The Stolen Girls is the second book in the hugely popular, Lottie Parker series. I loved Patricia Gibney’s first book, The Missing Ones and I couldn’t wait to get started on the second and it didn’t disappoint. The Lottie Parker series is becoming a top favourite of mine.

In The Stolen Girls, Lottie deals with some dark themes: human trafficking, organ farming, rape and self-harm. It is darker than her previous book and when the body count begins to rise, Lottie realises that they have a series problem to deal with in her home town.

The novel opens with a shocking scene that sets the tone of the book straight away. A young boy witnesses a terrifying crime against his family and is forced into the world on his own. Meanwhile in the present day, Lottie is door stepped by a young woman and her small child and pleads for her help. The woman understands very little English and hopes that a note she leaves Lottie about her situation will help her. After already being made late on her first day back by the woman, Lottie is handed a murder case straight away. A young woman’s body has been found beneath a road. Lottie believes that she may be a refugee or an asylum seeker and as the investigation progresses Lottie learns some dark truths about what has been going on in her home town. Her family life is also crumbling in around her, they are still recovering from the traumatic events of the first book in the series and Lottie’s daughter, Katie is growing more distant from her. Can Lottie focus every ounce of her energy on the investigation when she has so many things at home to be worried about?

I really like Patricia’s writing style and she draws you into the story quickly. The dialogue throughout the book is excellent and it was interesting to see how Boyd and Lottie's friendship developed in this novel. There’s always a hint that their relationship could develop further and I liked how Patricia used this in places throughout the story to add tension.

Patricia creates a gripping mystery and some more unsavoury characters for Lottie to get herself wrapped up in. The story had me hooked from the first page and I hated having to put it down. A thoroughly enjoyable read, I’m already looking forward to the next book in the series. Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for providing me with a copy to read.

I decided to give this one a shot because the synopsis seemed alright, and people were comparing this to the work of Karin Slaughter, so naturally I was sold. Unfortunately for me, this is not the same genius as Slaughter, and I had a myriad of issues with the book. Some things I liked, but for the most part, I was not pleased. 

To start, I figured out pretty quickly after starting this that this was the second book in a series, which sucks because I don't like reading things out of sequence. It was obvious, too, because the author continually referred to things that obviously happened in the last book, and it felt like I was missing something major because I had not read it, which sucked. I prefer a book in a series to be okay on its own, even if you miss some things, but to feel like you have been chucked into the middle of the ocean is not cool. 

I was not a fan of one single character in this book. Not our main protagonist Lottie Parker (I just think she's a terrible mother and an all round bitch), and the supporting characters were not endearing, either. I just want to take another moment to talk about Lottie. She is really terrible - she knows her kids are going through stuff, and she is just absent. Completely, totally absent. I also found her extremely selfish and I didn't like the way she treated other people. Not cool. I found most of the characters to be whiny. I was initially drawn into the writing style, because it came across as solid, but the longer I read, the more dawdling and long-winded it became, going around in circles and never really getting to a point. The plot also tried to be so much more in depth and complex than it ultimately was, so it came across as really convoluted. 

I enjoyed the concept of the book, I did. I also liked reading about the young boy who fled the extreme horrors or his past, who survived, and who underwent even more harsh things at the hands of terrible people. I could have done with more of that and less rape scenes. Also, setting up this monster stalking these girls was something, but never really got to anything super scary because Gibney almost had too many bad people in this novel, so they ultimately all ran together and had no distinguishing features. There were way too many coincidences in this book to make the plot plausible, too. 

I have to give Gibney credit for the grittiness of the book. She did not shy away from some heinous things (maybe that's why this got the Slaughter comparison). I know it sounds rough, but when an author is ballsy about that stuff, I have got to respect it. You want to tell a story about human trafficking and the sex trade? You are going to have to get into some icky areas.

Anyway, The Stolen Girls is not the worst thing you could read, but it is convoluted, filled to the brim with unlikable characters, and is an excruciatingly long read that happens to have an interesting plot that is just drowned by all the issues presented throughout the book. I don't know if I will be in a hurry to read anything else from Gibney, despite the fact that she is not afraid to go to the nasty places for her story, a book that is icky and gory does not mean it is a good read if it cannot substantiate the nastiness with a solid story.

So the second in the Detective Lottie Parker series. I really liked the first instalment and I'm glad to report I enjoyed this one just as much, if not more.

A pregnant girl is found in the ground by a labourer doing roadworks. Soon another womans body is found, again by the same man, in the same circumstances.

Meanwhile Lottie Parker has a female caller and small child to her house. Foreign with very little English, she is pleading with Lottie to help her find her missing friend and leaves her a note pleading for her to help her.

Another two bodies are discovered, again by the same man. Could one of these be her callers friend? How are the girls connected? Why is the same man finding the bodies? Why did the woman and child call to Lotties house for help? How did she know who she was and where she lived?

We have a story here of immigrants, of asylum seekers, of human trafficking, organ harvesting, survivors, victims and perpetrators of a vicious war, Irish gangsters, all wrapped into a serial killer whodunnit taking place in a town in the centre of Ireland!

Sounds weird right? Well if you read it, it all makes sense and works brilliantly. It's a complex story, beginning with a flashback in Kosovo when it was war torn with some horrific opening scenes and returns throughout the book to Kosovo to reveal a little more as appropriate to the story.

This is no doubt a very well written and told story. One of huge breadth, there's a huge amount going on as touched on above. Throw into this, Lottie Parkers personal and family life and you have a huge amount covered in this 500 odd page story. It could easily have gotten lost in itself with so many threads of storyline going on but I'm glad to report that doesn't happen at all. The story is very eloquently told. Nothing feels wasted on the page. The editing feels spot on. Enough there to tell each story fully without detracting from the pacing of the overall story arc.

Speaking of the story, it a brilliant read. I was hooked from the first page to the last. Lottie is turning into a fantastic central character, with a team to support that are interesting characters, no more than her side kick Boyd. Throw in the dynamics of her disfunctional relationship with her kids and you have one of the stronger female leads currently out there.

I can't really find any fault with this book, hence the five stars. I was totally drawn into Lotties world and the town of Ragmullin. No hesitation in wholeheartedly recommending this, I look forward to the next installment.

Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and Patricia Gibney for and ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the highly anticipated follow-up to Patricia Gibney's outstanding debut, The Missing Ones.

I highly recommend starting with the first in the series, as you’ll be introduced to all the players in Detective Inspector Lottie Parker's life. Both personally and professionally. We pick up the story a few months following the end of book one (No spoilers here!). In this second installment, Lottie's work and family life are equally divided and the lines get crossed or at least blurred in that respect. Lottie is a take-charge kind of gal that oversteps boundaries on more than one occasion, putting her professional life at risk. I also love the banter between Lottie and detective Boyd - I'm still waiting...!

There are a few triggers that some might find unsettling or difficult to read including rape and sex trafficking.

The chapters are short, the writing is easy and flows effortlessly. Once you pick this book up don't make any serious plans because it's extremely easy to lose yourself in this one for an entire afternoon. I’m absolutely drawn to Lottie and can’t wait to see her character develop further as the series continues.
This is quickly becoming a new favorite series for me and I am now anxiously awaiting book three! Bravo!

Thank you to NetGalley, Patricia Gibney and Bookouture for an ARC to review.

To be posted on Goodreads under Kaceey 6/7-6/8

Loved loved loved this book. The second instalment did not disappoint. The story line was strong and it sucked me right in.
Already looking forward to the next instalment.
I envy these people who haven't read his book yet, they won't be able to put it down.

WOW. I did not see this book coming! This is the first book I've read by Gibney, but it definitely won't be the last!

Well defined characters and underlying currents are dominant in this story, but it all builds up to an amazing ending! I love a good murder mystery, and this one definitely didn't let me down.

Set in Ireland, this is a police procedural with a lot of twists thrown in. I didn't know who the killer was until the end and the last twist involving one of the main characters was a beautifully happy moment to read. I can't recommend this book enough! Definite 5 hard-earned stars from me!

A great follow-up to the series. I plan on keep reading about Lottie Parker, but I sure hope she's in a better place in the next book...and her family as well. Actually, the whole squad too.

We got to learn more about each character, what made them more real, more interesting and also more familiar. All great for a thriller series.

The parts about Kosovo were heartbreaking. The worst part was knowing how things like that really happened. How the whole plot, as far-fetched as it may seem, unfortunately does happen. Perhaps not exactly like portrayed here but the horrors? Definitely real...

This author is one to follow. I think we'll have Lottie Parker among us for a good while, so you'd better catch up right now.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This is the second mystery in the Lottie Parker series. Lottie has just returned to work after four months off following the trauma from the end of book one. She’s still trying to balance work, widowhood and a household with three teenagers. I'm not sure who's suffering the most here, Lottie or her kids. This time around, Lottie seems to be at odds with everyone. What really rings true is how little we often know what our teenagers are up to.

On her first day back, she's handed a murder investigation involving an unknown young pregnant woman. Could she be from the displaced person center that has been formed at the old army barracks in Ragmullin? The other storyline involves a missing local girl, who is a friend of Lottie’s daughter. I tell you, each storyline is absolutely heart rending and there were times I just had to put the book down and take a deep breath.

I really enjoyed this second installment in the series, but I have to warn you, it's dark.

My thanks to netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the copy of this book.

I really enjoyed Patricia's first book. When I saw that a new book was out, I wondered whether it would be as fabulous as the first. It definitely isn't, it is even better!

Lottie Parker's personal life is in shambles and things start hotting up at work with the bodies of young girls turning up dead. Clues and leads are few and far between. The team has their work cut out for them and it is a real nail-biting read. It literally kept me on the end of my seat. I could not put it down.

This is my favourite type of book and what I liked about it is that I learnt a great deal of General Knowlege, things I had not known before.

This is an amazing book and I highly recommend this author!

s strong as her first one. Lottie really has her work cut out for her. The author really does a great job working the detective's family life and troubles into the story. As we dig deeper into the story of Lottie's dead husband and his military past, some well kept secrets show up and for some time even the reader suspects the worst. I don't want to give anything away, but I can assure you that the story had me on the edge of my seat towards the end. I couldn't wait to find out who was behind all of it. Great continuation of the series. I hope the author is working on the next installment.

Excellent book. Great storyline and characters. A real page turner. I would recommend this book.

An author to watch out for although I found some scenes a little bit gruesome the book was so well written and the story was always moving with so many aspects coming into play. I had not read the first book and kind of wished I had as it would have given me some history but you can read this as a stand alone book as well. Looking forward to the next book by Patricia gibney

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy of The Stolen Girls in return for an honest review. This is book 2 in the Detective Lottie Parker series. This time Lottie and her team are trying to solve the murder of a pregnant woman and very soon after another dead woman's body is found. The book goes back and forth between Kosovo during the war and the present day in Ireland. I enjoyed this book very much but not as much as The Missing Ones.

The Stolen Girls Patricia Gibney

I’ve been looking forward to this book since finishing the first in the series, The Missing Ones, which was one of the best debut novels I’ve read for a while.

In her first book Patricia Gibney tackled some daunting subjects and she hasn’t shied away from them this time.

Human trafficking for the sex trade, illegal organ farming, war crimes, teenage self-abuse, prostitution and alcohol, all play a part in this story.

Lottie Parker is back. The troubled Detective Inspector, widowed, mother of 3 teenage children, and struggling to stay off the booze, she had it tough in the first book, and things get no better for her in this one.

The daughter of one of Ragmullin’s criminal head men has gone missing. Exiled in Spain he sends his right-hand man to try to locate her.

Meanwhile the bodies of young girls are beginning to turn up in the trenches of the road works which are being carried out all over the town. Is one of the girls the daughter of the Godfather.

Banded back together with her team, and partnered with her trusty confidante DS Mark Boyd, Lottie is tasked with finding the murderer of the girls in the trenches.

Whilst she is investigating the murders a young woman turns up on her doorstep with a little boy. Who is she and why does she appear to know Lottie’s dead Husband

The investigation leads her to a privately-run detention centre for asylum seekers. The man in charge of the centre served with Lottie’s husband in Kosovo. Was Parkers husband as good a man as Lottie thought. It was a terrible war, with terrible atrocities, have some of these crimes moved to the small Irish town of Ragmullin.

What a book. Patricia Gibney may have arrived on the book shelves recently but she’s going to stay on them for a long time.

This story had me hooked from the beginning. From the rape, and murder, of a family during the War in Kosovo, too the teenage angst suffered by Parkers youngest daughter, this book is beautifully written. Not once did I feel like the author was stretching the bounds of reality. Not once is there a lull in the action. Not once did I want to put it down.

Bring on the next Lottie Parker book. I can’t wait to see how she is coping; and I can’t wait to see what crime Ragmullin will suffer, and how the team will investigate it.

Pages: 455
Publisher: Bookouture
Available: On Amazon from the 6th of July or to pre-order now.

Thank you NetGalley and the author for an advance reader's copy of this book.

3.5/5 Stars

The Stolen Girls in the second book in the Lottie Parker Detective Series. Overall, I enjoyed the first novel in the series better, but the Stolen Girls was also worth a read.

There were so many different things going on in this book ( and way too many coincidences), but I found at times it moved too slowly for me . I appreciated that the author took the time to introduce to reader to the horrors of the Kosovo war as well as human trafficking (for sex and organs).

There were a few things in the book that kind of annoyed me - Lottie couldn't seem to finish a task ( opens and email and doesn't read it; opens an envelope and doesn't check what's in it until days later ... same could be said of her partner ). There were a lot of phone calls that went unanswered... etc... I also started questioning her as a mother - she seemed too distracted all the time . I hope in the next novel, the author explores Lottie's addictions and has her focus on her family a bit more. her kids have certainly been through a lot in the first two novels!!

Slower paced than the first book. An enjoyable read but it just wasn't as good as it's predecessor.

The Stolen Girls (Detective Lottie Parker #2)

​I have started book 2 pretty much as soon as I finished book 1 as I was lucky enough to grab an early copy of this book via Netgalley. So big thanks to Bookouture for allowing me the chance to read this.

​Well, right back into the thick of things is Lottie Parker. After having some time off work following the events of her previous case. (Book 1, so I won't put any spoilers)
​Lottie now has work to do, and her first case is ready for her. A woman's body has turned up when a contractor for digging the roads, discovers it on one of his digs.
​It's again a race for finding out the truth, and how this body got here. It's also a race before any more bodies turn up. And yes it's not long before another is found.
​Pressure on Lottie and her to team to find a link.

​I don't want to give to much away regarding the story line, and feel if I say anymore it might spoil it for readers, and we all hate spoilers, don't we?

​So what I will say is this is another brilliant read, intresting and keeps you wanting to read more. I think any crime fan's should give these books a go and find yourself a new series of books to read.

​There are so so many new authors bringing books out at the moment, it's hard sometimes to decide weather to stick with what you know or dive in and try something new, with these two books I can safely say i'm glad I dived in. I think Patricia has done a great job so far with the first two book. I love the fictional town of Ragmullin, I love the name. lol.

​I really do like the characters, Lottie while struggling to work and bring up 3 teenage children, seems to manage (just about) Sometimes she's just winging it and needs to maybe take a closer look at what is going on under her nose. I think there is a great balance between the characters doing their work, and the characters personal lives. I really feel I got to know Lottie and Boyd a little more in this book along with Lottie's family and I really am looking forward to more from this author.

I started this book on my lunch break and it took all my self control not to leave work and keep reading it! Great set of characters- I can't wait (and hope for!) next installments! Lottie is real - no fluffy detective tropes, but believable, warts and all - making her all the more fabulous.

It took me a while to read this book as it didn't seem to grasp me at all. The book is well written but for me it was a bit far fetched. It was quite unbelievable in parts. I also couldn't take to the character Lottie. I found her to be quite rude and selfish. I was really wanting to love this book by Patricia, but unfortunately it wasn't for me.

Hoo boy, can Patricia Gibney spin a tale! A few months ago, I was raving about The Missing Ones and it looks like I'll be doing the same again.

The Stolen Girls is the second book in the Lottie Parker series and I'm already telling you now that no, you shouldn't read this as a stand-alone. Lottie and her family are struggling with the devastating consequences of the case in the previous book and if you don't know what happened there, you're missing out on quite a bit.

A young woman and her son appear on Lottie's doorstep, asking for help in finding a missing friend on the same day the body of a young woman is found during roadworks. Is it the same woman? Or someone else? Then the body of a second woman is found. How are these victims linked? And why is it always the same person who's finding these bodies?

The opening chapter alone is like a kick to the stomach and from that moment on, I already knew this was going to be another corker of a book! Soon I found myself completely immersed in the dark underworld of human trafficking, prostitution and organ theft. Yes, you read that right.

This is Lottie's first case back after the events from book one and she's immediately thrown into the deep end. Her children are struggling too and are keeping secrets from her. Meanwhile Boyd's not-yet-ex-wife Jackie makes a surprise return to town. What does she want? And can Boyd resist her?

Once again, Patricia Gibney comes up with an intricate and multi-layered plot that has its roots fixed firmly in the past. It's dark, disturbing and heartbreaking. I really enjoy the balance between the case Lottie is working on and her private life. I care about these characters and what happens to them and it's one of the things that will make me come back for more. I cannot wait for book three!