Almost every day parents all over the world face a battle with their consciences over the safety of their children. The battle over how to keep them safe whilst also granting them the freedom that they need to grow up into independent individuals. It's easy when they are little but as they grow older they want to be more adventurous and have more life enhancing experiences.

Isobel (izzy) had her doubts about allowing her twelve year old son Nick to go to the sleepover at his friend Adrian's house. She knew that she was being overprotective but she felt that she had every right to be considering what had happened at the school gates a year ago.

But after a heated conversation with her ex husband Craig,she backtracks and decides to allow Nick to have some fun with his school friends.

Only that one small decision plunges Isobel into every parents worst nightmare because the next morning when she goes to pick Nick up,he isn't there. The other boys insist that they don't know where he is,no one saw him leave, he has simply disappeared,without trace.

Where is Nick? What happened on that fateful night? How many lies and threads will the police have to untangle before they uncover the shocking truth?

This utterly enthralling thriller is voiced entirely from Isobel's perspective, a complex, relatable character who due to one small decision found her life torn apart and threatened. She found herself being constantly lied to and having no idea who she could trust. Throughout the book Isobel took us back into her past where we learnt about the tragic fate of her first husband, the early days of her relationship with Craig and events before and after the terrible incident at the school gates. There was quite a number of untrustworthy characters scattered throughout this story,many of whom were not who they appeared to be,lived in denial and wouldn't have recognised the truth even if it had jumped up and slapped them round the face. I loved DCI Maxwell and his team, each one of them was a likeable, dedicated individual who really cared about Isobel and the fate of her missing son.

Wow...just wow, I really really enjoyed this well written, tightly plotted, intense thriller that had me totally captivated from the first page. I had no idea what it was about when I requested it because there was no synopsis on Netgalley. I only requested it because I really liked the cover and I'm so glad that I did. It's packed full of twists and turns,the characters were believable and the story has a totally unexpected twist. The author cleverly manipulates the reader into thinking they know the truth and then throws in a twist that completely blows your theory into tiny little pieces. I would love to watch a film or tv mini series adaptation of this book and it is definitely going to be one of my favourite reads of this year. Worth far more than five stars and very very highly recommended.