Book review: Taken - Lisa Stone

 


Title: Taken

Author: Lisa Stone

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Description:A gripping new thriller from internationally bestselling author Lisa Stone

Have you seen Leila?
8-year-old Leila Smith has seen and heard things that no child should ever have to. On the Hawthorn Estate, where she lives, she often stays out after dark to avoid going home.


But what Leila doesn’t know is that someone has been watching her in the playground. One day, she disappears without a trace…


The police start a nationwide search but it’s as if Leila has vanished into thin air. Who kidnapped her? What do they want? Will she return home safely or is she lost forever?

My opinion:

Leila is an 8 years old girl who's being neglected by her alcoholic and drug addict mother Kelsey. Her 4 siblings live with foster families, yet mother doesn't bother to take proper care of her remaining child.

The only thing she cares about is her addiction. To fuel her habits she works as a prostitute and entertain her clients at home while her daughter Leila is in the next room or in the playground.

One evening while Kelsey is busy working her daughter disappears from the children playing area.

After a difficult client the only thing she needs is cocaine and vodka. When she wakes up from her drug and alcohol induced sleep she notices that her daughter didn't come back home. Yet, she's not too worried and delay calling the police.

The story unfold slowly. Almost from the start the reader know who the kidnapper is. We also know what is his motive. There is few surprising moments along the way but the whole thing is very predictable. I feel like I was few pages ahead, I just knew what is going to happen next.

The kidnapping is obviously very distressing especially for a young child but I didn't feel her emotions, anxiety and suffering.

I think like the story of Leila after she leaves the cottage could be more detailed as it feels very unrealistic to me.

I've read some other book of Lisa Stone/Cathy Glass and I really liked them but 'Taken' didn't win my heart.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Book review: The choice - Alex Lake

Image
  Title: The choice Author: Alex Lake My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Description: A kidnap… Matt Westbrook only turned his back for a moment. But when he looks around, his car – with his three young children inside – has vanished. A ransom… Panicked, Matt assumes a car thief has got more than he bargained for, but then he starts to receive text messages:  This is a kidnap. If you want to see your children again, you will exchange them for your wife. A choice… Matt and his wife Annabelle are horrified. They can’t involve the police, or their children will be killed. Which means they have to choose: Annabelle, or their children. Either option is unthinkable. But one is inevitable. And they have only hours to make their decision… My opinion: A car disappears with three young children inside. At first Matt thinks he's being pranked by one of his friends. Then he gets a text message from the kidnapper asking for a ransom. Surprisingly they don't demand money but Anabelle, Matt's w...
Read more

Book review: What my sister knew - Nina Laurin

Title: What my sister knew Author: Nina Laurin My rating: ⭐⭐⭐ Description: "...currently wanted by the police. If you know anything about the suspect's whereabouts, please call..." I look up at the TV screen, and my twin brother's face is splashed across it, life-size. It's a shock that makes my breath catch. This is my brother as an adult, my brother who I last saw fifteen years ago after the fire that killed our parents, covered in soot, clutching a lighter in his hand, his knuckles stark white against the dirt and ash. Everyone always said he'd grow up to be a heartbreaker. But his face has gone gaunt instead. The stubble on his cheeks and chin is patchy, and his eyes look dull and dark. My first thought is that it's not him. Not my beautiful brother, the golden boy who everyone loved. Yet, deep down, I've always known this would eventually happen. What did you do this time, Eli? What the hell did you do? My opinion: I've rated...
Read more

🎄 Book review: The Twelve Dates of Christmas - Jenny Bayliss

Title: The Twelve dates of Christmas Author: Jenny Bayliss My rating: 4 stars Description: Kate Turner is happily single – a bit  too  happily, in fact. Since returning to her hometown of Blexford, a sleepy village where everybody knows each other, and between catching up with her oldest friends Laura and Matt, a flourishing career as a fabric designer, and taking care of her beloved dad, love hasn’t really had a look in. But Kate does love Christmas. So when Laura insists she signs up to the Twelve Dates of Christmas, a brand new dating app service, she doesn’t need too much persuading. Twelve perfect festive dates with the area’s most eligible men – who could say no? Amongst the twinkling lights and over hot chocolates and glasses of red wine, romance is easy to find. But with each date, Kate learns more about the men, and even more about herself. As the big day approaches, Kate’s left wondering – is it really the season for true love, or will this Christmas be t...
Read more