Clever, compelling and convincing Australian crime fiction!

I loved the return of Detective Antigone Pollard, after her debut in The Unbelieved. This time she is investigating the disappearance of a baby, and the chaos that ensues.

I enjoyed the cleverly intertwined stories, how social media and the impact of sensationalist headlines impact the investigation, as well as the unexpected twists that kept me reading long into the night. I am hoping that the ending offers another book with these memorable characters.

If you enjoy suspenseful storytelling, with a fierce female lead then give this one a read.

With thanks to Allen & Unwin and NetGalley for the advanced reading copy of this remarkable story, in exchange for an honest review.

'An unputdownable crime thriller featuring Detective Antigone Pollard from the bestselling author of The Unbelieved.'

Well I hadn't read the above book or anything from this author before but I did love this one and look forward to catching up on what I have previously missed out on. I love that the book is set in a place called Deception Bay and that it is also set in Australia. It drew me in from the start with the story of not only the mother whose baby has been stolen but of Detective Antigone Pollard and her family as well.

This book kept me reading from start to finish with all of the characters, the family, the secrets and especially the town of Deception Point. Now I must go find the other books she has written. A great book and a great way to spend a day or two.

Thank you NetGalley and Allen & Unwin for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really enjoyed this book. It was one of those books that just kept me reading ‘one more chapter’ for far too long.
It was very easy to get involved in the lives of all the characters in this book. In particular, stepping into the shoes of the mother whose baby has been stolen, and imagining her anguish. Frustration at the misogynistic treatment endured was high too. This is a gripping book with skillfully handled themes.
This was the first book I have read by this author, but I will definitely be going back for a catch up of her earlier titles.

Wow! It was a great read from the beginning to the last page. It was well-written and the story is beautifully executed. My mind was working really hard on this thrilling book as I keep guessing or trying to play detective. I loved Antigone’s Nan playing undercover detective.

How did I miss The Unbelieve?, will be read in them soon.
Highly recommend this one.

With many thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher Allen & Unwin for the ARC.

This is my favourite read of the year so far. It's remarkable and the storyline is compelling and believeable as are the proud characters. What is more important than a missing baby taken by the father. I don't understand why this happens but it sadly does too often in life. I love the connection of Antigones family and the dog in the book. I have not read the first book but I will definitely be reading it now and I am excited for the next book in the series. I love how richly drawn the characters are and the plot has so much happening.

Detective Antigone Pollard is still enjoying life in Deception Bay and has settled into the community. She has a great working relationship with fellow detective Wozza, and life is good and she has the best boy in Waffles, her failed police dog.

When a young baby goes missing it is a race against time to try and find him. This investigation is already frantic and when the replacement Senior Sergeant ends up in hospital after a serious car accident, the incredibly misogynistic Wheels is back in charge, making Antigone's job so much harder.

A welcome visit from her mother and Nan begins an emotional journey as Antigone learns she may have a sibling, and a DNA test brings about a surprising result.

Meanwhile, the fallout from the drink spiking from The Unbelieved may be more serious than they ever thought. Were there more perpetrators and does someone know who they are?

I enjoyed the different stories that were woven through this book. Nothing is ever far fetched. Everything is plausible, which I like in my crime stories.

I loved that the ending was left very open for a third book in this series and I would be very happy to read another story with these characters in it.

The background of Vikki with true crime and her podcasts shines through in the storylines and the characters. There really are some despicable, vile, disgusting men out there and I got as angry reading this one as I did with The Unbelieved.

This is one of those rare books that I picked up to read a chapter or two before bed, and at 3am I was still clutching my copy and arguing with myself about whether I really needed any sleep that night. This was remarkably compelling.

In Deception Bay, Detective Antigone Pollard is settling in. A Melbourne transplant, she’s finding the rhythms of life and work in the country a welcome relief. But country policing is still intense. When a young mother calls to report her baby is missing, Antigone and her partner begin a desperate search to find the baby.

There’s never just one case to deal with of course. Antigone also has to handle her mother arriving to reveal a long held family secret; her relationship with a past lover; and conflict with her old boss.

Although I read this novel as a stand alone, it’s clear some elements in it are continued from the first novel in the series (“The Unbelieved”). There are also some unresolved threads here which I presume will be addressed in the next in the series. I found the novel strong and compelling anyway – you get enough of the history to have no problems with the story.

The primary plot is absolutely compelling – the search for the baby will hook most readers emotionally and intellectually. I was desperate to know what happened. As we follow this thread, we get to know Antigone better. Once you start caring about her as a character, the rest of the plot also becomes of great interest.

A strong undercurrent through the plot and characters is feminism, and how men and women relate to and treat each other. That’s very topical, but for any woman it also feels incredibly real and relevant. You’ve had these kinds of encounters, seen or experienced this behaviour from men. At the same time, the novel doesn’t demonise all men.

I really enjoyed this. The plot was top notch, the characters strong and believable, and the setting and context interesting. This is a first class crime novel, and I highly recommend it.

Unfortunately this one was not for me. I did not finish it - gave it away about a quarter or the way through. Characters seemed flimsy and without enough backbone, various aspects of writing style annoyed me. I'm sure others will love it but possibly a bad fit for me.

Vikki Petraitis delivers another gripping and emotionally charged crime thriller in The Stolen. Detective Antigone Pollard is back, and she’s as fierce, grounded, and refreshingly complex as ever. When a baby goes missing from his home, what follows is a fast-paced investigation layered with tension, media chaos, and societal judgment.

Petraitis excels at blending page-turning suspense with timely commentary, especially on how women are scrutinized in the face of trauma. The realism in the crime, the flawed but strong characters, and the tangled web of secrets kept me hooked.

This isn't just a whodunit, it's a story that asks big questions about justice, motherhood, and who society chooses to believe. Taut, sharp, and utterly absorbing. A must-read for fans of intelligent thrillers with heart.

After absolutely devouring Vikki’s first fiction novel The Unbelieved in 2024, I had sky high hopes for The Stolen and it delivered every bit of that same electric, impossible to put down energy.

Detective Antigone Pollard, one of my favourite fierce female leads, is back and she dives headfirst into another emotionally charged investigation - this time, the disappearance of a baby. It's a heavy and intense storyline (a trigger warning heads up to parents of little ones), but the way Vikki handles and calls out sensitive topics like misogyny and systemic failures is bold and brave.

The pacing of this book was perfect - purposeful and exactly the right length. No filler. No fluff. Just sharp, suspenseful storytelling packed with red herrings, character depth and a town full of secrets.

The writing was grounded but gripping and the twists had me guessing right until the very end.

If you love your crime reads with substance and strong female leads who take no crap, this is for you.

Big thanks to Allen and Unwin and Netgalley for this sneak peek.

(3.5 stars)
When I read The Unbelieved, I wrote that the author, Vikki Petriatis, has a “tendency to school readers on facts about violence against women through the character of Deception Bay Senior Detective Antigone Pollard.” In The Stolen, she’s equally fond of a lecture: "So much family violence was about one partner trying to control the other partner, disguising the control as love. But it wasn't love, it was power." Other people's books show it's possible to build reader understanding of domestic violence by showing the actions of a perpetrator or police, rather than telling them in a lecture. This stops these books from being good, immersive crime fiction. This may be because Petriatis was a true crime writer, and has taken over genre conventions to her fictional works.

Petriatis is also fond of overblown food writing, and it shows in the book's obsession with what the cops are eating: "Their ham and pineapple pizza was a melt-in-your-mouth experience of rich Italian flavours with lashings of cheese." Comfort is a banana cake hidden in your office drawer apparently: "Chocolate cake for breakfast and muffins for morning tea. The detective's diet." There's also some gender analysis thrown in: "I think society sells women a lie that we need to find the right man to complete. They should be telling us to find our own completeness before we join to someone else. Because in my day, the find-the-man bit was it. That was the goal. Whereas the story sold to men about finding a wife is simply a step in their bigger journey." Sometimes these bits get in the way of good storytelling. Would like the author to experiment with more subtlety. It didn't feel like a particularly believable story, particularly dining in the same week with two people it turns out you're related to through stolen babies...