I last read a Tess Stimson book about 15 years ago - Pole Position - which I hugely enjoyed and when I was given the opportunity by NetGalley to read this, I grabbed the opportunity. The publicity for the book says you’ll want to read it in one sitting and having done just that, I agree 100%! I loved this book. Alexa is a flawed heroine - far from the perfect mother - but she was written so sympathetically that I couldn’t help rooting for a happy ending for her. I thought I’d guessed the kidnapper but I was completely wrong. It twists and turns until the eventual denouement. I’ve now realised Tess Stimson has a substantial back catalogue and I’ll now be treating myself to some more of her novels. Excellent book.

Stolen by Tess Stimson is the tale of the abduction of Alex Martini's 3 year-old daughter. Lottie. while they're attending a friend's wedding in Florida. Having been seen struggling with Lottie, a difficult child,on the plane from England and being discovered to have been having sex with a stranger at the time she disappears Alex is viewed with suspicion and attracts the less than tender mercies of the press. This isn't the first time the spotlight has been on Alex's parenting skills,with her late husband Luca formerly being the child-rearer of the family.

This is a deeper book than I was expecting with several issues raised, the different attitudes when a child disappears depending on their parent's social status and race , media intrusion, guilt, grief,hope and a whole lot more.

There are plenty of clever twists and some great characters,many of whom are not what they appear to be on the surface. There were a few nods to the Maddie McCann case ,the circle of friends ,the investigator raking in a small fortune while not actually solving anything,the taxpayer's money seemingly on tap to keep the police investigation going etc.

This is my first Tess Stimson book and I thoroughly enjoyed it,she knows how ramp up the tension and build anticipation and it's very much a "just one more chapter" book of the kind you find yourself finishing at 2 am and wondering where your day went.

Great read,highly recommended.

A huge thanks to Avon Books for my e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Stolen follows Alex a widow, human rights lawyer and mum to three-year-old Lottie. The book begins with them travelling to her best friend's wedding not knowing of the dark cloud hovering over them. Her daughter Lottie is a stubborn, clever three-year-old girl who can spit out some f-words faster than I can say bamboozled and she tends to demand a lot from her mother. Every parent's nightmare manifests itself on the day of the wedding when Lottie disappears. The police are quickly brought in, and the story of missing Lottie makes the news. We watch dismally as the media and public take sides on whether or not Alex is a bad mother but Alex like any good mother focuses entirely on finding who took her daughter and why. The book does a good job of bringing to attention important themes such as child disappearance family,
mother-child dynamics and the role of social media in playing jury and judge in such cases.

Confused having read the book as to if Flora stole a child and how come her child got meningitis twice.
Somehow didn't feel the story flowed properly and somewhat dull in places.

Oh my goodness - so glad my children are teenagers now. This could have been so easily happened to any of working mothers.

There was so many twists and turns and I thought I had worked it out but then I hadn't and the ending was absolutely brilliant

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

A real page-turner from start to finish, I rarely use the 'couldn't put it down' cliché, but in this case it's true. Stimson's characters are rich, deep and generally unlikeable, but this is why it works - you're rooting for the main character, but she's flawed enough for you to never quite be on her side. There's a HUGE twist at the end that I didn't see coming. All in all, a great summer read.

This is my first book by this author. What a suspenseful read! I was kept guessing until the very end! Loved the characters, the storyline, everything was sooo intriguing! I can't wait to read more books by her!! What an ending! You must read this book!

Wow! What a roller-coaster of a read, I didn't see a lot of it coming, especially the end!

This is the first book I've read by Tess Stimson, but after reading this all her past books have gone on my TBR list, what a really great read, a real page-turner, I couldn't put it down.

Alex is a single mother to Lottie and the story centres around the wedding of her best friend in Florida, where everyone has gathered to celebrate the happy event and Lottie is one of the bridesmaids. Alex is a hard character to like initially and you're never quite sure if she actually likes her 'spiky' daughter or not, they certainly clash a lot even though Lottie is only 3 years old. Lottie was definitely her father's daughter and Alex was the career woman, but he died in a bridge collapse tragedy the year before.

Then whilst Alex is off enjoying herself with a guy at the wedding, and thinks her daughter is with all the other bridesmaids, Lottie goes missing and a worldwide hunt to find her ensues. Of course the press pull everyone's life apart, as usual, and Alex goes from victim to neglectful mother when Lottie still isn't found and the case drags on for 2 years.

There are so many twists and turns in this story you really don't know who to trust and who is telling the truth. Every time I thought I'd figured out what had happened another twist happened and I was wrong again, and this happened right until the very dramatic end of the story.

Fabulous read that I would highly recommend, just leave enough time to read in one sitting if you can!

I think I have just read the book of the year. This one certainly is a page turner.. Fantastic plot and superb characters just add to the quality of the book. If your someone who likes “didn’t see that coming moments “ then this is for you.
Alex is a single mum to tempestuous little Lottie. She hasn’t taken easily to motherhood. Her ex husband Luca died in a freak accident leaving her sole carer. Trouble starts on board a plane to Florida for the beach wedding of Alex’s best friend Marc. Lottie does nothing but play up. All the other passengers she is a fraught mother.
A couple of days later at the wedding Lottie goes missing. Made all the worse because at the time Alex was having a steamy sex session on the beach.
Alex is portrayed as a bad mother especially by a war zone reporter Quinn who is sent to cover the disappearance. Everyone at the pre wedding meal the night before (who become known as the Twelve Apostles) come under suspicion. But ultimately Alex is cast as the bad mother. Days turn to weeks, then months then years.
Is everything as it seems? Does Alex know more than she’s letting on and are any of the wedding party involved. Or was it just a case of someone was in the right place at the right time to take Lottie.
In the book there are lots of references to real life abductions. This only adds to the plot as this could really happen.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to see an arc of this book.

This book had me hooked from the first page as Alex struggled to cope with her difficult and demanding 3 year old daughter. It starts off as a child kidnapping but then the twists and turns kept me turning the pages until the final mind blowing chapters. There were a few red herrings along the way, as with any mystery, but I never could have guessed the way things were going to end. Brilliant….thank you!

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. This was a great book which gripped me to the end. Twisty and interesting with good writing. Definitely worth a read!

Wow what a heartbreaking story. I was hooked from the beginning. I needed to know what happened. It was a very honest read while engaging the reader and keeping you interested in the story. I was not prepared for the ending of this story. Great book!

Oh gosh as a mother of a three year old girl this book was quite a read!

This was a very engaging thriller, with twists that I didn’t see coming.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher and author, for so kindly gifting me this novel to read and review.

A solid four star read. Good premise. Great characters. Enjoyed t writing style. Plenty of suspense to keep me guessing. It even had a twist that I didn’t see coming. Definitely look forward to her next offering. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it

OMG it’s 1.22 am and I’ve just finished the astonishing Stolen . I have been lost in this book since I started it late afternoon and knew I had to finish it before I could sleep tonight!!

WOW – This chilling, twisty domestic psychological thriller has a powerful grip and its sophisticated, compelling storyline is that of every mothers worst nightmare.

Here’s the book description …

Not only does it have echoes of the Madeleine McCann case it is actually mentioned, and adds a reality to the fiction that almost tricks you into thinking this is a real life event, being told both from the mother and journalists POV. I loved that the author addressed how in cases such as this, there’s often an element of blame and how keyboard warriors offer judgemental commentary on the parents behaviour and the situation.

The authors adept storytelling skills successfully created a situation that as a mother gave me goosebumps. It was a non stop roller coaster of emotions as well as an unpredictable thriller as I felt Alexa Martinis fear and absolute terror at the loss of her daughter.

I flew through the chapters and as the reader we experience every stage from the little girls disappearance, through to the investigations , and the author does an amazing job of scene setting, demonstrating the emotional strain on those involved as life long friendships crumbled, and suspicions and recriminations set in, in the aftermath of the fateful night Lottie Martini vanishes.I enjoyed the style of writing, it felt authentic and real. Each chapter offered a reveal, like a carrot on a stick that kept you reading into on and on, hungry for more information. Have me reading waaaaay past my bedtime!!

The plot is watertight, the storyline compelling and storytelling superb. Full of twists and surprises, I literally couldn’t put this book down. Stolen really is the epitome of a page Turner. It’s an exceptional thriller, that keeps you guessing, re-analysing and changing your theories on who stole Lottie Martini right until the very end. I loved how unpredictable the storyline was, with so many potential suspects and motives there were so many red herrings! Looking back I realise a breadcrumb trail of clues had very cleverly been hidden in plain sight… brilliant. The social commentary on race, motherhood and the often out dated social constructs around who and what a mother should be/ look like/ behave added important opportunity for discussion and added a real life and thought provoking thread to the fictional thriller plot.

Watch out for that ending. It’s jaw dropping and I am still catching my breath! This was undoubtedly a 5 star read. I can’t fault it and highly recommend to fellow fiction lovers who enjoy a well written mystery / thriller plot.

This title releases on August 5 th so hit that pre order button! Huge Thankyou to Avon books via Netgalley for my arc copy.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had so many different “Look over here!” moments whiplashing my brain back and forth. Tess Stimson could open her own fish market with the number of red herrings she packed in this book. Ah, but they were all delicious!

The story sets up brilliantly with a prologue that prepares you for a riveting finale. The sense of dread is palpable from the get-go, and the rest of the story the reader is along for the ride just waiting to get back to that prologue and make sense of it.

Lottie Martini is a willful, stubborn, preternaturally clever three-year-old girl who demands every ounce of energy her mother Alexa, a high profile attorney, can give her. Alexa doesn’t come by mothering naturally - Lottie wasn’t planned - but she would give life and limb for this little ball of fire she gave birth to. After losing her ex-husband and Lottie’s father, Luca, in an accident, she’s doing all she can to raise her daughter, but things don’t always go as planned:

Like the day of her friend’s wedding. The day her daughter disappears.

The judgement of Alexa’s parenting is swift, as was the case in the referenced real-life case of Madeline McCann. Why wasn’t Alexa watching her more closely at the wedding reception instead of having a romantic interlude with a handsome fellow attendee? Mothers, of all people, should know where their child is every second of every day, right? Life doesn’t work that way, but tell the media/social media “jurors” that.

Alexa’s journey through judgement, pain, madness and fear as she searches for Lottie is agonizing, and as the years go by, you feel her pain and desperation, even if she isn’t always likable in her pursuit. You want the happy ending, but you’re never sure if you’re going to get it, and as the story progresses, you’re increasingly unsure you can believe any of the narrative presented to you, which kept me off-kilter enough to not guess the ending. Stimson threw one major twist at me that had me doubting every single event I’d read up to that point, and I LOVE when authors can do that!

While child abduction stories are never fun and light, this was a fantastic and dynamic, edge-of-your-seat story that had me rooting for Alexa the whole way. The ending requires some suspension of disbelief, but it totally worked. If you like twisty turny, flip-you-on-your-head mystery/suspense, I highly recommend this!

★★★★ ½
Many thanks to Avon UK Publishing, NetGalley, and author Tess Stimson for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. This is due for publication August 5, 2021.

Ohmigoodness this was completely unputdownable!!!
An unexpected disappearance of Lottie at a wedding and events unfold from there. Pacey, shocking, hard hitting, and just wanted to get to the end.
A truly shocking showdown at the end that I could not see coming and really does end brilliantly.
Edge of seat reading.

It's been a long time since I had a real page-turner, couldn't put down book to read but this one is exactly that. It twists and turns in all directions. Every time I thought I had it worked out the story veered off in a different direction. I did not work out the ending in advance but once I finished the book I realised that all the clues had been laid out in front of me but cleverly disguised. Very much enjoyed reading this book and recommend it to everyone who loves a roller coaster ride of a story.

Excellent gripping read! Hard to put down.
Motherhood was hard for Alex, she loves her daughter but her husband Luca is a natural father. He takes main responsibility and care of lottie. However he dies in a freak accident.
Alex has gone to florida for her best friends wedding. Her little girl lottie is a flower girl. At some point during the wedding lottie disappears. We follow the story as they try to find her.
Great twists and turns. At a couple of points I thought I'd figured it out, absolutely did not though. Fantastic read, I would definitely recommend.
Thanks to netgalley for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Alex Martini headed off to Florida for a close friends wedding with her wilful 3 year old daughter Lottie. Lottie wasn't planned and after her father passed away, Alexa continued living like as a single woman in her late 20's. She meets someone at the wedding and has sex with them on the beach and during this time, her daughter vanishes. The book spans over several years as Alexa continues to search for her daughter. I thought this was quite a fun thriller and the twists were really good. Its well written and gripping.