An engrossing read about a little boy going missing on a cruise ship. Gradually we learn of how lives have been until this point and we move to the future and how everyone involved is coping. It’s a really well structured tale with some great twists and I read it quickly.

What a story, told over 2 time periods it starts with the arrival of Sally at a children’s home and meeting Elsie, the story gets going when Sally is 18 and leaves care, running consecutively is Kimberley and Jason’s story. A child stolen, lost, overboard from a cruise, a families search for the truth and then a twist in the last portion of the book. Fabulous.

When Kimberly and Jason discover their two year old missing from their cabin on a cruise ship they are determined to find him, not realising that he may be lost to them forever. Decades pass, and the family is haunted by fears of what Robert's fate might have been.

When it is more or less accepted that they will never know the full truth, there is an unexpected breakthrough of sorts. But can new arrival Zach's theory be believed?

This is an engrossing and emotional read, which crosses over from thriller into family drama at times and offers some interesting twists. It gets 3.5 stars. Worth checking out.

In 1984, Kimberly wakes up while on a Med cruise to discover her two-year-old son Robert has vanished. She and husband Jason do everything possible to track their child down, but to no avail.
Flash forward 40 years and in 2024, the couple’s daughter Lily, a therapist, is juggling a career with motherhood – with playing referee between her warring, divorced parents. However, a client suggests what could have happened to Robert all those years before, turning life as she knew it on its head.
If secrets have a way of being exposed, what is being suggested is that someone on board the cruise ship knew what happened to Robert. Imbued with the wit and warmth we’d expect from Carmel’s writing, once you start, you’ll not want to stop until it’s completed.

The triple timeline was such a great feature of this book.

So many fantastic characters in this story, good seeing how the relationships developed, expertly balanced with some completely unlikeable characters who had me impatiently waiting for them to get what they deserved

I only came across Carmel Harrington as an author last year when it was announced that she was going to make an appearance at our bookclub meet up. We read her book "A Mother's Heart" in advance of the meet-up and I was blown away! It was one of my favourite books of 2024 and I was so eager to read Carmel's upcoming release "The Stolen Child" (Due to be published 27th Feb 2025). I was delighted to receive an ecopy via NetGalley.

Carmel writes intergenerational family dramas SO well and this book has all that PLUS it's an emotional thriller. I couldn't have loved it any more! My heart was in my mouth for the entire book with the twists and turns that the storyline takes.

The triple timeline was such a brilliant feature of this book. It allowed for the story and its characters to be totally fleshed out, while also adding to the pace of the story and kept me wanting to read more.

I fell in love with many of the characters in this story, and adored seeing how some relationships developed. This is, of course, expertly balanced with some completely unlikeable characters who had me gritting my teeth and impatiently waiting for them to meet their comeuppance.

A phenomenal read from start to finish! Highly recommend!

With thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of The Stolen Child. All opinions are my own.

OH MY GOSH!!!!! This book is blooming brilliant!! Branded an emotional thriller, I think it's a perfect description! My eyes welled , as much as I gasped!!!

I love Carmel Harrington's books and have read them all. What I love about them is the emotional intelligence with which they are written, the warmth and the thought provoking themes. This book is no different, despite it being an utterly compelling thriller, making for an exciting but poignant, empathetic read.....no mean feat!!!!

I adore a dual timeline and this book gets bonus points for a triple timeline, spanning decades!!! How the author kept on top of everything is beyond me, but the transitions between the time periods were seamless and deliciously cliffhangery, propelling me forward right to the last page.

I love this book, due out 28th March; massive recommend from me, get it on your pre-order list.

P.s there are notes at the end of the book from the author and her son ,talking about the inspiration for the book, that are so lovely (if not a little horrifying, you'll have to read them see what I mean!)

Another brilliant book by Carmel Harrington.

Elsie and Sally have been friends since the care home and promised to look out for each other all their lives. This story goes back and forward between Sally and Elsie in the care home to the present day when Kimberly and her family are on a cruise and her son is abducted. I read this book in one sitting a brilliant read!

I don’t really know how I feel about this book. The subject matter is harrowing but I just could not form any connection to the characters. The book was very slow to get going, and I know the background stories were all needed, but it felt like not much happened until the final 20%. If I had received this as an ARC I probably wouldn’t have carried on reading it.

The Stolen Child has been described as an emotional thriller. Emotional thriller is right! I don't think I've ever teared up as much reading a thriller.

Missing child is the basis for many a thriller/crime book. Carmel Harrington has written a stomper and put her own stamp on this type of story. We're brought on a journey spanning 40 years following the parents and extended family. The characters were all so well written and authentic. I reallly enjoyed flipping between past and present. This format meant I was kept guessing throughout and the story flowed at a perfect pace. I loved this book and can't wait to read more from this author.

Huge thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review

This is a book that is genuinely unputdownable. It has excellent characters and a gripping story. It is heartbreaking at times and is a book that will stay with you.

Book Review
I try to push myself in life to do other things I think I might like and not stick to the same all the time.
I can imagine that's what it is like being an author too. While they are comfortable doing what they know best, writing in the genre they know best, changing genre's or introducing a new one to their writing repertoire can be nerve-wracking.
Carmel Harrington writes beautiful contemporary fiction and with The Stolen Child she has stepped outside her comfort zone. The Stolen Child is described as a gripping thriller.
And you are in for an absolute treat.
We meet Kimberly, her husband Jason and their two children Robert & Lily.
They are on a Mediterranean cruise when their son Robert vanishes without a trace.
What ensues is complete devastation as Robert is never found.
Can you imagine the heartbreak for that family going through life wondering what happened to their son, their brother, imagining the worst. It doesn't bear thinking about.
Years later and daughter Lily is now a therapist. One day, a client Zach whom she has being seeing for a few weeks reveals that he could be her brother.
As they both try to figure out what to do, shocking secrets are revealed.
The truth they say always comes out but at what price. This truth brings huge devastation.
I loved this story, loved how Carmel brough her characters and their back story to life..
Frightening how her story came to be told.
Beautifully written and quite emotional..
You will love it...
Well worth your time...

Out 25th February 2025, pre-order is now available..

Oh wow, what a story! Such a page turner, I couldn’t put it down. It was difficult reading at times, I have to say, with twist after twist. Well done Carmel Harrington, you have another best seller on your hands, I loved it.

This was fantastic! The thoughts and emotions of each character felt so real as I was reading, and the unravelling of the mystery was very well executed. I'll definitely be picking up another of CHs books soon

I received a free copy of, The Stolen Child, by Carmel Harrington, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Lily grew up knowing that her brother went missing on a family cruise, she and her family have always wondered what happened to him. This is such a heavy read, I do not know If I like it.

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