Every parent would fear their child being taken from them by abduction so as parent I can feel the emotions that creates. The question then is why abduct a child? This book attempts to educate us. Quite a dark tale showing the different emotions of the abducted and the parents of the abducted children and the children themselves. Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book

I enjoyed this story with the twists and turns. Two fathers who couldn’t be more different coming together to hunt for their missing daughters. You also hear from the girls and what they’re going through. The main characters were likeable and they developed as the story went on. You were rooting for them to find the girls alive and well even though all knew it was unlikely as time went on.
I would read another by this author. I liked the Detectives in this and they would be a great anchor point for future stories.
Thanks to Storm publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#TheStolenGirls #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this ARC.

I thought I would never read another story about kidnapping children but gave The Stolen Girls a shot. The story follows the kidnapping of four young girls and two fathers that would not stop until their daughters were found. It was a decent, quick thriller, but got a tad slow in the middle with unnecessary details.

Two Stolen Girls by Jeff Stetson and Lauren Street is a thriller novel that follows the investigation of two kidnapping cases that seem to be connected by a mysterious serial kidnapper. The book alternates between the perspectives of the police, the two fathers of the missing girls, the kidnapper, and the victims. The book explores the themes of family, trauma, justice, and survival.

The book has a promising premise that could have been a gripping and suspenseful read. However, the book fails to deliver on its potential due to several flaws. One of the main weaknesses of the book is the slow pace and the lack of plot twists. The first 50 chapters are mostly filled with mundane details and repetitive scenes that do not advance the plot or the character development. After dragging on for most of the book, the plot finally heats up and reaches its conclusion in the last 10 chapters. However, the reader may have already given up on the story or lost their enthusiasm by then.

Another weakness of the book is the lack of depth and originality in the characters and the plot. The book relies on clichés and stereotypes to portray the police, the fathers, the kidnapper, and the girls. The police are portrayed as diligent but inept, the fathers are portrayed as heroic and determined, the kidnapper is portrayed as a psychotic and sadistic man, and the girls are portrayed as kindhearted and helpless victims. The plot is also predictable and simplistic, with no surprises or twists.

Some of the book’s strengths are its descriptive and vivid writing style that creates a realistic and immersive setting and some tense and exciting scenes that capture the reader’s attention and curiosity. It also has a satisfying and hopeful ending that resolves the main conflict and gives closure to the characters and the reader.

One of the book’s merits is the bond between the girls and how they help each other survive the abduction. The book also depicts diverse races, albeit in a clichéd way, such as black being impoverished, white being affluent, Asian having rigid parents, and Mexican being migrants.

Overall, Two Stolen Girls by Jeff Stetson and Lauren Street is a mediocre thriller that could have been much better with more creativity and complexity. This book might appeal to readers who enjoy action-packed stories, but it might disappoint readers who expect more depth and originality.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC of the Stolen Girls. in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this book. The blurb was intriguing and promised a really convincing mystery that would have the reader wondering what had happened to the victims... but the novel didn't quite live up to that, as I felt I knew too much all along. It felt too focused on the emotions than the mystery side of the story and I didn't feel much suspense.

Some of the characters are portrayed really well and the relationship between Jenny and her dad is really heartwarming. That aside, I struggled with the language used as it made most of the characters sound very similar and the little girls talked liked adults (a line that stood out to me was when one of the 11-year-olds talked about "developing my penmanship").

There is potential in the story and the use of multiple POVs was quite interesting, but I felt this book wasn't for me.

Very interesting story line! The author incorporates a lot of current events into the novel, and how classes and people of different colors are treated differently. This was a great read and a quick one at that!

I devoured this book as I just had to know what was going to happen. Four young girls are abducted in LA, all from diverse ethnic groups and social backgrounds. The police don’t join the dots but dramatically two of the fathers get together as they are United in grief and determined to find out what happened to their daughters. A real page turner and in places a tear jerker.

Some hard truths between the pages of this book. ""I think a lot of people find Jesus in prison, The rest of us care about humanity when we're close to losing our own.''

Protect your children, there is lots of crazies out there.

The Stolen Girls is a novel not only focused on finding ''the stolen girls'' but succeeds in drawing the reader into the quest for survival in each of these girls. Also the two men, one white, one black, one rich, one poor - brought together by fate and fight to find their daughters. As a reader you really get absorbed in the emotional rollercoaster playing out - you can't turn the pages quickly enough.

The book is well-written, thoroughly researched and fast-paced.

Jeff Stetson has officially given vivid life to every parents worst nightmares. I’m chilled, exhausted, and emotionally spent. 5 stars for this thriller!

Really enjoyed this one. The perfect amount of suspense, thrills, and drama. The dynamic between fathers Ron and Todd was interesting and poignant in pointing out how the media/law enforcement can sometimes view crimes involving minorities.

As a mom this yanked at my heart strings. Having your child takenfrom you in any way is a parents
worst nightmare. I was a little concerned that this book was going to be too detailed but it was not. The only thing I have against this book is that this topic holds such raw emotion and I feel that the writing could’ve been deeper, and really honed in on it.

This is a story told from three perspectives. The Fathers of 2 of the missing girls, wracked with guilt and with one struggling with the seeming disparity in how committed the police are to finding their child given her race and lack of wealth. This is by far the most frequent perspective.
The second perspective is from the girls. This I feel could have been expanded on, giving a bit more character to each and focusing a little more on their captivity and their emotional states.
The final is the kidnapper, who seems to have a convoluted motive, indicating he is not of sound mind. His perspective is the best written (in my opinion) as his full creepiness comes across with every paragraph.

Overall a good story but the emphasis of the storytelling was in the wrong place for me.

A very big thanks to Storm publishing for giving me access to an eARC.

This was a fantastic thriller! I'm really picky when it comes to thrillers. I tend to feel like the execution can be better or that it drops the ball in some part of the storytelling. I don't have any major complaints about this book, I never found myself dreading picking it up and it was so easy to get into.

Jeff Stetson does a great job of helping you as a reader keep track of the passing of time which I found really helpful. The commentary on how race impacts resources was nice to have acknowledged.

Honestly I hope that many people give this book a chance.

The Stolen Girls

Book review 📚

Thank you @jeff_paul_stetson and Netgalley for letting me read this book, I’m very honored and thankful.

This book was absolutely a psychological mind blowing thriller, I couldn’t stop thinking about this book.
It took me four days to read and that’s a record for me!!

🚩No Spoilers🚩

The Stolen Girls

Is about two dads from two different worlds, one is well off and one is trying to make ends meet. One is a single dad trying his best to give his daughter the best life possible.

One day one of the dads is suppose to pick up his daughter at school.
While she is waiting she watches her school bus leave, as she waits for her dad to pick her up.
She see this innocent looking man searching for something. He asked her for help him find it and now she’s gone!

The other dad took his daughter roller skating at Venice Beach, she started to get hungry so she ask her dad to grab her something to eat. While waiting from a distance she sees a guy holding a leash with no dog. He seemed sad and panicking. He looks over to the girl and asked have you seen my dog? Can you please help me find him?? While her dad was still in line for food, the man and girl walked around the corner of the building and disappeared. Her father walked back to where he left her and she was gone?

Did these two fathers have their girls taken away from them? Was it the same man? Will they ever find them again?

Must read to find out!!!

The Stolen Girls by Jeff Stetson is a story about grade school-aged girls being abducted and two fathers working together to find their missing daughters. It is a recommended mystery.

Ron is a widowed single father of eleven-year-old Jennifer who disappears waiting for her father to pick her up after school. A week later twelve-year-old Rebecca disappears on Venice beach when her father, Todd, is getting them food. When the news is immediately focused on Rebecca's disappearance due to her wealthy influential family, Ron busts into the news conference demanding the same kind of attention for his daughter. Todd later reaches out to Ron and the two fathers, from very different backgrounds begin to look together for their missing daughters.

The narrative follows the point-of-view of the fathers, kidnapper, and the girls. The start is promising but the challenge is to lift the plot beyond the expected trajectory of the plot and take it in a unique, unexpected direction because this is a common plot. Alas, that didn't happen which then means going through all the personal reminiscing, soul-seeking, and revelations of the fathers is diminished by the predictable direction the narrative takes. Some connection between the kidnappings should have been investigated.

It was satisfying to see two very different fathers join together to find their daughters and the two police officers understand their positions. Based on the dialogue, the girls seem older than their ages. Perhaps they are just mature for their age, but this isn't a persuasive argument. I'm also not entirely convinced that introducing race and income to the plot helped in the final denouement. Two very different father teaming up was a good choice but to keep mentioning the racial and class differences was too much. 3.5 rounded down. Thanks to Storm Publishing for providing me with an advance reader's copy. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

I found this to be a quick, easy read but a bit slow in parts and lacking any kind of drive. Young girls are going missing and fathers become involved in the search to find them. The girls are all aged 11 but their thought processes seem more like women in their mid twenties. It was all a bit stereotypical too and overall, the plot is promising but just failed to deliver for me. The plotting needs to be tightened up a bit and the ending never worked. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

This book was a story that had a lot of potential.
I loved the two fathers paring up and forming a friendship. I loved their daughters doing the same.
I feel the story could have been more intense. It was lacking that suspense you would cost from a story line of this nature.

The story kept my interest of wanting to know how it would end. I will definitely give this author another try.

Really struggled to get into this book. Found it really hard to get into and I realy struggled finishing it. Found it quite boring

This was the first Jeff Stetson book I've read, I was very intrigued by the title, i think the story itself was okay but unfortunately it just wasn't gripping enough. The part I did really like was how the two dad's from completely different cultures and backgrounds came together and found the strength to work together!

This story just fell flat for me. I had a hard time getting into it and it was a struggle to finish.