the investigation proceeds, it appears that the cases are somehow related, but they have a long and circuitous road of leads and suspects to follow. In addition, it was fascinating to read about the murky world of kidnap and ransom crimes and the secrecy surrounding the efforts of those private security companies that seek to rescue the hostages.

I enjoyed the characters and the depth portrayed by the author as they come to life before the reader's eyes. Told in alternating points of view, mainly from Leah and Finn, the different aspects of the crimes become three dimensional. Great storytelling and prose with excellent detail and description. The narrative tackles a lot of complex issues that are very timely considering what is going on in the world today. Loved the ending.

I really enjoyed this novel and will definitely look for more by this author. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the e-book ARC to read and review.

What’s to say other than bravo! This book has everything you want in a mystery thriller. Great plot, interesting characters who you end up really caring for; especially Emma and her dad DCI Gravel. The very handsome and suave attorney Charles Turner whom Emma ends up working for and having sex with is something else. The thrills just keep coming and again this is one of those books you have to pace yourself or you will be done before you want to. You are not going to be seriously surprised at the ending but there’s a lot of action before you get there. I will happily recommend this book for every British murder mystery. I received this book from #NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review. Great book and great author.