I like crime and psychological thrillers, especially when they are British. This one was very good, it kept my attention most of the way through and while I had suspicions around who the culprit was I didn't guess it until near the end. Good strong plot and female lead. Books like this help to show how women might have to work that little bit harder but they can reach the top of their career!

A thrilling read, with twists and turns galore. This is one of my favorite genres, and this author didn't disappoint! Recommended.

Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!

This was ok, not much I could say about it. It's been a few weeks since I read it and I can remember little about it. I finished it but it wasn't a book that made a huge impression.

This was good. A unique crime plot, the boring when we were getting all the introduction was a little boring and disjointed at times. The pace was a little slower compared to other books in this genre but overall I really enjoyed the read.

When DI Ed Ogborne moves to Canterbury, she is faced with a case that is the make or break of her career. A young girl is abducted sending her family into turmoil, it is a race against the clock to find her. The pressure is on for Ogborne to make a good impression in front of her new work colleagues. When the young girl is suddenly found unconscious with no sign of abuse and in clean clothes but turns out to be pregnant, they realise the abductor needs to be found and quickly. When the detective team discover this is the 3rd case within 10 years, they begin to look closer into potential suspects who may know the girls. It is only when a 4th girl is taken that they know they have to put their foot down in order to catch the person responsible for the abductions. With no hard evidence, CCTV footage or witnesses, the detectives are at their wits end with no apparent leads.

I knew straight away I wanted to read it. I loved how the chapters were short which meant it was really easy to read and I got through this book very quickly. I liked how it concentrated mainly on DI Ed Ogborne but also the little insights into the other characters lives. I was really sad when this book finished but as there is a second book in the DI Ogborne mystery series, I cannot wait to read the second.

There isn't anything negative I could say about this book. I wouldn't change anything about the way it was written or the content. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves mystery thriller books. I would say this book is aimed at late teens and over.

I would rate this book a 10/10.

The Taken Girls is an exquisite book written by an author that knows how to maintain suspense throughout the book. I was captivated by the cover and intrigued by the publishers blurb. When I started reading it I found it to go a tad bit slow at first but when you really start getting into the details of the missing teen girls it picks up speed and takes off flying. The premise is an interesting one about teen girls that have disappeared. One in particular that the police were investigating, finally came home but there was something different about her. She was pregnant. Can the police track down the person or persons responsible? Just wait until you read the ending.....

Thank you to netgalley as well as the author/publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

The task of repopulating the senior library has been an exciting and daunting task aS in a boarding school our aim is to encourage all members of the community to read. Because of this, I have been searching down a wide and diverse range of books to read that will entice a wide cross-section of the school to come in, browse and find books that they love.
Books like this will ensure that the senior students in the school see the library as a diverse, modern and exciting place with books that speak to them and they want to recommend to their friends, classmates, teachers and tutors.
It is an engrossing and exciting read with fully-formed characters and a plot that ensures that it's hard to look away. It is as far from formulaic as it is possible to be and kept me up far too late in order to finish it. I immediately wanted to read all of this writer's other books as I loved their voice and found that it really drew me into the story and made me think about it even when I'd stepped away from this tale.
This is a thought-provoking read which I'm sure will be a popular and well-read addition to our new library; I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to read it and I know that the students are going to absolutely love it too!

Unfortunately I didn’t love this one as much as I was hoping to. I liked the idea behind it and the storyline, but it fell flat for me. I can see why some people love this one, but it just wasn’t for me.

Really enjoyed this one. A good police procedural, nuanced detective. I'll look out for more by this author.

I love a good crime novel and this didnt disappoint. Plenty of detail and an interesting storyline. Kept me wanting to follow through until the end.

I quite like a police procedural every now and again, but this wasn't for me. I didn't like the police elements, and found myself skipping the police-focused chapters and just reading the chapters in which the crime was occurring until I got to the end and read the last few to piece it all together.

The plot is unique and interesting but sadly the execution is lacking pace and is at times repetitive. I also didn't really get behind Ed's character I found her to be making terrible decisions in her personal life constantly which is a odds to her a detective she is smart which I thought was disingenuous.

Thank-you Avon Books UK & Netgalley for sending me a copy in exchange for an open & honest review.

⭐⭐

DI Ed Ogborne is a deeply flawed character. Her mistakes have led to her being thrown out of the Metropolitan Police and transferred to Canterbury, a move that she resents. Her arrival in Canterbury was caused quite a stir and has obstructed the promotion of another investigator so, from the very start, she is off on the wrong foot with her new colleagues. She struggles to lead her new team, is highly suspicious of everyone around her and is convinced that her new unit is guilty of police corruption. Her first case with her new team is to investigate the disappearance of sixth form schoolgirl, Lucy Naylor. As Ed is keen to impress her new team, she gets stuck into the case early but there is little to go on. It soon becomes clear that Lucy’s disappearance might be connected with several older cases in which kidnapped girls were returned unharmed but pregnant. In addition, the girls claim that they were well looked after whilst being held captive. It soon becomes apparent to the reader that this is a very strange case with an unusual motive.

The book alternates between Ed’s narrative as she investigates the case and navigates her new environment and Lucy’s narrative in captivity. Lucy’s description of her prison is terrifying as it’s dark and isolated. Strange noises at night taunt her and her abductor often comes in with strange packages with an unusual smell. Even more disconcerting is the abductor’s voice as he uses a reed to give him a Punch voice from Punch and Judy. The abductor is an intriguing character because he deliberately do not want to hurt the kidnapped girls and keeps mysterious items in jars in another room. His troubled past is revealed to us in flashbacks as he recalls growing up with a very troubled mother. The abductor’s identity is a mystery until the end of the book but there are plenty of suspects throughout.

Ed is also a fascinating character because of her past. She has made some fundamental misjudgments despite being an DI so we never really warm to her or fully respect her. Her choice of men is deplorable and I think readers expect more of their female characters today. Yet, despite her flaws, the book is well written and well plotted. Each of the members of her new team has a backstory which makes them distinctive but I would like to know more about them.

This is Sanders’ debut novel and is the first in the D.I. Ogborne Mystery Series. The Victim, the second in the series was released in June 2019 and I look forward to reading it.

There's been a lot of pushback against the the violence against women themes that are regularly portrayed on our screens and in crime thrillers generally. While that point of view is understandable, in real life it's generally men that are the aggressors, and women the victims. There is no way that we can expect that to change anytime soon. The way to rebalance is to introduce more, female protagonists either fighting back or hunting the villains. G.D. has introduced an independent single, female detective who leads her team in the hunt to stop and catch the perpetrator.
DI Ed (Edina) Ogbourne on her new posting in Canterbury is determined to be independent, and a protagonist. By the end of this novel she is on the right path to achieve both goals.
A few interesting twists to what is otherwise a fairly standard, abductor/hunter storyline. Written well enough to be unnoticeable. Could be GD willing a competent start to a series of Canterbury Tales.

I would like to thank Avon Books and the Netgalley website for this partnership.

I was immediately attracted to the cover of this book: you see a woman in profile and a catchphrase that says a lot about the book: "time is running out"

A missing teenage girl reappeared pregnant one day. Edina Ogborne is investigating, but her team doesn't want her. After searching everywhere, she learned that in Canterbury this was not the first time teenage girls had disappeared. She learns that files on these old unsolved cases are missing, that school records are being falsified. Time is running out to solve these cases.

A book read in one go so much I hooked on the story so captivating, addictive and full of suspense and twists and turns with engaging characters.

The female detective lead in this really sucked and considering the novel surrounds her, this book was painful enough to get through, without the OVERLY descriptive nature of everything. Honestly i was waiting for the colour blue to be described in 10 different ways it was just too much. Not for me!

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fast paced. Hard to put down. It flowed well and it was very well written. It caught hold of me and had me hooked from the start . I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this book.

This is a promising debut from GD Sanders. A police procedural with an interesting lead, "The Taken Girls" surrounds the kidnapping of young girls who are taken for a brief while then returned home, pregnant, yet with no memory of intercourse.

The list of suspects is long, but quickly whittled down, leaving enough options to keep you guessing without being unwieldy. It's interesting to follow the change in investigation as the evidence mounts up, reintroducing suspects who were previously ruled out and the pacing is strong, keeping you engaged and wanting to know more.

I will say that I found the ending a little flat. After a great build up with just the right balance of personal and procedural, the ending is a bit rushed and I found the motivations and sudden character change of the perpetrator a little unrealistic, which was a shame given the care and attention paid to the rest of the book.

Overall, though, this was thoroughly entertaining and well worth a read.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

This one wasn't for me. It was too slow. I kept waiting for it to rev up and it didn't. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK