Member Reviews
Such a great story I could not stop reading it and am still spinning from everything that happened. This was very well written and will have you so caught up in the story that you can’t stop reading it.
Emily has a big secret about her childhood that she's keeping from her friends. She's scared and excited to be about to give birth to her baby daughter even thought the father of the baby and she aren't going to be together, they should be able to raise the child without many problems if they co-parent well. But as Emily is about home from her baby shower someone runs up behind her, injects her with something and she loses consciousness. Waking up in the hospital in pain is bad enough but when she realizes that she's no longer pregnant, she's out of her mind. All of her friends tell her the baby is fine but is she?
When her baby and the father of the baby go missing, Emily can only wait for the police to do their jobs and find her child. But things don't go as fast as they should and one disaster after another happens. Where is the baby? Who has her and why? Could this kidnapping have something to do with the big secret she's been keeping from everyone?
This story is told in alternate times lines, the present where the search for Emily's baby is ongoing and the story of what happened in her childhood when her sister was murdered. As the story unfolds about her childhood, it was absolutely heartbreaking reading what those kids went though. It was also sad to see Emily blame herself about what happened to her sister.
I had so many thoughts about who could have taken her baby and why but the truth and the twist was one I didn't see coming. I thought I had this one figured out and I was so wrong.
Waiting to see if the baby would be found alive or ever found at all had me on the edge of my seat. I think the story stalled a little because nothing was happening with the search, no new clues to keep us engaged enough to keep reading at times. But things do pick up towards the end of the book where we finally get to see what was actually going on and that was a good ending.
Disclosure: I was given an e-ARC of this book via NetGalley but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
When I read the description of this book, I just had to read it. It is unimaginable that something like this could happen to a person and I really wanted to see how O'Sullivan would create this story. I was not disappointed! There are so many characters that could be complicit in the crime and I kept going back and forth on who I thought were the guilty parties. Lots of twists that had me guessing and reading into the night. Great twist at the end that I didn't see coming! Loved it!
Emily’s tale is gripping and tragic and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I enjoyed this book so much. The twists and turns really got me.
THE NIGHT THEY STOLE MY BABY by Darren O'Sullivan.
This was a good read. I did like the cover. This is a new author for me. I did like the story. I wasn't sure how I felt about Emily. Gripping and twisty. I read in two sittings. It had suspense, and I thought I knew what was going to happen, but nope. I was wrong. I certainly didn't see that coming. What a roller coaster of a read. I would never have guessed the outcome. 5*.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Emily grew up neglected and abused by her mother. Trauma and abuse have an awful way of distorting reality. Emily is haunted by her past and feels the guilt of her sister’s death. Altering being taken away from her mother and living with her grandparents - Emily changes her name and starts to move on with her life. After getting pregnant by her boyfriend Lucas, they break up and argue about how to raise the child - ultimately the plan was for Emily to keep Freya and Lucas can visit then take her on trips once she gets older.
After Emily’s surprise baby shower she’s attacked at her front door and wakes up in the hospital and her baby is gone. The Cops try everything and follow all the leads available and her friends start a search team and hit social media looking for leads.
Emily loses all hope and goes back to where everything began never expecting to find what she does..
This book really throws your mind for a loop - throwing doubts after making you believe something whole-heartedly.. Was able to binge the book in a day and kept me engaged the entire time - such a great read.
Loved this book! I was lucky enough to be approved via NetGalley. This book had me gripped from the very beginning with lots of twists and turns. It pulled on every emotion, very well written!
I have reviewed it on Goodreads as well but I can't seem to get a link for my review.
Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this arc....... New Author for me !!
As Emily prepares to bring a daughter into the world, her friends arrange a baby shower for her, after a few hours Emily is tired and decides to walk home and get some fresh air...... on her way Emily is attacked who and why did they do it,.? Em wakes up 10 days later from a coma and her baby has been born but where is she??Emily is told Lucas the father has her for a few days whilst Emily regains her strength. But em wants daughter Freya with her? Where did the lovely name come from? What's going on? Where is Freya??
As a Web is woven, emiliy embark on a personal journey to find her daughter, but it seems they are one step behind! Is lucas guilty of taking Freya?are Emily's friends really as supportive as they make out? Or are there other things happening?. This is one hell of a read!!! It takes you round one corner, then a sharp turn into another !!
Definitely a 5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 read from Mr
Highley recommend
I’d like to thank Joffe Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Night They Stole My Baby’ written by Darren O’Sullivan in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Just weeks before her baby is due, Emily is attacked on her doorstep and when she awakes in hospital discovers that her baby daughter has been delivered by caesarean section. The baby named Freya is handed over to the father, Emily’s boyfriend Lucas, but she’s distraught when he takes the baby to his home and disappears. Emily’s friends Melissa, Adam and Jack will do everything in their power to help get her baby back.
‘The Night They Stole My Baby’ is the gripping story of Emily with timespans of the present time reverting back sixteen years when she was eleven and she and her six-year-old sister were starved and cruelly treated by their mother. The story touches on post-natal depression, mental health problems and child abuse which are difficult to read at times but give the reasoning behind the hatred Emily has always had for her mother. The story has drama, suspense and twists and turns, and although I thought I’d worked out what had happened to Emily’s baby the conclusion proves just how wrong I can be. It’s an involving novel that’s kept me engrossed from start to finish and I have no hesitation in recommending.
4.5 stars.
After a rather harrowing and intriguing prologue, we start the main story with Emily who is pregnant and due in the next couple of weeks. She is no longer with the father of the baby but they are working together to arrange to co-parent. On the way home from her baby shower, held by friends, she is attacked and ends up in unconscious in hospital. When she comes round, she is horrified to discover that she has been in a coma, had her baby, and said baby has now gone home with its father. Although, when her friends try to get hold of him, there is no sign of him or her baby daughter...
And so begins a harrowing story as Emily tries to find the baby she has not yet met. Switching between present and past, we learn secrets from the past that both complement, explain, and progress what is happening in the present. We learn more about Emily's upbringing and how she has tried her best to leave that past behind. But how it has always followed her like a shadow.
There are twists and turns aplenty as more of the truth starts to emerge. Along with many secrets, lies, and more than a healthy dollop of dysfunctional behaviour. Possibly, maybe, too much, which, for me, sort of overshadowed the story being told which I felt could have been stronger, and a tad more credible in places. (Hence the rounding down) But, that said, it was compelling reading and kept my attention all the way through. It was also, for me, a relatively quick and easy read which, after a few eye-rolls, did leave me satisfied. Characters were also well drawn and all played their parts very well.
It's been a while since this author published a book, and I have read and enjoyed all his past offerings. Which you could check out yourself if you haven't already. Hopefully it won't be as long for the next one. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.
A nice quick read! I enjoyed the book overall. I liked how The FMC goes back in forth in the time lines and the suspense. It definitely is devastating and I felt such empathy but the end I could see coming just a bit but still good overall
I have read and enjoyed Darren O'Sullivan's previous books. And this one certainly does not disappoint
I thoroughly enjoyed it and I could not put it down
Thank you for the opportunity to review. 4 stars
First, thank you to @NetGalley, @Darren O’Sullivan and @Joffe Books for allowing me to review an ARC of this book.
It was a great read. Fast paced thriller that I read in one sitting.
The storyline build up was great, the twists were unexpected and kept you on edge. I was totally convinced I knew how it was going to end but boy was I wrong (in a good way)
The character development and writing style were all done very well. It was suspenseful and absolutely kept my attention. I stayed up way past my adult bedtime because I just had to know how it ended
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Highly recommend and would love to read more from this author!
This was a very emotive read, and at times quite difficult due to the subject matter. I guessed the twist early on which kind of left me deflated a little. It was an ok read on the whole.
Really enjoyed this book! Fast paced, lots of twists and turns and emotional! Was sure I had it till nearer the end! Then I felt like I was on a rollercoaster with my heart racing till the end!
This was a pretty good book. It wasn't as gripping as I had hoped it would be, but it was still an interesting storyline. I I thought the ending was really good as well!
Emily and Freya have a horrible childhood. Their mother is abusive and lands up in jail and Emily is raised by her grandparents. When Emily grows up, she gets pregnant with a baby girl, only the worse thing happens. Due in 2 weeks, someone preforms a c-section and takes her baby away. This book had me guessing and it was easy to figure out who took the baby because the author led us down that path. Lots of physical violence in this book could be triggers for some. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release. To be published May 23, 2024.
This book had all the twists and turns from the past to the present and you don’t know what’s going to happen. It was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. You wanted to reach out and help the characters when they were little girls. The mother’s abuse is beyond what you can imagine. The past always comes back to haunt Emily but she’s a strong person who overcomes her childhood. It was a great story that will stay with me for a long time.
Firstly, thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and post a review.
I was fairly certain early on I had it all figured out. I was right, but there was times when I wasn’t entirely convinced. The writing was amazing, had me hooked from the first page. A total page turner. I found it hard to put down, every page was loaded with excitement. The characters were likeable and easy to keep track of. The story was amazing with multiple twists and turns I didn’t see coming. Could have been a 5 star but there was a few plot holes and parts that were lacking clarity.
All in all, it was a fantastic and quick read that kept me interested from the first to the last page!
Oh no goodness what an AMAZING book, my heart was literally racing at the end!! This book was full of twists and turns, I could not put my kindle down!