This is a fast paced edge of you seat read that will keep you guessing right up intill the last page this book amazing read

Haven’t They Grown was a very weird book with an intriguing premise. I finished it last night and I’m not really sure what to make of it. What initially drew me in was the mystery of how Flora’s children could still be the same age, when they should have aged at least ten years since the main character, Beth, had last seen them.

I had all sorts of theories running through my head, and I did manage to sus out what was happening (kind of) by the time the big reveal came, but honestly this book was all over the place.

Beth was acting like a full on stalker at points and I really didn’t understand where her obsession with finding Flora in the first place came from. Sure, they used to be best friends and very close, but I feel like after a decade of not speaking you should just move on and let people live their lives.

It was nice seeing Beth and her family team up to solve the mystery, though. I feel like too often in thriller and mystery books the woman or wife or mother is made out to be mentally unsound and her partner or husband doesn’t want to help out. That wasn’t the case here, and Beth’s husband and daughter got involved in various aspects of the case with her.

The ending was really quite out there. Like I said, I figured out what was happening but the amount of things that would have to come together to make the ending happen was immense, and I’m not sure it was entirely realistic. Actually, it wasn’t realistic at all. It would have needed much more fleshing out to actually work in my eyes.

Overall Haven’t They Grown is a very middle of the road book. I neither loved it nor hated it, although I did roll my eyes at several points. On the plus side, it’s very fast paced and I read it in just a few hours before I went to bed.

A brilliant read that has a very unique storyline. It may seem quite fantastical at times, but that's just the brilliance of the story.

I love the authors writing style and thoroughly enjoyed this book
This book had me gripped from the very first page.
However I felt that the ending was very rushed.

This book was just great. I couldn't put it down because the story had me hooked from the start and I just had to know what happened. How could this be and what's wrong with Beth? As Beth grew more and more obsessive about Flora and the kids, I got more and more nervous about what might have happened and how if Beth would be alright.

The thing I love about Sophie Hannah's books is that she chooses the most unlikely of scenarios and gets my buy-in regardless, not an easy task!

Because she has wowed me in the past I was therefore able to get passed the seemingly impossible reality of two children looking identical to how they did 12 years previously and allow the story to ride the waves.

The clever plotting holds intrigue around every corner and I trust the author to pull it all together in something resembling reality in the end, and she did.

The result was a fabulous experience that had me completely hooked from first to last page!

To be honest I'm a bit disappointed in this The premise was intriguing. Finding herself in the area her former best friend moved to Beth can't resist taking a peek to see if Flora is still there. And she is, along with her children Thomas and Emily. But theres something odd. It's been twelve years. Flora looks older. But Thomas and Emily haven't changed at all. It's as if time has stood still. They haven't grown or aged at all.

Sounds weird and gripping in equal measures right? And it is but it's also a bit silly. I'm all for suspending disbelief when reading but there's a limit unless it's fantasy etc. I carried on because even when silly Sophie Hannah is a great writer and I had to find out the explanation. But in the end just an OK read

Beth and her husband have a busy, normal life and the usual issues with their teenaged children (plenty of attitude and a busier social schedule than the average celebrity). The only thing that really bothers Beth is losing touch with her best friend, Flora, who she hasn’t seen for twelve years. So, when her son has a football match near to the last address Beth has for Flora and her husband Lewis, she can’t resist having a nose round. She gets the glimpse of her friend she was hoping for (while hiding across the street) but is startled when she sees Flora with her own two children, Thomas and Emily. They were three and five years old when last seen – why do they seem to be the same age now? Beth can’t help but become obsessed with finding out the truth – why did Flora and Lewis drop the friendship so suddenly, who are these two children and why is nobody mentioning Flora’s youngest child, Georgina?

This is a refreshing take on a psychological thriller. Beth is aware that the children she sees are not the original Thomas and Emily but she is determined to find out what is really going on. Her husband, and the police, want her to back away but her (rather brilliant) daughter is also intrigued, and seems to have the kind of mind that will lead to a career in either detection or high-level extortion. The plot is, well, convoluted but none of the slightly odd things that happen are incompatible with any of the others – I don’t think I can ever ask for more than internal consistency in these things! I found the characters interesting (especially the daughter, Zannah, solving mysteries instead of revising for GCSEs) and couldn’t guess the plot twist. I shall certainly be putting Sophie Hannah on my ‘authors I will check out new books for’ list…

This is my first Sophie Hannah book and what a ride! HAVEN'T THEY GROWN is one seriously crazy story. Sure, it may be a little unrealistic...but then, aren't most thrillers?! It's still a page turner that is incredibly addictive.

Have you ever wondered about a friend you've lost touch with over the years? And in the age of social media, you scour Facebook, Twitter, Instagram...but none of them have the answers you are seeking. What would you do? Would you drive by their house and park down the street for a glimpse to see what has become of them?

Beth and Flora used to be the closest of friends. They met at university, they got married and their children were roughly the same age. But when Flora's husband Lewis inherited some money from a long lost relative, the family moved away.

Now it has been 12 years since they lost contact...and Beth has been thinking about her once closest friend.

On a whim, after dropping her son at his soccer match, Beth decides to drive by the last address she had for Flora and parks up opposite taking in the house and the high walls surrounding it. When a silver Range Rover drives through the automatic gates, Beth cannot believe what she sees. Her once best friend Flora, looking a little older, but it is her. Then she coos to the passengers in the backseat and Beth is puzzled. Surely, you would not talk to teenagers, as Flora's children would now be, in the same baby voice reserved for toddlers? But then the passengers climb out...and Beth is shocked.

Flora's children, 5 year old Thomas and 3 year old Emily, look EXACTLY as they did the last time she saw them...twelve years ago. This can't be right. So why haven't they grown?

Beth is certain they are the same children. She heard Flora call to them - they have the same names - and they look exactly the same. Twelve years ago, Thomas and Emily were 5 and 3...and today, they are still 5 and 3. Beth is confused. And where is Georgina, who just 4 months old when she saw them? She would be 12 now.

When she confides in her husband Dom, he tells her that Lewis and Flora moved to America some years back...according to his LinkedIn account...for some big job offer. And sure enough, when Beth stalks their social media pages, they are very much living in Florida and the Thomas and Emily she knew are now 17 and 15. But why is there no mention of Flora? Or Georgina?

Beth sets out to uncover the truth of what has become of her friend and why their children haven't appeared to have aged. But she comes up against some resistance when she returns to the house to speak to the neighbours, only to discover that a couple by the time of Kevin and Jeanette Cater live there now with their two young children. But Beth is certain it was Flora she had seen...and she definitely appeared to live there.

Then she sees Flora in the street near the school. Flora freezes...before turning around and running away. Beth can't understand her behaviour. She ascertains that Flora had to have parked her car somewhere nearby so Beth went in search of the silver Range Rover she had seen her friend alight from just days before. When she does, it is open so she waits inside for Flora to return. Only the owner isn't Flora. She claims to be Jeanette Cater and it was her car. But this woman was foreign...Ukranian? Russian?
Something isn't right and Beth begins to feel concerned for her former friend and the young children that are so obviously hers.

From Cambridgeshire to Florida to Corfu, HAVEN'T THEY GROWN is a twisty than twistier thriller that will have you questioning the sanity of those involved. Is Beth delusional? Did she really see Flora, Thomas and Emily? Or is the woman Beth believes to be Flora all that she seems? And what about Lewis? He seems jovial enough when Beth spoke to him but what is he hiding beneath that charismatic veneer? And what about the children? Surely Thomas and Emily are teenagers now...so who are these 3 and 5 year olds living on that quiet lane? So many questions and yet Beth cannot seem to get any answers.

I liked Beth, though she was a tad obsessive and who would really go to the lengths she went to just to find out what had happened to Flora? But still, she is very likable and her relationship with Dom is a good one. So often in thrillers, the husband just doesn't "get" the wife's obsession and arguments are rife as they disagree over the slightest thing. But not here. Dom is incredibly supportive even when he urges her to stop. He listens to her and he hears her and still he supports her. They are both likable characters. But the standout one for me is their 15 year old daughter Zannah (Suzannah). I adored her! And I don't generally enjoy teenage characters...but Zan is something else. She is funny, perceptive, intuitive and incredibly smart. She should have been revising and studying for her GCSEs but she was soon drawn into Beth's obsession and was a great support to her mother's investigations. I felt sorry for Flora as she is so obviously afraid of something. Lewis is a narcissistic self absorbed character that you will love to hate.

Suspenseful and peppered with humour, HAVEN'T THEY GROWN is a rollercoaster ride with so many twists and a little wit thrown in here and there right up to the dramatic conclusion. There are so many twists it seems somewhat convoluted in parts and maybe a little implausible but it is still one hell of a ride.

It may be far-fetched, it may be ridiculously convoluted and it may be unbelievable...but HAVEN'T THEY GROWN is extremely fast paced and ends up being an addictive page turner, as you find yourself questioning just exactly what is going on. You are guaranteed to devour this one in record time!

Unique, original and brilliantly clever, I thoroughly enjoyed HAVEN'T THEY GROWN that left me thinking "What the...?" by the the end.

My first by Sophie Hannah but not my last!

I would like to thank #SophieHannah, #NetGalley and #HodderAndStoughton for an ARC of #HaventTheyGrown in exchange for an honest review.

A huge Thank You to The author, The publisher and Netgalley for providing the e-arc in exchange for a unbiased review of these works.

WOW WOW WOW, Sophie Hannah has done it again and totally blown me away with this read, I was obsessed with what was happening not knowing what or who to believe and as the twists and twists on top of the twist came i was left open mouthed in shock! Get this on your TBR now! its outstanding!

5 STARS ALL THE WAY AND IF IT COULD GIVE IT MORE I WOULD!

Another intriguing read from Sophie Hannah - but what more would you expect! I was led down blind alleys in my mind trying to preempt the denouement quite a few times which although is frustrating to be wrong does keep me reading on to find out what happened/ why / conclusion. The characters are well portrayed and the descriptions are en point.

Seriously confusing, but in a really good way. It took me ages to unravel the mysteries that this book contained. Several threads all unraveling and then knitting back together to show the whole pattern took me through this book in what felt like a blink of an eye. Recommended.

When Beth drops by on her old friend Flora after 12 years she is surprised to see her still living in her old home. But when Flora’s children come into view they do not seem to have aged at all – what is going on?

The only book I’ve read by Sophie Hannah is The Understudy which I was very much not a fan of. That book had been written by 3 other authors as well though, so I was willing to give her a chance as a solo writer as the plot summary really intrigued me. I’m glad I did as I actually really enjoyed Haven’t They Grown. The concept is a great one and the blurb really drew me in. The plot kept me guessing throughout and wasn’t an easy one to just work out as you are going along – there are a lot of twists and turns and not all characters are as they seem. It’s a nice easy writing style which kept me engaged throughout and I kept wanting to pick the book up to find out the answer to the mystery.

I think one of my criticisms would be that it does stretch believability a little in the plot. Beth seems far too invested in what has happened to her friend Flora and is seemingly willing to even end her marriage because of it which just seemed odd. The beginning of the book hinted that perhaps she had done something in the past that she regretted that would cause this but when it’s actually revealed I don’t think it was big enough to warrant the fallout. As the book only really has one mystery, (although it’s a good one!) it does occasionally feel a little too stretched out. We get so many versions of the truth that it starts to get a bit muddied by the end with so many convenient explanations and people only telling half of the story that it feels frustrating and confusing. The end reveal didn’t really have the impact I had hoped that it would have although I did enjoy the conclusion.

Overall I enjoyed Haven’t They Grown – it’s an engaging read that will keep you guessing from start to finish. Thank you to NetGalley & Hodder & Stoughton for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am already a huge fan of Sophie Hannah’s poetry, so was very excited to try one of her crime thrillers, and I wasn’t disappointed!

The hook of Haven’t They Grown is amazing. Beth goes poking her nose around the house that her old friend Flora moved to twelve years ago, when they severed all contact with each other. She’s not really sure what she is looking for, or what she hopes to achieve, but she certainly doesn’t expect to see Flora with her two children, Thomas and Emily… and neither child appears to have aged at all!

Wow! I was immediately hooked, because what possible – non-magical – explanation could there be?! And I couldn’t stop reading either, because the more information Beth uncovers, the more confused she and I became. I had absolutely no clue what could be going on, right up until the big reveal, and I was happy just to hang on and enjoy the ride.

Sophie Hannah has created a twisty, well-written suspense thriller and her characters are thoroughly believable, even despite Beth’s utter obsession with needing to know. To be honest, when it came to the Braid family and their mysteriously ageless children, I needed to know too!

Definitely don’t start this one just before bed. It’s not scary… you just won’t be able to put it down until it’s finished.



The little girl turns and, for a second, looks straight at me.
It’s her. That T-shirt with the fluffy sheep on it…Le petit mouton.
The girl I’m looking at is Emily Braid, except she’s not fifteen, as she should be – as she must be and is, unless the world has stopped making sense altogether.
This is the Emily Braid I knew twelve years ago, when she was three years old. And Thomas…I can’t see all of his face, but I can see enough to know that he’s still five years old, as he was when I last saw him in 2007.
I have to get out of here. I can’t look any more. Everything is wrong.

– Sophie Hannah, Haven’t They Grown

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

I enjoyed this. It kept me guessing the whole way through. I felt the desperation of the main character - how she felt she was crazy for thinking she’d seen her friend and the kids. I would recommend this book.

Beth is due to drop off her son Ben at a football match. It is a two hour drive from her home. Having travelled so far, she cannot resist a slight detour to drive past the house of her friend, Flora, whom she hasn’t seen for 12 years. Why are Flora’s children still aged three and five? Why haven’t they grown? With such a bizarre and intriguing opening to a book one knows that at some point one is going to have to suspend belief. This point came for me towards the end of the book. It’s the amazing writing skills of Sophie Hannah that kept me riveted to the story of Beth and Flora and their respective families and determined to try to work out the truth of what on earth was happening! I couldn’t work it out and was so intrigued I kept reading ‘just a few more pages’ until the book was finished and I knew the truth.
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Haven't They Grown by Sophie Hannah

It’s 12 years since the friendship ended between Beth and Flora, since they lost touch. So much time has passed that Beth wonders what happened to her former best friend and her children. One day a perfect opportunity comes along to find out and Beth cannot resist it. Her teenage son Ben is playing football at a ground that is no distance at all from the grand house that Flora and her husband Lewis moved to all those years ago. Beth is waiting outside hoping for a glimpse when a car drives through the open gates and out climbs Flora and with her are her two children Thomas and Emily. But Thomas and Emily are exactly as they were 12 years before. They’re still small children, they’re even wearing the same clothes that Flora remembers, and Flora seems upset. How is this possible? Why haven’t they aged and what is wrong with Flora? From that moment on Beth becomes obsessed with discovering the truth. There is nothing on Earth that will stop her.

Haven’t They Grown has an incredible premise. As soon as I heard it I knew I had to read it. Talk about a compelling read! The novel is effectively written as a puzzle. It’s set up right at the beginning and every page afterwards contributes to the pieces slowly coming together in a way that I could not guess. And from the very first page I knew I could not stop reading until I knew. The story is written in the first person – this is Beth’s story and it’s her obsessive, determined voice, thinking aloud, that drives this novel on. It works extremely well.

The puzzle is what matters here above all else, including character, but, even so, I really enjoyed getting to know Beth, her husband Dom and their teenage kids Ben and Zannah, especially Zannah. They feel like a normal family (almost). There are no issues, no angst, just a loving family who talk normally to each other. Their dialogue is great! It feels natural and is often humorous. Dom and Beth have a wonderful relationship and, even though her obsession can irritate him, he is supportive. As for Zannah, she should be revising for exams but she’s far too caught up helping her mum. I loved all this. It’s an extraordinary premise but our main characters feel believable.

There are less believable aspects to the novel as the plot is unravelled. On that, though, I’m not going to say a word. I knew nothing about the story beyond the premise when I read it and that’s all any reader should know. I did find aspects of it unconvincing, especially in the final third, but as always that’s just my opinion. I still found it a compelling read and I loved Zannah. How pleasant and unsual to read a novel that features a perfectly normal, likeable and funny teenage girl! This is one of those books that it’s very likely you’ll just gobble up, hunting for the answers to a fantastic puzzle that really makes this thriller stand out.

As a Sophie Hannah fan, I loved this book! Very gripping, well written. Great plot and intrigue.
Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

Fantastic hook for a novel - you see your ex-friend's children and they look just the same - no older - despite the fact that years have passed. Why and how?

I won't spoil the story but it builds well and was a very enjoyable read with some great twists and turns.

Beth finds herself driving to the house her best friend used to live in only to find she was still there. Drawing closer she sees her friend's two children but they haven't aged in the twelve years since she last saw them but how can that be possible. Beth is now determined to learn the truth but at what cost?

This was an interesting story with am intriguing premise. Theres a lot going on to sift through to finally get the answers but it does eventually come together. The plot is interesting and has some good twists to throw the reader into one theory before twisting it to another. The ending was cleverly done but I feel the final conclusion was a little rushed. I liked Beth despite her being a little reckless and crazy. I did love the scene with her daughter and the headteacher. A good thriller.