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meldav4's review
4.0
Wow, this book has so much going on and was packed with twists and erroneous aha moments throughout! I loved the modern storyline of the feminist mom and domestic dad role models and their approach to parenting their feisty three year old daughter. Realistic feelings and actions were expressed, as well as some that were not as believable or common, making the story even more riveting. I did get lost a few times but maybe I missed a key point or two somewhere along the line because I was reading through so quickly (I don’t remember if I ever figured out what the “blue mommy” reference meant). I can’t imagine my child going missing and I felt anxiety and trepidation while reading how everyone was reacting, saying, and doing, especially Alex. I have no idea what I myself would do, and I am sure I would relive my mistakes and doubt my past actions like she did (though there are some things I would never have done or would have done differently). It was a fast track ending that I flew through, despite being completely blindsided and thrown off track. I especially liked the comments from other people, that was a unique touch that added color and insight.
meldav4's review against another edition
4.0
Wow, this book has so much going on and was packed with twists and erroneous aha moments throughout! I loved the modern storyline of the feminist mom and domestic dad role models and their approach to parenting their feisty three year old daughter. Realistic feelings and actions were expressed, as well as some that were not as believable or common, making the story even more riveting. I did get lost a few times but maybe I missed a key point or two somewhere along the line because I was reading through so quickly (I don’t remember if I ever figured out what the “blue mommy” reference meant). I can’t imagine my child going missing and I felt anxiety and trepidation while reading how everyone was reacting, saying, and doing, especially Alex. I have no idea what I myself would do, and I am sure I would relive my mistakes and doubt my past actions like she did (though there are some things I would never have done or would have done differently). It was a fast track ending that I flew through, despite being completely blindsided and thrown off track. I especially liked the comments from other people, that was a unique touch that added color and insight.
catreader18's review against another edition
5.0
Alex is a hardworking human rights attorney from the UK. She goes to a very close friends’ wedding in Florida with her three year old daughter, Lottie. At the wedding reception Lottie goes missing, setting off a search. It quickly escalates when the US President talks about Lottie during a news conference. While Alex is desperate to find Lottie, she also questions herself how this could happen?
I found this book very refreshing from a mother's POV. I am not a single mother but have children and know how exhausting they can be. I related to Alex immediately. The book opens with the flight from the UK to Florida and Lottie is a normal three year old with a 3 year old attitude. Lottie is not behaving well on the plane but Alex lets it go at first because she has to pick her battles and a long plane ride ahead of her. If you have kids, you can completely relate! There is also a lot of mothers guilt. They were at a wedding and Alex did not watch Lottie as close as she normally would. When Lottie goes missing, Alex blames herself. How did she not know her daughter was missing? Why was she not watching her closer? Again if you have kids, you can completely relate.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in domestic thrillers and the complexities of being a single mother. I really enjoyed this book and the way secrets were revealed throughout the story. A very good read!
I found this book very refreshing from a mother's POV. I am not a single mother but have children and know how exhausting they can be. I related to Alex immediately. The book opens with the flight from the UK to Florida and Lottie is a normal three year old with a 3 year old attitude. Lottie is not behaving well on the plane but Alex lets it go at first because she has to pick her battles and a long plane ride ahead of her. If you have kids, you can completely relate! There is also a lot of mothers guilt. They were at a wedding and Alex did not watch Lottie as close as she normally would. When Lottie goes missing, Alex blames herself. How did she not know her daughter was missing? Why was she not watching her closer? Again if you have kids, you can completely relate.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in domestic thrillers and the complexities of being a single mother. I really enjoyed this book and the way secrets were revealed throughout the story. A very good read!
love2read23's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
infi85's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
ashleysumm's review against another edition
5.0
She was right there, and then she was gone...
Alex has never been the perfect mother, and her daughter, Lottie, is a strong-willed 3-year-old with no filter. Alex loves her daughter very much, but she definitely has her hands full. When Lottie disappears without a trace from a close friend's wedding reception, the clock is ticking and the investigation is on. To make matters worse, the media and the public blame Alex- and even suspect her- for Lottie's disappearance. When the search for her daughter seems to be going nowhere, Alex does some sleuthing of her own to try and bring Lottie home. But where is Lottie? Who took her? And will Alex ever hold her daughter in her arms again?
I devoured this audiobook in one sitting, putting my detective skills to the test as the search for Lottie commenced. I have to say, I was WAY off on this one, and maybe it's a good thing I'm a childcare worker and not an actual detective. I hung onto every word in this story, and the narrators were incredible at capturing the essence of the characters, especially in scenes that focused on Alex's desperation to find her daughter. I would absolutely recommend this novel to anyone looking for an intense, quick-paced suspense novel!
Alex has never been the perfect mother, and her daughter, Lottie, is a strong-willed 3-year-old with no filter. Alex loves her daughter very much, but she definitely has her hands full. When Lottie disappears without a trace from a close friend's wedding reception, the clock is ticking and the investigation is on. To make matters worse, the media and the public blame Alex- and even suspect her- for Lottie's disappearance. When the search for her daughter seems to be going nowhere, Alex does some sleuthing of her own to try and bring Lottie home. But where is Lottie? Who took her? And will Alex ever hold her daughter in her arms again?
I devoured this audiobook in one sitting, putting my detective skills to the test as the search for Lottie commenced. I have to say, I was WAY off on this one, and maybe it's a good thing I'm a childcare worker and not an actual detective. I hung onto every word in this story, and the narrators were incredible at capturing the essence of the characters, especially in scenes that focused on Alex's desperation to find her daughter. I would absolutely recommend this novel to anyone looking for an intense, quick-paced suspense novel!
curiouskatreads's review against another edition
4.0
It’s been awhile since I’ve had so many different “Look over here!” moments whiplashing my brain back and forth. Tess Stimson could open her own fish market with the number of red herrings she packed in this book. Ah, but they were all delicious!
The story sets up brilliantly with a prologue that prepares you for a riveting finale. The sense of dread is palpable from the get-go, and the rest of the story the reader is along for the ride just waiting to get back to that prologue and make sense of it.
Lottie Martini is a willful, stubborn, preternaturally clever three-year-old girl who demands every ounce of energy her mother Alexa, a high profile attorney, can give her. Alexa doesn’t come by mothering naturally - Lottie wasn’t planned - but she would give life and limb for this little ball of fire she gave birth to. After losing her ex-husband and Lottie’s father, Luca, in an accident, she’s doing all she can to raise her daughter, but things don’t always go as planned:
Like the day of her friend’s wedding. The day her daughter disappears.
The judgement of Alexa’s parenting is swift, as was the case in the referenced real-life case of Madeline McCann. Why wasn’t Alexa watching her more closely at the wedding reception instead of having a romantic interlude with a handsome fellow attendee? Mothers, of all people, should know where their child is every second of every day, right? Life doesn’t work that way, but tell the media/social media “jurors” that.
Alexa’s journey through judgement, pain, madness and fear as she searches for Lottie is agonizing, and as the years go by, you feel her pain and desperation, even if she isn’t always likable in her pursuit. You want the happy ending, but you’re never sure if you’re going to get it, and as the story progresses, you’re increasingly unsure you can believe any of the narrative presented to you, which kept me off-kilter enough to not guess the ending. Stimson threw one major twist at me that had me doubting every single event I’d read up to that point, and I LOVE when authors can do that!
While child abduction stories are never fun and light, this was a fantastic and dynamic, edge-of-your-seat story that had me rooting for Alexa the whole way. The ending requires some suspension of disbelief, but it totally worked. If you like twisty turny, flip-you-on-your-head mystery/suspense, I highly recommend this!
★★★★ ½
Many thanks to Avon UK Publishing, NetGalley, and author Tess Stimson for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. This is due for publication August 5, 2021.
This and all my other reviews can be found at: https://acuriouskatreads.blogspot.com/
The story sets up brilliantly with a prologue that prepares you for a riveting finale. The sense of dread is palpable from the get-go, and the rest of the story the reader is along for the ride just waiting to get back to that prologue and make sense of it.
Lottie Martini is a willful, stubborn, preternaturally clever three-year-old girl who demands every ounce of energy her mother Alexa, a high profile attorney, can give her. Alexa doesn’t come by mothering naturally - Lottie wasn’t planned - but she would give life and limb for this little ball of fire she gave birth to. After losing her ex-husband and Lottie’s father, Luca, in an accident, she’s doing all she can to raise her daughter, but things don’t always go as planned:
Like the day of her friend’s wedding. The day her daughter disappears.
The judgement of Alexa’s parenting is swift, as was the case in the referenced real-life case of Madeline McCann. Why wasn’t Alexa watching her more closely at the wedding reception instead of having a romantic interlude with a handsome fellow attendee? Mothers, of all people, should know where their child is every second of every day, right? Life doesn’t work that way, but tell the media/social media “jurors” that.
Alexa’s journey through judgement, pain, madness and fear as she searches for Lottie is agonizing, and as the years go by, you feel her pain and desperation, even if she isn’t always likable in her pursuit. You want the happy ending, but you’re never sure if you’re going to get it, and as the story progresses, you’re increasingly unsure you can believe any of the narrative presented to you, which kept me off-kilter enough to not guess the ending. Stimson threw one major twist at me that had me doubting every single event I’d read up to that point, and I LOVE when authors can do that!
While child abduction stories are never fun and light, this was a fantastic and dynamic, edge-of-your-seat story that had me rooting for Alexa the whole way. The ending requires some suspension of disbelief, but it totally worked. If you like twisty turny, flip-you-on-your-head mystery/suspense, I highly recommend this!
★★★★ ½
Many thanks to Avon UK Publishing, NetGalley, and author Tess Stimson for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. This is due for publication August 5, 2021.
This and all my other reviews can be found at: https://acuriouskatreads.blogspot.com/
romana159's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
laiza1's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5