After loving The Torrent I was excited to see Detective Sergeant Kate Miles back!

Kate is back to work after giving birth to her daughter and she is quickly thrown straight into a hard hitting investigation. A baby has gone missing from her bassinet.

Kate is struggling with the balance of being a wife, mother and doing the job that she loves so much. On top of work and home pressures, there is also a scandal brewing that may involve her father which may ultimately damage or end her career.

If you love Australian crime thriller books I highly recommend picking up this series.

Thank you to @harpercollinsaustralia and @NetGalley for the eARC.

(3.5 stars)
Straight off the back of reading The Torrent, I picked up Dinuka McKenzie's second novel, Taken. This book continues to track the life of Detective Kate Miles in the fictitious Northern Rivers town of Esserton. It picks up just as Kate returns to work from paid parental leave—a mere three months after the birth of her daughter Amy—where she is faced with "A child going missing: the worst case scenario." The same workplace difficulties are carried through from the first novel: Skinner, a boss who plays favourites, and Josh, a partner who is competitive rather than a collaborator.

A key theme in this novel is domestic and family violence, and I was pleased to see nuanced explanations relating to this social issue. This included one character alluding to the heightened risks around pregnancy evident in some characters' observations: "She thought it would get better once Daniel was born, but if anything it got worse. He hated that he had to share her with the baby." It also pointed to the inadequacy of justice responses to domestic and family violence, including civil protection orders, which are described as "the toothless tiger of an apprehended violence order". Contemporary policing concepts like Australia's shift to pattern-based policing for domestic and family violence are also mentioned in the book: "Kate recognised the depressing pattern of incident-based policing with limited follow-up or connecting the dots to build an overall picture of systematic abuse."

Taken also leans into the difficulties working parents face: "The feeling of always being a step behind, never quite able to perform either job to everyone’s satisfaction." It is gently critical of policing in general, talking about "politicking" where police management push investigations toward a particular result, and about the "hyper-masculine glorification of strength and toughness". The book also highlights the difficulty of policing in a small town in which you also live: "So many of the locations and places in town had that effect on her, carrying the mark of her police work. A veiled second town touched by violence and tragedy that shimmered under the skin of the familiar places and people everyone knew."

While I liked these connections to contemporary Australian life, and agree that this novel is slightly better than the first book, once again it lacks tension for me. It's a solid, enjoyable crime novel set in a recognisable Australia, and the characters act in ways you can understand, but it stops slightly short of being a page-turner for me.

Thankyou to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.
This is my first book from this author and i will be reading more.
I did enjoy this book.
Thankyou
3/5 stars

Police procedural at it's best! I loved the authors debut novel and this one is even better. Taken is fast paced nail biting suspense that will leave you feeling high. Kate is a strong minded and a talented detective that I admire and the guessing games I played while reading this were exciting. A thrilling read and I can't wait to read more.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Loved this author's debut and this one, in my opinion, is even better!! Love that Kate isn't perfect and she doesn't have it all together. Another great Australian crime author to keep an eye out for.

Just what I needed, I finished it in two days! Taken is a fabulous read that kept me glued to the pages.

A young baby goes missing a Det Kate Miles leads the case. This is the second book in the series but I didn't feel like I had missed out on anything.

Kate has a lot going on in her life and she seems to be struggling but she always finds time to help others, often to the detriment of her own family time.

Kate brushes of racist remarks and battles misogynists while her personal life is threatening to derail her career as she worries that her father may be implicated in a corruption scandal.
Through Kate, Dinuka McKenzie highlights the struggle for all mothers returning to the paid workforce and the guilt this entails as they juggle being a wife, mother, daughter and employee.

Detective Kate Miles is a skillfully developed character; she makes bad decisions, thinks with her heart and struggles with the challenges life throws at her.
Taken is a well-rounded crime, mystery with themes of domestic abuse and the overwhelming expectations of motherhood.

Taken, book two in the Kate Miles series, is a fast paced and deftly plotted police procedural that reads well as a stand-alone.

I am pleased to have found a new series to follow with a relatable protagonist at its heart.

I didn’t do this book justice at the start as I had so many Interruptions that the story became disjointed, I am pleased I went back and started it again as it’s a cracking read. I did have one point that annoyed me but maybe it’s just me. The book deals with the abduction of a baby and there seemed to be only 2 avenues of inquiry going on ie 2 suspects when really it could have been anyone who came into a home through an unlocked door and stole the baby.
Anyway, like I said the story centres around the abduction of baby Sienna, taken from her cot while her mother, Elissa, is in the shower. Investigating the abduction is detective Kate Miles, a mother of a young daughter herself, and struggling to find a work life balance.
Kate immediately hones in on the husband, Aaron. She also is taking an interest in Jason Veliu, Elissa’s violent ex partner. When the body of baby Sienna is discovered buried not far, the heat is on to find out what both men in question were doing at the time of the babies disappearance,
Kate is having struggles of her own, her hubby, Geoff, has become a stay at home dad but his patience is wearing thin with Kates long hours and dangerous work. Thrown into the mix is the death of a long standing male politician who was the lover of Kates father “Gray” himself an ex policeman. As everything starts to unravel in Kates private life, she finds she needs to spend more time away from home to find the killer of baby Sienna.
It’s a gritty, well written story. I highly recommend.

#Taken. #NetGalley

This is Dinuka McKenzie second novel and follows on from her debut novel Torrent with main character Detective Kate Miles novel returning with a new investigation.

I was a bit hesitant going into this book as stories around children can be hard to read, this wasn’t the case for me as I found the actions by police more frustrating than anything else.

There were moments of recklessness from DS Kate Miles in some of her actions and then there was one moment near the end that I was like seriously how are you not seeing what is happening right in front of you.

I did enjoy how the story unfolded and l as a reader we were given clues that the person of interest clearly wasn’t the perpetrator.

And for once I was able to piece it together and work things out just before it was revealed.

Whilst I liked the first book in this series, The Torrent, I enjoyed Taken much more.

Our heroine, Detective Kate Miles, has just returned to work following maternity leave and is immediately caught up in a domestic violence incident and assigned to a high profile case of a missing child. Meanwhile, the media have picked up on a story regarding her father's late partner which could implicate them both in a corruption scandal.

McKenzie again focuses on the struggles of women with children returning to the workforce. She also includes other themes of motherhood such as post natal depression. Domestic violence is a major plot point and it is definitely an upsetting one, especially the battle to escape such situations.

The only negative feeling I had which had me shaving off 1/2 a star from my rating was that I guessed the whodunnit quite easily. At least though I could say that McKenzie added clues along the way and didn't resolve the cases out of left field for a twist/shock value.

I hope McKenzie continues with this series.

4 1/2 out of 5

Taken is the second thrilling book to feature Detective Sergeant Kathryn Miles who was introduced in Dinuka McKenzie’s bestselling debut, Torrent.

Picking up several months after the dramatic final scenes of the previous book, Kate has just returned to work following maternity leave and is eager to return to active duty. A domestic disturbance call gives Kate the opportunity she needs to prove herself ready, and results in her being assigned as co-lead detective in an infant abduction.

Four month old Sienna Ricci, her mother, Ellisa reports, was taken from her home while she showered. As the team investigates, Kate’s partner becomes convinced the baby’s father, Aaron Ricci, is responsible for the abduction and she is taken off the case, even though Kate believes she has a viable alternative suspect in Jason Veliu, a violent man Kate recently had cause to arrest.

With a child’s well-being at stake, the tension is high in Taken. The plot is well thought out with several red herrings, though I found it relatively easy to discern who was responsible early on. The story has good momentum and there is action too as Kate finds herself risking her life in two separate confrontations with desperate people. Sensitive readers should be aware that domestic violence, adultery and postnatal depression are among the issues that are raised in the crimes Kate is investigating.

Kate is under a lot of personal pressure in Taken. While struggling with the effects of PTSD, she is also trying to find a balance between the needs of her husband and children, and the demands of her career. On top of this, the media have picked up on a story involving her father's late partner’s business activity which could implicate them both in a corruption scandal, amplifying her concerns about the family’s finances. Determined not to be seen as lacking, Kate doesn’t always make sensible decisions, but she acts for the right reason.

Suspenseful, fast paced and gripping, Taken is an excellent read, perfect for fans of Australian crime fiction from authors such as Jane Harper, Chris Hammer and Emma Viskic.

I very much enjoyed the second book in this crime series by McKenzie. She manages to easily traverse the fine line between the case at hand and our characters' personal lives. Here Kate's trying to regain her position as lead detective but forced to go it alone and trust her instincts when her usually supportive boss seems determined to sideline her. Again McKenzie brings complex but rich backstories to life while also offering up a twisty whodunnit amidst violence and lies.

I absolutely loved The Torrent by Dinuka McKenzie so was beyond excited to receive an early reading copy of Taken. Getting re-aquainted with Kate Miles was fabulous as she powered on with her latest case.
I do love a police procedural and Taken ticked all the boxes as Kate tries to locate a missing infant before it is too late.
With so many twits you head will spin as you are taken on a whirlwind journey that covers a lot of topics and features heavily on domestic violence. It also takes a delve into the life of Kate and reconnects with some issues from The Torrent which I really enjoyed. An edge of your seat thriller and one I definitely recommend.

Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for this early reading copy, a big 4 stars from me.

Taken is the second book in the Detective Kate Miles series by prize-winning Australian author, Dinuka McKenzie. After twelve weeks of maternity leave and six weeks of desk duty, Detective Sergeant Kate Miles is itching to get back to active duty, so when she hears a domestic violence call go out, she attends, and the first thing she’s confronted with is a gun. Still, her cool handling of the situation is sufficient for her CI to decide she’s psychologically well enough to be in charge when a kidnapping case comes up the next day.

The day after Elissa Ricci reports a possible prowler, she emerges from the shower to find her four-month-old daughter, Sienna missing from her cot. Attending with Kate is DS Josh Ellis who is immediately confident that the absent father is responsible. After a chat with Elissa’s mother, Kate fixates on Elissa’s violent drug-dealing ex-boyfriend.

Neither man has a convincing alibi for the relevant time period and, as Kate and Josh each direct their efforts in different directions, the idea of teamwork suffers. Aware of how devastated she would be if Amy went missing, Kate is determined to find baby Sienna, but long hours at work see her neglecting her own family.

The story races along at a fair clip, with plenty of action, more than one dramatic climax, and enough red herrings and twists to keep the reader guessing. Kate’s narrative is interspersed with an anonymous account that seems to be from the perpetrator’s perspective. The astute reader may pick up on certain clues to determine who is responsible early on, but Kate’s journey to the truth keeps the reader gripped and the pages turning.

Kate does seem to be juggling a lot of roles in this instalment: as well as keeping her PTSD/panic under control, she’s mothering baby Amy, trying to prove to the male hierarchy that she’s capable of doing her job well, dealing with her colleague Josh’s resentment at being sidelined, and she is concerned over the fallout, both financial and reputational, of the exposé on her father’s former lover. And while it does sometimes get results, her exasperating need to, sometimes unnecessarily, do everything herself does put her in danger and puts pressure on her marriage.

While this can be read as a stand-alone, the experience is enhanced for those who have read The Torrent and the short story prequel, Skin Deep. This is an outstanding follow-up to McKenzie’s brilliant debut. Highly recommended!
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harper Collins Australia.

A traditional police procedural with a strong leaning to the domestic situations in life. This was an engaging read but for me the storyline was a little too similar to others I had read recently which will make it hard to stand out in the the crowded genre of domestic regional Australian crime.