Member Reviews
"A white envelope, unmarked, no stamp. Scrawled in chicken scratch: I KNOW WHERE SHE IS."
Francine receives this message ten years after her daughter, Autumn Cooper-Wright, went missing and no amount of searching ever turned up a clue. Francine descended into an alcoholic haze, she and her husband, Will, divorced and only recently has she begun to get herself put back together. Francine frantically calls her husband for a meet, but he's moved on, has a new wife and is expecting a child, and he thinks it's just a prank. When Francine meets 18-year-old Lena out by her car next to her job place the next day, she's not convinced that Lena is anything but a cruel joke when Lena says she knows Autumn -- whom she knows as Melody. And, Lena says that Autumn is still alive. Lena only begins to believe it when Lena tells her things that make her blood run cold.
"Even if you got her back...She's not the same little girl you lost...None of us are."
As messed up and unstable as Francine appears at first, she pulls herself together quickly and is off on a mission to rescue her daughter from unspeakable circumstances. NO SPOILERS, but the situation Autumn is in is horrible and one that no parent wants to imagine. The book really takes off after this and ratchets toward a spectacular, if somewhat unbelievable, climax. The narrative is well-paced and tension builds as Francine seeks to find and regain her daughter. Francine changes into something approaching Super Woman before the reader's eyes and the transformation is necessary considering what she is up against. Can she rescue Autumn when there is no one to turn to for help?
This was quite the unexpected thrill read for me as I had not anticipated the direction it was going. I enjoyed it as the pages flew by. As others have said, set aside a block of time as this begs to be read in a single sitting.
Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo Publishing for the e-book ARC to read and review.
When I read the description of this book it sounded right up my street and I couldn't wait to read it. However I am left feeling somewhat disappointed with it. I expected it to have me hooked but I kept finding myself putting down and taking breaks from it. It definitely wasn't the gripping page turner I had hoped for.
The story is centred around an organised paedophile ring that kidnaps young children and takes them to a remote house where they grow up. Once they are old enough they are then abused, both sexually and physically, by those in charge. As such it is quite detailed in some of the descriptions of what occurs there, which makes for some hard and uncomfortable reading at times.
For me the ending was a bit of a let down. It just seemed too abrupt and I was left thinking "is that it?". There were a few unanswered questions which I feel could have been tied up better.
Wow, where do I begin? If you are not hooked after the first few chapters then what is wrong with you? I simply can not put into words how amazing this book is and would recommend it to everyone who loves a book that is thrilling, intense, dark and gripping.
Wow! Stunning novel full of mystery and suspense and a bit of truthful-horror thrown in.
Very well-written and well-rounded characters.
Autumn's Dad was just awful and maybe slightly unbelievable- who gives up on finding their child?
From Lena's escape to nail biting ending- this book kept me page turning into the wee hours of the morning!
Well done.
This was an amazing story of a paedophile ring of massive proportions. The courage and conviction of one mother and two of the girls help to bring about its' downfall. Unfortunately this does happen in real life and very rarely are the perpetrators brought to justice. What an indictment of a "civilised" world and very brave of the author to write about it.
A dark and twisted story about the power of a mother's love and her determination to find her lost daughter. Compelling, tragic and fast paced.
This novel was amazing from start to finish. I had trouble putting it down. It has you hooked from the start. The storyline is a strong one and believable and the characters involved were real. I loved it and will be buying a copy once it has been released.
What a fabulous read! This book really is a first class thriller, full of dark characters with a level of suspense to physically hurt. Excellent.
I'm halfway through and already fearful for everyone here... full of the nasty, worm-ridden underbelly of society with everything you could ever fear for your children. Excellent suspense.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review from netgalley.
What a high to end the year on!!! Definite 4.5 stars. Rounded to five for some Christmas spirit.
Autumn is kidnapped ten years ago and her mum never gives up hope. Then a strange girl (I imagined her as Luna lovegood) turns up with some strange tales around a house and lots of girls and celebrities being involved.
Like a lot of other reviews, this wasn’t what I expected. but I loved it!
If you enjoyed the butterfly garden by Dot Hutchinson, you’ll like this
Francine's daughter was abducted 10 years ago. Subsequently, Francine turned into a functioning alcoholic, while her husband Will coped by turning the disappearance of his daughter into an industry. At the start of the book Francine receives a hand delivered note with only the words 'I KNOW WHERE SHE IS '.
And with this, Francine follows her gut instinct as a mother and goes on a fast paced, action fuelled search for her daughter. Is the note simply a cruel joke by some kids, as Will thinks, or does someone really know where her daughter Autumn is?
I can really imagine I Know Where She Is as a film and would love a sequel.
The book is clever, written dynamically and fast. The setting is believable and the characters leap off the page with all their flaws and unpredictability.
What a gripping thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat! I certainly will be watching out for S.B Caves in future!
A great thriller that was gripping to the very beginning. With great twists and turns this book was a great addictive read that was hard to put down
Ooooooooooo what a roller coaster ride that book was! Couldn’t have asked for more really in a book it had everything, drama, tension, scandal and lies, twists and turns, totally had me gripped from the first few chapters.
Basically 10 years ago Francine’s daughters autumn was abducted and on the anniversary she gets a note saying “I know where she is” and there begins your story!!!
Francine will do anything she can to get her daughter back and she doesn’t give up, I honestly had this book glued to my hands for nearly 2 days and refused to put it down, it had me guessing right until the end and even then I couldn’t believe it. The book is not for the faint of heart as there’s scenes of sexual torture and abuse but not many though the few are graphic.
However it didn’t put me off and honestly it’s one of the best books I’ve read all year (I read a lot of books) go get the book you will not be disappointed
This book will undoubtedly have a few triggers for some readers as well-being to far out of the comfort zone for others but that aside, It really is worth reading and I am really really hoping there will be a follow up book to this one!
I didn’t actually expect the story to go down this route so it was a bit of a surprise but I am glad I stuck with it. It started off a little slowly for mean the main protagonist wasn’t instantly likeable ( sorry Francine!) but by half way I was completely invested in her and her daughter Autumn.
For me it is Autumn that is the star of the show, a strong, brave, resilient young girl that you cant help but to feel for. Thankfully most of us will never have to experience even a fraction of what these two and the other girls have gone through and this book will have you counting your blessings for that whist checking to make sure your own kids are still tucked up safe and sound! (Or was that just me?)
It’s so hard to write this as I really don’t want to give you the whole storyline before you have had chance to read the book for yourselves but I think you will have a good idea from this that this is not just about kidnapped children.
I think that possibly if I had known before i started reading that i might not have chosen this book to read but i am really glad that i did which is why i urge you to try this book for yourselves and not be put off if you can. You wont regret it in my opinion and if like me, come the end you will be crossing your fingers that there will be a continuation of Autumns story!
This is a well written and immaculately paced debut novel that is truly gripping. It is definitely worth reading if you are a fan of a good thriller. It's best that you find an afternoon to set aside to read this as once you get into it it is difficult to put down. The need to find out whether Autumn is alive or dead and what actually happened to her keeps you turning those pages!
I wouldn't hesistate to read another of the authors novels in the future. A riveting and unpredictable roller coaster ride. I would not be surprised if there was a sequel as the door has been left wide open for this, if there is I would definitely read it. There is no doubt in my mind that this is an author to watch for the future.
You know, I picked this out a while ago, but never got to it. I recently decided to give it a go, and I had just finished Jaycee Dugard’s A Stolen Life, and drew so many parallels between this fictitious world and her horrible experience. Not because I was supposed to, but Dugard’s story was so fresh in my mind, the concept of snatched kids returning after all that time, hence the link for me, I suppose, because they aren’t really alike aside from that.
Right off, I would like to say that there are absolutely no likeable characters in this book. Francine, our main peanut and perpetually grieving mother, is just… meh. I understood the concept of her, and I felt for her, but this does not mean that I had to like her. And I didn’t. Next up in her permanently exasperated husband. Sure, another character I understood and felt for, but again didn’t like. Not to mention all the other characters peppered throughout this novel, none of them with actual stories, none of them real characters, but there to move the story along. While that was hollow at times, it also served the purpose really well that the only two characters who actually really meant anything were Autumn and her mother, for better or worse.
I think the concept was decent, and you know, nobody wants to think of the ugly world we live in, and that some seriously sick, nasty stuff really does happen. This book hits on that, but there are a lot of things that remain vague and never detail out, and are never explored in more depth. For instance, the pregnant girls, where the babies go, who raises them, how much more of this could possibly go on, how extensive it is, how the cops are involved but nobody is saying anything – so many loose ends. Still, you are drawn in and the story hooks you pretty early on.
I Know Where She Is wasted no time in getting started and barrelled along throughout the time I read it. It was also a quick read, and I think the flow of it helped a lot for that, too, and it quite well written. Even with its flaws, it is an engaging read, one you would like to know what happens, and what has happened, although you might not get the most satisfactory answers in those quests. But the story is good, Autumn is the only decent character, and it all comes together alright. I see that many people enjoyed this more than I did, but I think it might just have been the fact that I expected more from the conspiracy and brutality of it all, and a more well thought-out read than was ultimately delivered. Still, not a bad read, especially if you want something fast that has dark sections to it.
I strongly feel it is irresponsible and neglectful of the author/Publishing team not to mention a large theme of this book, or at least mention that there is a major trigger point in the shape of graphic sexual abuse and sexual violence.
If I knew of the content beforehand I probably wouldn’t have started it, but I would have definitely read some reviews first - then most likely avoid it.
I requested this from Netgalley in return for an honest opinion .I regret to say, despite some glowing reviews,, that I found it rather nasty rubbish. It’s an American book featuring female child abduction and male child abuse.. That this happens we know all too well from TV news and papers, but I don’t need to read a fictionalised account as well . The real thing is bad enough. And this story I found unbelievable, blown up to daft proportions.. It left me feeling disquieted.
There are a lot of 'missing person' books around, but this one is a cut above most others. The intriguing twists and great writing meant I literally couldn't put it down.
Although not necessarily all that comfortable with the plot.
If you can put up with the far fetched story line then this is a easy read.