What’s a kid to do when her father is the police chief and her mother is a 911 dispatcher for the same department? Really, so many of the cops in the station know JoJo and consider her to be a part of their cop family that she may just as well have grown up inside the police station. That means that whatever she gets into outside the home is quickly going to get back to her parents. But the time that JoJo and her best friend Harper were caught trying to steal from a jewelry store, they were only fourteen years old so they were able to put a bad situation behind them without ruining the rest their lives. Now, however, the girls are both 16, and the trouble they are flirting with is a whole lot more dangerous than stealing something from a jewelry store. The girls do not look like kids anymore, and the wrong kind of men have noticed.

JoJo’s mother has been a 911 operator for almost twenty years so not much surprises her anymore. But that changes on the day Laurie answers a 911-call only to recognize that the voice on the other end of the line pleading for help belongs to her own daughter. JoJo cannot move, does not know where she is, and has no idea how she got there. Even worse, JoJo cannot figure out what happened to her before or while she was unconscious, but the pain she is in indicates that she may have been raped. And then JoJo remembers that Harper was with her – but now Harper is nowhere to be found.

JoJo’s police family pulls out all the stops to figure out what happened to her and Harper and to catch the people responsible. And JoJo would expect nothing less of them. But do they really?

JoJo Ahmadi is as impatient as she is smart – and she’s very smart. So, when the cops don’t seem to be making much progress, she decides to do a little investigating of her own. And what she learns from a deep dive into Harper’s social media scares her to death. Harper, it appears, was a little too cozy with some of the cops for her own good, and now JoJo and her mother don’t know whom to trust. Which cops are playing it straight, and which ones have good reason to make sure that Harper is never found? Just what are they willing to do to keep JoJo and her mother from learning the truth?

R.H. Herron’s novel is a solid thriller that pushes all the proper socially-conscious buttons. There are gay characters, characters questioning their sexuality, racist cops, plain old bad cops, a black NFL quarterback speaking out about the way blacks are mistreated by the criminal justice system, and a group of protesters preparing to take to the streets again to protest police brutality (a group, as it turns out, that JoJo and Harper have themselves joined). Stolen Things is definitely a thriller with a social message, but that message at times can get heavy-handed enough to be a distraction to the book’s central plot. Still, this is a page-turner that crime thriller fans should take a look at.

Stolen Things by R. H. Herron is a dynamic read!

Laurie is a 911 dispatcher and one night, she answers a call from her own daughter, Jojo who has been drugged, and raped, while someone else in the house slept, and the other one was killed. Jojo can’t remember that happened or how she ended up in Kevin’s house. Kevin is arrested, but Jojo’s friend Harper is still missing. Jojo looks into Harper's social media and discovers many things she questions.

There are a few trigger warnings with this book: sexual assault, kidnapping, police brutality. I was hooked and wanted to know more about Jojo and Harper's characters and why they were involved with older men. There are a number of twists along the way, especially the last third of the book. Thanks for the wild ride!

This twisting and heart-wrenching novel begins with a bang and doesn't slow down for the entire length of the book. An emergency dispatcher is having a typical, boring night at work when her daughter calls through the line. With no memory of the night's events, the mom and daughter's attempts to piece the missing night together draws them into a conspiracy that threatens to destroy everything they care about.

Stolen Things is timely in its handling of issues such as: sexual assault, police brutality, Black Lives Matter, homophobia, and kneeling for the national anthem. Told in alternating points of view, the mother and daughter relationship that this novel hinges on is believable - with the daughter alternating between trying to seem like a "grown up" whilst still needing her mother in the face of events, and the mother wondering just what lengths she will go to to protect her child.

A quick and compulsive read that discusses today's pertinent topics, I'm excited to see what's in this author's future.

Laurie is a 911 dispatcher who generally enjoys her job, until the night she answers a call from her own daughter. Jojo has been drugged, and raped, while someone else in the house slept, and the other one was killed. Jojo can’t remember anything that happened or how she ended up in Kevin’s house. Kevin is immediately arrested, but Jojo’s friend Harper is still missing. Jojo starts a deep dive into Harpers social media and discovers that Harpers life, and the lives of the cops that work for her father, are not at all what they seemed.

Holy psychopath. I really can’t say much more without giving anything away. This book does have some trigger warnings: sexual assault, kidnapping, police brutality. Overall this book kept me hooked. I wanted to know what had happened to Jojo, and Harper, plus why Harper was spending her time with all these much older men. Laurie and Jojo were both pretty badass which I loved.

My anxiety was through the roof. I was on a rollercoaster of thrills and emotions up until the every end. I’m very pro cop so this was a little hard for me to wrap my head around. All in all a good book wrapped up everything nicely in the end even though I felt it a bit rushed.

Stolen Things by R.H. Heron is a suspense thriller that was so very well written. This is the debut novel for this author, and after reading this story, I will most definitely read her again. Stolen Things started with a bang, as we met our heroine, Laurie Ahmadi, immediately. Laurie has worked as a 911 police dispatcher for 20 years (she is a former cop), and picks up a phone call that is every parent’s nightmare. The person on the other end is her 16 year old daughter, Jojo, who is crying for help, not knowing where she is and just woke up from being drugged. Laurie’s husband Omid (police chief) is the first to arrive on the scene with other members of his force, with Laurie not far behind.

A dead body is discovered in a closet, and in another room of the house, an NFL player is woken from sleep, and immediately arrested. Kevin (NFL player) remembers nothing, as he too may have been drugged, but the police do not believe him, and Laurie wants desperately to hurt him for what he did to her daughter. Jojo will explain that Kevin is her friend, and he would never hurt her; but no one believes it.

With Jojo in hospital, being examined, Laurie confirms that Jojo was raped, and pushes herself into the investigation, despite Omid and other police officers try to stop her. Jojo remembers that she went out with her friend Harper that night, and Harper is missing. Once Jojo is released from the hospital, she is determined to help her mother investigate the case, as well as try to find Harper.

What follows is an exciting, nonstop action packed story that kept me glued to my seat. Jojo reveals some of her secret life;, helping Harper & Kevin working for the CapB activist movement (Citizens Against Police Brutality. She begins to find out more information on the internet, as well as from phone messages on Harper’s phone, which may involve the police department. This will force Laurie to secretly try to look into the police department records, causing havoc in the police station, and with Omid, who is in hospital after a heart attack. With Harper missing, and Jojo insistence the Kevin is a good guy, Laurie begins to believe her, and focuses on the department.

To tell too much more would be spoilers, and throughout the who book, things change often. There are a number of twists along the way, especially the last third of the book. Stolen Things was so very well written by Heron, and does cover a number of topics: murder, rape, police brutality, politics, race, homosexuality, etc.
Stolen Things is a wonderful thriller, and great mystery that has you unable to put the book down. I strongly suggest you read this debut novel by R.H. Heron

I was drawn to this book by the cover and was sucked in by the story and suspense! Stolen Things by R.H. Herron definitely kept me guessing until the last chapter. The begins with JoJo calling 911 and asking for help. She woke up in a strange place and has no recollection of how she arrived there. But she knew her mom, Laurie would be able to find her. The story begins to unravel. Harper, JoJo's best friend, is still missing. JoJo was raped and left alone. Who was the rapist and who has Harper? Hutton hits on so many different topics in her book, from rape to the hot topics in the media today with cops and athletes. This books makes you think and makes you see behind the face shield and badge.
I can see this book being the first in a series with Laurie, the 911 dispatcher. Herron didn't over complicate things with too many characters, she kept it concise and sped along with her story. Her chapters were short and the story read very easy. The perfect book to sneak in little chapters here and there while doing chores or running about town with the kids.
Overall, I give this book two thumbs up! I will be recommending this book to others. I would love to meet you with Laurie and JoJo again! Special thanks to NetGalley, the Dutton Penguin Group, and R.H. Hutton for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review!
#StolenThings #NetGalley

Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton and Netgalley.

Powerful story about what a mom will do to protect her daughter and solve a crime committed against her. A solid and fast paced mystery!

She calls 911 and has no recollection of where she is or what has happened. She's the daughter of the police chief and a 911 operator. She finds out her best friend is missing. If you're not already hooked by that, then keep reading. R. H. Herron weaves through this fast paced mystery in San Bernal with twists and turns at every page!

Unfortunately, this book turned out to be just "okay" for me. There were aspects of it that I did like, but then there were others that I didn't, so let's just dive in. There's a lot going on in this novel: racism, feminism, rape, LGBTQ rights, police brutality, police corruption, mental health, and more. And while this speaks to today's society and current events, it just felt like too much. I am all for using one's voice to make a difference, but to me, it was just laid on too thick. It felt gimmicky, like the author was just throwing hot topics in there to get your attention.

All of that being said, my biggest issue with this novel was that so much of it felt, frankly, unbelievable. I know this took place in a "small town," but it just seemed to me that there's no way that Laurie and Jojo could have gotten away with some of the measure they took. Maybe I'm wrong--I have never worked for a police department--but I don't buy it. I do want to give credit where credit's due--what I did enjoy about this book was that, at times, it got my heart pounding, and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I do want to warn readers that this one does get pretty graphic. Even I felt uncomfortable at some parts. One final point I wanted to make was that the ending felt kind of abrupt. The final chapters built up to this almost maddening pace, which was great, but then it was just over, with very little resolution.

As you can see, I felt pretty torn about this one. I didn't hate it, but I also didn't love it. Again, Stolen Things was just okay for me. If this one sounds like something you enjoy, I say go for it because it was a heckuva thriller. I just don´t think that personally I´d be interested in other books by this author.

A gripping thriller that I truly enjoyed, especially being married to a police officer. This was a page turner that kept you guessing.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is well written, and I was drawn in by the beginning. However, once JoJo was rescued by her father a few pages in, the book lost its taut, focused energy and never picked back up.

Part of the problem for me was there was too much repetition; the characters relived, and rehashed for the reader, the same initial shock and emotions about what happened to JoJo again and again through the first half of the book. Another issue was nothing much happened with respect to the mystery itself for that same first half of the book--for the most part, JoJo and Laurie moved from location to location (home, the police station, the hospital) having the same emotions and the same spats with each other, without much progress. Those spats were another difficulty for me; while I'm sure teenagers and mothers have exactly those spats, it didn't feel real that they'd have them in the middle of such traumatic events. While I realize that might happen in real life, here the repetitive power struggle just got in the way of the book's progress for me.

I also found it difficult to connect with the characters. All the spats and JoJo's odd choices made it hard for me to care about her; while I was told repeatedly about her trauma, her actions and line of thinking didn't match up with it. I found Laurie's continual claims that she couldn't handle the situation without her husband off-putting, and at odds with the progressive messages of the book--I believe the author was going for a woman-realizes-she-doesn't-need-a-man arc, but the ending of the book didn't bring home that message for me.

Once the investigation did pick up, the logic of Laurie's and JoJo's suspicions and actions didn't follow a logical trail of evidence, but took more of a seat-of-the-pants flow fueled by Laurie's 'intuition.' The result was while there were a few moments of really engaging detection (for example, how Laurie and JoJo manage to track the killer's car), I didn't find the journey satisfying.

Add to all of that the coming-out issues and the anti-police-brutality organization and there was too much going on to really allow me to sink my teeth into the mystery. So, I sadly have to say this just wasn't for me.

R.H. Herron delivers a debut novel full of corruption, murder, and lies. However, it also delivered a multitude of subjects that flooded the main topic. While Herron’s writing was not altogether bad, it held a novice feel and the constant overindulgence to push the reader out of their comfort zone lost its effect early on. The story-line had potential, but it was lost to the array of social agendas that Herron tried to breach throughout the plot and slowed the overall pace of the story. By the end of the narrative, the plot summary seemed to be handed over rather than earned. 2 stars.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book from #NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a good thriller that had me hooked from the first page! However I was expecting something more for the end. Great debut .

This book has an exciting start. Police dispatcher and former police officer, Laurie, answers a 911 call and immediately recognizes the voice on the phone - her 16 year old daughter, Jojo. As her and husband and police chief, Omid, rush to the scene of the crime they find that she has been brutally assaulted in the home of a pro football player who they didn't even know she was friends with. To make matters worse Jojo's best friend, Harper, is missing and their mutual friend is found murdered. Laurie has to use every resource available to find her daughter's attacker and her missing best friend.

This book is a page turner and I kept reading to see what was going to happen. I liked both Jojo and Laurie, the main characters. I did think there was a bit too much going on in this book and at times it was repetitive. It was far-fetched and when the motives of the "bad guys" were revealed, it didn't really make a lot of sense. Overall, this is a decent thriller and would be a good summer read or if you like to read thrillers on the beach or at the pool. It was certainly enjoyable but not the best thriller I have read lately. I did enjoy reading the author's note at the end and loved that the author had personal experience as a dispatcher. I felt like that showed in the story. She really had a "behind the scenes" look into the day-to-day job of a police dispatcher.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader's copy of Stolen Things by R.H. Herron. You can purchase this book on August 20, 2019.

Stolen Things is a well written book. The plot is quite different than I have read before and that is refreshing. I read this book in one setting. The suspense was palpable and I could not wait to find out what was going to happen next.

Quite a few twists and turns and an ending that left me shocked.

This was the first novel I have read by this author , but it will not be the last.

As a debut suspense novel I have to say I am blown away. This book had me hooked from page one and before I knew it I had devoured the storyline in one sitting. Well written and captivating from beginning to end, Stolen Things will have you addicted within minutes. The characters are well developed and very believable as is the plot and it brings to light some of the issues that could be found in police departments today. I sincerely hope another suspense novel is in the works from this author because I absolutely LOVED this one.

This book was engulfing and thrilling from the very first chapter, and there was a lot going on. It deals with highly sensitive subjects that may be triggering to some. The first half was much better than the second, it became a little unbelievable and predictable. Overall it was a good thriller.

I liked the first half of the book but then It got boring for me so I didn’t finish the entire book. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⁣4.5/5 stars⁣

⁣This book was thrilling from the very first chapter. It was a whirlwind of a ride. I felt there were some inaccuracies, but overall, I really enjoyed the story. Herron tackles many sensitive subjects such as rape, race, and police brutality. ⁣
If you’re into thrillers and are not triggered by the above mentioned subjects, I highly recommend this book. ⁣