I thought this book was going to be a bore and a slow burn.... was I ever wrong! There are so many twists, turns and surprises it almost made my head spin. I found myself staying up late to read this more than I should have (2 AM, anyone?).. And the climax, oh man! This was not predictable either which I was surprised by because too many thriller book are like this.

Without giving too much away Matt and Annabelle's three children go missing in the car they are in while Matt is picking up a few groceries for his sick wife. They learn this is not a mistake and it is a kidnapping. The kidnapper is in no hurry to return the kids, and when plans are revealed, it is just too horrible. Annabelle, a now successful writer has to exchange herself for her kids, otherwise they will end up dead. Who is doing this and why? Is it a random person or someone they know?

I also like the timeline of this book. You learn how Matt and Annabelle meet in the past and then it flips to their present horrible choice. A MUST READ AND HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

Thanks to Netgalley,, Alex Lake and Harper Collins 360 for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 12/29/20

Matt and Annabelle have a great marriage and three wonderful kids, whom they adore. One day Matt has to stop at the store to pick up a few things and has his kids with him, so he decided since he would only be a minute he would leave the kids in the car alone while he went inside. He got what he needed and headed back to his car and kids, but he couldn’t find his car, at first he thought he had forgot where he had parked then he starts to panic when he realized that his car and kids were missing. About that time he received a text from an unknown number that says his kids have been kidnapped, and if he called the police him and his wife would not see their children again and he told him he would hear from him later about a random. As Matt and Annabelle wait for the kidnapper to contact them they wonder why he had targeted them since they don’t have a lot of money. Imagine their surprise when the kidnapper informs them that it’s not money he wants in exchange for their kids but Annabelle. This was a very fast paced story that I couldn’t put down and I really enjoyed it. I love all of This authors books. Thanks to Netgalley for this arc for my honest review.

Annabelle, a writer and Matt a lawyer were happily married with three beautiful children and were thinking of adding to their family. All was well until one day Matt decided to go to get groceries for his wife who was feeling a bit under the weather. He brought the three children with him to give his wife some time to rest. He popped into the store leaving his children strapped in the car. He knew he would only be a few minutes. He rushed into the store and quickly bought what he needed but to his horror the car with the children inside was missing! A million things went through his mind about what could have happened. Then his phone rang and he answered it and his nightmare began. What an original and deliciously twisted plot. I loved every second of this book. My mind kept going over and over the details trying to figure out what was going on.. A jaw dropping thriller that you will stay up all night to finish. It is really that good!

Well.... I love Alex Lake's previous books but this one was just ok. I did read it relatively fast cause I was eager to see how it ends. Overall, it was an ok read!

Thank you NetGalley, Harper Collins and Alex Lake for an ARC in exchange for a full review.

Matt leaves his three children in his car for just a minute to pick up some groceries, returns a few minutes later to find his children gone. He soon gets a ransom note, the kidnapper does NOT want money, he/she wants Matt's wife Annabelle.

I enjoyed the twists and turns of this book. There are lots of. characters who could have been the kidnapper and I was kept guessing until the end. This is the first book I have read by Alex Lake, and I plan to read more!

I was unable to put this book down! I had to read in one fell swoop to find out what happened.

This book has dual timelines starting at 2004 and working its way up to 2020. Even though the abduction took place in 2020 and Matt and Annabelle are frantically wondering about the whereabouts of their three children, and then Matt is worried for his wife, I enjoyed the 2004-2014 chapters MUCH more. It was more interesting leading up to the who and why than the now. I loved how the author provided many suspects through the 2004-2014 chapters. What I didn't love is the fact that I had the culprit figured out about half way through. Yet, it was an enjoyable journey to keep reading to see if I was correct.

We are given many points of view and I appreciated that the story was formatted in this way. We know about all about them but the victims parents don't have a clue who would do this, it kind of felt like I had one up on them. There were times I had a hard time putting the book down and I enjoyed the writing style, character development, and the overall plot. I took half a star off because I knew who did it BUT because of the readability factor I rounded up. This is my second book by Alex Lake and I look forward to reading more by this author.

😂 I Have To Agree With Matt's Thoughts on Jasmine Green Tea 😂

Drinking that muck again? I tried it...

- Thought I’d picked up some warm drain cleaner by accident.
- I have been using it, actually. It’s good for cleaning your feet.
- Someone came over the other day who I really don’t like, so I made them a cup.

Alex Lake, I like your sense of humour! 😁

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

This book was a bit predictable and formulaic but it’s very engaging and the characters are likable and fun enough that it keeps you sucked in and turning pages through the plot. Solid 3.

Okay! I’m confused: I have tons of things for enjoying this story so much including its breathtaking, high tense, fast pacing beginning and I have to admit I was breathless throughout the action packed, heart pounding ending parts. But in the middle of it, the story lost its charm because the execution of the ideas became flat. It gives us so much and we already found the perpetrator and his reasonings to commit such a dangerous crime. I didn’t use my spidey spider senses. I already sent them to Vegas for enjoying their masked jackpot experience! As I mentioned before I felt like the author whispered the ending to our ears in the middle of the book.

Before I’m telling my decision between three and four stars let’s give you brief summary of story:

Matt Westbrook thinks there is no harm to stop by the shop for a few seconds. His three children can wait him in the car. It won’t take more than a minute. But the worst thing he cannot even imagine happens and somebody steals his car with his children still inside! Whattt??? What kind of freak does that?

He goes back to his house to talk with his wife with a small hope: his children found their way back but his children are not at home and they receive threatening messages tell them: this is kidnap and if they want to see their children alive, they have to pay a ransom. A ransom like “leave the gun and wife, take the cannelloni and children.” Okay, you got what I mean! They want Annabelle switch places with his children.

And eventually she accepts the offer! As a devoted mother she was ready to take any risk to save her children. And then... yes I’m shut my blabbering mouth right now not to give away so much!

I think I chose to be more optimistic grader this time: I finally decided rounding up 3.5 stars to 4 because of promising start and amazing ending but I think if second half of the book could be rewritten and those short chapters can be a little elaborated, it would turn into guaranteed five starred reading for me! But I still enjoyed the heart pounding pace and satisfying outcome!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper 360/ Harper Collins for sharing this reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

WOW, what a ride! I could not put this book down!

Matt stops at the store for some groceries....it's just a quick trip. When he comes back out, his car, with his kids, is gone, and the kidnapper makes contact, don't call the police. Matt and his wife, Annabelle are already terrified and desperate when the kidnapper makes second contact: the ransom is not money - it's Annabelle. The first part of the book centers on their impossible choice and also offers some backstory and potential suspects. The second half adds some new characters who are all trying to find Annabelle before time runs out.

This is fast-paced and twisty. Highly recommend.

This was a decent read with some twists that really makes you think. It centers on Matt and Annabelle, who are happily married with 3 kids. Matt leaves the kids in the car for a few minutes while he runs into a store and when he comes out, the car with the kids in it is gone- a parent's worst nightmare. He quickly receives messages from the kidnapper, who tells him that the only way he can get his kids back is to swap them for his wife.

The first half of this book is fraught with tension, as Matt and Annabelle try to figure out what to do and what options they have. There are also flashbacks to other times in both of their lives that drop some bread crumbs around who might be responsible for this. Once the reader finds out who the villain is (earlier in the book than I would have expected), the rest of the story fell a bit flat to me, though I can't put my finger on exactly why. I think I wanted to understand more of the backstory and details that led that person to make the decisions they made. The rest of the story was still fast paced but didn't keep me as engaged as the first half. I thought the ending was abrupt, as well.

All in all, a pretty good book with a unique premise, and also a quick read. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A terrific read tense chilling a book I read late into the night, A kidnapping not for money a demand your children for your wife..Highly recommend this book this author.

The Choice
by Alex Lake
Harper 360
You Are Auto-Approved
HarperCollins
General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 29 Dec 2020 | Archive Date 23 Feb 2021

This was one of the best thrillers I've read this year. I feel like I have read a book similar to the plot in this book so that bothered me. Thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the ARC.

4 star

I have enjoyed Alex Lake's other books and was really looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations. It felt like it was written by an inexperienced author and felt rushed. It was slow to build and was choppy for the first half of the book. It finally started getting good, but I quickly figured out what was going to happen and then it fell flat and went downhill. Some of the events or actions of the characters were a bit unbelievable. The detectives seemed to miss clues and didn't follow normal procedures. Things were skimmed over in what seemed a rush to get to another point. With what little was actually done, it could have been a short story...or, more could have been added to make it a bit longer. I am glad I didn't pay for this one and am hoping the author's next novel is better. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. This is my honest review in exchange for an advanced copy.

This novel started brilliantly, with a bizarre kidnapping of three children when their dad Matt pops into the local shop. leaving them in the car outside. He and his wife, Annabelle, at home with a cold, are frantic. We pop back in time to hear how they met and to discover a couple of people who might have done it. You feel the tension when the kidnapper texts with his demands. Up to now, the writing, pacing and characters are good, on pointe and the book rates fours solid stars. After the ransom demand, the writing and plot lines deflate and detereates quickly, almost as if someone else wrote the second half. Once we know the kidnapper it gets even more difficult to take this seriously with the kidnappers ‘voice’ totally wrong for the story. The second half is a two so I’m awarding three, and that’s only as the beginning was good.

Thank you NetGalley Publisher and Author for this gifted ebook.

Review
Such a great thriller from start to finish. This was a hard one to put down.
I mean I could not even fathom what Matt was going through.
I could really relate to these characters. Cause this is S*** that could really happen.
And who does not enjoy those type of books?!

The writing this one had was beyond amazing. So fast paced. Alex Lake really knows how to keep a girls attention. Seriously amazing.

Pub Date- Dec 29th 2020
Rating 4/5
Overall- Great Book

A thriller that is sure to be enthrall!

Leaving his three young children in the car, Matt makes a quick stop to a corner store. Returning outside - his car and his children are not there! Maybe, he thinks, I parked somewhere else? No. A prank? No. He receives a text from someone that says they have the children and NOT to contact the police. Matt runs home.

Matt and his wife, Annabelle, find out that it isn't money the kidnapper wants. The kidnapper wants a trade - the children for Annabelle...

A superb suspense thriller! Great premise and solidly written.

RECOMMEND!

Many thanks to Harper 360/HarperCollins ,Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

This is a fast pace thriller about a couple who has to make a choice their children or his wife. It’s an impossible option but what do these people really want? I would highly recommend this book it’s probably one of the best books I’ve read this year.

Believing it’s a carjacking gone wrong, Matt Westbrook is horrified to discover his car, with his three children inside was taken by a madman who demands Matt’s wife in exchange for his children. Matt and Annabelle are terrified, they cannot involve the police or the kidnapper will kill their children. They have only hours to make the trade or the children will die. What will they do? And why does someone want Annabelle badly enough to kidnap her children to get to her?