I am just not interested in organised crime. The storyline was not what was expected by the synopsis therefore was a big disappointment and just not for me at all. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Aside from its entertainment value, The Forgotten Child offers a double lesson to readers of any book: Pay scant attention to 1) the publishers's blurb and 2) what other readers/reviewers have to say about it.

The teaser/synopsis posted at book sale sites (see above) for this book promises a story that few readers found, and many of them grumbled about it (see below). But in their disappointment, they trashed the book for not being what they expected -- and it's a good story, even if unexpected.

The characters have been roughened by their harsh lives, and most of them surrendered to the "easy way" out, getting by on petty and not-so-petty crime.Even those who have gone legit find that the sins of their fathers (and brothers and cousins) continue to haunt their lives.

The publisher's teaser touches only on the opening chapter, where single mother Holly is run off the road and regains consciousness to find that someone has placed a unknown-to-her child in the backseat with her son. Who left the forgotten child, and why?

The rest of the story unravels the knotty connections in Holly's life, making nearly everyone she knows a suspect. Along the way, she learns whom she can and cannot trust, and what the strange boy has to do with her past.

I liked it, and give it 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. Thanks to NetGalley for an advance readers copy.

I've just finished reading The Forgotten Child, and let me start by saying I enjoyed the main character, Holly. She is strong and fierce, and the author develops her character very well.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I think I went into it with a certain expectation for how the story would develop, and I was disappointed because the story actually centers around a couple of crime families, which is not a topic that interests me. There are a lot of family members to keep sorted, and there are family histories and rivalries to deal with. The ending left me feeling dissatisfied.

I do hope the right readers find this book and enjoy it. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book and exchange for my honest review.

Although not what the blurb advertised, this mystery is interesting. There are several characters to keep track of. Most of the book is mob related. The end came as a bit of a surprise. It's a decent read, but it would have been better if the anonymous child was more of a feature of the story.

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

So here I am on the fence for a recent book. I liked the story but it wasn’t what I expected. I had this idea of the book based on the synopsis but while this was a background story it was not the main one.

The story is more about the strained relationship of Holly and her husband, her family and her past. And of course let’s throw some organized crime into it.

I think the story could have been good if my mind wasn’t so set on what the book promised but did not deliver.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

After reading the blurb on this one and reading the authors previous work, I was so excited to read this psychological thriller

However I think the blurb is a bit deceiving of what the book is actually about

That does not mean I did not enjoy it

The book begins with holly, driving her and her son home, when they both become iinvolved in a car accident. However, when holly wakes up, there is another boy in the car. Who is he and where has he come from?

This book has so many twists and turns throughout it. I read the book in 2 sittings. It had me gripped

It was a great book. Thank you for the opportunity to review this

I wanted to read this book on the basis of the synopsis. Unfortunately the two do not match up. This is not my type of book. Sorry.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This book is very little about the forgotten child but more about the protagonists past. It started off well and sucked me in but I wasn't interested in the part about drugs and turf wars.

Holly has finally escaped from her drug dealing family. Now she needs to divorce her cheating lying husband and maybe her and Mili can live a simple life. It's hard extracting yourself from a life of drug dealers, even if they are family. They seem to follow you 2vety place you go.
As she's driving down a dark icy road a car comes up behind her and hits her bumper. Suddenly her and her son are off the road going down an embankment. When she becomes conscious, she checks her son to see how badly he may be hurt. That is when she discovers another child in her car. A young boy. She doesn't know who he is.ball she knows is that she needs to save her child and this unknown boy.
As she tries to come to grips with how the drug family may be involved with her wreck and the discovery of this other child, she learns revenge, hate, live ,loyalty can all be pieces of the same puzzle.
Great read!

Thank you @Netgalley and @HQdigital for the ARC of The Forgotten Child. This was my first book by D E White. I was a little iffy about it at first because it started off a little slow but I'm glad I stuck it out because it got super good. There were a ton of twists and turns. I am definitely going to read another book by this author.

Holly is driving Milo, her son, home. It is raining heavily & she is constantly getting abusive texts from her ex-husband. A car behind her makes her go off the road. When she comes round she is relieved to find Milo is alive but unconscious but is shocked to find another unconscious boy in the car- one she has never seen before.

Holly has worked hard to escape the Seaview Estate & the warring crime families. Her father still wants her to be part of the drugs & people trafficking but she is determined to make a better life for her & her son. However the estate does not easily let go & events find her thrown back into its murky world.

Like many people, it was the mystery of the child that drew me to this book & for a while I was irritated by the gangster element, but the story hooked me enough to want to find out what happened & overall I enjoyed it. I really thought it was a 3.5 read, but I've rounded it up rather than down. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

Thank you NetGalley for this advance copy. This was a good book. It starts out with one of those heart stopping holy cow what is this moments. Some good twists in this book and things you didn't see coming. Relationships you never would have guessed. Good, suspenseful book.

5 stars!
A real page turner.
Well written, good pace, interesting storyline with strong characters, captivating from page one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book. This is my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

I feel a little duped by the synopsis. What the blurb says the book will be and what it actually is are two different things. This ins't a book about a forgotten child so much as it is about Holly's past and how it is pulling her back in.

The thing that I really disliked about this book is how drawn out it is. It just seems to drag on and on and on. After a while it was just frustrating, and I wanted to yell that I got it: Holly was surrounded by liars.

All around, this just wasn't the book for me. I'm not saying it's a bad book, because it isn't. I just didn't personally care for it.

Thanks for netgalley for an advance copy of the book in exchange for a review!

I absolutely loved the description of this book, and that was what pushed me to want to read it. The first couple of chapters were interesting and then I pretty much lost all interest and it took me a long long time to get through it.

The book itself doesn't really focus on the child a lot, which was annoying because the concept was very interesting, instead it focused on the past of the main character; which was definitely not as intriguing for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Plenty of twists and turns that make you rethink your opinion of the characters.

It deals with old time gangland families, drugs, people trafficking and those who try to leave it all behind.

But leaving it behind comes at a price.

This book didn't quite make it for me. The story in itself is good and gripping and was in some places a page turner. For me personally, I got a bit confused with the jumping back and forward from past to present. I like how the characters and situations were detailed though and brought to life but if I put it down and tried to pick the story back up sometimes I found it tricky. I liked the main character, Holly but not the whole Mafia type situation that surrounded her.

Overall this is worth a read, especially if you like thriller, gang, London based books but sadly not as enthralling as the likes of Martina Cole etc.

Thank you Net Galley.

I thought I would love this book but I just couldn’t get into it and the repetitive talk of “Seaview” was a little annoying.

Firstly, I have to say I love Daisy White's Ruby Baker series set in 1960s Brighton so I was thrilled to see her branch out into the psychological thriller genre. Upon reading the synopsis (blurb) for this book, I must say I was incredibly intrigued and excited by the the promising storyline. It was such a unique concept that left many questions as to how it might play out.

The story begins with Holly Kendal driving in the dark and driving rain with her young son Milo in the back, who is lost in the game he is playing that Holly has to keep telling him to turn it down so she could concentrate. Before long a car begins tailgating her at very close proximity with bright headlights blinding her in the rear view mirror. When another car is approaching from the opposite direction, seemingly on her side of the road, Holly must swerve to avoid colliding with him blasting her horn at the same time.

Meanwhile the car behind her is still hot on her tail, if not closer. Suddenly she is shunted from behind and tries to keep her own car on the road when the one behind rams her again. She over-corrects and ends up plummeting down the embankment and into the woods, stopping short of a tree. Both Holly and Milo are unconscious.

When Holly awakes, her first thought is of Milo as she scrambles in the twisted wreck in search of her son. Despite the pain shooting through her body, she climbs out and manages to open the back door to see Milo unconscious but unharmed. But then she sees Milo is not the only one in the backseat. There is a second child, also unconscious...and Holly has no idea who he is or where he has come from.

A passerby has seen the accident and called for emergency services despite not remaining at the scene (that alone is illegal here in Australia), and Holly finds herself and Milo transported to hospital along with the mystery child. She is given the all clear and Milo just has a few cuts and a broken leg, but the other child is not so lucky. He remains in a critical condition in a coma, his identity still unknown.

But things take a surprising turn when DNA taken from the mystery child reveals a familial link to Holly. How can that be? All her family are dead, except for her father and a childless aunt. So who is this mystery child?

And that is where any similarities to the outline for the story ends. What we are given instead is a story surrounding a criminal community and the families involved who thrive on the proceeds of drugs and human trafficking. While the story showed promise at the outset, the synopsis given was very misleading as it didn't really focus on the child at all but more about the seedier side of organised crime. The whole thing felt sordid and grubby, and was a disappointment. I couldn't even finish it so I've no idea how it all ended up or who the child was and how he fit into the story.

The few characters I met up to the point I gave up, I didn't like. Not even Holly. Her ex-husband was a piece of work. He cheats on her, moves in with his teenage bit of fluff and somehow everything that happens is Holly's fault. He is a classic narcissist who thrives on accolades of applause and attention and once he no longer receives that, he looks for it elsewhere. The fact that he was Holly's university lecturer should have been a red flag to her then. He basked in her adoration of him but when that wore off, he traded her in for a younger model. He was vile and I felt I needed a shower after listening to his tirade. Holly's father was once head of a criminal empire on the estate from which she came - something her ex-husband never let her forget. Her aunt still lived on the estate and she was OK, but I still think she had rose coloured glasses when it came to the estate. And I got exhausted listening to Milo.

Much of the book I found hard to follow and slightly convoluted. It chopped and changed from past to present without really much indication, making my head spin. I didn't know where I was half the time.

I was disappointed as I really expected more of a psychological thriller, and THE FORGOTTEN CHILD was more of an action-based story about organised crime. Not my cup of tea at all. It seems THE FORGOTTEN CHILD really was forgotten in this story.

However, reading is a personal thing and what appeals to one may not appeal to another. While I didn't particularly enjoy THE FORGOTTEN CHILD I'm sure there are many others who will. But don't judge by the synopsis as it is very misleading and not really about that at all (a pet peeve of mine). If you think you might enjoy it from what I've outlined, then why not give it a go?

I would like to thank #DEWhite, #NetGalley and #HGDigital for an ARC of #TheForgottenChild in exchange for an honest review.

Last month three books stood out in my mind and, when I grouped them together, I realised that they had a common thread. All three of them had protagonists you don’t often see represented in crime fiction and it was this diversity that pulled me to them (as well as the exceptional stories, of course). In Ali Harper’s The Runaway, we have two Northern , working class women, one of whom is gay and black. In Kia Abdullah’s Take It Back we have a disabled girl and a Muslim female lawyer and in D.E. White’s, The Forgotten Child, the main character Holly is struggling to maintain a distance from her family’s criminal past, whilst coping with a controlling ex-husband and being a single parent.

I would love to hear what reads you loved in September and why. Why not leave a recommendation at the bottom. #Lovebooks #LoveReading!

The Forgotten Child by D.E. White is all about secrets and past events. After Holly has a car accident and finds another child sitting beside her own son in the back seat, she finds herself drawn to the child. From there, secrets from Holly’s past, the return of a familiar face and shocking news all converge as she, with the help of a friend tries to discover the child’s identity whilst being determined not to return to her old life, despite pressure. Gangsters, unidentified children, threats and family secrets make this a must read. This is an explosive read, with enough red herrings and twists to keep you on your toes. Loved it!