This page-turning #psychologicalthriller is full of twists, right up until the end. There are several characters that play a part in the actions of this story. I was filled with the excitement as all the details unfolded in this thrilling novel.

Thank you, Maria Frankland, Bookouture, & Netgalley for my copy! All opinions are my own.

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the editor for sending me an advance copy of this upcoming title. Your hard work and dedication to this project are truly commendable, and I am incredibly honored to have the opportunity to review it before its official release.

The depth and quality of this work are a testament to your meticulous attention to detail and your passion for bringing exceptional stories to life. From the engaging narrative to the well-developed characters, it's clear that a tremendous amount of effort has gone into every aspect of this book.

I am genuinely excited about this title and eager to share my thoughts and insights. Having the chance to read it in advance has been a wonderful experience, and I am confident that readers will be just as captivated by it as I am.

Thank you once again for this incredible opportunity. Your support and trust in my feedback mean a great deal to me. I look forward to continuing to work together and witnessing the success of this fantastic book.

Two battling parents over custody of their son at a camp doesn’t bode well.
Add secondary characters who stick their noses into the mix and trouble is right around the corner.
I felt the sorriest for Toby because the adults around him were more immature, especially his parents.
What unfolds is a nightmare of large proportions.
But someone has to win and someone has to lose so it’s fait accompli.

Maria Frankland's THE TAKEN CHILD is a chilling, twisty tale with many adults misbehaving with their own agenda on a three-day children's school trip outing that turns into a nightmare. A desperate search for a missing little boy and a murderer.

As the truth unravels behind all the obsession, betrayal, secrets, and lies, a mother's nightmare and a frantic race against time to find her child before it's too late add a gripping element to the story.

About...

The setting revolves around a school residential (kind of like a summer camp). If you are in the US and unfamiliar with the term: Residential trips are school trips that last a few days, and pupils must stay away from home. They are usually activity-based and are one of a child's first experiences of being away from home.

From the prologue, we get a glimpse into the danger that lies ahead. There is a lot of drama, jealousy, manipulation, pettiness, deception, and backbiting involving a divorced woman, a man, and a little boy caught in the middle.

There are a lot of characters to keep up with. These women are blind to David, and it sounds like he gets around. This is like a Peyton Place, Desperate Housewives episode with children.

In addition to the thirty-something children, we have the following characters:

~David:
A teacher. Narcissistic. Father of Toby. Ex-husband to wife Kristy. (divorced) Unfortunately, he has custody.

~Kristy:
Mother of Toby. Ex-husband David. She lost custody due to drinking. She has been sober for a year and is ready to reunite with her son. She is a parent helper on the trip.

~Toby:
Son of David and Kristy. A scared little boy on the trip.

~Harry:
A volunteer at the camp. He invited the children for this adventure. An old friend of David.

~Catherine:
Headteacher and friend to Kristy.

~Jeanette:
Parent helper. Formerly had an affair with David, and still crushing.

~Leonie:
Teacher. Currently dating David. Jealous of Jeanette and not sure how she feels about Kristy.

~Mia:
Teaching assistant (Leonie's class). Has a crush on her. Jealous of David.

David and Kristy are constantly bickering and fighting over Toby. Kristy is trying very hard to follow all the rules to get the opportunity to bond with her son, win back custody, and develop a relationship.

David does everything he can to keep her away. He is quite manipulative, and all the others around him mentioned above try to get his attention. There is also tension between David and Leonie, who are going for the same promotion. They are dating, and they try to keep a secret.

The children's activities are planned; however, things do not go smoothly (this is fiction). But what did you expect from this group? Someone is murdered. Toby goes missing.

What was supposed to be a weekend of campers, fun, teambuilding, adventure, and outdoor activities for the children is cut short when there is a death at the camp. The police are called in to investigate. Who among them is capable of murder? With a killer on the loose, one dead, and a boy missing is not a good combination. Why and whodunit? Racing against the clock, their desperate search for answers begins—one where the greatest danger could lie behind the one they trust the most.

My thoughts...

THE TAKEN CHILD is a gripping twisty domestic suspense thriller told from multiple POVs. The author cleverly lines up all her players who will ultimately end up in a dangerous, terrorizing showdown and deadly game of obsession and revenge.

Mostly, all the characters are unlikable except for Toby and Kristy. David is despicable and narcissistic, and everyone seems to be the chess pieces he is manipulating—from lies, betrayal, and secrets. I liked the little reflections at the end of each chapter.

Centered around outdoor activities and nature, the atmospheric isolated setting reinforces the sense of vulnerability, danger, and fear. There is also an ongoing theme of responsibility throughout the novel. These adults are to be held responsible for innocent 5-6-year-olds as leaders and parents, and responsible for their actions. However, not all took this responsibility seriously and used the opportunity for their own wicked evil agenda.

While I enjoy watching this imaginative author on social media and reading her books, this one was just a little too dramatic for me with all the crazy adults. You feel for Kristy trying desperately to get her son back, and the adults have their own selfish plans.

With twists and turns, the author builds tension and suspense to the explosive ending, where all is unraveled. There are many potential suspects and victims, and you are unsure whom to trust. THE TAKEN CHILD has topics and themes of betrayal, crossing ethical lines, family, mental health, trauma, moral dilemmas, alcoholism, divorce, and more.

Recs...

For fans of the author and authors, Daniel Hurst, K.L. Slater, and Kimberly Belle's Three Days Missing. Looking forward to reading Frankland's upcoming title, The Married Couple, coming Aug 6, 2024.

Thanks to Bookouture for providing a digital advanced reading copy for an honest opinion.

blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: June 25, 2024
My Rating: 4 Stars
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The Taken Child is a very good psychological suspense thriller. It starts off quite slow paced but the pace definitely sped up as the story progressed. I will admit to struggling slightly at the start getting to know all the various characters but it certainly didn’t take away from my enjoyment of this book. It’s a book that’s full of tension, deceit and lies and with characters who aren’t all who they seem and one or two who are really quite nasty. It’s one of those books that really took me by surprise as I really had not the slightest inclination of how it was going to all end. I don’t want to say too much in case I leave an unintentional spoiler. I really liked the anonymous sentences in bold at the end of every chapter and each one really had me thinking as to which of the characters it could be writing them.

Having read and enjoyed most of Maria Frankland'books, I just couldn't get into this one at all, it sounded a really good book but wasn't for me.

I think this is the 3rd book I've devoured by Frankland now and she's fast becoming one of my go to thriller authors.

The Taken Child turned into an afternoon read for me. Once I started I couldn't stop, I needed to sate my suspicions and see if could catch the killer...I didn't!

It flows at a moderate pace and has several red herrings thrown in to throw you off kilter. The story is narrated by the four wives and flips from past to present throughout the book.

I found the characters to be well developed, realistic, and rather complex, thus I found myself doubting whether their narratives were reliable and could I believe them?

Enjoyable and addictive.

This book did not dissapoint such an adreline filled book I love this great. Character development with a nice slow burn touch really added the suspense. Every parents nightmare for there child to go missing. This storyline was full of twist and unexpected turns.

Thank you to the author and publisher for alllowong me to read this arc.

The Taken Child by Maria Frankland was very suspenseful and packed with twists.
I enjoyed the storyline and thought the writing was very good.
This book was a great read, it was a fast read and very entertaining.

Thank You NetGalley and Bookouture for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

A school residential turns into a nightmare in this suspenseful, gripping and forbidding thriller. It jumps straight into the action with a chilling prologue that hints at what’s to come: someone is dead and one of the children, Toby, is missing. But how did a school trip go so wrong? Moving between narrators and timelines, Maria Frankland skillfully tells the story. And it's one hell of a bumpy ride filled with secrets, lies, jealousy, animosity and suspicion. She also knows how to keep her readers guessing, giving little away and keeping her cards close to the vest as we try to guess who is the murderer in their midst and who is their victim? And what about Toby? Will he be found safe? Pacy, unpredictable and filled with red herrings, she keeps us guessing; pulling the rug from under me with another twist every time I thought I had things figured out. It was addictive and I was so desperate for answers that I devoured the book in two sittings. But one of the most intriguing aspects of the book were the sentences in bold italics at the end of every chapter. The author of these dark, menacing, and moving sentences is a mystery, adding to the tension as I tried to guess not only who wrote them, but also who they were written to.

Frankland has filled the pages with a varied and compelling cast of characters. Their histories are complicated, intricate and hostile, leading to an atmosphere ripe with bitterness and tension. Each of the women who narrate the story were flawed and complex characters that might not always be likeable, but nevertheless had some quality that made me root for them at times. David was another story. He gave me the ick from the start and seemed to always be at the centre of conflicts. They were all potential suspects and victims and I could imagine any one of them killing for one reason or another. I loved this uncertainty as it added to the tension and kept me on the edge of my seat until the last pages.

Riveting, twisty and unpredictable, this is a must-read for any thriller lover.

My first book by Maria Frankland and I shall definitely look out for her future books, solid 4 starer!

A 3 day primary school trip away at an adventure camp with former lovers, new lovers and potential lovers is a certain recipe for disaster! Leonie and David are teachers at Oldale Primary School with Catherine, their headmistress, Janette and Kirsty are parent helpers on the trip and there’s Mia, Leonie’s teacher assistant. David and Kirsty are ex husband and ex wife whose marriage ended on a very sour note and now David has full custody of their 11 year old son, Toby. David is now currently seeing Leonie but is aware that Janette and Mia both have crushes on him, and he is loving all the attention. With Leonie, Janette and Mia all vying for David’s attention the tension on the away trip reaches fever pitch. On the 2nd day of the trip, Kirsty, David, Leonie and Mia decide to ride the adult zip wire but when a horrific accident occurs with one of their harnesses, someone falls to their death. When the police arrive and start to investigate, they quickly uncover that the harness in question had been tampered with, causing whoever was in it a certain death and thus a murder investigation begins. The police begin questioning all the adults and children at the camp and discover many lies and secrets. In the midst of all of this suddenly Toby goes missing and everyone is even more frantic, so the police have to also launch an operation to find him too. Will they find him? Who has taken him and how or if, does this relate to the tampered harness and the, as yet, unknown murderer?!

This was my first book by Maria Frankland and as I said above, I will definitely look out for any future books from her. I did find there was a lot of characters to contend with at the beginning and I was struggling with them all a little, however it didn’t take me too long to get used to who was who; this could have easily been my foggy brain though and other readers may not have this issue. I have to admit the only character I liked was Kirsty and I actually felt she’d had a really hard time. I did not see the appeal of David and couldn’t figure out why the other women were fighting over him; however, it was amusing to read! I really LOVED the tantalising sentences at the end of each chapter, and they made me desperate to find out who that character was.

All in all, I definitely recommend this for any psychological thriller fans, initially up until half way through I was thinking it would be a solid 3 star rating however once I reached the half way mark it definitely hit the 4 star rating! I look forward to seeing what Maria Frankland writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Maria Frankland and Bookouture for my advanced reading copy. Out 25th June 2024.

This book wasn't necessarily bad, I was just a little underwhelmed. After reading the blurb and the title I was really intrigued & I was expecting a story about a kidnapping, but this didn’t happen until towards the end(?) Which just confused me, the same with the four female POVs I was often wondering whose perspective I was reading. I felt the characters really lacked depth and development. I found it really slow to start, and it didn’t start to get interesting until about 60% through, but there were some good twists that I didn’t see coming.


★★½ ROUNDED UP 💫
———————
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to review this book.

Thank you Bookouture for a copy on Netgalley.
The bruises would always fade,
but your taunting insults lingered.

Wellll, I didn't know I could hate a person SO much from a book, which really proves how effectively the author has written the character. The one thing I absolutely LOVED was the little phrases after the end of each chapter. Honestly, that saved the whole novel. The story has multiple povs. Each character has its own flaws and all. I wouldn't say that I have a favorite character, but my favorite POV is Catherine and Kristy. The overall character growth is a bit slow and underdeveloped. I loved Kristy and Toby's relationship and wished there was more to it.

I could no longer recall
the person I was
before I met you.

Now the issue I had with this is that this story won't be unfolded in reality and as I know it is meant for fiction, it still is a bit unrealistic, like how can almost all the teachers fall for the one male teacher, knowing his ex-wife and his child is present. One other thing is that it was fast, now there are fast and slow thrillers which I have read. But this one just felt lacking in something and the plot did not really fit perfectly throughout the timeline.

You told me I depressed you,
that you hated to be around me,
yet you wouldn’t leave me alone.

In the end, the story is fine, if not a bit unrealistic, and the timeline is messed up a lot of times. The characters were well portrayed and it was terrific fun to read each of them. Just wished there was more development for them.

I’m not sure of the point my life ended.
The moment we met or the moment I died.

Another great thriller by Maria Frankland. This was a slow burn which built up the suspense as the story unfolded. There were quite a few characters to get to grips with and was told by multiple POV. It had a great plot and some twisty parts which really drew me in to the story.
Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and Maria Frankland for an early copy of this book.

This was such book was such an adrenaline rush until the end, the twists and turns kept me hooked throughout.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this arc.
Another new author for me.....
When a child goes missing, on a residential school trip, Another person loses their life.. lead teacher David has custody of his son Toby, but his ex wife volunteers to help on the trip., so she can spend some time with him, but David isn't going to make it easy.. he also has a way with the women and has dated most of the staff.. There are secrets everywhere in this plot.. A family in turmoil, a missing child and a Murderer in the midst, who and why?. I highly recommend this book

I had been eagerly anticipating reading The Taken Child, but to my disappointment, I found it exceedingly slow to start and rather confusing due to the various perspectives. Although the story gained momentum later on and presented some intriguing twists, my attention had already dwindled by that point.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

The Taken Child is a camping trip turned tragic. There are so many characters and points of view within the pages of this book. All of them revolve around one person . . . David.

David is a divorced teacher who has custody of his son Toby. Toby's mother Kristy, now sober, lost custody of him because of her love for the bottle.

There's also Catherine, Leonie, Jeanette, Mia - all of which are connected to David in one way or another.

The detectives come into play when there is a murder at the camp, cutting the camping trip short. During all of this, Toby goes missing. Where is Toby? Who has Toby? Did David plan this to keep Toby away from Kristy? Does David really hate Kristy that much?

As always, I don't go into much detail when it comes to thriller reviews. I really couldn't connect with any of the characters in The Taken Child. However, if you like multiple points of view and trying to connect them all together or if you need to check that box off your reading checklist, definitely give this book a go.

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Taken Child by Maria Frankland.

This took me almost 50% to get into so for that reason I’m giving it 3 stars. Just ok for me. I’m not a big YA genre person so that might be why I didn’t get it at first and I just felt it dragged the first half of the book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release. To be released June 25, 2026.

Thank you Bookouture for a copy on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
A slow burn thriller that occupied my attention just enough to finish.
A school trip to an isolated place.
Many teachers and parents with something to hide.
A mother wants time with her son.
An accident happens resulting in death.
A teacher and father, thinks he’s gods gift.
Then a child goes missing.
Lies, betrayal, deception and ultimately revenge is on the menu.
When the truth comes out, no one will be the same again…..
An easy ok read with a collection of curious characters, a knotty plot and some tension and many secrets.
I’m rather confused with the blurb on the back and the title as the issue doesn’t happen until the last third of the book.
Unfortunately I found it a little predictable and while I’m a fan of Maria’s devious tales, I struggled to connect with it.
A so so read that could have been better.