Oh my goodness - so glad my children are teenagers now. This could have been so easily happened to any of working mothers.

There was so many twists and turns and I thought I had worked it out but then I hadn't and the ending was absolutely brilliant

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

A real page-turner from start to finish, I rarely use the 'couldn't put it down' cliché, but in this case it's true. Stimson's characters are rich, deep and generally unlikeable, but this is why it works - you're rooting for the main character, but she's flawed enough for you to never quite be on her side. There's a HUGE twist at the end that I didn't see coming. All in all, a great summer read.

This is my first book by this author. What a suspenseful read! I was kept guessing until the very end! Loved the characters, the storyline, everything was sooo intriguing! I can't wait to read more books by her!! What an ending! You must read this book!

Wow! What a roller-coaster of a read, I didn't see a lot of it coming, especially the end!

This is the first book I've read by Tess Stimson, but after reading this all her past books have gone on my TBR list, what a really great read, a real page-turner, I couldn't put it down.

Alex is a single mother to Lottie and the story centres around the wedding of her best friend in Florida, where everyone has gathered to celebrate the happy event and Lottie is one of the bridesmaids. Alex is a hard character to like initially and you're never quite sure if she actually likes her 'spiky' daughter or not, they certainly clash a lot even though Lottie is only 3 years old. Lottie was definitely her father's daughter and Alex was the career woman, but he died in a bridge collapse tragedy the year before.

Then whilst Alex is off enjoying herself with a guy at the wedding, and thinks her daughter is with all the other bridesmaids, Lottie goes missing and a worldwide hunt to find her ensues. Of course the press pull everyone's life apart, as usual, and Alex goes from victim to neglectful mother when Lottie still isn't found and the case drags on for 2 years.

There are so many twists and turns in this story you really don't know who to trust and who is telling the truth. Every time I thought I'd figured out what had happened another twist happened and I was wrong again, and this happened right until the very dramatic end of the story.

Fabulous read that I would highly recommend, just leave enough time to read in one sitting if you can!

I think I have just read the book of the year. This one certainly is a page turner.. Fantastic plot and superb characters just add to the quality of the book. If your someone who likes “didn’t see that coming moments “ then this is for you.
Alex is a single mum to tempestuous little Lottie. She hasn’t taken easily to motherhood. Her ex husband Luca died in a freak accident leaving her sole carer. Trouble starts on board a plane to Florida for the beach wedding of Alex’s best friend Marc. Lottie does nothing but play up. All the other passengers she is a fraught mother.
A couple of days later at the wedding Lottie goes missing. Made all the worse because at the time Alex was having a steamy sex session on the beach.
Alex is portrayed as a bad mother especially by a war zone reporter Quinn who is sent to cover the disappearance. Everyone at the pre wedding meal the night before (who become known as the Twelve Apostles) come under suspicion. But ultimately Alex is cast as the bad mother. Days turn to weeks, then months then years.
Is everything as it seems? Does Alex know more than she’s letting on and are any of the wedding party involved. Or was it just a case of someone was in the right place at the right time to take Lottie.
In the book there are lots of references to real life abductions. This only adds to the plot as this could really happen.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to see an arc of this book.

This book had me hooked from the first page as Alex struggled to cope with her difficult and demanding 3 year old daughter. It starts off as a child kidnapping but then the twists and turns kept me turning the pages until the final mind blowing chapters. There were a few red herrings along the way, as with any mystery, but I never could have guessed the way things were going to end. Brilliant….thank you!

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. This was a great book which gripped me to the end. Twisty and interesting with good writing. Definitely worth a read!

Wow what a heartbreaking story. I was hooked from the beginning. I needed to know what happened. It was a very honest read while engaging the reader and keeping you interested in the story. I was not prepared for the ending of this story. Great book!

Oh gosh as a mother of a three year old girl this book was quite a read!

This was a very engaging thriller, with twists that I didn’t see coming.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher and author, for so kindly gifting me this novel to read and review.

A solid four star read. Good premise. Great characters. Enjoyed t writing style. Plenty of suspense to keep me guessing. It even had a twist that I didn’t see coming. Definitely look forward to her next offering. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it

OMG it’s 1.22 am and I’ve just finished the astonishing Stolen . I have been lost in this book since I started it late afternoon and knew I had to finish it before I could sleep tonight!!

WOW – This chilling, twisty domestic psychological thriller has a powerful grip and its sophisticated, compelling storyline is that of every mothers worst nightmare.

Here’s the book description …

Not only does it have echoes of the Madeleine McCann case it is actually mentioned, and adds a reality to the fiction that almost tricks you into thinking this is a real life event, being told both from the mother and journalists POV. I loved that the author addressed how in cases such as this, there’s often an element of blame and how keyboard warriors offer judgemental commentary on the parents behaviour and the situation.

The authors adept storytelling skills successfully created a situation that as a mother gave me goosebumps. It was a non stop roller coaster of emotions as well as an unpredictable thriller as I felt Alexa Martinis fear and absolute terror at the loss of her daughter.

I flew through the chapters and as the reader we experience every stage from the little girls disappearance, through to the investigations , and the author does an amazing job of scene setting, demonstrating the emotional strain on those involved as life long friendships crumbled, and suspicions and recriminations set in, in the aftermath of the fateful night Lottie Martini vanishes.I enjoyed the style of writing, it felt authentic and real. Each chapter offered a reveal, like a carrot on a stick that kept you reading into on and on, hungry for more information. Have me reading waaaaay past my bedtime!!

The plot is watertight, the storyline compelling and storytelling superb. Full of twists and surprises, I literally couldn’t put this book down. Stolen really is the epitome of a page Turner. It’s an exceptional thriller, that keeps you guessing, re-analysing and changing your theories on who stole Lottie Martini right until the very end. I loved how unpredictable the storyline was, with so many potential suspects and motives there were so many red herrings! Looking back I realise a breadcrumb trail of clues had very cleverly been hidden in plain sight… brilliant. The social commentary on race, motherhood and the often out dated social constructs around who and what a mother should be/ look like/ behave added important opportunity for discussion and added a real life and thought provoking thread to the fictional thriller plot.

Watch out for that ending. It’s jaw dropping and I am still catching my breath! This was undoubtedly a 5 star read. I can’t fault it and highly recommend to fellow fiction lovers who enjoy a well written mystery / thriller plot.

This title releases on August 5 th so hit that pre order button! Huge Thankyou to Avon books via Netgalley for my arc copy.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had so many different “Look over here!” moments whiplashing my brain back and forth. Tess Stimson could open her own fish market with the number of red herrings she packed in this book. Ah, but they were all delicious!

The story sets up brilliantly with a prologue that prepares you for a riveting finale. The sense of dread is palpable from the get-go, and the rest of the story the reader is along for the ride just waiting to get back to that prologue and make sense of it.

Lottie Martini is a willful, stubborn, preternaturally clever three-year-old girl who demands every ounce of energy her mother Alexa, a high profile attorney, can give her. Alexa doesn’t come by mothering naturally - Lottie wasn’t planned - but she would give life and limb for this little ball of fire she gave birth to. After losing her ex-husband and Lottie’s father, Luca, in an accident, she’s doing all she can to raise her daughter, but things don’t always go as planned:

Like the day of her friend’s wedding. The day her daughter disappears.

The judgement of Alexa’s parenting is swift, as was the case in the referenced real-life case of Madeline McCann. Why wasn’t Alexa watching her more closely at the wedding reception instead of having a romantic interlude with a handsome fellow attendee? Mothers, of all people, should know where their child is every second of every day, right? Life doesn’t work that way, but tell the media/social media “jurors” that.

Alexa’s journey through judgement, pain, madness and fear as she searches for Lottie is agonizing, and as the years go by, you feel her pain and desperation, even if she isn’t always likable in her pursuit. You want the happy ending, but you’re never sure if you’re going to get it, and as the story progresses, you’re increasingly unsure you can believe any of the narrative presented to you, which kept me off-kilter enough to not guess the ending. Stimson threw one major twist at me that had me doubting every single event I’d read up to that point, and I LOVE when authors can do that!

While child abduction stories are never fun and light, this was a fantastic and dynamic, edge-of-your-seat story that had me rooting for Alexa the whole way. The ending requires some suspension of disbelief, but it totally worked. If you like twisty turny, flip-you-on-your-head mystery/suspense, I highly recommend this!

★★★★ ½
Many thanks to Avon UK Publishing, NetGalley, and author Tess Stimson for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. This is due for publication August 5, 2021.

Ohmigoodness this was completely unputdownable!!!
An unexpected disappearance of Lottie at a wedding and events unfold from there. Pacey, shocking, hard hitting, and just wanted to get to the end.
A truly shocking showdown at the end that I could not see coming and really does end brilliantly.
Edge of seat reading.

It's been a long time since I had a real page-turner, couldn't put down book to read but this one is exactly that. It twists and turns in all directions. Every time I thought I had it worked out the story veered off in a different direction. I did not work out the ending in advance but once I finished the book I realised that all the clues had been laid out in front of me but cleverly disguised. Very much enjoyed reading this book and recommend it to everyone who loves a roller coaster ride of a story.

Excellent gripping read! Hard to put down.
Motherhood was hard for Alex, she loves her daughter but her husband Luca is a natural father. He takes main responsibility and care of lottie. However he dies in a freak accident.
Alex has gone to florida for her best friends wedding. Her little girl lottie is a flower girl. At some point during the wedding lottie disappears. We follow the story as they try to find her.
Great twists and turns. At a couple of points I thought I'd figured it out, absolutely did not though. Fantastic read, I would definitely recommend.
Thanks to netgalley for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Alex Martini headed off to Florida for a close friends wedding with her wilful 3 year old daughter Lottie. Lottie wasn't planned and after her father passed away, Alexa continued living like as a single woman in her late 20's. She meets someone at the wedding and has sex with them on the beach and during this time, her daughter vanishes. The book spans over several years as Alexa continues to search for her daughter. I thought this was quite a fun thriller and the twists were really good. Its well written and gripping.

WOW!! What a read, it will keep you on the edge of your seat. This book is full of emotions, twists and turns and will keep you guessing until the end. Once you start reading this book you won't be able to put it down. Thank you Avon Books UK via NetGalley for the complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. I don’t think I have the right words for this book. It was absolutely amazing, it had me on edge from the start to the end. Every time I thought right I know who took lottie I couldn’t have been more wrong. The storyline and characters where brilliant, except for Sian and mark I didn’t like them at all. I had a feeling about him. Coming closer to the end I had a feeling about Luca. This book kept me up into the wee hours because I needed to know who had her and also if she would be found. This book was heartbreaking and twisty. The end got me the twist was unreal. Very well written and though out. If only every missing child could be found like that.

What is every mother's nightmare will be? When your own child disappears in the middle of the crowd and you have no idea how your child disappeared and then fingers start pointing at you for being an irresponsible mother. That's what happened to Alex Martini.

The story starts with Alex Martini coming to attend her friend's Marc's wedding in Florida with her three year old, Lottie. Then when Alex went on a brief rendezvous with a stranger on the beach, Lottie goes missing. Things become like a circus when the media gets involved, all blaming Alex for being an irresponsible mother, with the whole world getting involved as well. Flash forward two years later, Alex is still dealing with Lottie's disappearance, not giving up on the search to find her.

The plot at first intrigued and fascinated me and from the beginning to the end I was so hooked into the book. Alex Martini maybe an irresponsible mother but then though I am not a mother, I could feel her emotions and feelings at her daughter's disappearance, as she has no idea what really happened to her beloved daughter and where in the world her daughter is and at the same time, dealing with personal issues at home. The story feels realistic as if this had happened in real life and I really like how the author managed to draw the reader into the story. So many viable suspects that you have no idea who could have kidnapped Lottie. Twists and turns in each chapter that will make you confused and the story is fast paced as well, which is a plus sign for a good psychological thriller. The ending was so unexpected that I actually see the ending coming, but nonetheless the whole story left me breathless, yearning me to want more and I didn' t put the book down as I want to know, what really happened to Lottie.

Overall, this is a fast paced thriller packed with actions, twists and turns that will keep you hooked from the beginning to the end! Worth five stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Avon for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion.

Alex's daughter is a flower girl at Marc & Sians wedding in Florida, after the wedding ceremony the guests move along the beach to the reception, except Lottie never gets there. In a split second Alex's life is turned upside down. The media soon start defaming Alex's character and it soon becomes apparent she doesn't know who to trust. With unlikely help from Quinn, a recovering alcoholic journalist Alex attempts to discover Lottie's disappearance.
This book is told through Alex and Quinn, it draws you in to read in one day as many chapters end on a cliffhanger
Despite having my suspicion on who the kidnapper was, I still enjoyed the storyline.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the advanced copy, my opinions are my own