I just finished this last night and I am still thinking what did I just read?

Any novel about child abduction makes difficult reading, and this novel pulled no punches. What this novel also did was took the reader through a rollercoaster.

Alex is not suited to single motherhood and that much is apparent in novel. But she loves Lottie and no mother, however awful, deserves to have their child abducted.

But some of the decisions Alex is makes you want to shake her. But then Alex is all things a mother should be when her child goes missing, and with all the red herrings she finds herself trusting no one.

Stolen is an absolute bulldozer to your emotions that will take you to the end and think - what? how and never saw that coming

Good read, enjoyable and keeps the reader guessing. I am a fan of the author and have read several of her books.

I did read this mostly in one sitting, and it was an interesting book, but I did, of course, see most of the twists and turns coming.
Lottie goes missing at a beach wedding and all eyes are on her mother, and what she was doing. How could a three year old go missing? Where is she?
The book goes through all of the expected twists and turns and comes to what could be considered a satisfactory outcome, with a bit of suspension of disbelief. The characters were mostly believeable and three dimensional, but I did feel there was a certain something lacking.
If you want a quick, unchallenging, if slightly tense read, this is a great book. If you're looking for something meatier, maybe not.

This was a very entertaining read by a talented author. I enjoy Ms Stimson's writing, and will read more by her in future.

This story will keep you guessing as to who could have take little Lottie.

In the US for a wedding, Alex and her daughter Lottie are a long way from home. Lottie is a handful and Alex is grateful for the chance to be a woman again, not just Lottie’s mom.

Things are going about as good as they can be expected, even better, until they’re not. When things take a turn, all hell breaks loose and Alex is forced into the limelight to plea for Lottie’s safe return.

Read this book to find out all the sordid secrets that come to life when the cameras come on.

Edge of the seat kind of book.
I really enjoyed this with its twists and turns and the fast paced storyline.
The book is well written, good relatable and believable characters
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion

Wow 🤩 what a rollercoaster of a read !! When I read the blurb on this book , I must admit I thought ‘oh no not another missing child book ‘ but this book had me gripped from the first page ! A great storyline that had lots of twists and turns and a great ending that you don’t see coming !

What did I just read!?! This book had my emotions - and my heart rate - all over the place! The way it was written was addicting - short chapters all ending in cliffhangers. Brilliant. It kept me wanting to read. I never wanted to stop. I can honestly say I never saw the ending coming - though I'm not totally sure if I love the ending or not. I also did not care for some of the minor elements that were added, that really weren't necessary for the story. I felt some of it was too political to be enjoyed. However, this book was more than addicting and I can't wait to read more by Tess Stimson!

Stolen is a seductive, dark and enthralling read from Tess Stimson that will have you staying up late to finish it.

Actual rating: 4.5 / 5

I listened to the audiobook via Borrowbox.

The details
Read by: Indra Ove, Colin Mace, Aysha Kala, Beth Eyre, Josie Dunne, Stephanie Racine.
Unabridged.

The narrators
What an excellent cast of voice actors. Even those that voiced multiple characters managed to create distinctive differences between them all. The narrators really had me gripped from the beginning and reeled me into this heady, pacy plot.

The story
I was riveted from the start, and of course that helped with the excellent narrators, but the story was top notch too. It was just what I wanted from this sort of domestic thriller: high stakes, the blame game, intense pace, captivating, edge-of-my-seat inducing. It had all of that and excelled in its delivery.

It was so haunting how the final mirrored the initial kidnapping!

SPOILER: Although I think it was executed well, it left me feeling a bit iffy to use the trope of women not able to carry a biological child themselves so steal another's.... it kind of carries that stereotypical 'crazy lady' vibe and it didn't feel right.

The ending absolutely shocked me!!!

Would definitely recommend this one.

I found this book needed a lot of effort to read and keep reading. It was over complicated and at times I was lost as it got confusing. I was not keen on the switch in time lines either.

I enjoyed reading this review copy from NetGalley and Avon Books. It’s plot and characters didn’t disappoint and it was difficult to put this down to get on with other things. Suspenseful and pacy. I can’t find fault with it.

A rollercoaster of a read! Incredibly gripping and haunting at times, this book covers the horror of child abduction and the terror felt by her family and friends. It's a twisting, turning read, brilliant!

I could not put this book down - Tess Stimson writes so well and this is an absolute page turner!! Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

I’ve been on holiday this week and enjoyed a few days in Leeds and then seeing friends in the midlands and making full use of my @kindle and my @pret subscription!

I’ve been really enjoying Stolen, as a 31 year old, child free women I found it really relatable to the dilemma of wanting a career or children but KNOWING that if I was to have a child my absolute worse nightmare would be it being stolen - the premise to this story.

I loved the drama and the depth the spilt narrative added to the story. I loved the complex adult relationships and the emotion the story created.

If you love a fast paced thriller this book is for you!

Wow I read this book in one sitting as I literally couldn’t put it down. I know that sounds like such a cliché but in this case it was 100% true and I have the bags under my eyes to prove it - but it was worth it. I started off not really liking the main character Alexa whose parenting skills were severely lacking but I warmed to her as the drama unfolded. The characters are very well written and totally believable. I developed various theories during the course of the book but due to the skill of Tess Stimson I gave up as I realised I couldn’t predict anything. The pain and awful helplessness of having a child taken is well described while being interspersed by the narrative of the taking of Lottie and the feelings of the abductor. A brilliant five star read.

Interesting page turner that will keep you guessing until the end. I thought the characters were not really likeable but that didn’t take it away from the story. Shocking ending!

This is definitely a page turner! I could not put this book down. I especially loved how each chapter ended, leaving me wanting more. This is the perfect balance of emotion and suspense. The pacing is perfect in this character driven mystery. This book takes an original spin on the missing child trope. Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books UK for my copy.

This book is about the disappearance of a toddler at a wedding on a beach. The plot has been written many times before but I still enjoyed it.
I felt that the ending was completely over the top. It could have been more believable.

This book involves a missing child from a wedding . This book was very fast paced. The plot is one we have heard but in having said that it still a very well written book. It is told by Alexa's point of view. It was hard to predict hence the ending.