This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

As he does every morning, Nick drops his son at school. As he is pulling away from the school gates, he is involved in a minor collision with a car that doesn’t stop. Nick acts quickly, snapping a picture of the receding car on his phone so that he can read the license plate later. When he gets home and enlarges the picture, he sees something completely unexpected: Gabriel, his son, is in the back of the car, being driven away by a stranger. Now it’s up to Nick to find him and bring him home.

It’s a nice hook, that moment of shock as we realise that Nick’s son is not in school, that he has, in fact, been snatched from right under his nose. Beyond that point, though, the story goes in a completely unexpected direction, and becomes something other than the psychological thriller that the reader thinks they’ve signed up for. It’s difficult to talk about much more of the plot without introducing spoilers and, let’s face it, I want you to be as surprised as I was when Nick phones his husband to tell him their son has been kidnapped; his husband’s response is what lifts this from the realms of “haven’t I read this a million times before?” into the realms of the unknown and the unexpected.

The identity of LK Fox goes some way towards explaining this original streak, as it’s the pen name of the mind behind the adventures of Bryant & May and some of the finest horror novels the ‘80s and ‘90s ever witnessed, the one and only Christopher Fowler. This is Fowler’s first foray into the world of psychological thrillers, but as a writer with almost thirty years of experience under his belt, there’s little here that is likely to cause him any trouble.

The central storyline of Little Boy Found is based around Nick and his estranged husband Ben, a pair whose relationship, as we learn more about them, seems to have been doomed from day one: Ben seems less than comfortable with his status as one half of a same-sex couple, and even less comfortable with Nick’s determination to ensure that everyone knows that they are married and refers to them accordingly. This tension comes to a head when they are dealing with the homophobic detective assigned to find their son, so that their subsequent estrangement is not much of a surprise. Ben, we learn, has been married before, to a woman who cheated on him and left him to care for a son who, we later learn, the couple adopted when he was a baby.

Intertwined with this narrative is the story of Ella, a young girl who falls for an up-and-coming musician, finds herself pregnant after he rapes her, and ends up in psychiatric care, determined to keep her child at any cost. Fox focuses on the horror in Ella’s life, and leaves us in no doubt that she is mentally unhinged, and in no fit state to care for herself, let alone an infant, so it’s no surprise when her son is placed with adoptive parents.

The characters are what drive Little Boy Found, what make it such an interesting read. This is helped in no small way by the constant feeling that Fox is always one step ahead of us, ready to pull the carpet from under our feet, which he takes great pleasure in doing on several different occasions. This is edge-of-the-seat fiction at its very best, a thrilling plot line that manages to stay ahead of the reader until the very last page. There is no doubt that we are in the hands of a master storyteller, and there is little chance of us second-guessing where this story will take us. All of which makes for an excellent read, even if there are one or two convolutions that stretch the bounds of disbelief a little too far.

If I have one problem with Little Boy Found, it’s nothing whatsoever to do with the novel’s content, but with the fact that Quercus will be producing this one only in ebook format; the perfect poolside read, and you’ll need to take your Kindle with you to read it.

That minor gripe aside, I can’t help but recommend Little Boy Found unreservedly. I have long been a fan of Christopher Fowler, and his experiment with psychological horror is as eminently enjoyable as any of his Bryant & May mysteries, and as frightening (if for much different reasons) as his horror and dark fantasy novels. Probably only surpassed this year by Sarah Pinborough’s Behind Her Eyes in the surprise ending stakes, Little Boy Found is a taut and beautifully-constructed thriller that will keep you engrossed until the very last page. Its biggest selling point is its originality, and its ability to surprise, so do yourself a favour, and read it before someone spoils it for you.

Omg talk about a roller coaster read wow this book kept me on the edge of my seat threw out I just couldn't put it down this writer keeps you hooked and once your hooked your not letting go I found this book thrilling the characters were fantastic and well thought out and the little clues all the way threw keep you guessing until the end this book stays with you long after you close the book this book is well worth the read I promise you wont be disappointed

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

A very unusual book this. It takes a long time to get a sense of whats going on and then it did hook me but a lot of the plot depends on huge coincidence and some very unlikely behaviour so it lost a star for me. Interesting idea that could have been developed into something a little better.

I really struggled with Little Boy Found. I persevered as I hate not reading books to the end but I was just not enjoying it so I gave up. Sorry not for me.

I haven't read anything by LK Fox before so I did not know what to expect. I was however pleasantly surprised. The book was well written and had a lot of twists and turns I really did not expect. Recommended.

Little boy found by l k fox.
One rainy morning, just after Nick drops off his young son Gabriel outside the crowded school gates, he has a minor collision with another car. The driver won't surrender his insurance details, so Nick photographs the licence plate. When he gets home, he enlarges the shot on his phone and spots something odd about the picture - Gabriel in the back seat, being driven away by a stranger. Nick needs to know what happened to his boy, but losing Gabriel turns out to be far less terrible than the shock of finding him. Now, to discover the truth, he must relive the nightmare all over again...Be warned, this is not another missing child story: what happened to Nick and his son is far more shocking.
OMG. What a twister of a read. Didn't want to put it down. 5*. I was shocked with the ending. A must read. Highly recommended. Netgalley and quercus books.

This book started off very well but I became confused with the story line mid-way through and didn't finish it. Disappointing

The twists were predictable (at least they were to me), and although this author is not new to writing, he is new to this genre which was sadly obvious.

I liked the plot and it had a lot of potential but it just didn't hit the mark for me. It felt stilted.

I'm not sure whether or not I would read future books by this author, but sadly I won't be recommending it.

Thanks to Quercus Books for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

L K Fox is the pen name of author Christopher Fowler who writes the Bryant & May novels (I reviewed one here). This book focuses on Nick, who on the day of his son's birthday drops him off a school only to notice that his child has somehow ended up on the back seat of a stranger's car!  What on earth has happened to Gabriel and how can he get him back?

There are many strands to this book and it's not until the end of the book that they are all tied up together.  Nick is not Gabriel's 'real' father, this is his ex-husband Ben although it is Nick and Gabriel who have the closer relationship.  They are now estranged and it turns out that Nick's nightmare at the start of the book is in fact a memory of what happened to Gabriel twelve months earlier.  Did Nick see more on that fateful day than he first imagined.  Can he discover what really happened to his child?

We also have a second narrator, and this is Ella, a teenage girl who has a massive crush on a popstar called Ryder.  When she wins a competition to meet him, her life is changed forever.  This is also her story.

How do the stories of Nick, Ella and Ryder link though?  Keep reading Little Boy Found to find out the truth.

Little Boy Found is a at times heart breaking story of families,relashionship,grief,obsession,lies,betrayals and mental illness and adds a different twist to the usual missing child mystery.

Nick`s nightmare begins on a normal rainy morning.He has just dropped his young son Gabriel off at school when outside the crowded school gates he has a minor collision with another car.The other driver won't surrender their insurance details so Nick takes a photo of the licence plate.After he gets home and enlarges the photo on his phone Nick is shocked when he sees Gabriel on the back seat,being driver away by the other driver.Nick needs to know what happened to his son but losing Gabriel turns out to be far less terrible than the shock of finding him.Now to uncover the truth,he must relive the nightmare all over again.

Who had taken his innocent young son and why?

As well as following Nick`s desperate quest to find out the truth of what happened to Gabriel,we also follow the sad story of a teenager called Ella.To be honest for a while I enjoyed Nick`s parts a lot more than Ella`s and didn't understand where she fitted into Nick and Gabriel's story but then it became clear how her story connected to Nick`s and I began to enjoy both parts equally.

It's not a fast paced story but it does have some intense moments and a couple of jaw dropping twists that I honestly didn't see coming.I did think that at times the story relied on unrealistic coincidences to help move it forward and I felt that the epilogue was only there to add unneeded shock,the story could have been satisfactorily wrapped up a couple of pages earlier but thats just my opinion.

Many thanks to quercus books for an arc of this book via netgalley in exchange for a honest review

There have been a lot of unreliable narrator, onion plots that unravel type novels recently. Little Boy Found is one of the better reads which is not a surprise when you find out L K Fox is a pseudonym for Christopher Fowler. The story tracks Nick as he tries to cope on the anniversary of the abduction and murder of his partners son - the boy he treated as his own. The story also follows Ella who will be instrumental in understanding what really happened. Nothing is as it first appears and the story circles pleasingly to a climax with the late twist to top it off. Fowler brings his delicate writing style and his slightly eccentric perspective to this pleasing read. Recommended!

Although well plotted and written I'm sorry but this book wasn't for me

This was a rollercoaster of a read, one which I thoroughly enjoyed. It tells the story of a missing boy told from two central characters. Nick, who cannot recover from the abduction of his son and Ella, a troubled teenager. It is told in alternating chapters, eventually the connection between them is revealed. I must admit the story was a bit confusing at times but there were plenty of twists and turns to keep me enthralled. Would recommend Little Boy Found to lovers of psychological thrillers. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for giving me the,opportunity to read and review this book.

This is an interesting book. The blurb is right: it is different from most 'abducted child' storylines and it does have a cracker of a twist quite early on, with more to follow. While I worked out one of the twists, most of them were pretty surprising and I liked the ending. The problem, however, was the writing - quite a lot was really drawn out - and the over-reliance on some hella contrived coincidences! I am surprised that this came from the same person that brought us the rich detail of the Bryant & May books and, although this has some good twists, I do prefer some of his other work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for the ARC of Little Boy Found.

After Nick drops off his stepson Gabriel at school one morning he is in a small collision with another car. The other driver leaves, refusing to share details so Nick takes a picture of the car. It's only when he studies the picture of the retreating car that he realises that Gabriel is in the back seat....

This novel is told in two parts. By Nick as he struggles to come to terms with the disappearance of Gabriel and by Ella, a seemingly unconnected, rather naive teenage girl with a hopeless crush on wastrel singer (think Pete Doherty without the fame). The stories are told in his now and her then gradually coming together for the final twists.

All in all I really enjoyed this book. There were enough reasonably obvious twists for me to be smug I'd worked them out but also enough humdingers for me to be satisfied with the read. A tense and gripping story perfect for a quiet summer evening in the garden (have a g&t for me)

I received this from Netgalley for an honest review.

When you hear one of your favourite authors has taken up a pen name and written a new book, in a different style it often casts the authors shadow over your thoughts, when you decide to read the new novel. So I was really happy that I was already over half way through my advance copy before I became aware that it had been written by Christopher Fowler. It was great to be able to form my opinions without prior knowledge and meant I had a genuine feel for the writing and its flow.

With a distinctly different take on the usual crime of a missing child, Little Boy Found is a gripping read, that really didn’t take long for me to become completely addicted to with regard to discovering what really happened to Nick’s son, and determined not to put the book down until I knew the truth for myself. I felt I was just as determined as Nick was to put the pieces together and solve the riddle of Gabriel’s last day, and often as amazed by each revelation along the way.

Little Boy Found is told from the perspective of two central characters, both of whom are broken, struggling with their lives, their relationships with family, friends and partners whilst trying to understand and come to terms with the tragedies that have befallen them. It’s a well paced read and has plenty twists and turns to keep you off kilter as you try and figure out who was responsible for what happened, how and why.

If you are looking for your next lazy day read Little Boy Found comes highly recommended by me.

Little Boy Found

by LK Fox

Quercus Books



Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 06 Jul 2017

I am reviewing a copy of Little Boy Found through Quercia Books and Netgalley:

Nick thought finding his little boy meant his nightmare was over, little could he know it had just begun.

Nick dropped his son off at school one day, and ended up in a minor collision with another car, the other driver won't surrender his insurance details so he takes a picture of the license plate, but when he gets home and enlarges the photo he realizes Gabriel was in the back seat being driven away.

Nick had been drinking the night before, and people do not believe Gabriel was really taken. Gabriel was found dead. A year after it was ruled an accident will they find differently.

What really happened to Gabriel? Was it murder or accidental?

Find out in Little Boy Found!

Five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Little Boy Found tells the story through of a missing little boy, relayed through the eyes of teenage Ella and her teenaged way of thinking, and adult Nick, the father of missing Gabriel. At first I found this concept a little confusing, and the alternating chapters with Ella seemed out of place - the prose from Ella's account seemed so unrelated to what Nick was telling us, that I had to actually go back and re-read the previous chapters to see if it made sense. This happened for the first quarter of the book, however eventually you come to see how the lives of both Ella and Nick are relevant to the story, at which point the story gathers pace and starts presenting the reader with lots of questions to keep them reading on.

Some parts were rather predictable, but to balance this out nicely there were quite a few bits of that plot that took me by surprise. On the whole, I feel this was a really good mystery, and what really made this work was the alternating chapters from Nick and Ella. It just goes to show how important it is to persevere with a book, as the writing style that initially put me off turned out to be the what actually made the book for me. My main criticism of Little Boy Found however, is that the way the story came together at the end all seemed largely very unrealistic, and as a realist I find it difficult to enjoy reading things when I am imagining that is is unlikely that they could ever happen.

On the whole, this was a good well-rounded mystery with enough intrigue to propel the reader to the end, if at times a touch unbelievable.