15 year old Anna gets on a plane in London to visit her father in Manchester, and fails to arrive. CCTV gives no indication of where she might be, and since she was abducted by her grandparent once before, her parents are very worried indeed.

Things do not improve when Anna's half brother Oakley also mysteriously disappears, and both the mothers are frantic to find their missing children.

The story is fast-paced and easy to read, but the characters don't always feel convincing, and the attempts to throw the reader off the trail are sometimes a little transparent. Nevertheless, Alex Lake is an entertaining writer, and this book is no exception. Most of the fan base will likely enjoy it. It gets 3.5 stars.

This had the promise of a good mystery but it just failed to deliver. The characterisation seemed a bit stilted, especially Anna and I failed to empathise with both mothers of kidnapped children. There was a lot of unnecessary dialogue and the plotting was unbelievable, the ending was rushed and there were a lot of unanswered questions which left me feeling disappointed. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. I’m a big fan of Alex Lake and his style of writing so I was eager to start this new book. I found it to be a very fast paced and engaging thriller that I had to keep reading to find out what on earth was happening! Really good characters and interesting plot with a multitude of twists. Highly recommended.

I always enjoy Alex Lakes books and this was no exception.

Whilst 'After Anna' acts as an introduction to the storyline this can happily be read as a standalone novel.

Characterisation is on the whole very good, just how vapid Willow is beggers belief. I didn't really gel with the characters although I couldn't really say why.

The pace of the story keeps your interest as you wait for the next twist and turn. There are a couple of areas where I thought 'hmm, really' but not enough to detract from the book as a whole.

I look forward to reading the couple of previous books I've previously missed from this author too.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the advance review copy of this novel.

It was an interesting premise which didn’t quite deliver its potential. Plenty of twists but I guessed the partner early on so that was a bit of a disappointment.. I would definitely read another book by this author. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Alex Lake is one of my favourite authors. I have read every single book and will continue to devour them as they are released.

Alex Lake has a very special kill to draw you in to every single page. Here One Minute is no different. He captivates you with his writing and wills you to read just ONE more chapter to find out what happens next.

I liked the characters in this book. Anna was feisty when she needed to be. I found myself really confused but also routing for her. To find out how someone just vanished into thin air was crazy to read through.

I can't wait for another fantastic book

This storyline had me on the edge of my seat for quite some time as I and the police tried to understand how teenager Anna disappears. Anna gets on a flight at Heathrow Airport to visit her Dad but after landing at Manchester she is nowhere to be found even CCTV draws a blank.
What makes this book even more intriguing is that her grandmother Edna kidnapped Anna 10 years previously, so her parents are distraught.
This book had plenty of mysteries to solve which added to the tension I felt throughout.
My thanks to Net Galley and publishers Harper Collins for the advanced digital copy of this book.

3* Clumsy over-emphasis on 2-3 red herring-type characters and an incompetent cop who doesn't even think to compare numbers, makes this pretty transparent. And Anna's motives require considerable suspension of disbelief.

This is my first book by this author, and it's well written and readable. But, there's quite a lot of waffle meant to detract, I think, from a barely believable plot, especially given the events that become apparent, started by the same perpetrator in the previous book. I mean, how could the dad be so naive to take things at remote value? How could Anna have lived through her previous trauma at an age where she'd not fully forget it or be unaffected by it and still...?

The ending was rushed and again something was taken at remote value, not dotted and ticked/crossed to death, pun intentional, and ugh, it sounds like there could be potential for book 3, but if so, for me, that doesn't bear reading because this family would officially be classed as TSTL.

ARC courtesy of Harper Collins and NetGalley for my reading pleasure.

This is an excellent book about a dysfunctional family, full of twists and with a great premise. It starts off with a bang, featuring Anna, a fifteen-year-old girl who goes missing at Manchester airport. Shortly afterwards, her younger half-brother, Oakley, also disappears. And so begins the roller coaster hunt for the truth which weaves back through time and the complex family dynamics. There are plenty of unpleasant characters in this novel and although as a seasoned thriller reader, I worked out who ‘did’ it, that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book. Thoroughly recommend.

Thank you to Alex Lake, Harper Collins and Netgalley for my advance copy.

Another absolutely gripping read from Alex. Being from the North West I always enjoy Alex’s nods to the region and this was no exception.

A teenage girl gets on a flight to Manchester Airport and disembarks before vanishing into thin air. Her mother, father and stepmother are frantic but worse news is to come when Anna’s 6 year old half brother also disappears…..

Could not put this book down. Fans of Alex Lake will it be disappointed and if you haven’t read a book by this author yet, then please do!

A mystery thriller that hooks you with an intriguing premise but leaves you with more questions than answers. The story begins with Anna, a 15-year-old girl who mysteriously vanishes after being seen exiting a plane, walking into a restroom, and then seemingly disappearing into thin air. This isn't the first time Anna has gone missing—ten years ago, she was kidnapped by her own grandmother. The plot thickens when, at the same time Anna goes missing, her 6-year-old half-brother Oakley also vanishes after his mother arrives late to pick him up from football practice. Is it a coincidence, or is there something more sinister at play?

The author crafts a narrative full of twists, turns, and suspense as we follow this dysfunctional family grappling with their own secrets while trying to assist the police in solving the kidnappings. However, despite the compelling setup, the novel struggles to deliver on its promise.

While the mystery is intriguing, the story is bogged down by too many red herrings and an abundance of meaningless dialogue, which makes it difficult to stay invested in the characters. The plot twists, rather than heightening the tension, often feel forced and confusing. In the end, Here One Minute had the potential to be a gripping thriller but ultimately left me feeling underwhelmed and disconnected.

Good book, I loved the idea and it kept me guessing and coming up with theories ,most of which were completely wrong ! I liked the short chapters, and it fairly whizzed along. I enjoyed reading it. Good characters, and a great plot.

With many thanks to Netgalley for this free arc and I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily.
This is a tense, fast paced story with some great characters. Well written with short, clearly defined chapters giving the book a nice flow. Thought I had it worked out but Alex Lake had me well and truly thwarted. An easy and enjoyable read

wow alex lake has done it again.

Thanks to the publishers and net galley for this arc.

This book had me gripped from start to finish and I absolutely loved it.

When Anna doesnt appear from the flight she has taken her parents are horrified as its the past repeating itself. What is going on and who is behind her disappearance?

5 stars

I have read most of Alex Lake's books and really enjoyed them, so was delighted to be able to read an advance copy of Here One Minute. The plot grabbed me, as did the book from the opening page.
Anna is 15 years old. Mature enough for her mother, Julia, to be happy for her to travel alone to stay with Anna's father in Manchester. But despite boarding the plane in Heathrow, Anna does not arrive in Manchester. What has happened to Amna? How is it possible for someone to disappear from an airport/ planes which surely have the highest levels of security in the UK! This book was utterly intriguing. I was determined to try to work it out before the reveal! I whizzed through it trying to be oh so clever, but it is impossible to work everything out!
Alex has pulled off another excellent book here. Such a page turner. Highly recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. The story is centred on a broken family whose children are seemingly kidnapped. It’s a complete mystery how they have both gone missing at the same time from 2 different places. Story is told from many of the characters perspectives which I really like. Great thriller with multiple twists throughout

A tense and exciting thriller that keeps you turning the pages until the shocking ending. Lots of twists and turns and shocks, a great read!

Absolutely brilliant. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this author’s books. I found it very hard to put down. I’m now going to check out which books of this author that I’ve not yet read and do some catching up.

WOW! I am going to have to go back to read the first book about Anna. This book was amazing! Anna gets on a plane to visit her father and disappears. Meanwhile, her little brother disappears from practice. There were so many people I suspected in this book, but I guess now looking back, it was always obvious on the kidnapper. So many twists in this story. So many little storylines which lead the reader to think all these other innocent characters were in on it. I powered through this. So good!

I loved this! As a general rule, I despise missing child novels as they're so overdone, but this really brought something new and different.

The writing style was really enjoyable, I like how even minor characters got their own little backstories, to me that made the whole thing more absorbing. I also loved that the chapters had headings! I'm not sure when chapter headings stopped being a regular thing, but I enjoyed seeing them.

The story itself was really fascinating to follow - I love an impossible mystery so Anna managing to disappear in an airport with heavy security and CCTV really caught my attention, and I just had to see how it would all play out.

I would absolutely recommend this book.