I wanted to like this one more than I did. I love a good mystery/thriller and I did enjoy the twists and turns, but the dialogue and the ending killed it for me.

Great addition to the thriller genre, The Final Child features a now grown Jillian (hiding as "Erin") as she navigates life as the child who escaped "The Father." A serial kidnapper and killer of siblings nearly 20 years ago. Alternating points of view in the story is Harriet, cousin to two of the never found siblings and trained journalist determined to capture her cousins' lives within a book. An additional POV is added as we learn that The Father, who was thought to be dead, or a copycat may actually still be around.
Will Harriet and Jillian team up and solve the mystery before someone is next?

I enjoyed the plot although the first half of the novel was quite slow and lacked tension for me. The second half of the novel took off! The characters were well developed and likeable and reasoning behind the Father's past actions were interesting. The 3rd POV and some short chapters confused me. That being said, I mush prefer this novel to most of the kidnapping/serial killer offerings in the last few years. Thank you to @Netgalley and @Titanbooks for the ARC in exchange for a fair review.

This is one of those books that I am not quite sure how I feel about it. I think I'll give it 3.5 stars.

It definitely kept me interested enough to keep reading it; I really liked how the story developed over the course of the book and how it went it a not (for lack of better term) straight forward direction. I enjoyed that the crime was not as simple as it could have been. Overall though I felt that the pacing was a little too even, and a little slow, and possibly a little longer than it needed to be. I liked how it ended though; I am a sucker for a thriller that has an open ending/is not all neatly tied up in a bow.

I really like Erin and Harriet, and I liked them together a lot; that relationship was one of my favorite parts of the book. I don't think I would buy this book, but I would read more by this author

Eighteen years ago Erin and her brother, Alex, were abducted by 'the Father', a serial killer who wreaked havoc throughout England taking pairs of siblings from their homes in the night. Erin escaped, but her brother did not. Erin has moved on as best she can and has no memories of her time with the Father. She meets Harriet, a writer whose cousins were the Father's first victims. Harriet is writing a book about the victims and is following a lead that might prove there were victims before her cousins. Erin is not interested in talking to Harriet until strange things start to happen...weird gifts, a break in...maybe she does need Harriet's help to put the past behind her for good.

I really enjoyed this book. The backstory surrounding the Father was interesting and terribly creepy. The characters of Erin and Harriet were fully developed and diving into their minds was fascinating. The book was well written and well paced. Every time I thought I figured out what was happening there was another layer added to the story that kept me guessing. I'm not sure if the love story element was necessary...it didn't really add much to the story. Overall I thought this was a great read and I would recommend to a thriller lover.

I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for this ARC.

A solid addition to the serial killer genre. A recommended purchase for collections where thrillers are popular.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Final Child.

I'm always up for a serial killer mystery so I was excited when my request was approved.

Eighteen years ago, Erin escaped the clutches of a serial killer named The Father, leaving her older brother, Alex, behind.

Harriet is a reporter whose young cousins were the Father’s first victims. She is writing a book about the kidnapping and victims but is desperate for an interview with the only survivor.

Erin has no intention of revisiting her past and her grief over losing her brother; she's changed her name, her appearance and her mannerisms. But when strange things begin to happen to her and victims' families, she believes The Father has returned and joins forces with Harriet to get to the truth. But the truth may cost both of their lives.

I liked Erin and Harriet; they were strong, resilient, relatable characters. I do wish they didn't drink so much. Maybe I noticed because I'm not a drinker though I'm not a teetotaler either.

I did wonder if maybe if one or both of them had a problem with alcohol or that's just what stressed out people do when they're freaked out: drink and then drink some more.

The writing was good but the story dragged, especially in the first half. There was a lot of repetition, constant reminders that Erin felt unsafe and why would she since The Father is dead, rehashing the past, her lost memories and the flashbacks. At times, it read as filler.

This is never fully explained, why Erin believes The Father is dead. Why make such a huge assumption when there is no evidence to the contrary?

Just because the kidnappings stopped doesn't mean the perp is dead. But, Erin kept insisting he was and I felt that was childish and naive considering all she had been through.

For a novel about a serial killer, the pacing was slow, the tone lacked urgency and suspense.

Most of the time, Erin and Harriet were drinking and talking and drinking some more and thinking about their feelings for each other.

I'm not against romance in any story, but how does their relationship move the story forward? Why can't they just be good friends and trust each other and look out for one another?

Not surprisingly, I guessed the twist at the end since I read a lot of books in this genre and the flashback scenes provided enough clues for me to make a determination.

This wasn't bad, but it wasn't as suspenseful and engaging as I hoped it would be.

“The Father” kidnapped pairs of siblings, sometimes their bodies were found and sometimes they were never seen again. Except for Erin, she was the only child to escape from The Father. Years later Erin meets up with Harriet, the cousin of two victims of The Father, who has started her own investigation. While the two of them uncover more information about what happened to Erin as a kid she starts to think she’s being watched by someone…

I really enjoyed the concept of this story. The Father was an interesting villain and I liked all the different reveals of why he did what he did. People having to go back and solve a mystery from their past is something that I generally gravitate towards in thrillers. How the previous events impacted Erin, Harriet, and the families of all the victims seemed like it was handled really well. Sometimes in thrillers having the character have amnesia or repressed memories can feel like a cheap plot trick in order to have a reveal later on. But here I feel like it made sense because Erin went through something super traumatic as a young child.

I will say that the first half of the book felt extremely slow. It took me a long time to get through it. But once things started ramping up in the second half I started to fly through the story. The book switches back and forth between Erin and Harriet’s POVs, both told in first person, and pretty frequently I was getting confused as to which character I was reading from. Their voices sounded very similar and I didn’t have a really strong grasp on their individual characters. I think that led to me not feeling like there was a lot of chemistry between them when it came to their romance. I loved that there was a sapphic relationship at the heart of this story, but it wasn’t something that grabbed me by the heart.

Overall this was an enjoyable mystery/thriller, but I do feel like it was a bit too long.

This is a story about child abduction that might not be suited to everyone but the narrative is what caught my attention to read this.
Erin and her brother Alex were abducted together by the "Father" years ago. Erin was able to escape with the help of Alex but he didn't make it. Now Harriette a woman writing a story about this serial abductor has questions that only Erin can answer. However things aren't going well for Erin and this will lead them on an agonizing journey.
The back and forth point of view can sometimes be confusing but they will lead you to an ending you did not see coming.
Overall an interesting story.
#NetGalley#TheFinalChild

The description before reading the book got me really excited to read it. Someone kidnapped sets of siblings in the 90s. Some bodies were found. Some were not. One of the last two siblings made it out alive but does not remember a thing: the final child. A cousin of the two first victims decides to write a book about all of the children that were taken, but she has to get an interview with the final child, who doesn’t much want to cooperate. Of course, this leads to a long journey of discovery culminating in interesting and unexpected twist.

PROS:

I love the fact that the relationship featured in this book is queer. It just made me happy. It always makes me feel more normal to read a book that just features a relationship like this but doesn’t make the fact that they are queer some huge thing in the story.

I generally enjoyed both Harriet and Erin. I thought there is some good character development, especially with Erin. It was nice to see her go on her journey of realization and understanding.

I like how the chapters are written from different perspectives and during different time frames. It helped answer a lot of questions by being able to go from Erin being in the dark about what happened to her to background on who did this and why.

I like the element of relationships changing over time with people close to us and the fact that just because someone was our closest support in the past does not mean that it will always look like that.

The twist! Personally, I was not expecting it and I think this was probably the best part of the book.

CONS:

I often found the dialogue to be written in a very amateur style with the to main characters talking to each other in a very basic way, which kind of irked me. I think the story development itself is stronger than the writing.

After so much trauma, I felt like sometimes it made it a little inauthentic for Erin to suddenly constantly have the attitude of “I will solve this!” or just not really being all that afraid of going into terrifying situations. It felt like it went so quick from not wanting one little thing to do with what happened to her to wanting to deal with everything.

The ending, as in the very last paragraph was so cheesy to me that it did not make me feel super satisfied with the story. I wish it had gone in a slightly different direction.



I would be interested in reading more from Fran Dorricott. I think she has a lot of talent, and I am curious to know what would happen to these characters if there were another story.



Thank you to Titan, Net Galley and Fran Dorricott for providing a copy of the e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Erin (previously known as Jillian) Chambers is the only child found alive after a series of abductions. The man infamously termed as the Father takes children in pairs; and only siblings. Although Erin survived the ordeal, she lost her brother and memories of what actually happened.

The book was carefully constructed and told from different points of views to entice readers to piece the story together. Many times In the book I turned investigator; studied reactions, compared timelines, read between the lines, all in attempts to pick up clues. As hard as Erin wished to leave the past behind, Harriet, who had her cousins killed by the Father made her open up to confront her past.

4.25 stars. A story told of children abducted from their beds; some found died, some still missing and only one alive. It was captivating and roped me into unraveling the mystery. No solid book is without its twists and some truths could be too much to bear.

I just reviewed The Final Child by Fran Dorricott. Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!
This book is phenomenal. I was hooked immediately and read almost all of it in one sitting because I was dying to know what happened. I literally couldn’t put it down. The characters were interesting, every scene contributed to the storyline perfectly, and there was a good pace throughout the book, even though it was pretty long. It didn’t feel as long as it was because it was so interesting, I hardly paid attention to how much I had left to read because I was so caught up in the story. It felt as though I was there with the characters, trying to solve the mystery, and I could feel their anxiety. I was so invested in the story from start to finish. I definitely recommend for any fans of thrillers or anybody trying to get into them, like me!

I loved this unique and captivating thriller! The Final Child is definitely a book you want on your TBR list!

This was an interesting and sometimes tense read, focused on Erin (aka Jillian), who escaped a serial killer 18 years prior, and Harriet, a journalist whose cousins were victims of the same killer and who is now writing a book about the families left behind. The chapters alternate between Harriet's and Erin's POVs, and are also interspersed with a 3rd POV from an unknown character.

Though I rather liked both main characters, I did feel that the first half of the book was a bit repetitive. I think the author was trying to set the tone but I felt that this part of the book could have been tightened up a bit. As the 2nd half unfolded, the level of action amped up and the story became much faster-paced, culminating in a really interesting twist at the end. I was fascinated by the various things that led to the killings, but wish I could have gotten even more details as to what had happened to some of the characters to make them the way that they were.

Overall, interesting book in which the pace of the 2nd half made up for the slowness of the first half, and both main characters were developed pretty well. The storyline was interesting and the twist towards the end was well done. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, Titan Books and Author for the chance to read and review this ebook copy!

The Final Child is told in two POVs. The story was very interesting and intriguing I just wished it had the WoW factor to it! Still though it was a very good, quick, interesting book! Which I enjoyed.
The characters were good. And I just love books with serial killers in it.
Overall this wasn't a bad read. My only downfall is like I said I wished it was one that made me literally say 'oh wow'! And this didn't!.
Still a good read!

And I can't thank you all.enough for the chance to read and review.
Thank you

*Thank you to Titian, Fran Dorricott and Netgalley for providing me with an E-ARC of "The Final Girl" in exchange for an honest review*

So I really like thrillers, especially serial Killer thrillers but this was a bit different because it's told in dual POV. One POV is from Erin AKA Jillian, a Final Girl of a serial Killer known only as "The Father", whose trying to cope with her day to day life but feels like something is watching her. The second POV comes from Harriet, a journalist whose cousins were beloved to be The Father's first victims. She writing a book about the victims and comes to interview Erin. I really like journalist's in my thrillers, so I didnt really care for Harriet . This wasnt as thrilling as I like my reads but still a decent read.