This was an incredible read. If you judge a book by the cover or title… don’t. The taken child is a hella of a lot more than what it says on the tin.

This was a compelling novel, that kept me hooked from the beginning and if I HAD to put it down; I was thinking about when I’d be able to pick it up next.

This is a book where you can trust no one and you will not believe what has just happened by the end of the book.

This was a brilliant read, I was hooked from the start. It keeps you on the edge of your seat with all the suspense throughout. The story was was so enjoyable to read, it has plenty of twists and turns along with the great ending. The characters were intriguing and the style of writing was perfect. I have read other books by this author and they did not disappoint. I would recommend this book and its author to anyone who likes reading psychological thrillers.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

My biggest fear in a book. The Taken Child by Maria Frankland had my gasping and on the edge of my seat the entire read. I would highly recommend this suspenseful, addictive thriller.

A school trip leaves 1 teacher dead and a child abducted in plain sight.

The Taken Child by Maria Frankland was a great read, fill with suspense and drama.

The Taken Child is a fast paced popcorn thriller. A school trip, a narcissistic father, one dead chaperone, and a missing child. It was fast paced and had me guessing until the very end. The one thing I did not like was that the names of the women (who all have POVs during the book), were too similar and I kept getting confused for a while.
Overall, good read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this arc in return for my honest opinion.

Pub date: 25 June 2024

An absolute page-turner from start to finish. The story was gripping, and the characters were so well-written. I’m glad I picked this one up.

This book was my worst nightmare come true. As terrifying as I found it though, I couldn’t put it down. The twists and turns were unexpected, and I loved the realistic dialogue. Hold your babies tight!

First, thank you to NetGalley, author Maria Frankland and Bookotoure publishing for the opportunity to review this book.

I’m not sure where to start and I am highly conflicted on if I liked this book or not. The premise around the storyline was good, the different character points of view I liked but overall I just feel it was under whelming.

The title really doesn’t come into play until 75% through. It is a slow read with multiple characters. I found the writing style to be a bit juvenile but I also went into this book blind so perhaps that is this author’s audience.

I feel it had so much potential to be gripping and suspenseful. The little camera with clips of writing I feel weren’t even really necessary. It ends with questions still and was easy to figure out what was happening early one.

Perhaps this is just a one off and I’ll try another of her books in the future but I just wasn’t overly ‘thrilled’ with this one.

3⭐️⭐️⭐️

LOVED !!!
Right up my ally. Incredible writing I was hooked Right from chapter one and have reccomended to so many people !

I will be back for more 🤩

This story was not for me, it was such a slow burn to the point I got bored by it. I did finish it but it was tough.

The story was hard to get into. There were a lot of viewpoints from the start, which made the story hard to follow.

First, I want to thank Maria Frankland, Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with this book so I may bring you this review.

DANG!! The Taken Child seriously read like nail biting bingable true crime series on Netflix that you can’t stop watching! WOW!! Maria Frankland is one talented storyteller that is for sure!! If you are a fan of true crime, mystery, suspense, missing persons, police procedural, then this is the book for you!

Maria would like to dedicate this book to her gorgeous niece Thea, who gave her the inspiration for the story.

What hooked me first was the scene of the book where the students were going on a school trip and being chaperoned. The three chaperones all knew each other and their backstories were very interesting to today’s present drama.

What I found quite interesting is that at the end of each chapter there was an eerie saying in bold typed letters. Each one seemed to get darker and darker as they went on.

In between the story there are breaks where we chapters about the investigation by Di Gilbert filling us in on all the latest.

This book had a lot of twist and turns, secrets galore, and shocking revelations.

I will say that it was not as fast paced as I like my stories to be and it took me a while to get into the storyline.

This book is all about secrets. The plot was different and I was all here for it. Told by multiple POV's , this book kept me engaged the whole way through.

Maria’s books never fail to excite, This was another excellent read.

Then Taken Child is about a class of schoolchildren who visit an adventure camp along with their teachers, I found it easy to read and even chuckled at some of the ear,ly comments from the kids in the bus, you could imagine it happening, having had boys myself, Just so typical of boys, Of course there was a mix of attitudes and jealousy between the parents and teachers. Having been a divorced parent myself with sons it is always hard to share your children with the other party and in this story especially if drinking was an issue with a parent, Never a good idea,

It took a while before things kicked off and by the time we arrived at the climactic end, I felt I was there witnessing events. Visiting adventure camps was never my thing and even my sons weren’t keen. I’m no thrill seeker and even more so now having read this book, An excellent thrilling read.

struggled with this book at the beginnibg just too many characters and i was a bit confused over who was who and whats happening once i got into the story it was enjoyable i just dont think it was for me.

This book was different from many I have previously read as it contained a vast cast of characters, and was told from many POVs. Their history with one another was complicated, which made for an interesting plot. The characters were flawed and complex. Five woman all have had some history with David in one way or another. Each of the woman, along with David, tell their POVs, and I soon discovered that I did not like David at all! We also hear the POV of Harry, one of David's friends. After the initial confusion from the varied POVs wore off, I was invested in knowing where this story would take me.

After a woman dies at a campsite, everyone becomes a suspect when it discovers she did not just fall to her death. I questioned everyone and found myself only rooting for Kirsty. This was a good read that kept me entertained and curious about where the story was headed. There were good twists and turns throughout, and I loved the ending.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Phenomenal work! Completely addictive. Highly recommend and will be purchasing for my libraries. Can't wait to read what comes next!

Taking a group of primary school pupils on a residential trip is enough of a horror story to start with! However, throw in a group of adults who have enough issues & you have a book that was very difficult to put down. Popular teacher Leonie has planned the trip with year six teacher David. She is more involved with him that that which is strictly academic! Head teacher Catherine is very uptight. She was brought in to 'save' the school & is doing a good job of it although it doesn't always make her popular. Classroom Assistant Mia hero worships Leonie. Two parent helpers are also along to help, although it was supposed to be a lucky dip they are the board of governors daughter & David's ex wife! Their son desperately wants to be with Mum but Dad has custody. A melting pot for trouble. Told from various points of view, this story never failed to hold the interest- Goodness knows what any of them saw in David- perfect creep! I got to really like Catherine as the story went on.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for keeping me up a late reading this great story!

What an amazing read this was! Tense and gripping, absolutely addictive. I could not put this down. So well written and so clever. Loved this one.

This book was written beautifully. I didn't know it was possible to despise a character so much just from a book, but here we are!

I did however, find some parts of the story a bit unrealistic and had trouble connecting with it for this reason, but overall this was a great read!