A news reporter’s son disappears from Central Park without a trace. Is it a ruse by the parents? The news reporter’s boss trying to keep her quiet? The husband’s enemies at work? Or the family of their teenage overages boyfriend? It kept my attention due to all the secrets and twists but I honestly felt like in the end it was all over the place with storylines that really didn’t intertwine and were sort of just rushed to close. It started out fast paced and then fizzled in my opinion. Overall a good story but not one I couldn’t put down. 3 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, I will post my review on good reads and discuss the book this month on TikTok and IG.

Journalist Corina Corado and her husband, Robert are a power couple with two children. When six-year-old Gabriel vanishes while visiting Central Park with his older sister, their world turns upside down. Now they’re living every parents’ nightmare.

Someone Saw Something has a premise that can be found in a number of other novels. However, with the many different twists that could occur, it’s a premise that can still take a fresh approach. So, with that in mind, I really expected to enjoy Rick Mofina’s latest book. But, instead, I found it to be slow moving, repetitive, and at times, even tedious.

Mr Mofina introduces quite a few characters, which wouldn’t be unusual for a book of this nature, but almost every character, no matter how minor, seemed to warrant a backstory or description of some sort. This seemed somewhat unnecessary and it was distracting. And, speaking of characters, over all I didn’t feel very sympathetic towards them. They all had secrets that they seemed to think were more important than locating their missing child. That was a little hard for me to understand

So, even though the story is well-written, Someone Saw Something was just too slow and repetitive for me to enjoy. NetGalley provided an advance copy.

I have to say I feel like Rick Mofina often tends to get overlooked and is under appreciated. While this isn’t my absolute favorite of this work, it’s dang good and seriously engaging. Of course any mystery/thriller story involving kids tends to pull me in. There is something about kids (or animals) in danger that always heightens the tension. It’s every parent’s nightmare, their child going missing, which is exactly what happens when Corina’s step-daughter and adopted son, Charlotte and Gabriel, cut through Central Park. Charlotte is distracted with her phone and before she realizes it Gabriel is gone. Corina is a news anchor and the cops suspect the abduction may be related to her job. They also know the clock is ticking away on their chance to find the missing boy. But what’s the truth? This is an intrigue, fast-paced story, where everyone seems to have secrets and getting to the truth won’t be easy. I’d like to thank Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Someone Saw Something.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R22440T10EAEA/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Another great book from Author Rick Mofina. Loved it. Lots of plot twists and turns and kept me reading till the end.

When a favorite thriller author releases a book about a missing child, I am right there ready to read it as soon as I can! This book did not disappoint at the story of a power couple and their anguish over their missing six year old begins the story and escalates throughout the revelations of each character. Corina Corado is a newscaster with secrets and threats against her, Her husband Robert is also secretive, but his secrets are under the surface and take some intricate digging into the plot to discover. Even their teen daughter Charlotte has secrets and she was the one supposed to be watching Gabriel when he disappeared in Central Park. What a wild ride this was ! I could easily imagine the devastation of the family, the mobilization of the NYPD and the ensuing investigation. All were so realistic that I felt as though I were placed in the middle of a really riveting news story. With a fast-paced plot and a lot of red herrings and false trails, this book was perfect for me since I am a big fan of thrillers and trying to follow clues. The characters were dynamic and interesting as well as flawed just enough to make them sympathetic and believable. This is a definite five star read for me as there were surprises in store, especially at the end.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16th CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

It’s a regular day until Corina asks her teenage daughter to pick up her little brother from school. Their dad, Robert, was on a late flight and Corina needed to get some things finished at work. Charlotte is annoyed at having to pick her brother Gabriel up, but he is so excited about an airplane he made that she agrees to take him through Central Park on their way home.

Unfortunately, only one of them made it home. Charlotte was texting with her boyfriend when Gabriel’s plane flies over a hill. He runs to get it, then never comes back. Charlotte searches everywhere but soon realizes her six-year-old brother is gone…and it’s her fault. If only she hadn’t been on her phone, if only she’d been paying attention, maybe Gabriel would’ve been fine. Her parents are understandably angry with her, but they push that aside to begin working with the NYPD on finding their son.

This book started slow, even though it shouldn’t have, as the abduction is one of the first things that happened. It did get better as it went along, but more and more characters kept coming out - which I get, it adds to the number of suspects, but by the end of the book, there were over a dozen random characters who could be suspects. Corina is a well-known international journalist, and has definitely had her share of threats in the past. Is this someone with a grudge against her, or is this just a random kidnapping?

The story was pretty suspenseful, not only with wanting to find out what happens to Gabriel, but with many chapters ending with shocking revelations about our main characters. This is quite a slow read, and perhaps didn’t need to be as long as it was (and with that many characters), but overall it was a good book. 3.5 stars, rounded up!

(Thank you to MIRA, Rick Mofina and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on April 30, 2024.)

Thank you to #NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publications, and Rick Mofina for the opportunity to read Someone Saw Something, to be published 30 April 2024. This combination thriller, police procedural was definitely a 5/5 Star novel. It had all the underpinnings for both genres and kept me reading into the night. A missing boy, a major news outlet reporter and plenty of red herrings were all part of this great read. Highly recommended. #NetGalley #HarlequinTradePublications # RickMofina #SomeoneSawSomething

Charlotte picked up her brother from school. They are walking home through the park and Gabriel is playing with his toy plane…until he is gone. He is missing!

This used to be a trigger for me, a child missing. I could not read a book with this trope when my children were little. This story still had me in knots! I cannot fathom a mom going through this.

This novel is intense, intriguing and…I am not going to lie…terrifying in places. The only reason for the 4 star rating, I felt the conversations, in some places, were a bit canned. But, the intensity has me on the edge of my seat!

Needs a tale which will have gasping for air…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Almost every cop show on TV today traces its lineage to the successful “Law and Order” franchise. That series combined “ripped from the headlines” stories with lean, tightly constructed plots and no-nonsense main characters. At first glance, Rick Mofina’s new novel, “Someone Saw Something,” appears to be the outline for an episode of “Law and Order: SVU.” It grabs readers’ attention immediately with a story of a missing, probably kidnapped six-year-old boy. But as the story progresses, the author throws in more red herrings, plot twists, and hard-to-keep-track of minor characters so that readers lose track of the ticking-clock suspense of the original premise. Fortunately, the author recovers at the end with a taut, exciting finale.

The main character in “Someone Saw Something” is Corina Corado, a highly successful senior correspondent at a major fictional news network. (I won’t drop real names, but readers can guess the real-life counterparts of the two networks in this book). Corina’s son Gabriel disappears without a trace one day while walking home from school with his 16-year-old sister. Charlotte. While the two were in Central Park, Charlotte looked away from her brother for a minute while texting her boyfriend. When she looked up, Gabriel was gone, leaving behind the rubber band model plane he had been trying to fly. Police soon suspect the boy’s disappearance may not have been a random snatching. Corina made a lot of enemies with her reporting, exposing frauds and conspiracy theorists and earning her the nickname “Queen of Lies” from their followers. One man had even shown up at her studio with a gun two years earlier. To further complicate matters, Gabriel was adopted privately. A sensationalist program host on a rival network takes advantage of Corina’s tragedy to promote his theory that she may have faked the kidnapping as a publicity stunt.

Author Rick Mofina tries to juggle two major themes in “Someone Saw Something” with varying success. The kidnapped child storyline is familiar to thriller fans, and the author handles it well. The police detectives on the case are competent, and the lead detective lost her child to cancer a few years earlier, so she empathizes with Corina. Police and civilian volunteers scour Central Park and uncover no sign of Gabriel or clues to his disappearance. The case becomes a mystery as to how Gabriel disappeared from the country’s most heavily traveled urban park without a trace, as well as who was responsible. The author reveals the answers slowly, with several false turns and detours. However, he plays fair with readers, revealing all the clues his audience will need to solve the mystery.

The nature of those detours is one of my sources of frustration with the book. Without revealing too much of the story, some of these detours involve independent subplots that complicate the ultimate solution of the case. Any one of these subplots would be implausible, even in this type of thriller. Put them together, and they strain credibility too much. At most, the author should have settled on one subplot for a tighter book. It’s only in the last quarter of the novel, after the author has resolved the subplots, that the book regains its footing. These last few chapters provide readers with the usual cat-and-mouse suspense they expect in stories of this nature. The author is a master of this sort of suspense and delivers her.

However, the author views “Someone Saw Something” as more than a suspense thriller. He raises the question of how a news organization covers a major story when one of its own is at the center of the story. Yellow journalism in the 21st century plays a part, with the rival news host a convenient villain. The author raises several questions but doesn’t produce many answers. Focusing more on the newsroom instead of some of the other subplots would have helped the book. It would also help readers figure out who all the staff are. Corina is the usual concerned parent in this type of book. But unlike most parents of kidnap victims, she has the resources of a major news organization behind her. They provide her with tips and transportation as needed. But they mainly provide readers with a confusing array of names that left me trying to figure out who was who. At one point, her network arranges a flight for Corina and some of her crew. The author notes: “They had only gone a few yards when Nora said, ‘Pull over.’ Ellie and Reggie collected gear and got out.” Instead of wondering what would happen to Corina here, I was trying to remember who Nora, Ellie, and Reggie were.

Despite the book’s flaws, I enjoyed “Someone Saw Something” enough to recommend it. It’s not Rick Mofina’s best work, but it has the makings of a solid cinematic thriller. The central character, Corina Corado, and her daughter, Charlotte, are well-developed as the story proceeds. Charlotte, in particular, displays the usual mix of emotions and judgment lapses you would expect of a 16-year-old in a very stressful situation. And I got a kick whenever I heard the imaginative slur, “Queen of Lies,” used to describe Corina. I’m just waiting until I can apply it to some real-life newscaster. “Someone Saw Something” is something for thriller fans to see… and read.

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.

Wow, this book was a real page turner! It was fun to follow along with the investigation and to see how Gabriel's disappearance affected Corina, Robert, and Charlotte. Very well plotted and twist filled. You won't be disappointed.

Six year old Gabriel makes an airplane at school, and when his sister Charlotte picks him up, they walk home through Central Park so he can have a chance to test it out. When it flies over a hill and Gabriel goes to retrieve it, Charlotte stays there texting her boyfriend. Then the unthinkable happens..... Gabriel doesn't return and when she goes to look for him, Charlotte finds the plane abandoned on the grass & he is nowhere in sight. Between all of the hate Gabriel's mother, news anchor Corina Corado, receives from conspiracy groups and secrets that are uncovered that the father, Robert, has been keeping the police have no shortage of possibilities. As all of the secrets everyone in the family has been keeping begin to unravel, it is a race against the clock to discover the truth behind Gabriel’s disappearance.

This was the first book I had ever read by this author, but it definitely won't be the last. It was a non-stop thrill ride from start to finish. It had everything I could want from a good thriller - nail biting suspense, likeable characters, mystery, & a myriad of possibilities for law enforcement to have to comb through to get to right answer. This is perfect for fans of David Baldacci, Harlan Coben and Joseph Finder. I highly recommend it!

Like a true-crime series in written form, Someone Saw Something felt utterly ripped from the headlines. A thriller with a strong police procedural edge, it grabbed my attention right from the start (even though it did slow down significantly in the middle). Just the same, the realistic actions of the police force and the heart-wrenching emotions at play with Corina and her family meant a plot that came together with a genuine feel.

With a finely layered storyline that came complete with multiple subplots and a multitude of characters, it reminded me of some of the books I’ve read by Charlie Donlea in the past. Not so much because of the topic, but due to how the story unfolded. As secret after secret was revealed, the meandering plot took me across six years and two continents, leading to some truths that seemed to explode on the page. I’m not quite sure how Mofina managed it, but it was expertly organized and extremely well-written. There must’ve been some serious outlines.

As for the characters, while I relished the family dynamics, sadly the individuals themselves were somewhat lacking. A little one-dimensional and dry, I wasn’t drawn to any of them despite the circumstances. That being said, as the plot picked up pace with the page count, I found my fingers flying as I prayed that Gabriel would come out of the predicament okay.

Unfortunately, there were a few other teeny, tiny flies in the ointment. With a character list that could counter a phone book and Corina’s extensive backstory which added little to the plot, much of the book could’ve done with a bit of extra editing, in my opinion. But then, I still finished in just under twenty-four hours, so perhaps this is just me searching for perfection.

Done and dusted, the omniscient perspective, masses of red herrings and original-ish premise led for quite the good time. And as for the cat-and-mouse chase… Well, I wouldn’t have changed much given the chance. Taut and intense, the climax played out as though in a film. In fact, I’m crossing my fingers that Someone Saw Something soon ends up in a theater near me. All in all, considering that this is the first book by Mofina that I’ve read, I’m now eager to try his backlist ASAP. Rating of 4 stars.

This is another solid thriller from Rick Mofina. A missing child, a news reporter mother and high-profile father. Adoption, conspiracy theories and workplace sexual harassment. This novel is full of interesting plot elements. It also has lots of red herrings, interconnected plot twists, and a fast-paced ending. The chapters are short and the writing crisp. My only quibble is that I thought the book could have been a bit shorter as it did slow down somewhat in the middle.

Overall, another good thriller escape read by this author.

Thanks to the publisher for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

“Someone Saw Something” by Rick Mofina is a gripping thriller that delves into every parent’s worst nightmare: a missing child.

Rick kept the chapters short, and the tension high. The anticipation I had turning the pages, made me anxious to see what was to come next. Rick’s writing is crisp, evoking the frantic emotions of a desperate mother and the relentless pursuit of truth.
The pacing is relentless, mirroring the urgency of the search for Corina’s son Gabriel. Rick’s attention to detail immerses readers into the bustling city, from the newsroom to the shadowy alleys. The suspense is apparent, and the twists keep coming until the final revelation.
“Someone Saw Something” is a rollercoaster ride of suspense, secrets, and heart-pounding moments.

I really enjoyed this thriller about a family drama that results in a kidnapping. So many different theories are explored before the cops figure out who the kidnapper really was. Was it the disgruntled boss, the development company looking for a falsified report, the much older boyfriend of their teenaged daughter? The chase scene is so tense and stressful, will they get their son back?!? I did figure out who the kidnapper was before the cops did, but just barely. I could not put this down! Highly recommend!

BOOK REVIEW🚔🚨📰⏳🎥🧸📍🔎🗽

Someone Saw Something - @rickmofina
Pub date: 4/30/2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oooooh. This fast-paced crime thriller was just what I needed after some slow-ish reads. And also reminded me why “police procedural” is my absolute favorite trope within the thriller/mystery genre. (With legal thrillers being my second fave).
From the minute I started reading, I felt like I was inside of a Criminal Minds episode. Hence the music I chose for this post👀. The family dynamic, the drama, the emotions, the fast pace, the revelations being discovered one by one. The “race against time”. My heart was beating so fast wondering what was going to happen next!
I absolutely loved how there were multiple POVs. My favorite being the female detective’s POV— The fact that she had lost her own child and wanted to solve this case so badly because she had that connection to it, and knew what it was like to be in the mother’s shoes, made it feel so much more “real”.
I only left out 1 star because I really didn’t like the daughter’s character, and her relationship with her boyfriend. Not only because she was underage and he was much older than her— (yuck), but I just felt like both characters were unlikeable in their own ways, and sometimes their interactions/scenes in the book, together and apart, felt forced and just “thrown in”.

Thank you to @netgalley @htpbooks @_mira_books_ for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

#netgalleyreview #thrillerbookreview #policeproceduralbooks #crimethrillerbooks #htphive #htpbooks #bookfluencer #newthrillerbooks

Six-year-old Gabriel Tanner is walking home from school with his older sister through New York City's Central Park. He tries out a toy airplane he made and goes to retrieve it up a hill and behind some thick bushes. Charlotte is texting on her phone with her older boyfriend, but soon realizes Gabriel is missing. There are many suspects in his abduction. Gabriel's mom is well-known journalist Corina Corado whose international reporting has gained her many enemies. However, Corina's husband has made his share of enemies, too, in his career as a Forensic Engineer working on a controversial project.

This is a fast-paced thriller and is one of those stories where all the main characters are keeping secrets, so many of them look suspicious. I saw through most of the red herrings and caught onto the clues about halfway through the story about who was behind Gabriel's disappearance. However, I was still in suspense over what would happen and what the motive was for taking him. I had to suspend disbelief a few times, but this is an entertaining book that shows both the good and bad sides to the power of the media.

I received an advance copy of this ebook at no cost from NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Mira. My review is voluntary and unbiased.

A twisty child abduction thriller that takes place over seven days. Young Gabriel disappears while his stepsister Charlotte is busy texting with the boyfriend her parents have forbidden her to see. His mom Corina and his father Robert are desperate to find him (of course) but they both have secrets that lead to lots and lots of suspects (perhaps too many). There aren't too many surprises here for fans of this genre but I found myself turning the pages. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Would be a good one for travel.

Someone Saw Something follows the Corado family as they deal with the aftershock of their 6 year old son, Gabriel, going missing. The story unfolds slowly as there are many possible leads about where Gabriel has gone. As each lead is explored, new possibilities emerge. Half way through the novel the story finally picks up pace as an ending starts to come into sight. I found the first half of the novel to be too drawn out, while I loved the twists and building suspense of the second half. I was able to predict the outcome fairly early in the book, which took me by surprise as I usually struggle with all of the plot twists. Overall, a good suspenseful novel about a family trauma.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Someone Saw Something by Rick Mofina is a highly recommended family drama centered around the search for a child who has gone missing and presumed to be abducted.

News anchor and journalist Corina Corado asks her sixteen-year-old stepdaughter, Charlotte, to pick up her six-year-old little brother, Gabriel, from school because their father, Robert had to delay his flight and is unable to do so. Charlotte and Gabriel walk through Central Park on their way home so he can have a text flight of a plane he made. As the plane flies over a hill, Gabriel runs off to get it and Charlotte, who is texting, says she'll be right there waiting for him... but he doesn't come right back. Charlotte runs to find him and can't. The unthinkable has happened. Gabriel is missing.

A missing child and subsequent search and investigation is enough excitement to hold up a plot. Adding one complication, the hate mail Corina receives as a well known journalist is an understandable concern. But Mofina ups the ante to almost unbelievable levels. The number of secrets, twists, and extraneous directions the investigation takes is throwing everything into the plot, including the kitchen sink. The whole twenty-one year old "boyfriend" of your sixteen-year-old daughter thread could have been left out, as could Robert's big secrets.

The characters are portrayed as realistic individuals, except for maybe the whole withholding of major pieces of information that might be connected to the search for their SON. However, while reading your emotions will be running high as you wait for the characters to just tell the whole truth.

Admittedly, it held my attention because of all the secrets and intrigue, but in the end I felt as if the main concern, Gabriel, was being buried under all the other plot threads and characters included in the narrative. This overload of extras that maybe were possibly connected with the investigation actually slowed down the novel and the main concern - searching for Gabriel. 3.5 rounded up. Thanks to MIRA for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, X, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.