A very good read about missing child. Lots of twists and turns alongside the story of the different relationships the detective is involved in. The lead character is strong and yet vulnerable which I warmed to straight away and her relationships are complicated and flawed. My inky criticism is the way she spoke to her colleague in this day and age of being pc this would not happen, however this did not spoil the read.
A good story that kept me gripped and intrigued.

Just finished this book and it really was a rollercoaster.
To sum up 8 yr old Lola Jade is missing, her dad's done a runner and there is something odd about her mother's behaviour. Detective Rachel Prince is put on the case and, along with her sergeant Bicknall intends to get to the bottom of this mystery and find the girl before it's too late.
I enjoyed this book and thought that the characters were all very well rounded and believable. The plot carried along at a nice pace and we were introduced to enough ancillary characters to keep us interested in Rachel as a person not only as eyes to see the story through. None of the side story seemed to be forced and it all played very real.

DI Rachel Prince and her sidekick DS Brickall are a change from the run of the mill detective stories and The Missing Child had so many twists and turns to make this an interesting and enjoyable read. Looking forward to the next in the series

The Missing Child was my first book by author Alison James. It was a quick read and I liked her character development.
The story was good but I feel like parts of the story was bland. There just weren't as many twists and turns as I would have liked for a storyline with this much potential.
Overall, I did enjoy it and it was exactly the kind of story I needed right now.

Really liked the characters and how it was written but found the storyline a bit boring and dragged out.

Six year old Lola Jade Harper has been missing for seven months after disappearing from her mother's home in Eastwell, Surrey.  A child likely to be at the heart of a bitter custody battle, she appears to have been abducted to order and inevitably her father, Gavin, is a major suspect.  Now Gavin has also disappeared and given that there have been reported sightings of Lola Jade on the continent, the National Crime Agency, once better known as Interpol, has been tasked to assist in finding him.  DI Rachel Prince and her Sergeant, Mark Brickall, are handed the file and told to liaise with the Surrey force in an attempt to discover whether the little girl has been taken abroad to keep her from her mother.

However, Michelle Harper may not be all that she seems.  While most of the social network comments are supportive of her, there are other indications that she is seriously unstable and very early in her involvement with the case Rachel finds herself questioning just how sincere Lola Jade's mother is wanting to find the child. Making sure that her husband takes the blame appears to be much more important. When Gavin is eventually tracked down and it becomes apparent that his daughter isn't with him attention turns back to the UK and Michelle Harper's movements come under closer scrutiny.  Why has she moved out of the family home to live with her sister and what is happening to the money that has been collected on a just giving site to help with the search?

The Missing Child raises a number of interesting questions about the dynamics of family life.  If a marriage starts to go wrong how do you deal with the growing awareness that you have made a mistake?  Rachel herself has a failed relationship behind her: one from which she has withdrawn without allowing either herself or her husband any form of closure.  What happens when husband and wife have different views not only about having children but also as to how any children should be brought up?  How much can one sibling ask of another and what are the consequences when sibling bonds are broken?  And, most pertinently, what are the consequences when love for a child is subverted by love of oneself.  Alison James successfully manages to integrate each of these different strands into both the central plot and the background material she provides about her main characters in this her first novel.  At the end of the book the reader is left not only with a satisfactory storyline but also with sufficient detail about Rachel, her Sergeant and their personal and professional histories to feel that they are real people with real lives.

This is an accomplished first novel, well plotted, with convincingly drawn characters and also stylishly written.  It isn't that often that the first in a series is strong enough to make me automatically put a writer on my go-to list of authors but I shall definitely be on the look out for Alison James' next novel.  I think she may be a writer to watch.

This book was a real let down I didn't even finish it.

I thought this book was going to be great but it was a let down . Lola Jade Harper went missing six months earlier, and they still have no ideas or clues to what happened to her. So it's down to DI Rachel Prince and DS Mark Brickall to solve the case and for me that's where the book loses me.

You can not warm to any of the characters and especially Lolas mum and dad. In some places the story seemed a bit far fetched and not a lot of back story. A real let down.

The Missing Child is the first book in the New Inspector Rachel Prince series by Alison James, and all I can say is what an opener!! 😱😱


Six year old Lola Jade Harper has gone missing from her bedroom overnight. With her parents caught in messy divorce proceedings, could either be involved or has something untoward and completely unrelated happened to Lola?


The body of a young mother is found cold in her bed, seemingly unrelated, but her social media use may hold the key to the case.


This book had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Jam packed with twists and turns, and a few moments of frustration where you think they've cracked it and the suspect has the perfect excuse 🙄. If you love crime and are as addicted to police procedurals as I am you will love this book!!!


Alison has created a world so real with her writing that at one point after I'd finished reading the book, I found myself thinking of the book and the ending as if it had been a real life crime! I also loved the balance of the case storyline and Rachel's backstory. I'm really looking forward to finding out more about detective Prince!!


Thank you so much to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for an honest review 💖💖 (I have yet to find a Bookouture book I haven't loved!!)

I would like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Missing Child’ by Alison James, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Six-year-old Lola Jade disappears from her bed in the middle of the night during which time her parents Michelle and Gavin Harper are going through a vitriolic divorce. Five months later the Surrey Police still haven’t found Lola Jade and have transferred the case to the National Crime Agency where DI Rachel Prince has been tasked to search for her. Rachel Prince and her Sergeant Mark Brickall uncover some dubious suspects, are led down a series of false turns and blind alleys before eventually discovering the truth.
‘The Missing Child’ is a compelling thriller, absorbing, dramatic and full of action. It’s been very well written with authentic characters, clever plots and unexpected twists which kept me guessing till the end. I’m looking forward to reading the second in the series.

A child, Lola Jade is abducted from her home, and the mother directs blame on her estranged husband. The police investigate thoroughly but are left with no clues. The case is then handed over to Detective Rachel Prince, along with her partner Brickall, goes deeper into this abduction. Then comes the murder of a woman along with the abduction of a second child…

Is everything connected? Are the darker parts of life in play? Is this the underbelly of a gruesome crime? Is Lola Jade alive?

This is my first book by the author Alison James, and this is the first in the Rachel Prince series. I like her main character, Rachel. She is sarcastic, she is gutsy, she is intuitive, and she never gives up. In her own words, as she says…

I need to see it through. Find my way to the very end of the maze.

Every loose end is thoroughly checked, all sightings of the child are followed through by her. She also harbours secrets about her personal life. It is her determination which made me persevere through the story.

This book feels more police procedural to me than a suspense thriller. The book deals with detailed day by day happenings. Though I got to know Detective Rachel Prince, I didn’t know much about the woman Rachel Prince, other than the fact she doesn’t cook and likes her salads, and is a health freak, running and boxing with occasional swimming.

As a police procedural, the book works well, but there are moments in the middle where I felt it dragged. I did want to skip pages, but I restrained myself and read through the entire story.

Alison James writes well, it is obvious that there is a clear plot in her head, and she has decided the parts her characters would play. So the book picks up pace after the murder of the woman and becomes interesting. I must say the ending was fun and unexpected. (I have decided not to try to guess while reading suspense thrillers as I do not want to be too disappointed)

There are some niggles… Some parts of the book felt drab to me and I felt it just went back and forth between Lola Jade’s parents without anything really happening.

For me on the whole an entertaining read I enjoyed most parts of it, especially the ending.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and publisher Bookouture and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Fabulous, intriguing and thrilling! I couldn’t wait to find out the conclusion of this story! The author did a great job with making the characters unique and interesting. The plot kept me twisting and turning trying to figure out the real culprit! I enjoyed it a lot. Looking forward to reading more about detective Prince.

I really enjoyed this book and can see how this series will be becoming one of the best.

Robyn Carter is amazing character who really shows a lot of growth from one book to the next.

I like her interaction with others and how she shows the human emotions that make her more attractive

An incredibly complex but clever and engaging plot with a good team dynamic and a touch of humour. I look forward to seeing how this new series develops.

​The Missing Child is book 1 in the new Detective Rachel Prince series written by Alison James.

This book was great I really enjoyed it, it had me captivated from the first page. To start a new detective series is refreshing and exciting.

I liked Rachel Prince straight away, she is feisty and is not scared to go with her gut instinct. She has a great relationship with her DS and together they are a formidable team. There is lots going on in this book, plenty of twists and turns but it was easy to keep track of the characters and what was happening.

This was a really well written book, I liked the style of writing and the story line. It was dramatic, stomach wrenching and quite emotional as you would imagine being about a missing child. I did have an inkling from about half way through who had taken Lola Jade and my suspicions got stronger the more I read so to be honest the ending wasn’t so much of a surprise to me. Some of the details were shocking but I knew who the bad guy was, but this in no way spoilt the reading experience for me.

This book was an awesome start to a new series, I can’t wait for the next instalment!

I highly recommend this book, I am giving it a really strong 4 stars.

I love reading crime and there is nothing I like more than discovering a series that I love and an author that I want to read more of. And this book, this author is definitely one of those! Oh what a wonderful, gripping, tense and brilliant book! What a spectacular start to a series! The characterisation is second to none, the characters so real that I looked up from the story and expected them to be beside me. I was thinking of this book in the rare moments when I was able to wrench myself away from it. A stunning story, a great beginning to what I just know is going to be a tremendously popular and addictive series. Loved it and cannot wait for the next!

A child goes missing in the middle of the night. The trail goes cold. Enter DI Prince and DS Brickall. Can they unravel the lies in time to save the child? This is a fast paced, gripping read and I was afraid for Lola Jade. This is the first book in the series and I hope to read the books that follow. Thanks to NetGalley, Bookoutre and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book.

Six year old Lola Jade Harper is taken from her home, there were no signs of forced entry and her parents are in an ongoing custody battle/divorce. Lola's father is the primary suspect but after initial questioning he has disappeared.
Detective Rachel Prince has been handed the investigation after Surrey police were unable to find any other leads. Rachel must separate the Harper family’s deceptions in order to find out what really happened to Lola that night.

The Missing Child is the first novel in the Rachel Prince series by debut crime fiction author Alison James. I have to say what got my attention was the books premise of a gripping crime thriller that would have me hooked. Although maybe it didn't quite pull it off for me, it was an enjoyable quick novel with interesting plot twists and an action packed ending. I would recommend this novel if you are looking for a light crime thriller, perfect to curl up with over a weekend.

Well hello Rachel Prince. What a breath of fresh air you are! She needs to eat more though, as I worried for her during the investigation and she must be attractive as she’s very popular! Nothing gets in her way of getting to the crux of the investigation though which I did admire about her.

The story of a missing child starts one way and before you know it, lands in very different territory! There’s a bit of a trail too from London, Surrey, Spain and Portugal which is a nice change and at times it did feel very close to a certain case of a real life missing girl from the Algarve.

What stands out for me here is the banter between DI Rachel Prince and DS Mark Brickall. Humour when you need it most. They’ve got a lot of their plate after all. The destination isn’t a total surprise but the ride there is worth it!

"You may give them your love, but not your thoughts...you may house their bodies, but not their souls."

I have to say that this is one of the BEST police procedural thrillers that I have read lately. From the start to the finish, it gripped and held me tight as I tensely waiting for the very satisfying conclusion. I can't wait to see more of Rachel Prince!

A child has been kidnapped out of her home in the middle of the night and missing for several months when Detective Rachel Prince, of Bermondsey in South East London with the Major Crime Investigative Support unit, gets called to liaise on the case with the National Crime Agency to interface with the Child Exploitation and Online Protection command. She and her partner, DS Mark Brickall, are late to the investigation but are all holds barred as they query all the parties. Lola Jade Harper, 6 years old, vanished and there are no traces of what happened to her. The child's mother, Michelle, and her father, Gavin, are divorcing and in the midst of a fierce custody battle at the time of Lola Jade's apparent kidnapping. Where is Lola Jade and can Prince find her in time?

Great investigative process and a really complicated story line highlight this suspenseful novel. I don't want to give any spoilers, but it is definitely a book you should set aside time for as it will be very hard to put down. I really liked the character of Rachel Prince, except -- please -- let the woman eat and can't she be a little less appealing to EVERY single man who meets her? She's quite cynical and independent, but the potential romance angle really doesn't do her any favors here. The reader can sense her frustration as the investigation leads to one roadblock after another, but she doesn't give up and relentlessly pursues her suspect despite the stonewalling and lack of evidence. Although I figured out, eventually, where this was going -- it was a great ride!

I'd highly recommend this to anyone who loves a good police procedural with a compelling narrative and a unique spin. I can't wait for #2!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the e-book ARC to read and review.