Cover Image: A Stolen Child

A Stolen Child

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Member Reviews

This is the second book I have read with Maggie D"arcy in Ireland. Maggie is an experience deceptive from New York who has come to live in Ireland with a writer with whom she in involved. She has completed all the training she needs to become an Irish policeman and because of friends in high places she is given a temporary position in the investigation into a murder she and her partner discover as she is working as a local cop on the street. It is a well done story with several unexpected twists at the end and at the same time a development in Maggie's character. Unfortunately, if you have't read the previous book, in which she has just moved to Ireland, there may be some references that you will not understand. Find The Drowning Sea and read it first. I received this as an arc from NetGalley and am under no pressure for a positive review.

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A Stolen Child is the 4th book in the Maggie D'arcy series, this was a new author for me which meant it was also I hadn't read any of the previous books in the series. Maggie an American police officer moves to Ireland to be with her daughter and the man in her life. Starting over is never easy, espescally in the field she works in. When a young mother is found dead, and her young daughter is missing the police begin the search for both the killer and the young child. The storyline is filled with lots of twists and turns. I would suggest it to others.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and St, Martin's Press, and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

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Maggie has finally finished her training and become a Guard with the Irish police. First case up is a former model found murdered. It is then discovered the model's toddler is missing. Will Maggie be able to find the toddler in time and find the murderer while getting used to the way things are done by the Irish police?

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In A STOLEN CHILD, Sarah Stewart Taylor returns with her ace protagonist Maggie D’arcy, a detective who’s at the top of her game. Women readers will love her head smarts and compassionate heart. I loved the inside look at details of police procedure. The plot is sharp and quick and keeps the story moving. It’s a great read, a unique and thrilling literary crime novel. Make no assumptions and be ready for plenty of twists and turns.

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*4-4.5 stars. In the 4th book in this mystery series about a former Long Island police detective who has transplanted herself and her daughter to Ireland, Maggie D'arcy has finished at the Garda Training College and is on community patrol in Dublin with her partner, Garda James Savage. They get a call about a possible homicide at an apartment complex and are first on the scene where they find the body of a beautiful young woman. Unfortunately they had answered a call for possible domestic violence at the same address a few days earlier but had been assured that it was only a too-loud movie on TV. Did they miss the signs of trouble ahead?

Now they realize the victim, a former model named Jade Elliott, has a two-year-old daughter Laurel who is missing, so a possible homicide intensifies into a frantic search for a stolen child.

This is a brilliant police procedural! Because Maggie worked with the Garda previously in her role as a Long Island detective, and because they are short-handed, she is allowed to step up and work closely with this investigation and the search for the child. Unfortunately they are very short of suspects and a motive. Everyone they question seems to be holding something back--so frustrating!

Meanwhile at home with her lover Colin and their two kids, the house they are sharing is being renovated and Colin is waiting to see reviews of his newly-published book on Irish political history. And where is their relationship heading anyway? Could things get any more tense for Maggie?

I've enjoyed this series from the start and would recommend that anyone new to it should do the same as the relationships, both personal and professional, build.

I received an arc of this new mystery from the author and publisher via NetGalley. Many thanks! My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

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This is my first read in this series and I was a tad bit lost as I began reading.
The mystery part was good reading although the clues got the best of me since I failed to figure out the culprit.
I appreciated the Irish settings and different protocol and procedures.

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Sarah Stewart Taylor had me in her grips with A Stolen Child on page 1, and she never let go, until I put the book down a few hours later. I can tear through a thriller/mystery, but a lot of times I guess the ending too quickly, or it becomes boiler plate and the cadence is too obvious.

With A Stolen Child, we get to go in depth with many of the characters, and things are not one-dimensional. I loved all the various plotlines that led to a super satisfying ending.

There are hard subjects addressed in this book, and done in a superb way that really brought it home for me. The people that you pass on the streets every day are holding secrets and when you get an unexpected glimpse into a few, it can shock you. That is real life.

The book begins with the murder of a previous young model/reality tv star. In addition to her death, her baby is also missing. And so begins the unraveling of so many different lives.

I loved the setting in Ireland. I loved how the author has gone deep into the storylines of the guards, particularly Maggie. While there were books before this one that I hadn't read, i didn't need to in order to understand the sub-plots. I enjoyed it so much though, that I am planning on going back and reading them, plus future volumes.

Thank you to Sarah Stewart Taylor for an enjoyable ride and brief escape from my reality, i needed it and I appreciate it. I also appreciate NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced readers copy for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

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Thank you Minotaur Books for the gifted book.

I continue to love this series, but I did struggle a bit more with this book just based on the content. It's not a spoiler to say that the book centers around a missing child and because of this there is a lot presumption/worry about what sort of crimes may be happening to the child and references to other such crimes. There are generally not descriptive scenes, but any sort of crime against children is harder to read about.

I very much look forward to the next book in this series and I loved being back in Dublin for this book.

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The plot was everything, I liked the whole investigation, Maggie is literally the best I love a great leading lady in mystery books. She just recently got her job as a police officer in Dublin, and she’s on patrol, and she ends up right smack in the middle of a murder mystery that detectives higher up needed her for.

I loved how this book had so many twists in and turns and of course the ending we never expected. Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for giving me an opportunity to read this book.

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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Mystery
Setting: Dublin, Ireland
POV: 1

It has been a couple of months since a book made me stay up in order to finish it. From the moment I started reading to the very end I was entertained. I liked the flow and the writing style of this book so much. I also enjoyed the nitty-gritty of the police procedures for solving the murder and finding the stolen child.
I will absolutely read the other books in this series.

Thank you to the publisher at St. Martins Press, Sarah Stewart Taylor, and Netgalley for a copy of A Stolen Child in exchange for an honest review.

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I really enjoyed this introduction into this world and I just couldn’t get enough of it. I just so thoroughly enjoyed meeting these new characters and getting to go on their journey. I will most definitely be reading more wonderful books from this author.

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A Stolen Child is book four in the Maggie D'arcy series set in Ireland. I've read and enjoyed all 4 books in the series. You know I'm always ready for a book set in Ireland!

Maggie has finished her training and is now officially a Garda in Dublin. She's starting out on patrol which is challenging she was a detective back in Long Island but she knows she needs to pay her dues. When on patrol they find a woman murdered and her toddler daughter missing, she gets the chance to step up to find the little girl but also the murderer.

I love Maggie and in this book is fun to see her as an active Garda and the adjustment to live in Ireland with Conor. These are well written police procedural mysteries that I've look forward to reading!

Thanks to minotaur books for my advanced copy!

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If you are looking for a good thriller/mystery book, then this is one to pick up! It is the fourth book in a series, but I was able to completely understand the book and all the subplots without reading the previous books. However, based on some of the insinuations in this book, I am interested in going back and reading the previous 3. An American investigator moves to Ireland and is trying to earn her way through the ranks of the Irish police. She gets caught up in a murder and is able to prove her worth while finding the kidnapper and the murderer.

Thanks so much to Net Galley and Minotaur Books for the gifted e-copy of this book that came out in June!

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This is the first book I've read by this author and even though it's the fourth book in the series, it works well as a standalone. Maggie D'Arcy was an experienced homicide detective in New York City but has become a garda in Dublin. She now has to work her way up from her assignment as a community garda officer. Maggie is able to assist with the murder of a former model and reality tv star and her missing daughter because of a shortage of detectives.

The plot is complex with a lot of different characters, many of whom are suspicious. It kept me guessing as to who the killer was and what their motive was. I enjoyed getting to know Maggie and her teenage daughter Lilly as they begin their new life in Ireland. There is a subplot that had a lot of potential, but was ultimately a let down. However, I really enjoyed the book overall, and I hope there are further books coming in this unique police procedural series.

I received an advance copy of this ebook at no cost from NetGalley and Minotaur Books, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

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While this is book 4 in this series, it can be read as a standalone, I've only read this book and the previous one and had no trouble following what was happening.

Maggie is on patrol in the Garda, and when she and her partner respond to the scene of a death Maggie with all her detective experience and knowledge gets pulled into the investigation. I think you can guess from the title of this that we are not only dealing with a young woman who has been murdered but also her two-year-old daughter is missing.

There was a lot going on with this case, with plenty of twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat, I loved all the characters, they were all really fleshed out and all played in important part in the story.

I also loved the side mystery of the photos found in the wall of their home that they are renovating to sell, it brought a bit of a softer side to this book that was a bit on the darker gritter side.

I hope we get more books in this series, and Ill definteily be going back and reading the other books I havent gotten to yet!

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After finishing her training, Maggie D’Arcy is now a Garda working the patrol beat. Maggie & her partner find former model and reality tv star Jade Elliot murdered in her apartment. Jade's toddler daughter Lauren is missing. Shorthanded due to a gangland murder investigation, Detective Inspector Roly Byrne brings Maggie onto his team to help find Lauren.

This is another solid entry in the Maggie D'Arcy detective series.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and Minotaur Books. All opinions are my own.

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Two mysteries with an able policewoman proving her skills: great, knotty plot🚨

4.5🌟 stars
Two hard mysteries for the Irish Garda to solve that had me stumped for the longest time, too! I loved how the author kept me guessing and constantly re-evaluating the potential suspects. With a young single mother murdered and her two year old daughter missing, there's plenty of drama and legions of law enforcement officers spring into action. The focus, however, remains on Garda Maggie Darcy and a few colleagues as they sift through the scant evidence, look for the child and then her mother's killer. I thought the opening was very low key, but the story quickly picked up urgency when Maggie discovered the dead woman.

The plot was plenty complicated and unpredictable for my liking and I like Maggie, who has to reestablish her credentials in the Irish force since she's a transplant from the U.S. Plenty of detective experience, but she has to work her way up from street patrol and, fortunately for her, a shortage of investigative officers allows her to demonstrate her detective skills on this case. There's an interesting dynamic between her and her male detective colleagues. I did not like how they seemed to question or just disregard her ideas and crow over their own when they turned up results. Whether that was because she's American or a woman or both, I was happy with her persistence in spite of their behavior. And when their interrogation tactics don't work and hers do: yes-s!

The author came up with a fresh combination here. I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

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Where is 2 year old Laurel? Her mother Jade has been murdered in their home and the toddler is missing. Maggie D'arcy, an American once a detective in the US is now, finally a Garda in Dublin where she's moved with her daughter Lily. Yes, she's walking the beat but then she's brought in to help with the twisty case. Jade was a model before Laurel was born after what Maggie is led to understand was a one night stand of sorts with Laurel's father. But nothing about what she's told-about the relationship, about Jade, and so on sits quite right with Maggie and she probes to first find Laurel and then to identify Jade's killer. I'm a huge fan of this series for the characters as well as the complex mysteries, which started with one in Maggie's own life. Don't worry if you haven't read the earlier books -this will be fine as a standalone. Which is my one quibble-those who have been following along should know there's less of the personal here. Admittedly that leaves more room for the fully fleshed out and twisty mystery. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I'm eager for the next one. Great read.

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Maggie D’arcy has completed her training and has officially joined the Garda in Ireland. While she waits for an opportunity to be promoted to detective, she is on patrol and is called to the scene of a murder. Not only does Maggie recognize it as an address she had been to a few days before after a domestic disturbance call, she also realizes that the victim had a toddler who is now missing. On loan to the detectives for this case, can Maggie find the child in time? Will her knowledge of the neighborhood help?

Maggie has been on quite a journey in this series, and it’s nice to see this natural step in her career. The plot starts strongly. While it does get a little uneven in the middle, things pick up when we get to several logical twists at the climax. I liked how Maggie’s knowledge of the neighborhood where the crime took place played an important part of the plot. The suspects come to life, and it is nice to see Maggie’s relationships grown, both personally and professionally. As a police procedural, this is a bit darker than the cozies I typically read, but as long as you know that going in, you’ll be fine. If you are looking for a solid police procedural set in Ireland, you’ll be glad you picked up this book.

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Just love this particular series of police procedurals. I especially love the character Maggie D'Arcy and love the concept that she came over to Ireland as an American and is making a name for herself as a police detective.

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