From Publishers Weekly British journalist Seeber begins her debut, an overlong thriller, with a reasonable scenario—an abducted baby, a distraught mother, and a husband under a slight cloud of suspicion. Add a sexy French nanny, a beautiful but cold ex-wife, a kid brother with a serious drug problem, and you've got a raft of possible kidnappers. As the plot develops, every possible suspect has a moment in the spotlight, if without much increase in suspense. Throughout the investigation, a policewoman known only as Deb watches over the mother, Jessica Finnegan, day and night. Some readers may find it hard to believe that the London police would assign one of its members to be a full-time bodyguard, who, presumably at taxpayer's expense, makes Jessica tea and runs errands with her as well. On the other hand, smooth prose, well-rendered London settings, and a satisfying resolution will leave many eager to see more from Seeber. (Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Read more From Booklist A family outing to a museum takes a horrific turn when Jess Finnegan’s husband and her eight-month-old son disappear. The husband turns up eventually, beaten into unconsciousness by unknown assailants, but there is no sign of their little boy. As the police try to find out what happened to her baby, Jess begins to realize that the key to the mystery might lie a lot closer to home than she realized. Fans of family-based psychological thrillers—those written by, say, Linwood Barclay or Lisa Gardner—will find this debut thriller very much to their liking. The story is complex enough to keep us guessing but not so complex that it gives us a headache, and the conclusion is both surprising and completely plausible. The author’s straightforward, unadorned prose perfectly matches the tone of the piece. A fine first novel. --David Pitt Read more About the Author CLAIRE SEEBER is a feature writer for The Guardian, Independent on Sunday, and The Telegraph. She lives in London. Read more
J**S
Give this excellent book a chance!
To think that I almost didn't read this book when I saw that it only received a little more than 2 stars! When I actually read the bad reviews, I discovered that one was due to pricing and the others felt there was too much British terminology. I admit it was somewhat noticeable at first but once things got going, I hardly noticed it.Jess, our protagonist, seemed a little bit abrasive but she grew on me and I came to admire the way she became quite a force to be reckoned with. Her love for Louis knew no bounds and she became unstoppable.Once I really got going, I could hardly stand to put the book down. Please don't let the negative reviews and small number of stars stop you from buying this book. I almost did, and I'm so glad that I didn't.This book is highly recommended!
C**I
Awesome start stupid finish
This book had me hooked for the first 50 or so pages....after that anyone can figure out the twist. The characters were not well developed, and I've never heard of a character to be asleep so much in a book while containing vital information. I finished the book just to be sure I was right about who took the kid, and then was only left wondering...wouldn't it have made more sense to....well I won't spoil it but you will probably ask yourself the as!e question after you finish reading it.
K**R
Good!
Wild. Wish there would have been an epilogue with Jessica and DCI. Very interesting. Couldn't put it Down. Good read.
J**E
A real page turner
Wow. I couldn't wait to get to the end.
K**R
Five Stars
I love reading
A**R
Five Stars
Very good. Had trouble putting it down
R**L
Used books aren't my favorite
The books was used as stated, it was in fine condition. I'm not a fan of used books,so, just so/so with me. Pages are pretty yellowed, smells rather musty but in good general shape.
O**N
I was sucked into this book from the first few pages.
I probably never would've picked this book up based on the title or the cover, so I am so glad my mom recommended it and loaned me her copy! Not far in I kept thinking why had I not heard of this book before, or seen any buzz about it? Then I realized it was first published some ten years ago.Jess and her husband, Mickey, and their eight month old son are having a rare day out together, when they get separated in a crowd, and then the husband and son just vanish. Mickey eventually turns up in a hospital, beaten and bruised, and with no memory of what happened.The narrative is told by Jess in first person point of view, and her fear and terror at losing her son are palpable. As the search and police investigation drags on she becomes more and more desperate and unraveled. As you would when you're child is missing.I loved Silver, the lead detective. I loved how he always called her “kiddo”, until she snapped at him to stop, and then the word still kept trying to slip out of his mouth. Jess was often frustrated with the investigation, feeling that the coppers aren't doing enough quick enough, which might be a natural reaction to the situation, but she also already had a dislike for and distrust of police to begin with. As we learn more about her background and her childhood the reason for that is slowly revealed.A tense and gripping book, while also being a good character study. I think this is going onto my list of all time favorites, and I will definitely be looking for more of this author.
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