This is definitely one of the most compelling stories I've read this year.. I loved the way the narrative switched from past to present.. It was obvious why we were taken back to 1983 as that was when Robert went missing but what really kept me rapt was figuring out what two little girls in a London orphanage in the 1960s had to do with the story. It is hard to talk to much about the case without spoiling the book for others so suffice to say that this is a gripping story which will tug at your heartstrings. It definitely isn't the type of book you can pick up and put down, it just begs to be read in one sitting. Carmel Harrington is a new author to me but I will be keeping my eyes open for her name in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book

I loved this!

The formatting is absolutely atrocious but that's not the author's fault. It was the gripping story that kept me reading. The premise is really great and I was wondering the whole way through how the different characters would come together. All of the stories were fascinating. Whoever I was reading at the time was my favourite! Even the peripheral characters were all really well drawn and felt like real people. It's definitely a page turner and I'll be recommending it to anyone who will listen to me.

Despite this story being my worst nightmare, I absolutely loved this book. The characters felt so real to me and I could feel their pain leaping off the page.

As I read, I kept thinking what if ... what if it was my son who was stolen? Honestly my heart raced so hard in certain places but the best bit about this whole book?

The ending. Wow. I kept trying to think what the big twist could be and my brain just couldn't work it out. It was brilliantly done. Can't recommend this thriller enough.

Thank you to Headline and Netgalley for my ARC copy.

This was quite hard to read because numbers appeared throughout the text every couple of lines and often in the middle of words. However, I wanted to read to the end so kept going.

The story is told across three timelines:

Kimberley – 1980s – Her two-year-old son, Robert, is stolen from her cabin on board a cruise ship as she, her husband and her baby daughter sleep. The child is not found.

Lily – present day – The baby sister of the missing child is now married with her own family. She works as a therapist and sees how the trauma of losing Robert has affected her parents.

Sally – 1960s – A five-year-old is left at an orphanage by her mother and there she is befriended by eight-year-old Elsie, another orphan.

This was a different angle on the mystery/suspense story of a missing person. Ideal for fans of straightforward narration and larger-then-life twists.

With thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.
On publication, I will put my review on my blog.

I loved this very poignant book and raced through it, desperate to find out what happened to Robert.

The story is told by going back through time to the 70s and 80s and then in the present day, I love a book where the story is told like this.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for this arc, I will definitely be looking for more books by Carmel Harrington.

4 stars

A missing child.
A shattered family.
A mother’s love that knows no bounds.

In 1984, two-year-old Robert disappeared from his cabin aboard The Carousel, a cruise ship in the Mediterranean, while his family slept nearby. Despite Kimberly and her husband Jason’s desperate efforts, Robert is never found.

Forty years later, Kimberly's daughter, Lily, now a psychotherapist juggling her career, family life, and her role as peacekeeper between her divorced parents, finds her world shaken.

When a new client, Zach, reveals haunting childhood memories of an "imaginary other mother," Lily begins to question the long-held belief that Robert drowned.

Told through three perspectives across different time periods, the book follows Kimberly, grappling with the devastation of her son’s disappearance in the 1980s; Lily, navigating the aftermath in the present day; and Sally, whose story unfolds in the 1960s, initially seems unrelated but eventually tying in.

The emotional depth of The Stolen Child is remarkable. Kimberly’s anguish and Lily’s struggle to escape the shadow of her brother’s disappearance are poignantly portrayed.

Lily’s resentment at how the tragedy fractured her family is both heart-wrenching and relatable. Meanwhile, Sally’s tale is equally compelling—her resilience and strength shine through her heartbreaking circumstances, making her a standout character.

While I suspected some of the twists, the book’s well-crafted plot kept me hooked. It raises thought-provoking moral dilemmas and explores themes of loss, family bonds, and the enduring impact of unresolved trauma. A beautifully written and thoughtful family drama, The Stolen Child is as gripping as it is moving.

Read more at The Secret Bookreview.

This was an engaging family drama which tells the story from the viewpoints of three different women during different time frames starting in the 80s with Kimberly whose life is turned upside down when her toddler son Robert vanishes from their cabin one night whilst they are in a cruise, forty years on in the present day Kimberly’s daughter Lily is stunned when a client suggests he knows what happened to her brother all those years ago. We also have Sally’s story to.d from when she was a child in the 60s although it’s difficult to see how her story intersects until near the very end.

I really felt for Kimberly and Lily as the impact of Robert’s disappearance has understandably shadowed their lives especially Lily who grew up in her brothers shadow and hates to see how it destroyed her parents. Sally has a heartbreaking story of her own but I thought she was an amazing strong character who had a lot to contend with. I did actually have some idea of the direction this would take however the plotting was great and worked well. There’s a lot of moral dilemmas and thought provoking moments in this and overall it’s an incredibly thoughtful read.

A mother is distraught when her young child goes missing while they are on holiday on a cruise ship.
Years later her daughter wants to find out what happened to her brother.
The formatting on this novel was very distracting and a challenge to read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I hate giving up on a book. But this copy has numbers constantly through it. Was very off putting and u couldn’t read it. Will try when it comes out

I have really enjoyed the author’s previous novels and was so looking forward to this.
Unfortunately as seems to be increasingly common with NetGalley ARCs I was unable to read this due to the numbers on almost every other line of the text. I have visual issues and find it even more difficult out to focus on the text when it’s interrupted in this way.
Very disappointing but I will be purchasing the novel on release.
Star rating does not reflect content of the novel just the formatting.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.