This high-octane thriller offers an intriguing premise: a reformed car thief forced back into the game to save her kidnapped children. Ava Frost is a compelling lead—tough, resourceful, and caught between loyalty and survival. The fast-paced action and tension-filled heists keep things moving, and the rekindled chemistry with her ex adds some heat.

However, the plot sometimes leans too heavily on coincidence, and character motivations—especially Ava’s husband’s—feel underdeveloped. While entertaining, the story doesn’t quite hit the emotional or narrative depth it aims for.

A fun, fast read—but not without bumps in the road.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this early!

Ava Frost’s attention is now on being a stay-at-home mom and supportive wife to a successful businessman. Someone has abducted the Frost’s children and is demanding a hefty ransom. No problem with the family’s wealth, they should be able to cover it, until she realizes that her husband has been keeping secrets, and he is not as financially stable as she thought. This kicks Ava into survival mode where she relies on her past to save her children. She reaches out to her former boyfriend despite her husband’s reservation to help. This drives and I mean this literally the pace of this action-packed tale.

A truly engaging read.

Great read! First read from this author. This book makes me want to read more from this author. Kept my attention and interest until the end.

I have read a few of Kiki Swinson books in the past. This book was about 2 kids getting kidnapped for ransom. Ava loved her kids and would do anything to get them back. Her past comes back to haunt her and she is forced to make some tough choices. Her husband Kevin wasn’t worth much and really was just in the way. It was a quick read but didn’t really engross me. The storyline was a bit weak and I already knew who kidnapped the kids as it wasn’t hard to figure out. The plot was chunky & just didn’t mesh well.The ending left me mad though. Dirty move.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was excited to revisit this author, whose work I enjoyed in my 20s, but Amber Alert ultimately left much to be desired. While the plot had potential and the mystery kept me guessing, the story lacked character development and was bogged down by repetition and excessive inner dialogue. The pace picked up toward the end with some unexpected twists, but overall, it fell short of my expectations.

Amber Alert had an interesting plot I was very curious to find out more about. Ava & Kevin Frost are married and while she’s a stay at home mom of two kids he’s a businessman always on the move. On a “business trip” Kevin finds out his kids were kidnapped and Ava commends to do anything to get them back including breaking the law. I have to admit that the FMC & MMC are so unlikeable in this book, but I liked the chapters with the kids yet they were brief. The story was interesting but there was hardly any character development at all. Also very repetitive throughout the entire book & not as much action because of all the characters inner thoughts or dialogue back and forth to each other. It really picked up about 70% in and things really got crazy. I liked that the author threw in curve balls to keep you guessing on who took the kids & what was going to happen next. I’ve read other work from this author years ago so it was nice to see a thriller from her. Grateful for this complimentary copy for an exchange of my honest review.

Gone Without a Trace is an understatement! Ava ran away from her dangerous past to live with her kids in the suburbs, until the unthinkable happened. Not only did that happen, she also discovered that the suburbs aren’t as safe as she thought. This book proves that desperation can leave you in a terrible place.

This book was full of action and fast-paced. It was an amazing read and the author did an awesome job of making the plot unpredictable. Not having any idea what was going to happen next was the best part of the story. I recommend this book to those who like to be on the edge of their seat.

I LOVE me some Kiki Swinson!! Anything by her is bound to be amazing. I love the way she brings urban fiction together with the thriller genre. This book is fast-paced, and impossible to put down.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

Thank you NetGalley, Kensington Publishing and Dafina for the ARC.

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book at all. The writing wasn't good and I didn't care too much for the characters.

"Amber Alert" delivers a suspenseful story about Ava's relentless quest to find her kidnapped children. Swinson's fast-paced storytelling and intricate plot twists keep readers engaged throughout, but the storytelling was at times a bit choppy. This story could have benefitted for a lot more fleshing out of the plot. The FMC, MMC, and side characters were not likeable at all. Although, I felt sorry for Ava, she really wasn't likeable and Kevin was disgusting. It just seemed so completely unrealistic.

DNF - this is really poorly written. The grammar is insane, it changes tense frequently - sometimes in the same paragraph. All the characters say 'gonna' all the time. Could not read.

Farfetched. The dialogue was stereotypical of "gangsta" with people slinging the "N" word around. It was quick moving, full of action. It was true to the description given but still, the content was unexpected. I think it gave me culture shock. Thank you to NetGalley and Dafina for the digital ARC. This opinion is my own.

Great read! The book started off a little slow for me but picked up and piqued my interest. I wasn't able to read as fast as I intended due to being in grad school. This storyline seemed a little different for the author. I would recommend to others. Can't wait for part 2. Thanks NetGalley for giving me an opportunity to read.

Wow! What a heart pounding experience! Pick up Amber Alert by Kiki Swanson if you want a thrilling experience!

This was a great read from beginning until the end. Nothing in life is free but some things are priced much higher than we may want to pay. Highly recommended

The story flowed well and the characters were well developed. I recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.


****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****