Investigative journalist Emma Hunter’s exposé of abuse at a children’s home leads to a police investigation and several arrests, along with unexpected fame for Emma. She wants her next project to be a book about her sister Anna who was abducted twenty years ago. However, her publisher insists Emma look into the disappearance of six-year-old Cassie HIlliard who has been missing for a year. Emma is teamed up with PC Jack Serrovitz of the local cold case squad. Is Cassie still alive and if so, can she be found before it’s too late?

This book alternates between “then”, at the time Cassie first disappears, and “now” for the current investigation. The chapters that take place in the past aren’t as evenly paced as those in the present. The chapters taking place in the past move more slowly, especially at the beginning of the book. The current chapters go by much faster and I really enjoyed the parts when Emma and Jack are working together. I don’t care for Emma’s pushy agent Maddie and have mixed feelings about her best friend Rachel.

Emma is an engaging character and I like her dedication to the investigation. The case of Cassie’s disappearance has many twists and I was very surprised when all the facts about her abduction were revealed. I would have given this a firm 4 stars, but because of the abrupt ending, I’m lowering that to 3.5 stars. Although the majority of Cassie’s case is resolved, there is still a major loose end. There is also a huge development related to Anna’s case, but then the book ends. I knew there were supposed to be subsequent books in the series but didn’t realize this one would end with a cliffhanger that carries on to the next book. I had expected a complete ending, at least to Cassie’s case, and was blindsided that an important part is left up in the air. This is a good start to a new series, just be prepared to get the next book to get the full story.

I received this ebook from NetGalley through the courtesy of One More Chapter. An advance copy was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

Emma Hunter is a writer who has found over night fame following the successful publication of her real life story which exposed and imprisoned men guilty of abusing young boys.

Unable to relate to this new found fame, she is approached by an elderly grandfather whose grand daughter Cassie was kidnapped a year ago. The story had been kept out of the news and initially Emma does not want to look At this story as she really wants to focus on finding out the truth about her sister Anna who went missing 20 years ago.

Having seen how Carries affluent family has been torn apart by her disappearance, alongside the fact that Carries grand father is dying, Emma starts to look in to the case, accompanied by Jack, a police officer assigned to relook at this case with her.

This book has many twists and turns, with a massive twist at the end which i didn't predict. Highly recommend this fast paced book with in-depth characters. Well worth a read.

A great start to a new series, The Missing Children Case Files . Emma Hunter investigates the year long disappearance of a young girl after being recognised as a best selling author after successful investigation of shocking crimes in a Children's Home. I really like the character of Emma and look forward to reading more in this exciting new series. There were many twists and turns in the intriguing plot, which certainly kept me on the edge of my seat.

A great start to a new series, well written, intriguing and I really liked the character of Emma,I think the next book in the series will continue where this left off and look forward to reading it and continuing the story/series

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

This is a new author to me and I thought the premise of the book looked interesting and my kind of read. I was intrigued and hooked from the first chapter. I really liked the main character, she was so likeable and believable with a good background story. The author has a great style of writing that drew me in very quickly, I loved how the book moved from past to present and was told through different characters. This is a great start to a new series and I look forward to the next book.

Ransomed by MA Hunter USB the first in a series of books dealing with missing children. It was a different take on solving a cold case and ai couldn’t get enough. I read this book over 2 nights and cannot wait for the next book already. A great crime novel full of twists and re herrings that will keep you guessing til the very end. It ends on a cliffhanger as well, so you have to get the next one to find out what happens!

Emma Hunter is an investigative journalist with a hit book on her hands. She has written an expose on abuse in a boys orphanage, and it has helped police to get a conviction after all these years. She is not one for fame and being recognised, wanting a quiet life back in Weymouth to continue her obsessive search for her missing sister. Anna disappeared 20 years ago and Emma is determined to find her. Before she can escape London she is tracked down by a wealthy man who wants to her her to look into his granddaughters kidnapping a year earlier. Despite what the police have told him he believes that Cassie is still alive. Reluctantly she teams up with DC Jack Seravitz to see if they can find something the police have missed.

This is a twisty and surprising story with plenty of red herrings and attempts to make you think the wrong way.

Thanks to One Chapter More and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book to read.

What a fantastic start to a brand new mystery series! I absolutely loved this book. A riveting mystery!
The pacing is perfect and the suspense keeps one on the edge of their seat. Buckle your seat belts coz you are in for an adventure of a lifetime!
Excellent storytelling and character development. The story ends with a cliffhanger and I cannot wait to read the next book!
Highly recommended to all mystery and suspense lovers.

Really enjoyed this amazing and fast paced thriller.
This is the first book of a series, with another three books planned to be published throughout the year.

This books mainly follows Emma and the story of her sister Anna as well as Cassie and her grandfather.
This book was incredibly gripping and I really can’t wait for further books to try and figure out more about Emma and what happened to Cassie.

Despite exploring difficult themes, this was done in a very respectful and sensitive way which made this book even better!

I was really not expecting some of the plot twists and i just cannot wait for the next book so I can learn more about what happens to Emma and to figure out more information from her past.

Overall this was a really great thriller and I cannot wait to read the further instalments of this series!

I would like to thank Netgalley, Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and M A Hunter for an advanced digital copy of Ransomed in exchange for a honest review.

A solid four star read. Good premise. Great characters. Enjoyed the style of writing. Plenty of mystery to keep me interested. I guessed the culprit hence the four star review. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it

This Book is dedicated to all the key workers who kept the world ticking during the lockdown 2020. A very nice thought, I say.
After Investigative journalist, Emma Hunter takes down a pedophile ring that operated from an orphanage she’s approached by Templeton, lord Fitzhume. His granddaughter was abducted a year ago. Despite paying 2 million £, the little girl was not returned. The police think she died in an explosion and they don’t search for her anymore. Emma is his last hope. Initially, she wants to refuse but her own sister also disappeared 20 years ago and reluctantly she accepts to find out the truth about the kidnapping. Everybody in the family has secrets that they don’t want exposing and could it have been an inside job? All the players in this drama point the fingers at each other.

The impact of the loss of their (grand) daughter has left very deep wounds that haven’t healed in the key players. They’re all struggling with their loss and grief, unable to move on. The characters and effects are painted with a lot of empathy and understanding. The author has created such a realistic set of actors that you can picture them in front of you.
There’s a conversation between Emma and Freddy, early on in the book that brought up such strong emotions that I was almost in tears. There are some beautiful people in this book.
Emma, the protagonist is a very likeable and sympathetic character. She’s struggling with her newfound fame and doesn’t like it much that she’s suddenly recognised by other people. She’s very down to earth and much prefers to stay in boring old, sandy Weymouth than the hustle and bustle of the bright lights of London.
The trope of the main character who’s her/himself the relative of someone who’s disappeared is becoming a bit overused in my opinion. Over the last 3 months, I’ve read at least 5 books with this theme. Although, in this series, it is an essential aspect of the back story. The whole series is already planned and they show the covers at the end of this book. I think that in every book we’ll get 1 or 2 clues as to what has really happened to Emma’s sister and in the last one we’ll find out the whole story.
This writer has his heart and mind in the right place. You can notice this when he mentions the lack of respect for health care workers who deserve fame and fortune far more than journalists, models or reality stars. He’s also very serene when he paints the relation between Emma and her mother who suffers from dementia.
I don’t know the identity of the author, apart from ‘Stephen’, but the alias he uses relates 100% with the main character’s name. Good pun!
I do not like the cover of this book, though. I think it looks cheap and a bit tacky. That’s a real shame because a lot of people do judge a book by its cover. I urge everyone not to do this here. But who am I, maybe you might like it. It’s well worth reading though, this is a beautifully told story about loss, grief, despair and hope. And don’t forget that it is also a suspenseful crime mystery and police procedural; as the journalist is assisted by Jack Serrovitz, a former police detective that works cold cases now as mere PC to spend enough time with his daughter. He’s also a great guy and I feel some romance in the making.
The constant change between now and then can be misleading if you don’t pay attention. I was caught out for more than a page before I looked at the header. They’re also not in chronological order, so keep your attention at all times.
Be warned that the story still dishes out an unexpected uppercut, just when you think that all is resolved. I eagerly await the next volume in this series.
I thank One More Chapter and Netgalley for the free ARC they provided me with and this is my honest unbiased opinion of it.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the arc, which I have enjoyed reading.
This is the first book in a series of 6, I have already pre-ordered the next book in the series of the missing children’s case files. I found the book, Ransomed, by M A Hunter, totally engrossing and intriguing, although the subject matter is a very serious and sensitive problem. In missing children cases.
The storyline concerns Emma Hunter who has written a successful book relating to historical sexual abuse in Children’s Homes. The three main instigators are tried and imprisoned because of the details Emma Hunter found out about when speaking to three survivors of the abuse in the children’s home they lived in.
Emma Hunter is then asked to find a child kidnapped the previous year, Cassie is the grandchild of Fitzhume who is willing to pay for Emma to find out what happened to his only grandchild. Emma’s only sister disappeared one day on her way to her grandmother’s house and has never been seen again. Fitzhume offers to set up a trust to enable other missing children to be founding finding Cassie.
The whole story and characters were very plausible and I found the whole storyline absolutely fascinating and look forward to reading the next book, Isolated by M A Hunter,in November.

It was just a silly argument about how to use a skateboard but it devastated Emma's family. Her sister, Anna, wasn't happy about having to share and stomped off down the road to her grandmother's house. No-one who loved her ever saw Anna again and it broke the Hunter family into fragments which could never be put back together.

Now, two decades later, Emma is a scarred but best selling, reluctantly recognisable, investigative author, riding the crest of a wave. Her meeting with a man at the soup kitchen where she volunteers resulted in Emma beginning to work on her first book, the exposure and eventual conviction of the three main perpetrators of an historic sex abuse scandal.

With her name in the headlines it isn't a surprise when she is approached by the devastated grandfather of a six year old girl who was abducted the previous year. Unwillingly she finds herself drawn into the complex world of the limitlessly wealthy where, partnered with a cold case specialist from the Met, she begins another high profile investigation. Could she, once again, succeed in giving hope where there was none or is she instead letting her own unfulfilled hunt for her sister blinker her to the realities of an already closed case?

This is the first installment of an original new series by M A Hunter with another three books due to be published in the next nine months. If they are on a par with this story we, as readers, are in for a treat. There are four main characters, Emma, best friend Rachel, agent Maddie and cold case police officer Jack who support each other and are realistically drawn, warts and all. Gradually I think, more history will be revealed, especially in Emma's case and Anna will always be there in the background. This new series excites me and I can't wait for book two.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good fictional investigation but with an originally different slant. This is a brilliant read.

This is a superbly well crafted book that gripped me from the beginning and I really can’t wait for the next in this brilliant new series of The Missing Children Case Files.
In this first book we are introduced to Emma Hunter an investigative journalist who is reluctantly brought in to a cold case to try and find the truth of what happened to a kidnapped six year old girl. Her wealthy grandfather is convinced she is still alive after 12 months have passed and so Emma is persuaded by her literary agent to take the case on and so stars a thrilling page turner of a read.
I loved the character of Emma who has her own demons as she is still haunted by the disappearance of her older sister twenty years ago and this back story really added to my enjoyment of the read and I am sure that will continue in the next instalment.
It was a read that was very compulsive and written in such a way with “then” and “now” that kept the pages turning with an excellently structured plot line and a 5 star book I can highly recommend.
My thanks to NetGalley, M A Hunter and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The first in a new crime series, The Missing Children Case Files, M A Hunter has written a brilliant book. I was hooked from page 1. Emma Hunter, an investigative journalist, fresh from writing a book on a sex abuse scandal at a boys home is asked by Lord Fitzhume to investigate the kidnapping and disappearance of his granddaughter Cassie Hilliard.
Lord Fitzhume and Cassie’s mother, Elizabeth are convinced she is still alive. Emma takes on the case reluctantly with the help of DC Jack Serrovitz, Emma strives to get to the truth. There are lots of twists and turns as this story gripped me. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series. A must read!

Investigative journalist Emma Hunter has written a revealing book about some men who abused young boys. Her past is haunting her, because she had a little fight with her sister, back when they were nine and seven, and her sister left, never to be seen again. A girl was abducted a while back, and her grandfather wants Emma to find her. He simply knows the girl is alive.

There are many family secrets revealed in the book, things that have been hidden, but not anymore. It’s an interesting read, and it ends with sort of a cliffhanger, and yes, it makes me want to read the next book in the series. These books about child abusers and kidnappers seem to have increased in the last some years. It is not an easy subject, but an important one.

I am not sure yet how I feel about Emma. She is so hung up on losing her sister. She thinks it was all her fault. That naturally leaves deep scars. I hope there will be more depth to her character in future books. I can understand the obsession of finding her sister, but it becomes a bit repetitive to read about Emma looking for clues on online forums.

The book has a nice, steady pace, but it could have been a bit shorter.

Emma Hunter is getting used to being g a reluctant celebrity. An investigative journalist who has just had her first book published The Monster Under The Bed an expose about the abuse that went on in a boys home. Emma is also on a personal quest ,she is still looking for her sister who disappeared when she was nine years old.
After her first book is published Emma is contacted by a wealthy Englishman who wants help finding his grand daughter who has not been seen since a botched handover after being kidnapped and a massive ransom being demanded. The more Emma delves the more she has a feeling that something is wrong. I devoured this book in one sitting. I love the main character Emma, broken but a warrior when children need to be saved. The subject matter is distasteful but the author has dealt with it sympathetically and with respect. Now I have finished this book I really want to read the next one NOW PLEASE!!!!!
Thanks to Harper Collins UK and One More Chapter and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

A great start to a.new series. I was gripped from the first page and it was very well written. I liked the main character Emma and the relationship between her and Jack, be interesting to see how that pans out. The ending is a good cliffhanger so can't wait to read the next in the series.

What a cracking start to a new series !!

Ransomed has all the elements of a great crime thriller, it's action packed, love the Then and Now scenarios so you get all the background to the present situation, a strong, determined protagonist you can relate to and a great plot and storyline.

Emma Hunter is an investigative journalist who wrote a best selling expose on a paedophile ring at a boys home. Now a well known figure, she is approached by the wealthy Lord Fitzhume to find his grand daughter, Cassie, who a year earlier after attending a school friend's birthday party was abducted on the drive home.

Pulled in to the story from the get-go, it had me totally gripped and wanting to keep turning those pages to find out more and I certainly didn't work out the unexpected and surprising twist at the end.

Definitely a recommended read- I Loved this novel and certainly look forward to the next in the series.

Many thanks to @OneMoreChapter @ Writer_MAHunter and @claire_fenby for an ARC for my honest review,

I haven’t read anything by this author before, so wasn’t sure what to expect, but thoroughly enjoyed this book. Ransomed is a compelling story about a kidnapped young girl, a family’s devastation and the intriguing Emma Hunter, who won’t stop asking questions until she uncovers the truth. I really liked Emma’s complex history - involving her own kidnapped sister - and her strong principles, as well as her career as a journalist/author, alongside the discomfort she feels about her new role in the public eye.

The story unfolded at a good pace and the structure (in terms of the ‘now’ and ‘then’) worked well. Emma’s friendships are well drawn and there was an interesting tension between her and the police officer assigned to help her - something tells me he may make a reappearance! Coming from Dorset, I enjoyed the Weymouth setting but wanted more of it, as the book’s partially set in/around London.

All in all, this was a captivating book that kept me riveted. I guessed some but not all of the ending, and wanted all the threads tied up, but if M.A. Hunter did that there wouldn’t such a strong compulsion to read the next in the series - which I definitely want to do.

Although I liked Emma and the story was promising I found her quest to find the kidnapped child too far fetched, the police completed a thorough investigation and found nothing yet within a few weeks and a few chats she's totally solved the mystery of what happened to Cassie.