I thoroughly enjoyed this dual timeline audiobook of The Stolen Child. It's a psychological thriller / drama that I actually could envisage on the tv it was very much brought to life, and I was completely immersed from beginning to end.

When the characters are first introduced to us we meet a mum and dad with 2 young children on a cruise when mum Kimberly goes to bed with her baby daughter Lily and her son Robert is asleep in the next room her husband Jason is along at the bar having a couple of drinks however when the couple wake in the morning their whole world has changed as Robert is nowhere to be found.

Investigators board the ship do a thorough sweep before the family depart in Spain, where they continue to look for their son.

We then have the other timeline, which is from a grown-up version of Lilly, who is now helping others in her career due to their family experience. When she meets her client Zac, her dad hasn't given up hope that Robert is still alive somewhere and has been making age reconstruction images to try and find his son, which Zac has seen. Zac comes to Lilly with an incredible story of how he had an imaginary mum, not a friend, and questions if these are memories rather than a normal behaviour of childhood development in play.

This is where the various twists and turns come in to the book and things really begin to get extremely interesting we are also sumbermeged back in time to the lif of kimberley before she met her husband so actually this audiobook is really 3 different timelines that we experience throughout which thankfully wasn't too difficult to follow and flowed relatively well which is a credit to the author as this can be difficult to do with such fluidity without confusing the reader/listener.

The narration of this audiobook by Emmer Heatley was very well done as all characters really felt came to life and were easily disnguishable throughout the entire audiobook. It was a pleasure to listen, and the accents were also well done, making it overall a pleasure.

With thanks to Netgalley & Headline Audio for this ARC in return for an open, honest review. Best wishes for publication on 27th February 2025 📚

This was an interesting listen, it wasn't what I thought but worked well as it made me concentrate and work on the meaning behind the book. The twist worked well.

Initially I struggled with the narration but it soon worked well.

Wow! What a brilliant, brilliant plot!

Kimberly Murphy is desperately searching for her son, Robert, who was abducted as a toddler, 40 years ago.

In the past, we learn of Sally and Elsie, best friends who grew up in an orphanage together, trying to find their path in life.

When Kimberly’s daughter, Lily, is approached by her American client, Zach, claiming to be her long lost brother, the Murphy family are thrown into turmoil… and hope!

I loved both stories, especially Sally’s and the character development was fabulous; I felt completely immersed into these character’s lives. I couldn’t see how the two stories would link, so I just enjoyed the ride, until they came crashing together and my jaw hit the floor!

The narration by Emer Heatley was spot on and her accents were brilliant; I especially loved the soft Scottish lilt.

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Carmel Harrington and Headline for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Oooh this was excellent!

I believe Carmel Harrington is an author new to me. I don’t think I fully anticipated the journey that this title would take me on. I was expecting a bit of a police procedural, but what I got was so much more.

A story that starts out with a child stolen during a family holiday, then catapults us 40 years into the future and the aftermath of that day for little Robert’s family.

Lily, the child left behind is now a psychotherapist and when she welcomes a new client with a theory on what happened to Robert, everything is going to come spilling out.

The writing is rock solid, I had an honest to god Wtaf moment at the twist, then another.

The narration on this was first class 🎧

Storytelling at its best!

Guess what?
All the stars 🌟
#Jorecommends

What a rollercoaster of emotions this book takes you on. Set in three different times we get to know two young girls growing up in an orphanage, meet them again as adults and are then shown the tragic events that destroy a family. The links become clear late in the story when we finally, 40 years after the main event, discover exactly what happened to the toddler on the boat.
A tragic story with a great twist

🎧5⭐️

I had the audiobook read by Emer Heatley. I love Irish narrators, although it’s not all Irish. Emma doesn’t disappoint. There were a lot of swallowing noises during the narration which I don’t usually get on audio, it didn’t stop me loving this book.

A new author to me. Initially I thought another stolen child trope nothing new to see here, but this is excellent, my favourite read using this trope. Hats off to the author this is in my books of the year.

There are two seemingly separate threads, Robert a young child goes missing on a cruise ship. His mother Kimberley and his step dad Jason spend 40 yrs wondering what happened to him as he wasn’t found at the time.
The other thread friends Sally and Elsie age out of social services care in the 80’s.
The two threads from the past are joined with one in the present.

I found it totally engaging throughout with a good pace, plenty of interest spread evenly through the story. The threads are weaved together well to divulge the story in a seamless manor. The majority of the characters are likeable, there’s some we are not supposed to like.

An enjoyable novel which I would class as a domestic thriller.
The multiple timelines add to the interest.
The premise of the ending was fairly easy to work out, however I'm not sure it was supposed to be a 'twist'. The story seems to be more around the surrounding incidents.
Some of the characters were a tad irritating, probably intentionally (I never want to hear anyone say 'Oh my days' again .
On the whole an engaging holiday listen / read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC which was very much appreciated.

Captivating from the prologue with intriguing characters and a complex plot. The story is told over a triple timeline and from three different POVs which takes a bit of concentration but is well worth the effort.
In 1983 Kimberley and Jason wake up in their cabin aboard a cruise ship to discover their two year old son Robert has disappeared. With their younger daughter Lily the couple and extended family and friends searched for Robert intensely but he was never found. The strain of the situation split the family.
In 2023 a man named Zach turns up in Lily's psychotherapy practice claiming to be her missing brother.
Alongside these timelines we are sent back to 1963 where Sally is 5 years old and living in Sunshine House Orphanage. Sally is befriended by an older child, Elsie, who looks out for her and they become great friends.
The final part of the book brings together all the different parts to explain what truly happened. Whilst I did guess the twist based on the very early clues it did not spoil my enjoyment of this emotional, domestic suspense novel.
I am grateful to to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced listener copy of this well narrated and highly recommended audiobook.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book & found it difficult to put down. While I did predict the twist, it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story. I especially loved Sally & Elsie’s friendship throughout their childhood into adulthood & I thought the dual timeline worked really well the plot.
This was my first read from this author & it certainly won’t be my last!

I received both an eARC and an audiobook for review. However, I had to DNF the audio at 15% due to distracting mouth noises from the narrator.