Alex Lake

This book is absolutely fantastic, one of my books of the year for sure. It has everything going on in it and is so much more than I could ever have imagined.

The present day narrative looks at Maggie, a woman in her late 20s waiting for her son, Max, to turn three. That will happen in seven days. Far from a normal situation, however, Maggie has been held captive for the last twelve years and she knows from bitter experience that when her children reach the age of three they will be taken show more from her.

It's such an unusual and innovative story but, if I'm completely honest, before I started reading I wasn't entirely sure whether it would be for me. Wrong! It was absolutely for me and it was a book that had me gripped from beginning to end.

Whilst following Maggie and Max as they hurtle towards that all important third birthday, we also see how she was taken in the first place and what has happened to her over the length of her captivity, along with seeing the effect of her loss on her parents and her younger brother. As you can imagine, it's shaped the whole of the rest of their lives.

I was desperately hoping Maggie would find a way to foil her captor and save Max from whatever his fate might be. While I waited to see what would happen I could feel the mounting tension which built up into a heart-poundingly exciting conclusion. I also cried at the end and this book had a depth of emotion that I didn't expect.

I had to break off half way through to read some other books I had committed to and I have to be honest and say I just wanted to get back to Seven Days. It thrilled me, it shocked me, it's full of tension and yet it's also so moving and so full of feeling. Ultimately it's about a mother's love and what she will do for her son. I thought it was brilliant, the writing perfectly pitched. Fabulous in every way! show less

Matt is returning home one day with his 3 children in the car. He stops off at the store, and due to the new virus, he doesn't want to expose them, so he leaves them in the back seat. He grabs a few items, checking to see if the kids are behaving through the store window. As he checks out, he looks again, and the car is gone! Then he receives texts telling him that the children have been kidnapped. He runs home to his wife, Annabelle, and tells her. The story then goes back and forth, show more bringing up details of past relationships and things in their lives that may have caused someone to take their children. Then, the ransom demand is made, and Annabelle and Matt need to make a choice.
This is an interesting thriller, and an interesting dilemma. It also highlights the deranged mind of some people. While I was initially unsure of the kidnapper's identity, I did have a suspicion about who it actually was.
I enjoyed this, but I thought the ending wrapped a little too abruptly. show less

Imitation is the most terrifying form of flattery…

WHICH SARAH HAVENANT IS YOU?

This book will give everyone who uses social media pause for thought!

How many of us use sites like Facebook to put up photos of ourselves, family and daily lives without even giving it a second thought?

Even with all the privacy settings so only people on our friends list can see, this book certainly highlights just some of the risks associated with the digital age we now live in!

And it certainly isn’t a slow show more starter. Our protagonist Sarah Havenant receives a message on Facebook form a girl she went to school with saying that she was moving back to the area and would she like to catch up over a coffee.
Nothing strange or sinister there but at the end of the message Sarah is asked if this is the right account as there are 2 different ones.

It turns out that someone has set up another account 6 months ago in Sarah’s name, has photos of her, her husband and kids, even a photo from inside the house of her new kitchen. The account holds information that only Sarah, her family or someone very close to her would have had the opportunity to know.
And this is just the beginning, soon things start to escalate quickly. This is the work of someone more sinister than a random online troll.

Up until the fake Facebook comes to light Sarah is happily married with 3 children, a well-respected doctor in the community and can not think of 1 person who might have even the slightest grudge against her or her family.
So who is responsible for all of this and the big question, Why? Not long after the Facebook account odd things are happening, books arrive from amazon ordered from Sarah’s account with a hand written note, in Sarah’s own handwriting. Books on depression and bipolar.
Is this a subconscious cry for help? Now her husband is beginning to doubt her. Is Sarah doing this herself in a dissociative fugue, maybe she is suffering with some kind of mental disorder or depression. How can he help her if she won’t accept the facts as they seem?

As the book moves on at a fast pace, things only get worse for Sarah until the book reaches its conclusion.

This book is a real page turner and throws its fair share of red herrings into the mix to keep you guessing and intrigued and ultimately racing to reach the end to finally find out the truth.

If you are a fan of psychological thrillers you will really enjoy this book, I loved it. I thought it is a very clever storyline, 1 that isn’t beyond the realm’s of possibility and has certainly made me think about what information we put out on the internet for the world to see.
This should be on your list of books you must read! show less

Review of uncorrected proof

Seven days from now, Max will turn three years old.

Seven days from now, the man will snatch him away from his mother.

Seven days from now, Maggie must have a plan If she is to save her son.

Abducted at the age of fifteen, Maggie’s existed for the past twelve years in a small, windowless room. Repeatedly raped by her captor, she's given birth to three babies in those twelve years. And, after having her first two sons snatched away from her on their third birthdays, show more she knows the same fate awaits Max. She's desperate to find a way to save her son from what she believes will be certain death for the little boy, but she has nothing to use as a weapon.

However, that doesn't matter because nothing can stop a tenacious mother determined to protect her child.

The gut-wrenching narrative alternates between past and present, switching points of view between Maggie, her parents, her brother, and the adamant detective inspector searching for find her. Well-developed characters and a strong sense of place add to the intrigue.

Readers will find themselves pulled in from the first page and, although there is a fair amount of repetition in the telling of the tale, it does nothing to stem the ever-building tension as the story unfolds. Reminiscent of “Room,” the abducted-girl-with-a-child story takes some surprising and unexpected turns. Short chapters amplify the suspense and the revelations concerning the impact of Maggie’s disappearance on her family strengthen the narrative.

It’s dark, it’s gritty, it’s tense. It’s a story readers will find difficult to set aside.

Highly recommended. show less