Enjoyed this book a lot. This author has an easy flow to her writing. I had a lot of theories while reading this and none were correct, so the ending came as a surprise.

SPOILERS


First off, there’s no way Blake would be that cool with the secret at the end. I thought that was unrealistic. Secondly, I would have loved if the main scene in the basement was expanded with a chapter from Jeffrey’s perspective.

EXCERPT: I think this might be my fault.

I've tried to be a good person all my life. I made one mistake, many years ago, but it wasn't my fault. Truly, I would never wish to harm another person.

Sometimes people find themselves in impossible situations. Sometimes you have to decide in a split second whether to do the right thing and go under, or fight to survive.

That's what I did. I made a decision to survive.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: This morning, my daughter sat right here, munching her breakfast, too excited to finish it. Now, she is missing.

The day after her ninth birthday, Lucie and Blake Sullivan agree, for the very first time, to let their daughter, Grace, make the four-minute walk back home alone from a friend’s house just down the street.

They joke with friends about hiding behind bushes to ensure she is safe. But the joke turns sour when Grace does not appear.

Despite the best efforts of the police and local community, Grace seems to have vanished into thin air. With hope fading fast, Lucie knows she can rely on her husband to support her through such dark times. That is until the day she makes a shocking discovery, hidden in Blake’s desk, and suddenly she begins to doubt everything she knew about the man she married.

But Lucie harbours a terrible secret of her own. One that she has never shared with anyone, even Blake …

And as the search for Grace reaches fever pitch, Lucie receives a terrifying message. If she is ever to see Grace again, Lucie has no choice but to face the past she tried hard to bury forever. And she must do it alone.

MY THOUGHTS: This is not, as the blurb assured me it would be, 'the most gripping psychological thriller you will read this year. Nor did I find the twist breathtaking. In fact, it was pretty predictable.

But putting aside my gripe with publishers who insist on overhyping books, Finding Grace was only a little better than average read for me. I have had a child go missing. Only for a couple of hours, but it was one of the most harrowing experiences of my life. So I expected to be able to relate to the characters. Initially I did. But reasonably quickly I became disillusioned. Mostly they were flat. Except for Blake’s mother - cue Hyacinth Bouquet. Her, I could visualise and hear. Which is what I expect from the characters.

The story is told mainly from Lucie's perspective, over two timelines - now, with Grace missing, and before, detailing Lucie's life prior to Blake. There is the occasional brief chapter from an unknown person which, I believe, added nothing of value.

I seem to veer between three and five-star ratings for Slater's books. Finding Grace is,unfortunately, one of the former. It is not a bad read. I did not at any point consider abandoning it, but it was not a great read either.

😊😊😊

THE AUTHOR: Kim is the million-copy bestselling author of seven psychological crime thrillers. Her eighth thriller, FINDING GRACE, will be published 14th February 2019 and is now available for pre-order.

Kim's titles are also published in paperback by Sphere in the UK and Grand Central in the USA.

For many years, Kim sent her work out to literary agents and collected an impressive stack of rejection slips. At the age of 40 she went back to Nottingham Trent University and now has an MA in Creative Writing.

Before graduating in 2012, she gained literary agent representation and a book deal. As Kim says, ‘it was a fairytale … at the end of a very long road!’

Kim is a full-time writer. She has one daughter, two stepsons and lives with her husband in Nottingham and Yorkshire.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Finding Grace by K. L. Slater for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my webpage sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

In “Finding Grace” by K.L. Slater we are thrown into the lives of Lucie and Blake Sullivan, and their nine-year old daughter Grace. After agreeing to let Grace walk home alone from a friend’s house she goes missing. What happens next in the unraveling of past events and lies that could all hold the key to who has Grace and why.

Another great book by Slater. I received this book through Net Galley and this is my honest review.

Finding Grace is your typical psychological thriller, clever and exciting with plenty of plot twists. But somehow, the story didn't touch me emotionally. I couldn't really connect with the main character, Lucie, and there were a little too many coincidences in the story for me to be convinced. I liked it, but did not love it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC ecopy for my Kindle.
I don't like to read book about child abuse or abduction and was hesitant to read this one, but Finding Grace is not that type of book.
As children grow up, parents give them more responsibilities and freedom. Sometimes, no matter how careful parents are with a child, bad things can happen. In this book, fortunately, the end of the story was good one for the parents and their child.
This book also deals with secrets and things that happened in the past to one of the parents who tried to forget and run away from the past. But the past caught up with this person and affected not only this person, but also those the person loves.
A good psychological thriller!

Excellent domestic thriller. Lucie and Blake are living every parents worst nightmare when their 9 year old daughter Grace disappears one day while walking home. While Lucie and Blake are in agony over Graces disappearance, Lucie soon learns that her actions years ago while at college may have come back to haunt her. The story shifts seamlessly between past and present and is impossible to put down. Twisty thriller that will keep you hooked until the last page.

This book by Slater just wasn’t for me. I had tried on a couple occasions to get into it, but never could get immersed. If I do at a later time, I will update.
Will let Chapter Chatter Pub know about it’s release.

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

At what age do you allow your child to walk home from a friend's house alone? It is an argument many couples have had for decades. In Finding Grace by K.L. Slater, Lucie and Blake Sullivan agree to allow Gracie to walk home from her friend's house the day after her ninth birthday. What Gracie does not know is both sets of parents have agreed to watch her walk halfway. What could go wrong? It is a 5 minute walk, on the same street, and without her knowing, Gracie would be watched the whole time. Except Gracie never arrives home.

K.L. Slater writes about a fear parents are constantly worried about. Everyone has a past. Many of those prior events are ones we would like to keep hidden. She shows that every couple has secrets from each other and from the rest of the world.

She is able to reveal the main characters' secrets in a way that I continued rooting for all of them to come out this alright.

Her novel is fast paced and difficult to put down. This is the 1st novel of hers I have read and have added her to my "author to read" list.

Review published on Philomathinphila.com, Smashbomb, Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble on 2/24/19.

I was intrigued with some of this book but disappointed with the ending I have enjoyed all the authors previous books but this one didn’t grip me

I enjoy books by this author and this one does not disappoint! A 9 year old girl goes missing when she walks home from her friends. A horrific scenario for any parent, but these parents have secrets. This book keeps giving clues, but at no stage did I predict the baddies. An excellent mystery that kept me hooked and reading speedily. I will keep a lookout for other books by this author. Thanks.

Wow, wow, wow, what another ripper story from one of the Queens of psychological suspense, K.L. Slater! I was done in 2 sitting, it was absolutely unputdownable.

K.L Salter has done it again.
Written a fabulous book which is full of thrills and unpredictability. Based around a missing 9 year old girl but there is so much more to the story.
It delivers on being a great psychological thriller
Great read

With thanks to Netgalley and Bookoutre for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

First!y, I would like to congratulate Kim Slater for completing her eighth book . I have read seven of her books and she has become a go to author to me. When I heard Finding Grace was due to be released I was confident enough to request the book without checking the synopsis.

Lucie Sullivan was married to Blake, an up and coming county councillor.. They had two children 9 year old Grace and baby Oscar. The day after Grace`s ninth birthday she went to Alton Towers with her friend Olivia who lived on the same road. Lucie and Blake were friends with Olivia`s parents Mike and Bev. After a lot of pestering Lucie reluctantly agreed to let Grace walk the four minutes back to their house alone. Mike agreed to secretly watch Grace from his house, until she reached the bend in the road where Blake would take over.

On they way home Grace reached the bend in the road unharmed. Unfortunately Blake fell on some mud in the garden and didn't see Grace turn the corner.

Lucie blamed herself for letting Grace walk home alone. Shortly after Grace went missing Lucie noticed that Blake, Bev and Mike were hiding something from her. First she caught Bev and Mike having a violent argument, then she found a substantial amount of money in Blake`s office.

The story was told from Lucie`s POV and Grace`s best friend Olivia. The plot featured flashbacks from 16 years earlier when Lucie had started university.

The book was fast paced with red herrings galore. As the search for Grace continued I could feel.Lucie`s dispair. I enjoyed the second part of the story when the reader discovered why Lucie left university in her first year. The big twist at the end was brilliant, I did not see it coming.

This was another triumph from Kim Slater, I highly recommend all her books.

This is my first novel by K.L. Slater, so many of her titles look amazing so I was thrilled when I got the opportunity to read, Finding Grace. This book had a phenomenal start and had me racing through the pages but then....the ride slowed down and I was wanting to get off the carousel after too many spins. There was a part involving Grace’s best friend, Olivia, that to me, fell totally flat after it seemed like such an important bit of knowledge. This was a good read but not great. I will definitely give one of K.L. Slater’s earlier reads a try, Blink or The Secret?

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for an eARC of, Finding Grace, in exchange for my honest review.

I had read K L Slater in the past so was over the moon to be chosen to read and review Finding Grace.
I have read a few missing children books over the past few months so had high expectations for this book.
Lucie and Blake’s daughter Grace has been pestering them for a while to allow her to walk home alone from her friends house along the road, but just around a bend. They decide to allow her to do so, knowing that the friend’s parents will watch her to the bend once they have called to say she is on her way - then Lucie and Blake can watch her the rest of the way from their garden.
Things don’t go according to plan and Grace goes missing. The police become involved, family, friends and neighbours become suspects and Lucie’s past comes back to haunt her. A grandad with a secret, an interfering grandmother and residents unhappy with Blake’s performance at work add to the mix.
I really enjoyed the book, but found myself comparing it to K.L. Slaters other work and to the other missing children books I have read and found myself a teeny bit disappointed . Still a decent read overall.

Bit slow to start, keep going though as this is a brilliant book, loads of twists and turns, I kept thinking one more chapter and then I'll sleep, didn't happen though, kept me up all night, well worth the sleepless night though.

I received a free e-copy of Finding Grace by K.L. Slater from NetGalley for my honest review.

Lucie and Blake Sullivan have two children. Grace, who is nine years old and Oscar who is just a baby.

Grace, just returned from an outing with her friend, Olivia, and her parents. Grace has decided that since she is nine years old, she should be allowed to walk home by herself. It is only a five minute walk home. They decide to let Grace walk home but they are going to watch her to make sure she is safe. What could go wrong? A quick glance at the phone and Grace never comes around the bend. She has vanished.

They call the police and a search is started. Night falls, but still no sign of Grace. Her parents are so worried and to make things worse, Grace is a diabetic.

Lucie, who is a nervous person all the time is worried but is also wondering if something from her past (16 years ago) is coming back to haunt her.

The story switches from past to present. From Lucie’s college days to the present time. What happened 16 years ago? Will Grace ever be found?

So many twists, so many secrets, but the past can't stay the past forever.

Lucie and Blake are the parents of 9 year old Grace. Under pressure from Grace they allow her to walk home on her own from her best friend Olivia’s house, just a five minute walk, what possible harm could she come to, but between the two houses Grace disappears. This story is every parents’ nightmare. As the search for Grace begins, lots of lies and secrets from family and friends are slowly revealed. Lucie’s secret is from 16 years ago when she was at university and the story flips back to then and the present. This is a gripping psychological thriller that will have you completely hooked, living every minute of the nightmare of finding Grace. There are some twisted and devious characters in the book and plenty of twists and turns and unexpected outcomes. This book has so much suspense and tension that it had me reading until the early hours of the morning. A must read, highly recommended !
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a book that will grab your attention from the very first sentence until the last. I am a huge fan of K.L. Slater and every book that I have read is as good as the one before. Absolutely rush to pick this winner of a book and prepare to loose yourself in the story. Already looking forward to the next one. Happy reading!

This book has many twists in the plot. Slater will keep you guessing until the very end! This wasn't my first book by Slater & it surely won't be the last!

Lucie & Blake, let their newly nine year old daughter, Grace, walk home from a friend's house for the first time. Her friend lived just down the street, so they agreed both sets of parents would watch her until she reached home. After a set of unfortunate incidents, Grace disappears on her way home. Lucie begins questioning & doubting everything & everyone during the investigation, even her husband, best friends & neighbors. Will they find Grace, who is a diabetic, before it's too late?

Definitely a page-turner & worth the read!!