Title: The Stolen Child

Author: Carmel Harrington

Genre: Thriller

Publisher: Headline

Publication Date: 27th February 2025

Rating: 4/5

Cover:

Summary:

It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. But there’s no waking up from this . . .

On board a cruise ship in the Mediterranean, Kimberly wakes to discover that her two-year-old son Robert has vanished from the cabin overnight. She and her husband Jason vow to do whatever it takes to bring Robert home.

But he is never found.

Forty years later, their therapist daughter Lily welcomes a new client into her home. Zach has a shocking theory about what happened to her brother Robert years before.

If Zach is to be believed, someone out there knows what happened on that ship. And they would do anything to stop the truth getting out.

But secrets always find a way to reveal themselves . . .

Review:

The Stolen Child is an addictive and twisty thriller that focuses on the mystery of a missing child. The narrative is split into three timelines – 1960’s/70’s London, a cruise ship in Spain in the 80’s where the titular child disappears and present day Dublin. Usually when a book has multiple timelines there is one that grips the reader more and makes you want to skim the rest. However, that is very much not the case here. I found each timeline and each storyline equally gripping. They are all pitched just right and the slow unraveling of the connections between them along with a few shocking twists and turns makes for an engrossing read about loss, guilt, secrets and lies. I devoured this book in just a couple of days, because I had to know what the full complicated truth was about the murky mystery surrounding the missing two year old boy, Robert. I found the 1960’s sections particularly affecting. They feel well researched and authentic, and their focus on the friendship between two girls both intrinsically linked to the wider mystery at the centre of this book was incredibly compelling. Overall The Stolen Child is a thoroughly engaging and moreish domestic thriller that will keep the reader hooked from beginning to end. 

★★★★

Huge thanks to Alara and Headline for having me on the tour and my copy of the book. My review is entirely my own honest opinion.

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