Not Your child is the story of man who sees who he believes to be his missing grand daughter on her way home from school. When Susan Koss discovers that a strange man has been following her twelve-year-old daughter Maddy, she fears he's a predator. Daniel follows her home and begins to try to find out more about her. Susan calls and reports that a strange man has been following Maddy. When Daniel believes he is correct he then goes to her house where he tries to tell the mother that she has his grand daughter. Susan realizes that this man is a threat to her daughter, gets rid of him and calls the police again to report he showed up at her house.

The book quickly escalates as the story unfolds as Susan tries to protect her daughter and Daniel’s obsession grows. A DNA test is done, but this test will give the reader more questions than answers. Maddy will disappear adding to everyone's worst fears.

This was a riveting story that was a fast afternoon read. I just couldn't put it down until I was finished. The ending was a surprise that seemed hard to believe but anything is possible with science and DNA.

While some parts of the book are repetitive, I really enjoyed this one! It’s the type of book that makes you put yourself in the characters’ shoes and think how you would feel/react in their situations. Lots of twists and turns, I enjoyed the author’s writing style as well.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, The Wild Rose Press, Inc and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

A wild ride from the beginning. Most epic twists and turns. Truly enjoyable.

Wow! That was kind of a crazy story! I went back and forth on this book, but I did enjoy reading it in the end! The storyline was very interesting it had light suspense, definitely intrigue, and a crazy storyline! I can't say to much about this book without giving to much away, but its definitely worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

This. Book.Is. Amazing. From the start you are hooked trying to figure out why an old man is creepily watching preteen girls. When you find out why, you question everyone’s motives. You are always trying to figure something out, even when it seems straightforward.

There is no super twist or turn just quality writing with characters and a story you want to get all the answers to. That is what makes this book unique, readable, relatable, and downright un-put-down-able. I really enjoyed the preteen-mom relationship and turmoil that was realistically written. If you are a thriller reader, definitely pick this up when it comes out April 18th.

Not Your Child by Lis Angus is a mystery novel involving psychologist Dr. Susan Koss, who discovers an older man has been following her 12 year old daughter Maddy. The man following Maddy is Daniel & he claims that Maddy is his long lost granddaughter, who went missing after a horrific car accident 11 years prior.
The premise of this book may seem a bit far fetched, but I was curious to read this because it sounded like it would be extra suspenseful & have lots of twists. Unfortunately, this was not the book for me. I struggled with the choices the characters would make. I just couldn’t process them to make any sense.
Sometimes the way they spoke didn’t feel realistic, but given the unusual & stressful circumstances, perhaps I’m wrong.
I got frustrated many times with characters & their actions. A lot of times things just didn’t quite add up & I know not everyone behaves perfectly all the time but even the professionals in the police force did things that just didn’t seem to gel with what would be proper behavior for the circumstances. There was also a lot of repetition that I felt made the story lose its’ momentum. Overall, this book made me sad & frustrated.
There was a twist that I didn’t expect, which I always appreciate when reading mystery novels. I don’t want to give anything away but I will say I was glad how some things were resolved in the end

Not Your Child by Lis Angus comes out April 18, 2022.

Thanks to NetGalley & The Wild Rose Press for giving me the opportunity to read an arc of this in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warnings: This book mentions &/or contains death, car accidents, baby disappearance, child endangerment, missing child, kidnapping, violence & gore.

2.5 stars

What a ride this book was! Fast paced book that will keep you guessing! ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

I’ve been told “DNA doesn’t lie, people do”. But what happens when a mom gives birth to a daughter and 12 years later finds out she has no DNA match??

Psychologist and single mother Susan and her 12 year old daughter Mandy reside in Canada. Daniel claims that Maddie is his granddaughter that got abducted from a car accident that resolved in the death of his granddaughter Hannah’s mom and dad. Susan goes through a DNA test and finds out her daughter has no DNA connection with her. Is Maddy Daniels granddaughter??? Is Susan Maddys mom?? Find out on April 18th @lisangus459 makes her book debut! Thank you @netgalley for the opportunity to read this before publishing date! #notyourchild #authordebut #comingapril2022 #mustread #bookstagram #netgalley #bookreview

Single mother Susan Koss discovers a strange old man has been following her daughter Maddy home from school. At first she thinks its nothing to be concerned about (unsure why) but after other encounters she begins to think this man is a predator. The man, Daniel Kazan believes Maddy to be his kidnapped granddaughter (abducted as a baby from a roadside accident) and is determined and obsessed with getting her back to live with him.

After a number of encounters and altercations a decision is reached through lawyers and the police that Susan and Daniel will take DNA tests to prove/disprove Daniel’s theory. However, shockingly the DNA results come back that Susan is not Maddy’s biological mother - how can this be - Susan gave birth to Maddy, didn’t she?? Maddy then disappears and Susan is desperate to find her and is convinced that Daniel has taken her.

At 8% I was ready to throw in the towel, this was one of the most repetitive books I have ever read with the most amount of unnecessary details. In the first 8% the author goes into extreme detail about who is coming over and where exactly on the couch these people will be sitting and why… no one cares. It added zero value to the story whatsoever and the book goes on like this with long winded descriptions and repetition.

Susan is constantly telling anyone who will listen that Daniel is casing the joint looking for his lost granddaughter who he thinks is her daughter Maddy. We get it… every single character in the book doesn’t need to be told in detail meaning the reader doesn’t need to read almost the same sentence word for word over and over - it was so tedious. Once it was decided that a DNA test would be taken it was then the readers job to once again find out that a DNA test would taken over and over and over again by Susan and Daniel and the police explaining it to everyone. I feel like I read the term DNA 600 times.

Maddy then decides to go missing and just in case you decide to read this book I wont add any spoilers about where she was but this girl is 12 yes, she’s young but she should know better. She is a spoilt brat who takes off and gets herself into a ridiculous situation because she thinks her mum should treat her with more respect, because she wants to go trick or treating and a weirdo old guy stalker ain’t gonna get in my way!!! Umm you’re a kid, you don’t get to decide what is best for yourself at 12 and stalkers definitely always stop trick or treating OK!!!

Daniel…. Omg this guy is nutso - he is taking guidance from his wife (who by the way is dead) so her voice is constant in his head telling him what to do… the police needed to do better when it came to this guy. He’s some old guy out there stalking young girls who he thinks are his missing 12 year old granddaughter who went missing 12 years ago - YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT SHE LOOKS LIKE NOW - you are crazy, police get this man off the streets. Oh no its ok - he is known to us… WHAT sort this the hell out.

The writing annoyed me in places and I found it super cringy, such as these quotes:

Daniel thinking to himself: “He needed the girls last name. The family name. Hopefully he could get this from one of the neighbours”.
Ok first of all the last name and the family name - same thing hey… and STALKER ALERT - BTW minor spoiler the neighbour totally gave out the last name/family name.

Susan when a police officer arrived, thinking to herself: “Now that he’d taken off his hat, I noted his hair was almost fully grey. I guessed he was in his late forties, with a face that showed some wear, along with intelligence”.
WTF - face that shows intelligence thank goodness for that.

Susan assessing Daniel Kazan in the lawyers office: “But I’d been watching the guy. Daniel, I told myself again, happy to mentally reduce him to a first name”.
SORRY WHAT!!!! Mentally reduce him to a first name….that makes no sense.

This was absolutely not for me, I hoped it would get better after the 8% mark but it definitely did not. I hope others enjoy it and I see others already have but its a big no from me.

Thank you to The Wild Rose Press, NetGalley and the author for an advanced copy for an honest review.

What a crazy ride this was!

Ottawa psychologist and single mother Susan Koss discovers that a strange man has been following her twelve-year-old daughter Maddy. She fears he's a predator, but it's worse than that. The man, Daniel Kazan, believes Maddy is his granddaughter, abducted as a baby—and he's obsessed with getting her back.

The book immediately had the reader hooked. Angus wasted no time in getting the reader involved in the story, picking up the pace as Daniel’s obsession grew. Everything becomes more complicated when a DNA test is done, teasing the reader, making us wonder what will happen next. Maddy comes across as a very strong-minded little girl, and you really feel for her and her mother as well, when you realize how complicated their relationship is. The mothers fear becomes your fear, and I simply had to continue reading to see how it all would end.


Thanks to netgalley and backlit PR for this arc.

Thank you to Netgalley and Backlit PR for this ARC of Not Your Child by Lis Angus.

I always promise to give an honest review whether I love the book or not. Frankly, I'm not quite sure about this one. Yes, it definitely held my interest but I just felt it didn't completely satisfy me in the end. It wasn't missing any explanation or details, I just wasn't crazy about this one. However, I do not regret reading it and would still recommend this one to fans of mysteries.

Holy Ravioli With A Side Of Cannoli! 😳😯🤯😳😯

⊰ Not Your Child by Lis Angus ⊱

What the mother fluffin' floof!! 😳😳 First, I have to say I absolutely adored that this author is a fellow Canadian and the book's location took place in Canada. The endless twists and turns are mind-rattling! You will NOT see the ending coming. I'm still reeling as I write this review, absolutely gobsmacked!
Susan is a single mother and child psychologist, with a twelve year old daughter, Maddy. Daniel is a ten year grieving father and grandfather after his daughter & son-in-law died in a car accident and their daughter, Hannah, was abducted. Daniel is tying up ends at his Aunt's home in Ottawa, when one afternoon on his dog walk, he comes across Maddy and her friend, beyond sure of a shadow of a doubt it's his long lost granddaughter Hannah which he then becomes obsessed with getting her back. After Susan does all she can legally, they agree to do DNA testing. But the results are what no one could've imagined for either of them. To add an extra complication, one evening Maddy vanishes. Susan is dead set on Daniel playing a part. But nothing is as it seems.
I cannot rave enough about all the reveals that you can't imagine. They're endless and incredible and leaving you wanting more. I gasped endlessly & my jaw is still recovering from the ending. Absolute crazy, twisted psychological genius of a book! Run, don't walk to get this when it comes out!

Thank you to NetGalley & The Wild Rose Press Inc. for this DARC.
Release Date: April 18, 2022

I give this 5 / 5 Bouquets! 💐