Wow. Get this on your 2024 reading list now!

Your brain will be working overtime for the first 3/4 of this book trying to work decipher if the impossible is possible. A very twisty, unique psychological thriller that has been expertly written. I devoured it in one sitting! It will have you racing to turn the pages. Definitely recommend this one!

The Phantom Child by author A.J Wills had me hooked from the very first page. A mother wakes up one morning while on vacation with her husband and son to find her son missing. Her husband? Swears they never had a child. Did someone take her child? Or did he never exist at all? Every turn of the page had me torn between thinking I knew the outcome to reeling in shock over what came next. This book was definitely 5 stars for me. I couldn’t put it down once I started reading, as I had to know what came next. This was my first read by this author and I look forward to reading more of their books, especially if they are anything like The Phantom Child!

True to form, this psychological thriller hooked me right away. I was so invested, looking for clues and trying to figure out what the heck was reality. I felt like it messed as much with MY mind as it did with Karina's ... She didn't know what to believe about her missing child, and I didn't either. I kept flip-flopping who and what I believed. Very entertaining read!
Thank you to NetGalley for this advance copy.

The premise of "The Phantom Child" is intriguing, as it introduces the unsettling question of whether a child truly exists or if he has mysteriously vanished. The narrative follows Karina as she grapples with the disappearance of her son during a family vacation, only to find herself confronted with her husband's denial of their child's existence.

While the plot holds potential for suspense and psychological tension, the execution falls short in delivering a truly gripping and immersive experience. The pacing and development of the story could be improved to create a more compelling and riveting read.

Although the book raises thought-provoking questions and evokes a sense of unease, it lacks the depth and intricacy needed to fully captivate the reader. "The Missing Boy" may appeal to those who are intrigued by the psychological thriller genre, but it does not quite reach its full potential, resulting in a three-star rating.

Karina and Ronan go to Turkey for a holiday with their son Jacob.
Jacob almost drowns less than an hour after their arrival and Karina is panic stricken. Ronan gives her some wine to relax her and she wakes up later than normal in the morning, realizing that something is amiss.
There is no trace of Jacob and nothing to show that he even existed.
Ronan and her first husband, Sammy (Jacob's father) convince her that she is deluded, that Jacob is a figment of her imagination.

OK. I just felt that this was unbelievable. I know it is a fictional novel, but really? Are we to believe that this woman did not even contact the police? After finding a toy that she knows belonged to her son, she did not notify the police?

I didn't like any of the characters in the book, except Freida. She was a warm hearted, helpful and loving person.
Karina - yes, weak minded and far too gullible.
Ronan - cruel
Sammy - cruel and controlling and selfish.
Jacob - the ending - a 14 year old accepting life changing information just so calmly? I think not.

2/5 stars from me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Cherry Tree Publishing for the opportunity to read this book. I really did try and like it.

A book with lots of twists that I didn't see coming! The story was well written and kept me on my toes until the end. The first couple of chapters could have been called " where is Jacob" because it was sooooo repetitive. I was starting to get mad and annoyed at her too. This could have been cut shorter, but all in all this one was a very good book.


Thank you to the author and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so pleased to receive this for review, I love this type of thriller!! How can your son not exist?! I loved it, right from the first page, I knew it was going to be good! A fast paced thrilling read, I loved it!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

Karina is a happily married mum to a 4 year old boy Jacob. They family her off to a villa in Turkey for what should be a lovely family holiday. When Karina oversleeps the first morning of the holiday she wakes with a panic. Getting up the first thing she does is go through to see her son. But Jacob isn’t there. And then Ronan, her husband tells her they never had a son. What is the truth?

Oh this was a good one. Twist after twist after twist. The moment one mystery was solved another one popped up. Fast paced, but slow enough to allow the reader to digest the new facts coming up. It’s based mainly 10 years after the event, but has a lot of flash backs. I did start to think I had things figured out in the last bit of the book. Then came the chapter that turned everything on its head again.

I read this so quickly as I couldn’t put it down. Amazing!

Flew through this book in one day! This was very well written and kept me intrigued the entire time. I did think that some of the plot lines were rushed and wished I had a little more detail but it wasn’t anything that left me with questions. There were quite a few twists that I definitely didn’t see coming! All in all this one was very good!

THANK YOU to the author, Netgalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a unique premise for me, and I think the author executed it well!

I will say, there weren’t any crazy twists. You kind of picked up on everything as the story went along, so there weren’t a lot of surprises when it was revealed.

All in all, I recommend this book. It was a quick read with a unique storyline. It is eventful from the very beginning.

When Karina wakes up on holiday to find her son missing, she is shocked... But she is even more shocked when her husband claims they don't have a son... What is going on, is her son missing or did he never exist? A brilliant thriller that keeps you turning the pages. Full of twists and turns and shocks. I really enjoyed it!

Karina is living every mother’s worst nightmare when her son disappears on a family holiday to Turkey. But what is even stranger, is that no one seems to believe her. Can she find him? Or did he never even exist to begin with?

What a page turner! Filled with unlikable characters, this book is utterly chilling. I kept changing my mind as to whether Karina was totally crazy, or not, and it’s one of those stories where you feel like you can’t trust anyone.

I did find Karina, herself, unlikeable as well though. Utterly gullible, naive and unhelpful to her own plight, which frustrated me somewhat. I wanted to scream at her in points for being such an idiot! I enjoyed the fast pace, especially the ending.

A quick, easy and entertaining read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Cherry Tree Publishing for my advanced copy.

Was this going to be the perfect family holiday in Turkey for Karina, her husband, Ronan and their 4 year old son, Jacob? Far from it, when Jacob goes missing. What’s happened to him? Who’s taken him? Is Karina going mad ?

Another fantastic story as always by AJ Wills. Full of suspense and twists from start to finish. I was so hooked and engaged with this book the whole way through. Absolutely brilliantly written and I feel very lucky to have been offered an ARC of this book. Thank you AJ Wills and NetGalley.

Wow, what an amazing story! This book had me so gripped with an amazing twist that I did not see coming at all, I will definitely be reading more by this author!

Thank you to Cherry Tree Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

The Phantom Child takes you on a wild roller coaster of a ride right from the start, with twists and turns every few pages. The story starts off as a story about a child gone missing while on family holiday quickly turned into an extreme case of gaslighting.

Karina and her husband, Ronan take their child, Jacob on a family vacation to Turkey but very quickly, things go wrong. Karina wakes up the day after they arrive only to find that Jacob and any trace of him has disappeared. Her husband convinces her that they don’t have a child and while she struggles with this, the evidence, or lack thereof, is there. Jacob is a figment of her imagination. Life goes on but then ten years to the day of his disappearance, Karina receives an anonymous email saying Jacob exists and is alive. Karina ensues on a mission to find him and figure out how to get him back.

First, I really loved the writing style. I felt as lost as the main character sometimes ! I loved the twists, and how it all turns out for her. However, I wonder if there will be a second book ? The end really teased my curiosity, what will happen if Jacob ends up wanting to know more about what he found.

Thanks to Netgalley and Cherry Tree Publishing for access to this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Putting aside my thoughts on other ways to figure out if a child existed or not, this book was such a page turner. I started off thinking "how could any mother EVER truly believe their child didnt exist?" to believing Karina had made up the entire child and life with him due to grieving from a miscarrage. AJ Wills had a lot of phsycology backing up her actions and reactions to the situations Ronan had put her in. Great read and great plot twists. They just kept coming!

I loved this book from the 1st chapter! It's so well written and I found kyself lost in the post from very early on. However, after the 1st twist I lost interest through the 2nd phase if the bookm it felt like it was dragging and although you're still not quite sure what's actually going on, I'm that section just felt a bit too long for me. Thankfully once we get onto the 3rd act, everything picks uk the pace again and there are plenty more twists and turns thrown in! Is it believable, not really but was it enjoyable? Absolutely!!! Very original, not something you'll have read before and highly recommend

The book is so gripping and full of suspense. It kept me on the edge of my seat. It has so many twists and turns. If you are looking for a psychological thriller that will keep you guessing till the end, this is for you. The ending completely shook me.

Jacob was taken away from Karina when he was four years old. After believing all this years that he was merely an illusion. Presently after ten years, she receives a mail from mysterious person that Jacob is safe but she is in such a dilemma now, whether he is an illusion or is he really alive and she was deceived and manipulated into believing that Jacob doesn’t exist?

Thanks to the Author, Publisher and Netgalley

This novel focuses on the beginning and end of a 10-year time span in Karina McHugh’s life. Karina is a doting mother to her son, Jacob. They take a family trip with her husband, Ronan to Turkey and from there, thing get craaaaazyy! There’s no way for me to tell you much more than that without giving away spoilers 🫢😮‍💨 This book was a wild ride. It felt a lot like Stacy Willingham’s “All the Dangerous Things.”

AJ Wills writing style was easy to read and he paced this novel really well. There were constant twists and turns, but you were never left agonizing over the same question the entire time. Once one was answered, there was another thing that would pop up and leave you thinking and analyzing what you read all over again. This was my first novel from Wills, but I’m definitely looking forward to reading more soon!