Fantastically awesome thriller! A very refreshing and different story. I loved it! The two POV worked so well. The well developed characters and emotional relationships. A true page turner with enough creep factor and twists to be un-put-down-able and I will be watching for more books by this author. 
5 stars!

Stolen Things is a thrill ride that'll have you questioning what you thought you knew. The story kicks off with a dynamic start, having Laurie get the 911 call that no mother ever wants to hear. After the initial drama dies down, so does the story, and I had a hard time getting through this one. There's enough twists to keep you captivated, and I really just made it to the end cuz I needed answers. Some things were a little far fetched, but it was a gripping story overall.

This book captures your attention from.the every start and I was captivating through the whole story needing to know what happened. I found myself rushing through the book. A teenage girl wakes up finding herself in a bed with no recollection of what happened to her. How would you feel getting a call from your daughter while at work telling you to help her and thats shes been drugged and doesn't know where she is? The beginning really is chilling and being a mother, I couldnt help but put myself in that charcters shoes for the moment.  I really enjoyed this chilling story. I found myself not being able to put it down.

This book first caught my attention for 2 reasons, 1) the name made me think it was another author i'd read and 2) the picture of the book cover!  What would you do if you were a 911 operator, you answer a call and hear Mom, help me!.  That's what happens when Laurie picks up the phone and hears her daughter JoJo on the other end of the line.  The police arrive, including JoJo's dad the police chief, and Laurie at the home of a football stars and find JoJo.  There are 3 people in the house, two don't remember what happened and one is dead--and JoJo's friend Harper is missing.  This begins the hunt to figure out what went on in the house.  This book grabbed me from the first few pages and when I thought I knew what was going to happen, the plot changed.  This was a very intense read and I highly recommend it.  Will have to read more from this author!!

Wow. This was a very action paced fun ride of a read!!  From the first chapter to the last I was hooked. This book keeps you guessing from the beginning and that is what I want in a mystery. The characters were not perfect in fact they made me angry sometimes in things they did or said  or things they thought,. But thats what makes the story even better. There human. 
A married couple who are in the police force and there daughter have a nightmare of events which spiral out of control and trust is shattered. A friend goes missing and mother and daughter will do anything to find her and get her back. Absolutely a must read!

Great book! I loved the fact that being a 911 operator was explored and I felt like I got to experience what it's like to deal with painful phone calls. This book was a great, quick read and I would recommend this book and the author for those who love a good thriller novel!

The story pulls you in right from the start, and you get a sense of what it is like for the dispatchers working together within the culture of the police hierarchy. 

Laurie was a fully formed, fully flawed real person. She knew her life wasn't perfect, but also knew that perfection wasn't necessary to be happy. She took her life as it came to her and knew how to make the most of it. Her daughter Jojo was respectful of her mom and aware enough to work at the relationship and keep the lines of communication open, probably making Jojo a bit more mature than many teenagers. 

I liked that the issues of racism and police brutality were an acknowledged part of life, and the characters accepted this and accepted that sometimes behavior had to be changed. This mostly revolved around the football player character of Kevin, specifically whether it was safe for him to be seen entering and leaving a large house in a white neighborhood. I would have liked to have heard more from Kevin’s point of view.

The conspiracy story kept me guessing about the relationships between the characters and how everything was connected. New characters keep entering the story throughout and these police officers ultimately are the key to solving the crime and the connections between events. All the characters come with baggage and as their background stories are revealed, you see new motivations, so no one is as simple as an initial brief social interaction makes them seem. 

The story kept me reading and I wanted to finish quickly to see how everything was connected. The ending is sad yet satisfying.

And I am back to my crime fiction/mystery novels after a quick break with Red Rising. I kept seeing Stolen Things at the book store and was completely attracted to the cover. It is just a haunting image of a lost child/person. Have you been seeing other book covers that attract your attention immediately?

Thank you to @netgalley & @duttonbooks for sending me a copy for my honest review.

Tiny Synospsis:  Laurie Ahmadi is a bay area 911 dispatcher  and receives the worst phone call of her life - a call from her own daughter asking for HELP. She had been abducted & kidnapped. The scene when the police finally arrives is mayhem including her own daughter injured and a dead body and a pro football player. The mother/daughter team up in this novel to find the killer/kidnappers themselves as they are unable to trust those around them.

My Review:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ of 5

Warning: This book does contain very serious subjects like rape. I must say that this book surely starts with a bang. I was very fascinated with how fast the story was going and the thrill ride that I felt the direction was going in. Then I got stuck in the middle as it seemed to be taking so long to get further along. Both Laurie and her daughter Jojo - I was not engaged with their characters and the book does generally suggest a slightly biased view on the police force from the author - which is very evident throughout the book. All in all, great beginning, slow in the middle, the ending pulled me right back in!

Stolen Things brings the fears of a mother, and 911 dispatcher, to life when she receives a distressed phone call from her daughter.  Jojo, is upset, drugged, and sexually assaulted and Laurie instantly has to spring into action.  Over the course of the book Laurie and Jojo attempt to figure out what really happened the night of her call. 

While the premise interested me, I still was unable to fully get into the mindset of the characters.  I had a like/dislike relationship with Laurie who at once was protective and strong but also misinformed and overwhelming. I do appreciate that the author tried to make the emotions as strong as possible, because of course after life changing events emotion is always high.  
Laurie liked to think that she knew everything that Jojo was doing although in reality she didn't know much about her own daughter. Due to that, it was nice to have the rotating point of view so that Laurie wasn't that only voice and I could actually learn about Jojo. 

As for the ending of the novel, I see why the author ended it where they did.  It was a good stopping point.  However, I still felt like I need more closure than I was given.

Thank you so much to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley for the free copy of this book for my honest review.

I was in the mood for a good thriller or suspense novel and this definitely satisfied that craving for me. It's a very fast read as I finished it in about 6 hours but while it was good, it wasn't great.

I feel like the police brutality and indiscretions that go on within departments was a great subject to write about and I loved the mother/daughter team trying to figure out who the suspect is and where the kidnapped girl was taken but overall I felt this book was lacking a little for me. While it had plenty of drama and suspense, the author seemed to drop too many hints about who the suspect was and I hate being able to guess the plot twist at any given time in the book.

I know the author is writing under a pseudonym and kudos to them for writing this book but it's definitely not one I will be purchasing.

⭐️Book Review ⭐️
Stolen Things by R.H.Herron
4.5/5 Stars


This book was very emotional as a thriller and the physical toll it puts on the victims of sexual abuse. The central mystery kept me guessing the entire book and I was entrenched in reading every spare minute I had.  


I felt like I was reading an episode of SVU - it was so intense with rape, murder, police drama, corruption and LGBTQ discussion. Herron deals with each of them throughout the book and keeps the story very dramatic.


Laurie is a 911 dispatcher and answers a call from her daughter JoJo. She has been kidnapped. Dad, Omid, is the police chief in this California town and rushes to the rescue. 


They find a dead body along with JoJo and her best friend, Harper, also missing. The hunt is on for the killer and to find Harper. Laurie, Omid and JoJo may be surprised to find what really happened the night JoJo was kidnapped. 



**Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton Books for the opportunity to read this book. I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review *****


**************************

That was a really good, fast paced, lots of stuff going on book. I didn’t guess the ending, which I love! I enjoyed the edge of your seat, hold on me, the book had. Well done, especially for a first novel.  I liked the 911 part of the story , as well as the police end. I was very fortunate to be able to read this through Netgalley.

I feel like there should be a trigger warning on this book. I didn’t realize it would be so descriptive about rape especially one about a minor. Very hard to read and I couldn’t finish. Although I did like how real it was and I felt like I was inside each of the character’s heads.

I was given this book to review by Netgalley for an honest review. Let me start off by saying as a mom of girls, I had a really hard time with this book in the beginning. I love a good mystery/thriller book. In fact, they are my favorite. The book started off reminding me of the movie 'Taken' and was thrilling. However, the idea of getting a call from your daughter after possibly being raped is absolutely traumatizing. (In fact, one of my biggest fears.) However, I pushed through it and ended up really enjoying this book. The book was so well written, thrilling and kept me on the edge of my toes constantly. Herron did a great job of expressing the feelings of the character as their world is being turned upside down. Laurie is held very dear to me as she reminds me so much of myself. A mom who just isn’t ready for her daughter to grow up. Jojo, a teenager who is stuck in-between still needing her mom and wanting to be independent, grows up in a matter of a couple of days. The relationship built and expressed in this book was very well captured. Ultimately, a very very good read.!

From my blog: Always With a Book:

I read a lot of thrillers, so when I start reading one and can't stop thinking about it, I know it's going to be a good one. This is just that kind - one that starts off with a bang and never lets up! 

This book is inspired by the author's time as a 911 operator and to that end it felt authentic and real. I always love when an author is able to take their own life experiences and bring it into their novels. It allows for them to create characters that are much more dynamic as they are based in reality and the events they use are usually inspired by actual events.

I loved that the author took no time diving into the book...there wasn't a ton of time spent setting things up, we just jump right in and from there, things continue at a relatively consistent pace. Not that I don't like when authors take that time to set things up, but here it wasn't necessary. Plus, it adds to the helplessness that Laurie is feeling about her daughter and that urgency to find her and figure out what is going on. 

This book is full of secrets and some crazy twists that take you on a roller coaster of a ride. It looks at the fierce bond between a mother and daughter and begs the question, what do you do when you can't trust those who are sworn to serve and protect? 

This is totally the type of book you can binge-read in one sitting because you definitely won't want to stop reading it once you start, but if you have to put it down for some reason, you will find yourself thinking about the characters. Even now, days after I finished reading the book, I'm still thinking about it. I am definitely going to be recommending this one to all my thriller-reading friends...it's too good not to share!

I normally don't write such lengthy reviews because I like to get right to the point. I mean, if you're reading my review, then you want to know whether you should be reading this book or you want to know if my thoughts are different from yours. Well I can tell you right away that this book is a MUST READ. I really don't think I've read a book this fast since the Twilight series was alive and thriving. 

I consider myself a pretty experienced Thriller reader so most books nowadays don't keep me on my toes. Most of them you can tell what's going to happen by page 50 and it's always the same kind of story. It's been awhile since I have read a gripping thriller that made me drop everything just so I can find out what happens. I will say for Herron's first debut thriller novel, it was phenomenal! 

Herron has done great work with making this novel imaginative, eventful and full of twists that you really don't see coming! She incorporates texts and meanings that we can relate to in our society today. I also really enjoyed her Author's Note at the end. Especially how she states she's a queer, white middle-class woman who lives in Oakland and worked 911 dispatch for 17 years. Her experience really showed through in this novel as some of the connections show through and I think it makes me love it more because it's a story that could be real. 

~
Imagine yourself at 16 and you wake up in a strange room, can't feel your legs and you're hurting in a place you should not be hurting in... First thing you do? Call 911. Good thing Jojo's mom works as a 911 dispatcher and her dad is Chief of Police so both are arriving at the house within minutes. As Jojo tries to figure out where she is and what happened to her, she finds out that the home belongs to her friend Kevin, who is a nationally known African American pro football player who currently is part of the 'Citizens Against Police Brutality' movement. They are friends united in the CapB movement and they each hold the other's secret that they are gay. Kevin is immediately suspected of raping Jojo and then it's quickly discovered that a body is found in the bathroom of the room Jojo's in. Now Kevin is imprisoned for murder and rape. But it couldn't be Kevin since he's gay, right?

While Jojo's mom, Laurie, wants to kill Kevin for hurting her baby, Jojo tells her that her friend Harper is missing. Except Laurie wasn't aware they were friends again since the last time they were together, they were caught shoplifting and they went their separate ways. As Laurie and Jojo try to find Harper, they quickly realize that Harper isn't who they thought she was and that a handful of the cops can't be trusted either due to incriminating evidence. As they inch closer to the truth, another bombshell drops and Jojo's dad, Laurie's husband - Omid, has been hiding his own secrets that could tear this family apart. Laurie doesn't know whether to stand by her husband or try to do right by her daughter. What happened to Jojo and where is Harper?

4.5 out of 5 stars. A quick summer read!

A very topical thriller focusing on a 911 operator and her daughter who keep getting further entwined into a shocking crime.  Overall, I really enjoyed this book. A very engaging and quick read with tons of twists.  Very satisfying!

Thank you to R.H. Herron, Dutton, and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

#NetGalley #StolenThings

This book was INSANE. It tore at my heart strings and had me really amped up, especially the end. Trigger warning for rape and (I think, anyway) child abuse/exploitation of a minor. If you can handle that and you like a whodunit with PLENTY of action, grab this book!

Stolen Things tells the story of dispatcher Laurie when she answers a 911 call at work and hears the desperate voice of her teenaged daughter Jojo. And from there its A WILD RIDE, YOU GUYS. But seriously, through the novel Laurie and her daughter work together to find out what happened to Jojo and her friend Harper. There’s a lot of action, suspense and unsavory characters. All good qualities in this type of book. Laurie is a badass mom who would do anything for her daughter.  Jojo, who mentions that she wanted to be a detective someday, doesn’t let this traumatic event stop her from doing what she has to do to help save her friend and take down the bad guys. I think the relationship of Laurie and Jojo was very well written.  It was your typical mother and teenage daughter relationship where mom seems overbearing and the teenager gets annoyed at everything. Mom feels like they’re drifting apart and the daughter won’t tell her things. Jojo gets annoyed at Laurie’s touches and her pet nicknames.  But in the end they love each other fiercely and will do anything to protect one another. 

The author once worked as a dispatch officer and as the author note states, “this book is inspired by actual events.” There was a lot going on and it makes me wonder what parts of the story were true. Whether it was a few small things that added to the whole of the book or some the larger overlying themes. It is so hard to touch on some of these topics with out giving the whole thing away. I’m going to leave it there so you have a better reading experience if you choose to read this book. Which, by the way, I do recommend. Read this if you’re looking for a holy crap trust nobody read! This was a 4 star read for me.

Thank you to @netgalley and @duttonbooks for the advanced e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a bit of a mixed bag for me. It’s compulsively readable and fast-paced, but the twist at the end it a bit much to swallow. I loved the alternating perspectives. “Mom who is practically married to her job” alternating with “teen daughter who the mother doesn’t know half as well as she thinks” is a little overdone in the genre at this point, but I thought it worked really well here.

There is a wide divide between the two POV characters, not just for typical “angsty teens are unreachable” reasons, but because Jojo is at a point in her life where she’s figuring out her own politics and value system, and they don’t align with those of her parents. Mystery/thriller novels are best, in my opinion, when they’re not driven solely by the mystery; Stolen Things has lots of interesting relationship dynamics to keep the story interesting.

One of the predominant themes of the book is police brutality, and that is part of what’s driving a wedge between Jojo and her parents, who both work in law enforcement (her father as a police chief and her mother, a former police officer) as a 911 dispatcher. Also prominent in the story is an exploration of rape culture and victim blaming. While including social issues like these in a story can be admirable, I’m not sure that a fast-paced thriller is really up to the task of treating these topics with the gravity that would be necessary for them to feel like a natural part of the story. While the book is not categorized as Young Adult and is a bit too dark to fit into the genre, some of the passages which centered on social issues had a very YA feel to them.

Overall, this was definitely a page turner, but some sections felt awkward and fell flat. Stolen Things was worth a read and may be a great choice for fans of authors like Mary Kubica and Megan Miranda.