This book was everything I look for in a book. It was so exciting. The plot was fantastic. It really had me on the edge of my seat, and my heart racing. It was very well written and flowed well.
It was like a rollercoaster. Highly recommend

The cover initially drew me in and then I just got into the book. The setting really fitted in with the book and become another character.

Initially I wasn't sure how I was going to like the book but I persevered and loved the ending.


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

Writing:
The writing style of the author is really good. It was good enough to keep me hooked.

Plot:
The plot was really interesting, you think you know who is good and who is evil but as the story proceeds you start questioning your opinion.

Characters:
The characters were well described. All were somehow flawed. I would like to write more about some of the characters but I would spoil the story.

Things I didn't like:
The main thing I didn't like that the truth came out way too early and after that it was all kind of predictable.
Around halfway through it I was eager to know what will happen further but that wasn't enough for me to not skip through the pages.

Overall a fun read, a very well written story

The Lost Boy by Jane Renshaw was another excellent book by Jane and I was gripped from the beginning till the end.

Anna MacLean the hostess seems to be a lovely woman and she offers a fantastic invitation for the Clarks

Now.......What would you do if a complete stranger offers you and your family ,a week long, all-expenses paid holiday to a remote island? in Faida, a remote island in Scotland.

Hmmmmmmm would you say Yes or No!!!!

All expenses paid for!!! You thinking about it???

Remote Island? Still thinking????? Does it appeal to You! Peace and quiet? To hear the birds sing etc around you! No cars and noise!!! Bliss!!! Still Thinking????

Well. The Clarke family - Rod, Penny and their two boys Freddie and Alfie, were asked and they jumped at the chance to go........But, Would you?

Anna seems to be so Lovely and kind. She seems to have a heart of gold........But Anna has carefully selected the family to satisfy her own sinister agenda, as she smiles to herself.

This seems to be perfect, Rob is an avid bird watcher, Penny needs a break, she is juggling their business as well as being a good mum to their boys. I think she has earned it! However, Penny is finding their host strange and is becoming suspicious of her. Anna is always smiling. Nothing wrong with someone smiling! Is there? But, its the way she smiles at them!! Freddie and Alfie seems to be so spoilt and I did get annoyed with them throughout the book especially at some of the things they did! and got away with!! Yes I know they are Young!!! But, I don't think my parents would let me do some of the things they did! and got away with! lol.

As Anna watches, she is planing something........she is planning to kill one of the boys. But, which one?

You will need to read this brilliant book to find out, It will not disappoint!

I highly recommend this book. But, be careful, something that seems to be free may not be Free........It can come with things attached to it......So be warned!!!

Big Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for giving me access to an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.

Penny and Rod Clarke and their two young, not-well-behaved boys, Freddie and Alfie accept Anna’s offer of a holiday a remote Scottish island. Rod is excited to see the island’s birdlife. Penny is excited to have some time away from the stress of trying to keep the family’s business alive. The two boys are not excited by anything, unhappy to be on an island with nothing to do and they soon make their feelings known. In fact, they're both badly-behaved, spoilt brats.

Anna’s husband is out in the North Sea on a fishing boat and her teenage son is staying with her sister and brother-in-law on the mainland where he attends school. They’ll both be home soon.

But Penny is suspicious of Anna and does some snooping and sure enough… but by this time, Freddie has gone missing. He’s run off before so Anna is not too concerned. Rod returns from bird watching though and accuses Anna of negligence again and the incident becomes the subject of a major rift between Penny and Rod and then becomes the subject of an extensive search exercise - police, islanders, fishing boats, a helicopter… but no Freddie. Anna is even searching the island's coastline in her small yacht.

And then Rod goes missing.

I’ll leave the description there because I don’t want to spoil the plot twists and intrigue that develops and creates the essence of the story. Suffice to say, the story is well-constructed, with a number of twists, one of which is the bad characters become good and the good characters become bad. And the ending is well worth waiting for.

I really enjoyed this one, despite not liking a single character in the book, the author’s writing style and the plot kept me engaged throughout. If you like a good psychological thriller then this is definitely a book you will want to add to your list!

An really strong and unusual psychological thriller set on an isolated Scottish island. There was nothing about the plot or the characters that was predictable and all of the characters had depth, which sometimes is lacking in psychological thrillers. A really good read if you want something dark and surprising.

I always find it interesting to read and rate a story that has no likeable characters. And I mean none - not even the young boys were likeable, even though they were the ones picked to be victims.

I did find this novel to have quite a thrilling aspect to it, however it didn't seem to be as veiled early on as I would anticipate - Anna was always a "Cheshire cat" kind of grimmer, which seems inherently evil from the get go to me.

What initially peaked my interest was the setting. Secluded Island in Scotland? Sign me up! The author creates a wonderful atmosphere and setting for the story.
This is really one of the best things about it. The adult characters in the story don’t lend themselves to being liked.
On the whole it was well written, if a little stereotypical at times, and some parts maybe a bit of a filler that didn’t really bring anything to the table.
On the whole it was a solid, enjoyable read. I liked the fact that it didn’t take a lot of concentration ( I’m reading it in such unexpected heat, that it’s difficult to concentrate on anything), so to be able to keep my interest and finish it was something! I would recommend this to others to read.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for giving me a chance to read it!
3.5 stars rounded up to 4

This story was bogged down by a lot of unnecessary stuff and fluff. It was also quite predictable. It wasn't bad, however. It was a decent thriller that although I skimmed through parts I enjoyed.

Anna has offered a one week vacation to Rod and his wife, Penny, as well as their two boys, Alfie and Freddie. Rod is elated to get a one-week free vacation on an isolated island, but Penny has reservations as she finds Anna to be a little peculiar. And Anna does have a hidden agenda...
The story is told in dual POV, from Anna and Penny, in a remote island setting. It was predictable with absolutely no likable characters (especially the two boys, which I found to be horrible little human beings), and I admit to only scanning the parts where there was bird talk as I found it uninteresting, but someone who likes bird will probably appreciate the details. It was a good thriller with a lot of tension building.
I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and Inkubator Books, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was so invested in this book! Such a creepy story.. The setting was fun to read about and the characters sucked me in. Loved it!

'The Lost Boy' is the first book of Jane Renshaw's I have read, and it won't be the last. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy.

The story is set on the beautiful Faida, an island in the Scottish Highlands. I really enjoyed all of the scenery and imagery around this and also learning more about the culture. The main premise of the story is a family visiting an online friend, taking them on the offer of a free stay in a holiday cottage on the island. But all is not as it seems...

I really enjoyed this book and while I found the ending very predictable, I was pleasantly surprised by some of the twists. It was definitely a page turner. There were an equal amount of likeable and unlikeable characters which made for an interesting read. I have read many thrillers, and this one offered something a bit different for me. Will definitely try more from this author again!

A free vacation on a secluded Scottish Isle, all expenses included. What could go wrong? This book was a quick read and an adventure story about what happens when the past comes back to haunt you. Rob and Penny have arrived on the island of Faida after winning a free vacation arranged by a bird watcher friend of Robs named Anna. Anna and Rob met on a bird watcher website and Anna owns the beautiful, secluded isle which has a variety of birds and a beautiful coast. Upon arriving, Rob is overjoyed at the idea of spotting some of his favorite birds but Penny is less enthralled. The couple also brought their two young sons and the boys are immediately difficult, destroying property and spilling things everywhere. Rob is pretty laid back but Penny is already distraught about their family business losing money and having to also chase after the boys is too much for her to take. The family are put up in the guest house, but host Anna seems always around and acts strange.

I expected a slowly building sense of danger but things kick up right away when oldest son, ten year old Freddie disappears. Freddie has a habit of running away and hiding, but the family worries because of all the dangers of the island including the sharp drop off cliffs. The novel then goes between the viewpoints of Anna and Penny and we find out the real reason for the island invite. I don't really like stories where bad things happen to children and the kids were the only sympathetic characters in the story. There were a couple of twists but I never found myself invested in the characters or the storyline. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for a review.

First, this book started off really slow and boring. There was enough mystery around Anna that I really wanted to know what her issue was. The Clarke family were weird from the start. It was hard for me to connect to any of the characters.
About half way through things start coming together and it got better. It was a little more interesting for me.
Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read and review this one.

The lost boy by Jane Renshaw.
Anna has invited Penny her husband Rod and their two boys Freddie and Alfie. But why? Does Anna have a sinister reason?
A brilliant read. I didn't trust Anna from the start. I wasn't sure about the other characters either. The boys were little devil's. Didn't see that coming. 5*.

An easy and quick read, something to escape. Nothing too deep (I like to understand what makes people tick but here there was no such development). It had some surprises that I have enjoyed especially how people see themselves and how they are seen by others but other parts were predictable. Thus sometimes I found myself skipping paragraph especially the last chapter. Maybe I should paid more attention as the writing was nice, there are some Scottish references that made me want to visit its islands. Great for bird lovers but I didn’t know any English names.

I think this one wasn’t for me. I struggled a little bit with the some of the non US colloquialisms…they weren’t overwhelming, but just enough for me to lose a little momentum. But where I particularly struggled was with the repetitive bird/nature references where my interest went into a nosedive. The author hits a slam dunk in landscape/scenery description, but for me, it was a bit too focused on those descriptions rather than the momentum of the story. There were a couple of twists that completely surprised me and they were well placed so that it earned redemption points, but overall, I struggled through it.

Thank you netgalley and Inkubator Books for an ARC of The Lost Boy!

Well written with a compelling storyline and well developed characters that were believable and mostly relatable. The book is full of vivid descriptions and rich imagery. A really enjoyable read.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised by my positive experience in finishing this great book by Jane Renshaw.
I felt truly immersed in the scenery of the island; the descriptive language used was amazing. However, I'm not sure I want to live there though with all the goings on!
The characters were believable and interesting and I really felt empathy for the boys: Freddie and Alfie.
I'm not going to give anything away. I suggest you read this for yourself; it would make a great holiday read.