What a great debut book, it doesn't read like it is a first book at all.The story was much more complicated than I thought it would be so much going on and told from many different points of view it kept me on my toes reading it and trying to put it all together, in a good way.The pace was good and the characters were well written and well fleshed out .the whole book was a joy to read and for me marks the start of what I hope will be a very good career for this talented writer.I'm very impressed and can't wait for her next book.no spoilers but this book will not disappoint and I am grateful to the publishers and netgalley for an ARC to read and review.

So as well as a title that sends me back to my teenage years and memories of watching Top of the Pops, 99 Red Balloons has everything I look for in a psychological thriller – missing children, family secrets and a story that slowly comes together through the eyes of a number of characters, none of whom seem to be quite telling the truth.
And I got all that and more, with a book with plenty of twists, turns and red herrings plus a “wow” moment about two-thirds in that had me pause for a second so my brain could readjust and rethink everything I had read so far.  You’ve got to love those moments and it completely changed the book for me.  
Before that, I have to say that it was progressing quite nicely but not setting me on fire.  There wasn’t any particular reason for how I felt – it’s a well written book and the characters are well drawn (especially Maggie, who touched my heart a little because of the way her life had turned out) and I could feel the stress Emma and her family felt over the missing Grace and the tension rising as each day passed.
I think it’s because I thought I knew where it was going (I read a lot of these type of books after all).  Turns out I was wrong.  I had let the slow build at the beginning lull me into a false sense of security, of thinking I knew how everything would end up.  Days after reading it, I am still kicking myself for not figuring it out.  So, buyers beware, keep your eyes out for the clues I missed and enjoy the ride.  I know I did!

I received an ARC from NetGalley to read and review. The below is my honest, unbiased opinion. Thank you, Elisabeth Carpenter, the publisher, and NetGalley, for allowing me to review.

99 RED BALLOONS is a fantastic debut thriller. 99 RED BALLOONS follows the aftermath of child abduction. Emma and Matt are devastated when their daughter, Grace, is kidnapped outside a local candy store. Emma's sister, Samantha, helps the family cope with their loss, but she is hiding secrets that may come to light while the police investigate her niece's disappearance.

Maggie has also lost someone: her granddaughter, Zoe. Learning of Grace's abduction, Maggie relives the pain she went through, the longing she felt when Zoe was never seen again.

99 RED BALLOONS is told from multiple points of view. This is definitely a book you'll need to pay attention to, or it could become confusing. Carpenter writes in such a vivid way, making you feel like you are there with the characters, feeling what they feel, suffering when they suffer. But her exquisite prose is never overdone. This heart-pounding thriller is full of shocking twists that will leave you clutching the book until the very final page.

There is nothing like a four hour journey on a train when you have just started a new book that you can't wait to read! Absolutely loved this book, so well written, amazing characters and a story you want to uncover!!! Defiantly recommend!!!

This story is told from multiple points of view - Maggie, Stephanie and others in between, who are not specified. This made it a little disjointed and confusing. The secrets, twists and links between the characters were very slowly revealed - too slowly for me, and I lost interest. The characters were not particularly appealing or strong enough to make the reader sympathetic to their situations and ultimate fates. A couple of them were quite unpleasant. So this was a good premise but not entirely successful.

What a well written debut........

Two devastated families, both searching for their missing Daughters. The emotions, secrets and lies of the individuals involved in this situation gives you the background to an unexpected fascinating twist.

An unputdownable read.

Thank you Netgalley, Elizabeth Carpenter and Avon for allowing me to read and give my own unbiased review.

A great debut thriller by Elizabeth Carpenter about a school girl named Grace abducted from a sweet shop in England. She believed the man was sent to pick her up by her mom . It doesn't look good . The police aren't finding any clues . The family get together to support each other. Grace's parents , Emma and Matt , her aunt Stephanie and her 13 year old son Jamie , and the widowed grandmother. The Family Liasion Officer Flo and PC Nadia Sharma stays to assist Grace's family that are heartbroken. In another town in England a woman named Maggie is upset when she sees the news about Grace . Maggie's granddaughter Zoe was abducted 30 years ago . The loss destroyed the entire family. Maggie's son Scott turned into a drug addict , Maggie's husband Ron died from grief , Maggie's son inlaw David left to search for his daughter and Maggie's daughter Sarah committed suicide . We get the insight from all family members. We learn of Maggie's tragic story of her missing granddaughter, secrets and surprises. Great storyline! The book was hard to put down ! I couldn't wait to find out what happened to Grace and to Zoe ! I highly recommend this book if you like a good psychological thriller. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher Avon Books for the ebook in exchange for my honest review.
Read from August 6, 2017 to August 6 , 2017
Publication date August 24 , 2017
Will post on Goodreads
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Two girls have gone missing, but decades apart. Eight year old Grace has gone missing from her local sweet shop and her mum Emma is frantic with worry. Although her family rallies around her, cracks soon start to appear and secrets are revealed.

Meanwhile Maggie Taylor sees Grace's picture in the paper. This adds deil to the fore of her obsession, with the first girl that went missing.

I loved 99 Red Balloons, drawn in from the very first chapter with plenty of twists and turns to keep me reading. This story is thoroughly riveting and the fact the chapters are written from different points of view adds an interesting twist. This is a great debut psychological thriller and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and the author for the chance to review.

This is exactly what I was looking for in a sychological thriller. This is my favourite genre and have been reading alot of them lately. Although I have found many enjoyable ones to get stuck into, they just haven't quite given me everything that I crave. 99 Balloons gave me everything I have been searching for and more.

I felt such satisfaction after reading this book, also a little disappointed it was over. I had so much fun trying to guess the story and what would be unveiled next. Every time I thought I had it figured out, I was way off base. This makes the story so exciting as I find it boring if you can figure out the whole plot yourself. Everything was thought out with such enthusiasm, great character and plots.

99 Balloons was a very enjoyable fast paced page turner and I would recommend this book to anyone.

Eight year old Grace had been begging her parents to start letting her walk home from school with her friends so when they finally begin to let her, she is delighted. Grace's mother, Emma, had at first followed her daughter and hid to keep an eye on her as she walked, but eventually let Grace make the trip on her own. And yep, you guessed it( the hairs stand up at the back of your neck as you experience though first person narrative how Grace is easily stolen by a stranger, pretending to be a family friend) Gracie won't be coming home that night. This is written in such a chilling and so well written innocent voice that makes you shocked, upset and horrified all at once.

Frantic with worry, her mother searches every where for her little girl and discovers the last place Grace was seen was in a sweetshop but there are no other clues as to her whereabouts. Soon the police and media are involved in the search for Grace, the media hungry for a sensational story and the police desperate to find the little girl. Enter ageing widow Maggie Sharples who sees Grace's image on the news and the story ramps up a notch. Grace's disappearance brings back memories of Maggie's own granddaughter who was kidnapped years before. For Maggie though, the face she sees on the television screen, is a bit too familiar to be a coincidence.
99 Red Balloons is a thriller that deals with every parent's worst nightmare: child abduction. The story expands to another level when the author cleverly and skilfully blends the past and present together. The overall plot is a genius idea and will certainly keep readers on the edge, particularly seeing as though there is a little girl's life on the line. The story is told with alternating point of view from various different characters throughout the book which is when I struggled to keep track and lost a little momentum at this point. Some chapters are from the family others from a lady watching the story unfold,(Maggie) and a little girl who had been taken but which one? By the time it all wrapped up it made sense but during the early pages and the middle there were a few times the voices within the chapters just weren't standing out enough to remember who was who and I found myself feeling frustrated when I had to go back and re-read or jolt myself out of the story as I tried to remember who was who.
In the end I decided to rate this book 4 stars. The suspense was enough to keep me reading, wanting to know how it would unfold, but I had to sometimes stop and remind myself who was who and what situation I was reading. I think the structure and flow could have been improved and the voices more distinctive or at least signposted more clearly for the reader. Overall, a great debut: good plot, good narrative and a good book club page turner that will give you goosebumps at times.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley, so thank you so much.

99 Red Balloons

A chillingly clever psychological thriller with a stomach-flipping twist



by Elisabeth Carpenter

Avon Books UK

Avon



General Fiction (Adult) , Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 24 Aug 2017

I am voluntarily reviewing a copy of 99 Red Ballons through Avon Books UK and Netgalley:

Two girls go missing, decades apart. What if one of them were your daughter.

Eight year old Grace is last seen in a sweetshop. Emma (her Mother) is living a waking nightmare, but is there more to Grace's dissapearance than meets the eye?

Will emails sent between her husband and her sister shed new light? Why did it take so long for her Mother to join in the search?

Zoe went missing in 1986, and still has not been found, what happened to Zoe and what will happen to Grace?

Find out in 99 Red Ballons!

Five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Thank you to 'NetGalley' and 'Avon Books' for giving me the chance to read and review an advanced reader's copy of "99 Red Balloons".

I've read quite a few psychological thrillers in the past few weeks and not one of them really satisfied me. I was missing shocking twists and the suspense in most of them. I really thought that I was too picky and that my standards were too high, and I guess that is slightly true, but I am also certain that I just haven't found the right psychological thriller for me yet. Until 99 Red Balloons.

Two girls go missing, decades apart. What would you do if one was your daughter?
When eight-year-old Grace goes missing from a sweetshop on the way home from school, her mother Emma is plunged into a nightmare. Her family rallies around, but as the police hunt begins, cracks begin to emerge.
What are the secret emails sent between Emma’s husband and her sister? Why does her mother take so long to join the search? And is Emma really as innocent as she seems?
Meanwhile, ageing widow Maggie Taylor sees Grace’s picture in the newspaper. It’s a photograph that jolts her from the pain of her existence into a spiralling obsession with another girl – the first girl who disappeared… (Source: Goodreads)

First of all, I absolutely love the cover and the title of the book. The title was actually what made me look into the book a little further, because what German wouldn't be intrigued with a title like "99 Red Balloons" (side note: the original title is "99 Luftballons" and translates as "99 Balloons", so there's actually no 'red' in the original title or the song. :) ). After reading the blurb, I was hooked: great cover, great title and a super exciting blurb.

It is really difficult for me to write this review because I don't want to say too much and spoil the story for you. But let me tell you this: The characters in this story have lots of secrets and they try their best to keep them hidden from everyone, even from the reader. It was really exciting to try and guess their secrets as well as what happened to Grace. But be aware: if you think you have solved the puzzle and found out a secret, then try again, because the chances are high that your puzzle piece won't fit.
The big plot twist of the story left my mouth hanging open from shock. Although I figured it out one chapter before the actual revelation (there was this one particular sentence that tipped me off), I couldn't believe I missed the signs in the previous chapters. I actually went back to the beginning to check, and I was right, there were small hints that I missed.
Although the pace of the story slowed down a bit in the end, it was still interesting to see how the characters dealt with the situation at hand. I especially enjoyed the ending of the book.

"99 Red Balloons" is actually Elisabeth Carpenter's debut novel but you wouldn't think that after reading this book. The story, the characters, the twists, everything was really well plotted and thought through. The short and quick chapters with alternating POV changes were a great way to convey the story to the reader and had me turning the pages quickly.

If you enjoy reading psychological thrillers with twists and turns at every corner, then Carpenter's debut novel is definitely the book for you.
"99 Red Balloons" releases in only a few short days on August 24th.

You and I in a little toy shop, buy a bag of balloons with... sorry, every time I see the cover of this novel, I can't help singing 99 Red Balloons. Guess I've given away that I am a child of the 1980s now!!

So erm, anyway... back to the novel. What can I say about 99 Red Balloons that won't give too much away? Hmmm. It is one of those novels that is really tricky to review without spoiling things for those who haven't yet had the pleasure of reading, but I will try.

Eight year old Grace is last seen in a sweet shop (that's sweet shop, not toy shop;)) moments before her disappearance. Her Mother Emma, had only just started letting her walk home from school with her friends, but was still keeping a watchful eye on her from a distance-the school only moments from their family home.

Now Stephanie, Emma's sister is trying to keep the family together as the Police begin their search, and their surveillance and scrutiny of the family - always the first to be suspected of wrong doing in such a case.

Meanwhile miles way Maggie Taylor is keeping a keen eye on the news. Poor Grace's disappearance brings back memories of her daughter Sarah's loss of her five year old Zoe, years and years before. There is nothing to link the cases, Zoe is presumed dead, though her body never found.

As Grace's family begin to fear that the worst had happened to them too, there is a sighting of Grace with a stranger that nobody recognises.... or so they say.

As the investigation deepens, some of the family members begin acting oddly, and as Stephanie tries to keep everyone sane, she begins to wonder if some people know more than they are letting on.

99 Red Balloons has some brilliant, yet flawed characters. It is a gripping read and comes highly recommended!

My husband told me "You shouldn't need a flow chart to read a book," but I did while reading this one because Ms. Carpenter did an amazing job of writing. She set a trap for her readers and I fell for it. Or perhaps she just let us make certain assumptions and didn't correct us. Either way, as the pieces to the disappearances fell into place, I needed to sketch it out so I could fit each character in their spot. In addition to the well written story, Ms. Carpenter did a terrific job of highlighting her characters and bringing their own stories, outside the tragedies, to light without detracting from the main story. I might not suggest this book for those times when you can't devote solid time to reading, but definitely worth taking the time to do so!

99 Red Balloons

This is a cracking debut novel; Elisabeth Carpenter has really hit the spot with a twisted psychological thriller that explores family ties and lies. The characters are strong and believable characters, the plotting is complex and skilful with pace and tension and she creates a real sense of creeping fear as the story unfolds.

It's the nightmare scenario of a missing child, she's vanished into thin air. As the disappearance is investigated, the family cracks start to show and it's clear that there are secrets and lies. But what's really going on? The narrative moves between viewpoints and the story of current events runs in tandem with another disappearance years earlier. The abduction has some parallels and the consequences were devastating.

I really enjoy a story that keeps you guessing and this one just keeps the surprises coming. The final twist blew me away and had me thinking after I'd finished the book. Certainly an author to watch. Loved this and my thanks to Avon, publisher, for a review copy via Netgalley

A great debut book, full of suspense, lies, revenge and hope.

The song 99 Red Balloons links unknown characters to each other in this story, it is a song that reminds them of certain people, and at certain times in their lives. The story alternates mainly between Maggie and Stephanie as well as an unknown voices from a child, a man and a woman. After a child is abducted, we are told of the events that occur after by Maggie and Stephanie. Missing person reports circulate in newspapers, on television and on the internet, it opens old wounds for one particular family.

This is a very well written story with some really good dialogue scenes, I could actually hear the voices as I read. The characters have been well developed and on the whole are memorable. I did get a little confused in the beginning with the "unknown voices" chapters, as I had no idea who they were and they caught me a little unawares. But as the author progressed with the story, it then becomes obvious to the reader, why these have been left nameless. This is a definite stories with in stories book, the author has done a really good job of keeping them separate until absolutely necessary, she kept me guessing throughout. These sub stories have given this book a really good depth and, it's not until the author starts to pull the threads of the story together, do you then actually start to realise how deep and well thought out this story is. I had jumped to conclusions early on, and was completely wrong on most of my them. It is really nice to be blindsided as a reader, again it is down the ability of the author to lure you down one route of thought, when actually they have been distracting you.

This is a great start for this author on her debut novel, and this is an author I will be keeping an out for in the future. It is a book I would recommend to readers of a reasonably intense Thriller / Suspense genres. Even though there are aspects of kidnap involved, it has not been done in a shocking or over the top way. The author has focused her writing on that of the family left waiting for news. I would also recommend this to Reading Groups, there are many aspects of this story that would make for great group discussion points.

Eight year old Grace is growing up and wants a bit of independence so begs mum Emma into letting her walk home from school alone. Emma watches her for the first few days but finally lets her go solo. Sadly, this proves to be a costly decision as, one day, Grace doesn't come home. The police are called in but as their investigations proceed, certain things start to come out. Information that splits the family. Meanwhile, Maggie sees the picture of missing Grace in the paper. She recognises something in Grace that kickstarts something from her own past. Another missing girl from years ago. Could there possibly be a connection and if so what?
This was a very good character driven book. Told from multiple points of view and containing some very interesting back stories you could say that sometimes the characters themselves and what was going on with them overshadowed the hunt for the missing child somewhat but not in a detrimental way. There is some very clever reader manipulation going on in this book mostly by way of misdirection which did keep me on my toes throughout. There is a fine line to be had with employing this tactic as there is always the danger that the reader gets annoyed by being conned but I am very pleased to say that I never had such feelings during reading as they were so well disguised, and revealed and explained at just the right times to keep me on side. And when finally all was revealed I was quite happy to put the book down and applaud the author for a job well done.
Characterisation was also of a good quality. The author has created a cast of characters that I was well easily able to connect to / emote with. The emotional turmoil suffered by certain characters was, at times, almost gut wrenching. Especially as certain things from their pasts were revealed. It's hard to create duplicitous characters with secrets and lies aplenty and make them convincing but again this author does a great job of keeping them just on the right side of this too. The parts that were narrated by the child were very well done and convincing age wise.
Pacing was perfect and always consistent with the tone of the story and there was a good balance between description and story.
As always when I finish a book by a new author to me, I go and check out their back catalogue and I have to say that what I found here completely shocked me. This is the author's debut book. I would never have guessed that as it came across as having been written by a much more experienced author, so mature the writing, characterisation and basically everything. I am definitely going to be keeping my eye out for her second book. I do hope I don;t have to wait too long.

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

A very good thrilling novel which kept me turning the pages. Well written, and great characters. Great new author to follow.

Grace is eight years old, and instead of coming straight home from school, she decided to stop into the dairy and has been kidnapped. What will happen next is Grace's aunty Stephanie will rally with Grace's mum Emma to discover what has happened to Grace and who has taken her? As the story goes on, we also have another storyline of Maggie Taylor whose granddaughter Sophie went missing years ago in the same scenario as Grace. Maggie's daughter couldn't handle the loss and killed herself. When she sees Grace and then the press release on TV she gets a jolt as one of the girls looks a lot like her Sophie, but how can that be? Reading the book, we learn that Emma's and Stephanie's mum is hiding a bucketload of secrets and that it has to do with how Emma and Stephanie came to be? Has someone finally realized the truth and had decided to exact revenge for the disappearance years ago? 99 Red Balloons started off as a fast-paced mystery and then started to slow down in the middle, and at one point I have to admit I wanted it to speed up a bit. The other thing I found annoying was that the story glossed over Sophie's disappearance and focused quite heavily on Grace's. It would have been nice to see a bit more of Sophie's story and her reunion with her grandmother which I was disappointed we didn't get to read how it went as the story just ended. However, if you are up for a UK mystery novel, then check out 99 Red Balloons by Elisabeth (Libby) Carpenter today.

When someone releases a debut psychological thriller, I have to admit to reading with more than a little bit of trepidation. This is a very popular genre and standards have been steadily rising, bit by bit, book by book, as have reader expectations. But... Wowsers. I am very happy to say that Elisabeth Carpenter met every one of my expectations when it comes to this genre, and then some. This is a stonkingly assured and gripping debut that I would happily recommend to anyone.
Now this is a very hard book to talk about as there are elements of it which kind of put me in mind of the movie, Fight Club. The first rule of 99 Red Balloons is, don’t talk about the plot of 99 Red Balloons. It has an amazing plot that you really want to talk about, but people need to have read the book first, if that makes sense. What you need to know about the plot is very much contained above. Eight year old Grace has gone missing, seemingly taken while on a very short walk home from school. The rest of the story is focused upon her family and the impact her disappearance has upon them and widow, Maggie Taylor, who is emotionally affected by Grace's story as her own granddaughter went missing many years before. And that's all I'm saying.
This was such a cleverly constructed story. So many secrets being kept, by both Emma and Matt, Grace's parents. Neither has been entirely honest with the other, both worried that something they have done may have led to Grace being taken. While seemingly rock solid as a couple, they are being torn apart by the loss of their daughter and the way in which the author portrays this feels authentic and at times moving. The shift from anger and determination to absolute despair. They are both strong, but crumbling and in desperate need to support.
And this is where we meet Stephanie, Emma's sister. She is at Emma's side throughout the whole drama, undeniably close to her sister as her son, Jamie, is with Grace. She is perhaps not as strong as her sister and yet since childhood she has been there to protect Emma. Perhaps half of the story is told in her voice and we are privy to her dreams, nightmares even, and her fears. There is something altogether claustrophobic about Stephanie's dreams, but we are never quite sure what.
Maggie was an interesting character. In her later years, her world has continued to get smaller ever since the loss of her granddaughter Zoe. A widow, she only has one true friend and her mind always turns to Zoe whenever she hears of another lost or missing child. I could really feel a kind of sympathy for Maggie, a woman who has had her life ripped apart and to whom, it appears, the truth may never be revealed. She had a quiet strength about her, a determined nature which kept her on her path, even if the easy option would have been to give in and be with her family. You had to admire her strength.
And then there are two more voices - the abductor and the child who was taken. All four distinct voices, all tinged with their own sadness, their stories unique and yet set to converge in the most shocking of ways. And it is a very clever ploy used by the author here. I kind of had a suspicion about one element of the story, but the way in which is was executed was so skilful, so unexpected, that it truly made me smile. And argghhhh. Give me a nudge when you've read the book for yourself and we can have a chat about it.
For a debut thriller, this was a cracker and I cannot wait to read more by the author. The pacing was just right, the moments of tension dotted throughout perfectly timed to keep me as a reader on the hook. I had to keep reading. I wanted to know more. I wanted to be proven right (and wrong) and I wanted to be surprised. Most of all, because from the very first page Elisabeth Carpenter had me engaged and invested in the fates of all of the characters involved, I wanted to know everything would work out okay. I can't say that I loved all of the characters all of the time. Considering a child was missing, some of them were unbelievably selfish in protecting themselves first and Grace second. But you could not help but feel for Matt and Emma, suffering as they did with Grace's absence, and for the impact that the revelations yet to come had upon the lives of those around them.
Elisabeth Carpenter could have taken an easy option at the end. Made everything all sweetness a light, a perfectly happy, Walton's style ending and yet she chose not to, a very wise move. It made what happened ultimately more believable, more authentic, and all the more heart wrenching for it. Loved it.