I am so thankful to Minotaur Books, Netgalley, and Sarah Stewart Taylor for granting me advanced digital access to this jarring thriller. I couldn't put it down and can't wait to consume more of this like-minded content going forward.

I didn't realize this was the fourth book in the Maggie D'arcy mystery series so while I was missing the background stories, it didn't take much away from the story itself and was fine as a standalone. A Stolen Child is a great police procedural with wicked twists and turns, I found myself anxiously excited to race to the end to uncover the mystery. It's very well written, with a great female protagonist.

Thank you netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Stolen Child is the fourth installment in Maggie D'arcy series. It follows Maggie in the aftermath of her move to Ireland to live with her boyfriend and become a Gardai. When a women is murdered on her beat and Maggie discovered that her daughter is missing, Maggie gets thrown into an investigation before she is actually an investigator in the Irish Gardai hierarchy. Will Maggie be able to help solve the case and find the baby girl before it is too late?

Again, I love this series. Maggie is one of my favorite book characters. She is raw and relatable and I love that I can dive right in and be roped into the story immediately. This book gripped me in a way that the first book in the series did and I found myself fighting for a page here and there to get to the end. The pacing ramped up slow and steady until the ultimate resolution that was both heartbreaking and tragic all at once. The end left me feeling conflicted for everyone involved and I thought about it long after the book ended. The book series is so good and I can't wait for more Maggie!!

Another good mystery with Detective/Guarda Maggie Darcy.

At the surface this seemed to be a straight forward murder mystery that included a child abduction, but when Maggie dug into Jades life more, the more hidden secrets that were found. Our young ex model definitely was just a young mom, but had a lot of different relationships that could lead to suspects. Even her family was acting a bit strange.

I definitely didn't guess the killer in this one until it was revealed. Each turn had me back to the drawing board.

I hope to see what mystery Maggie gets involved with next.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

Former Long Island detective Maggie D'arcy is working in Dublin as a Garda when she and her partner discover a former model murdered in her apartment. The victim's toddler daughter is nowhere to be found, and D'arcy is brought onto the case temporarily to search for the missing child.

This fourth book in the series is stronger than the last title, and does a good job of describing D'arcy's struggle to adjust to being a beat cop as well as to the changes in her personal life. This book comes across as being less atmospheric than the others, and I'd like to have seen the streets and neighborhoods of Dublin given more attention. The crime plot is riveting, though, and moves along at a brisk pace. The tension between both D'arcy and a co-worker and the stress in her relationship with her significant other, Conor, is palpable, although a side storyline involving the history of their house seems a little out of place.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of A Stolen Child by Sarah Stewart Taylor in exchange for an honest review. In this installment of the series, we find Maggie D'arcy getting settled in to being a Garda in Dublin and itching to be a detective again. When a woman ends up murdered and her daughter missing, Maggie gets a chance to show her investigative prowess. I really enjoyed this book and the series.

This book took a completely different spin than I expected, but in a good way. I like books that aren't so predictable. There's murder of a young mom, disappearance (kidnapping) of her daughter, and horrors related to a child model and the people willing to take advantage of her. Good investigative aspects by Maggie D'arcy and the other local police. It was a tough one to put the pieces together on. As a side story, there's the pictures of Clara found in the walls of the home D'arcy is renovating. She is determined to find out who Clara was and her story on how the pictures got in the walls. Good police procedural story. Lots of suspects but only one guilty party in the murder. I enjoyed learning about an American former police detective learning to live in a foreign country and have to work her way up the ranks of the police again.

I received an ARC copy of this book and this is my honest review.

a police procedural thriller that was fun to read

thank you netgalley and to the publisher for the review copy

🚨 Book Review 🚨

Thank you @netgalley @minotaur_books for the eARC of this in exchange for my review!

A Stolen Child is the 4th book in a new to me series but it read just fine as a stand alone. It follows an American Garda in Ireland as she navigates trying to become a detective. This book follows the case of a murdered young, former model and the subsequent abduction of her young daughter.

This was a really quick police procedural. It kept me entertained but it was very forgettable. It was very mild in my opinion and not nearly dark enough for my taste 🤣 I would likely read the rest of the series if I need a little break from heavy reads.

#AStolenChildBook #SMPInfluencer #minotaurbooks #review #netgalley #ARC

Maggie D’arcy is now a proper Garda in Dublin investigating the murder of a model/TV reality star in her flat. What’s more troubling is that her two-year-old infant, Laurel, is missing. The clock is ticking because with every hour that passes the likelihood of finding Laurel alive goes down significantly.

I was excited that Maggie is now a Garda, even though working as a beat cop again was a little discouraging to her it’s a big step at making detective. However, being that the department was shorthanded and Roly, the detective in charge, knew her value she was invited to help with the case. Maggie had good instincts and the experience they needed to figure out this case, and it was a twisty one!

Conor and Maggie are still settling in together, mixing their families, and so it wasn’t always smooth sailing, like real-life, but I’m so happy they’re together!

I’ve loved this series from the very first book! I enjoy that the setting is now in Ireland. The city of Dublin came alive with Ms. Taylor’s writing. There’s a mystery to solve with each installment, but also the ongoing story of Maggie and her relationships with Conor, her daughter Lilly, and her career as a police detective. It’s been an exciting journey and one that’s best started from the beginning. I’d recommend the series to any fan of police/crime procedurals with a strong personal aspect!

A Stolen Child is the fourth book in the Maggie D’arcy series. Maggie is a former Long Island homicide detective with twenty years of experience, who has moved to Ireland a few years ago, and is currently on community policing assignment in Dublin's Portobello neighborhood.

Maggie and her partner are called out twice for two separate incidents in just a few days. Jade Elliott is found strangled to death in her home and her toddler daughter Lauren missing. Maggie is the more experienced of the pair and begins to investigate the case.

Maggie, Roly and her temporary partner Detective Sergeant Padraig Fiero, do a deep dive into Jade’s past as they search for the missing child and try to find the killer. What follows is a complicated list of lies, secrets and shocking twists before the truth is revealed.

This was a good story, but I had trouble staying focused while reading it. There are lots of characters to keep track of during the investigation.

Maggie D'arcy is an American detective that pulled up stakes and moved with her daughter to Dublin, Ireland. When I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book, since it was book 4, I went back to book 1, so I could learn the character ahead of time, but it wasn't enough. The author gives you enough information to understand the main characters, but it took a while to orient myself with her partner. In this book, I learned some things that I missed out on by not reading books 2 &3 (which I will do, just didn't have time yet). So, my advice is you haven't read any previous books, just start with this one and move forward. If you're like me, then read the books in order first.

Overall, the plot and storyline was well executed with interesting characters. The author writes in a way that flows well as a procedural, but doesn't get mired in minute details that can weigh down a book. She also did an excellent job of making me change my mind about who the murderer/kidnapper was throughout the book. Excellent read!

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Although A Stolen Child was the fourth book in the Maggie D’arcy series by Sarah Stewart Taylor, I was surprised how easily I was able to immerse myself in the police procedural plot of this murder/kidnapping mystery. It can definitely be read as a stand-alone book but at some point I might go back and read the previous three books just for background information. I enjoyed that the female protagonist, Garda Maggie D’arcy, had been transplanted to Dublin, Ireland from Long Island, New York. She had been a homicide detective in Long Island but would now have to work her way through the ranks of Ireland’s police force to earn that distinction again. Maggie and her teenage daughter lived with Maggie’s boyfriend and his son. So far the arrangement was proving to be very positive. Maggie was getting used to her new life in Ireland.

Maggie and her younger Garda partner found themselves walking the streets of Dublin’s Portebello neighborhood when they received a call about a possible domestic dispute in a nearby apartment complex. When Maggie and her partner arrived at the apartment where a supposedly loud scream was heard from, the woman occupant blamed it on a show she had been watching on her television. She claimed to be fine. The very next day, the same woman, Jade Elliott, a former model, reality show star and mother, was found dead and her two year old daughter was missing. Maggie’s expertise was needed for this case so a few strings were pulled to give her clearance to work on this murder/abduction case. Maggie’s systematic approach to all the interviews she conducted and the gathering of evidence proved to be quite effective and impressive. The obvious questions that were going through her mind and the minds of all that were involved in solving this case were who could have gained access to Jade Elliott’s apartment to kill her and why? Why was her young daughter taken? What had the monster who took the child done to her? Maggie and the other detectives were up against the clock. The longer the child was missing the more likely it would be that they would not find her alive or unharmed. Could Maggie and the other detectives get to the bottom of this case before it was too late?

I enjoyed how Sarah Stewart Taylor portrayed Maggie. She proved to be a strong and well developed character. Author, Sarah Stewart Taylor, allowed Maggie’s character to shine, become more confident and step into a role she well deserved. I couldn’t read this book fast enough. Every time I thought I had figured out the mystery another twist was introduced. I did not see the ending coming. There was no way I would have guessed the outcome. I really enjoyed reading A Stolen Child and highly recommend it.

Thank you to Minotaur Books for allowing me to read A Stolen Child by Sarah Stewart Taylor through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Fun police procedural! And I like the cover.

Maggie D'Arcy is an American Police Detective working as a Garda in a Dublin neighborhood. "A Stolen Child," is the fourth book in the Maggie D'Arcy series, but is easily read as a standalone. An excellent police procedural, with a plot that delivers suspense and authentic. relatable characters, had my interest on page one. The Dublin setting enriches and deepens the plot and provides a few smiles along the way. Maggie is an intelligent and strong protagonist, which is always appreciated. "The Mountain Wild," is on my TBR list. Five stars for me.

A Stolen Child by Sarah Stewart Taylor is available now in eBook and Physical Book
⭐️⭐️⭐⭐ Book Review

A Stolen Child is the 4th novel in the Maggie D’arcy Mystery series. Maggie is a former homicide detective who has recently moved to Ireland. While trying to make her way to the top again she assists with an investigation to find the missing toddler of a murdered model, Jade.

A Stolen Child is full of mystery and suspense. It had me sitting on the edge of my seat from the very beginning. I am a sucker for a good mystery and can usually figure it out before the end. This one had me guessing incorrectly all the way through! The plot twists were believable and the characters loveable. I would highly recommend this mystery novel to anyone who thoroughly enjoys the suspense. This one will not disappoint. This is my first time reading a novel by Sarah Stewart Taylor. I'm off to get my hands on the remainder of this series.

A police procedural set in Ireland about a young, single mother who is murdered and whose toddler daughter is missing. Garda Maggie D’Arcy, former Long Island detective, works a beat with her partner Garda Jason Savage. They’re first on the scene of a reported possible homicide, the same place they had just responded to a possible domestic violence situation only days before. Maggie’s detective instincts kick in and she’s the first to notice the evidence that besides the victim, a child also lived there. Because of a shortage of personnel, she’s brought on to DI Roly Byrne’s team to help with the investigation. The missing toddler becomes the primary focus at first as time is of the essence in missing children cases.

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart


Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I've been enjoying this Maggie D'arcy series with its Irish and American stories. Maggie is a homicide detective in NY at the start of the series but she visits Ireland to try to find out what happened to her cousin. Her family has a rich history with Ireland, and runs an Irish bar on Long Island. In the first two books, Maggie works with the Garda in Ireland on cases. She also falls for an Irishman.

Now she has moved to Ireland and is living with Connor and their respective children. Her daughter is also dating an Irishman and starting college. Maggie has finished her Garda training and is working patrol, but DI Roly Bryne pulls her into a murder / child abduction case. She isn't able to work it full time which was frustrating but Maggie had great instincts as a parent and knowing the neighborhood. Her partner was not too impressive and took credit for some of her work.

I really enjoy police procedurals. I won't spoil this part but I thought it was well done with the investigation and the personal aspects of the team, suspects and witnesses. Any investigation like this turns up a variety of secrets some people don't want known. There are also things that are known but can't be proved.

The personal growth for Maggie with her daughter and relationship with Connor are also a nice part of A Stolen Child. Connor has just published a new history book and is anxiously waiting to see how it will be received. They are also renovating the house where they live for sale and then looking for a new home. I look forward to seeing how Maggie and her family develop now that they are fully in Ireland and she is part of the Garda there.

4.5⭐️

A solid procedural that I thoroughly enjoyed!

Garda Maggie D’arcy is a former Long Island homicide detective with twenty years of experience under her belt, who relocated to Ireland a few years back and is working her way up the ladder in local law enforcement, currently on community policing assignment in Dublin's Portobello neighborhood. When former mer model/reality television star and single mother Jade Elliott is found strangled to death in her home and her toddler daughter Lauren missing. Maggie and her partner Garda Jason Savage were first on the scene. Given her experience in homicide and the fact that the investigative unit is temporarily short-staffed, Senior Investigator Roly Byrne ropes her in to join the investigation. We follow Maggie, Roly and her temporary partner Detective Sergeant Padraig Fiero, as they do a deep dive into Jade’s past – both personal and professional as they frantically search for the missing child and try to find the killer. What follows is a complicated web of lies, secrets and some shocking revelations.
I liked the structure and pacing of the plot and enjoyed following the mystery as it is gradually unraveled. The procedural aspect is very well depicted. Plenty of suspects, twists and red herrings make for an engrossing read and I was surprised by the final reveal (which is always a good thing!). I haven’t read too many procedurals based in Ireland, and I really enjoyed the setting and the details of the law enforcement structure and procedure mentioned in the course of this novel. We also get to know more about Maggie and her boyfriend Conor, who discovers some old photographs within the walls of their home, adding a parallel track to the story that has a bittersweet ending. We also meet Maggie’s daughter Lillie and Conor’s son Adrien. This is the fourth book in a series and though I haven’t read the previous installments, I had no problem following this one. I do, however, intend to read the other books simply because I really liked the protagonist and how well the procedural aspect was presented in this novel. I also thought that the author struck a perfect balance while weaving the mystery and Maggie’s personal life into a fluid and engaging narrative, with the latter never overshadowing the former. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed A Stolen Child by Sarah Stewart Taylor and would gladly recommend it to those who enjoy reading police procedurals.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fourth book in the Maggie D'Arcy series where she is now living in Ireland after she followed her heart and started over as a police officer, working her way back up to hopefully become a detective as she was in the U.S. Having recently completed her required training, she stumbles upon an interesting murder case and is asked to use her skills to help out a short-handed detective team.

The mystery kept me in suspense until the end and, as in the previous books in the series, the character development and setting details were fantastic. Although this can certainly be read as a stand-alone mystery, I highly recommend starting with The Mountains Wild where Detective D'Arcy reconnects with her love in Ireland while investigating the disappearance of a cousin there long ago.

Many thanks to Net Galley, St. Martin's Press and the author for allowing me to read this eARC in advance of publication.