Alex Lake has done a brilliant job of making you think as you read this book, throughout my head was constantly buzzing with questions.
Seven Days is powerful and intense and the characters were fantastically written.
It's a chilling read that will have you turning the pages and staying up late at night to read more. With an incredible plot line and lots of tension, this is a book not to be missed.

It seems a bit of a cliche to say that my pulse was racing and my heart was pounding but I'm sure it actually was. I couldn't read it fast enough to find out what happened on the seventh day. Maggie was determined that history would not repeat itself and that Max would be safe. It had been such a long time since she had seen her beloved family and she sometimes wondered if they would still be around waiting for her. This is up with my best psychological reads, I thought it was absolutely brilliant.

A good read. Similar in premise to "Room" in that a young girl is kidnapped and has a son by the kidnapper that she is currently living with, imprisoned in a small space and existing at the whim of the kidnapper. That is where the similarities end. This story is told going back and forth between the time between the kidnapping and the present day. It is also told from various perspectives - the kidnapped girl, her family members and the police officer who has never given up on her. It kept me hooked until the end. Recommended.

Brilliant book! When I first began reading I felt it was going to be too reminiscent of Room, which also has a young woman kidnapped, living her life in a room with a young child, but I was wrong. Although they are about the same subject matter, this is completely different. I liked reading the back story, switching from when Maggie was first taken to the present day. Being a mother, it was all too easy to imagine if it was your child and to empathise with what her family was going through. I also felt anger and heartbreak for Maggie and what she went through with her children. I can’t wait for the next book by Alex.

WHAT. A. RIDE. The adrenaline raced through me as I read this jaw-dropping thriller. This is a book that grabs you by the throat and throws you to the ground speechless when it’s finished with you. Fast-paced and expertly plotted, I tore through this book; I would have read it in one sitting if not for that pesky thing called human interaction with my family. But I knew I’d not be able to sleep without knowing what happened so I stayed up until the early hours to finish. Boy was it worth it for that ending!

Maggie has been held prisoner in the basement for twelve years. In seven days her son Max will turn three and her captor will take him from her, just like her two other sons. She has to save him but has no idea how. We then follow the story in dual timelines and from multiple points of view, with flashbacks that start the day Maggie is kidnapped slowly unveiling the story of the past twelve years. In the present day she is desperately trying to find a way out and save her son, the seven day countdown adding tension and urgency to the subdued atmosphere.

Maggie was a great character. We watch as she not only goes from teenager to woman, but also becomes a mother three times. We see that behind her terror is a formidable woman determined to fight and protect her child. Her strength, courage and tenacity are phenomenal and she’s a character I grew to like, admire and care for. I quickly fell in love with little Max and my heart broke at what possibly awaited him. He was both a light relief in the dark basement and a cause of even greater despair for both the reader and Maggie.
Maggie’s captor was a sinister and terrifying figure, though it’s his delusions that are most frightening. He is so convinced of them and truly believes that imprisoning her in a basement and raping her is saving her and that he had no choice but to do it. His audacity in many of his actions - which I won’t detail because of spoilers- were infuriating, as was his arrogance that he’d never be caught.

I think what made the book so harrowing for me was it’s believability, part of which is because of the well written characters. Each is brought vividly to life as they share the narration of the story. Reading how Maggie’s disappearance affected her family brought a deeper sense of anguish, longing, heartbreak and terror to the story. I have a son the same age Maggie is when she’s abducted so I inevitably pictured the torment I’d feel if it were my child that was gone, living every emotion alongside her parents. But I think the hardest story to read was that of her younger brother James and how it ravaged not only his present, but also his future.

This is the first time I’ve read a book by this author but I can guarantee it won’t be the last. He knows how to captivate his audience, not letting go until the last page. I was gasping out loud and my heart was in my throat as I read the electrifying finale. This is a story that is perfect for the movie screen.

Highly addictive, heart-stopping, dark, disturbing and hopeful, this book is a masterclass in suspense. It is one of my favourite books this year and one you don’t want to miss.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK and Alex Lake for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Maggie's son Max turns three in Seven Days and she has seven days to work out how to stop him being taken away. She knows this because Maggie has been held captive for twelve years after she was abducted at fifteen and has given birth to two sons previously and on their third birthdays they have been taken from her.
The narrative jumps back and forth in time, something I don't usually like, but this time it really does work and the story is filled in.
While most of the story is told by Maggie, we also hear from Martin her father, James her brother and DI Wynne, whose case it is.
I couldn't put this book down, it really gripped me. How Maggie felt and how she coped. How her family did or didn't cope with the not knowing. We know people have been held captive before without people knowing where they are and so we know that happens.
For me the only part that didn't sit too well was the end, It was a little bit rushed and wouldn't quite have happened how it did, but a small point.

Thank you to the NetGalley and the Publisher for my ARC in return for an honest review.

Really enjoyed this book. Of course there are obvious comparisons to be made to the book Room. Again, a young girl kept for many years, has a son, uses the son to escape. At first I thought it was just going to be a rewrite of the same story. But although it is clearly a variation on this, it is well written and this time also looks at the story in more depth in terms of the actual kidnapper, the family and what happens to them. You get more involved in the story and the main character is more sympathetic and likeable. I enjoyed reading it and read it in one sitting.

Wow! SPOILER ALLERT
How could this happen and be able to go on so long? Best really was a psycho. Imprisoning Maggie and raping her actually believing he was keeping her safe. Then taking 2 of her children on their 3rd birthdays and killing them (which we only find out at the end). Max would've ended up.the same way of Maggie hadn't fought back, even after all the years of being held captive she still manages to find the strength to fight back. I will purchase this book as a hard copy.

Thank you net galley for the opportunity to read this novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of this publication in return for an unbiased review.
First publication by this author I have read and not remotely disappointed,
Don't wish to give away the storyline which is told over a period of a number of years and through the eyes of the characters. Not really a whodunnit as at a very early stage it is apparent who the guilty party actually is.
That however in no way spoils what is a really good read and resulted in me having a late night in order to finish it.

A disturbing storyline that had me equally gripped and sickened by it. I found it hard to read in parts but it was very well written. I would definitely read another by this author. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Words fail me trying to describe how great this book was. I spent a whole day just reading as I could not put it down. I loved the way that the story went from present day back to the beginning when Maggie went missing each part being told from a different narrator. I felt the pangs of depression that all the family felt and the pain of the policewoman investigating the disappearance of Maggie for all the years.
At the end I had tears running down my face - this was just a story but oh so well told it burst through my body and I was living with it happening now.
Thank you Netgalley for enabling me to read this book

Wow!!!! This was a book I had to read and read and read. I literally could not put it down and found myself picking it up for ‘just one chapter’. The chapters were short and fast paced. Initially I thought it would be confusing to jump backwards and forwards but it wasn’t at all.

I loved his Maggie’s story intertwined with what was going on in the real world at the sane time and the creepy way her kidnapper got himself in her family’s lives

I was rooting for all the characters - I loved Maggie and Max and couldn’t imagine the monotony I’d living the same day over and over for 12 years, her dad was wonderful - caring for both his children and never giving up on them and of course the detective who knew who had got her but couldn’t find a way to get to him.

I loved the ending of the book - my heart was in my mouth and I found myself wincing and gasping out loud. I’d love to see it as a film

This is the first book I have read by this author and I wasn’t sure what I was going to think - how much action could take place based on one room? It turns out quite a lot!

A great read - just make sure you have time because you won’t want to put it down

Very dark subject well covered. I was gripped from the beginning and a book im not likely to forget anytime soon

Oh myyyyyy what a fantastic read this is! Literally unputdownable, I feel asleep reading it just the once because when I woke up thinking about it a few hours later I had to keep reading it until I reached the end. You can't help but become completely absorbed in the life of Maggie and Seb and hope for a positive outcome despite the fact that it seems very unlikely. This is a multiple character viewpoint novel which is perfect for delivering the complexities of the plot.

Maggie Cooper was kidnapped 12 years ago. She's been locked in a basement, repeatedly raped and inpregnated. Her first two children; Seb and Leo, were taken on their third birthdays, she assumes they were killed by the man that took her. Her third child, Max, turns three in 7 days time, how can Maggie save him?

I really enjoyed this book. There are obvious content warnings, kidnap and rape are the two main ones, although there is no graphic descriptions.

The characters were great. I felt Maggie was well developed, I could understand her ambitions and her sense of futility. I liked Martin, the father, best. He was a very rounded character and you could really empthise with him. The time jumps were also great and I thought it was interesting that the author had the family almost moving on in terms of how they dealt with life and work 12 years after Maggie disappeared. I felt this was very realistic.
The atmosphere in the book was good, I was gripped chapter to chapter. I also really liked the writing style. I felt that the short chapter and time leaps really worked well.
The plot is simple, but i enjoyed it. There is a lot of intigue throughout the book, the author lets us very quickly know who the kidnapper is, and there is so much frustration when the police miss him.
Overall, this is a very high 4.5 stars, I'm giving it 5 stars because I did really enjoy it. I highly recommend picking this book up if you enjoy fast paced, suspence-filled thrillers.

Now this was right up my street. What an absolute rollercoaster ride!

Dark, thrilling, gripping, harrowing, breathtaking... just an absolute WOW of a book.

This had me gripped from the prologue, I literally felt like I'd been sucked into a dark hole and in all honesty I didnt want to claw my way out until the very last page.. I was more than happy to sit away from the world. This story grips you around the heart and squeezes tightly.

I'm unsure whether its because I'm a mum or whether I'm close to Maggie's age but I could actually feel the raw emotion and was transported right into this situation which at times was spine tingly and strangely scary.

I loved the fact that it was written in the POV from so many angles, you felt the pain and despair of the parents and brother, the raw emotion, desperation and pure grit of Maggie, the disappointment and determination of the DCI and the sick, twisted and warped mindset of Mr Best.

A truly fantastically written book that smoothly moves along at a speedy pace. I adore the fact that there were no 'filler' characters, every one had their own part and their own story which came together brilliantly with a amazingly explosive and totally satisfying end.

I honestly could not rate this any less than 5*.

Once again Alex Lake has delivered in extraordinary fashion!

A massive thank you to netgalley and Harper Collins for the ARC.

This will be recommended over & over again.

An absolute roller coaster of a book - it was so gripping, I couldn’t put it down. Dark, harrowing, hopeful, tender at times, the story of Maggie and her sons alongside the lives of her family who deal with her abduction in different ways is a face paced, brilliantly written story. One you must read!

Oh my goodness ... you have got to read this book!!!

Harrowing, hopeful, heart wrenching, gripping, thrilling and full of tension, this is one of those books that you won't forget in a hurry. It's absolutely gripping from the very first paragraphs and takes you through all manner of emotions from anger, disgust and hatred to love, sympathy and hopefulness. Although a very difficult subject-matter, it is dealt with carefully and without sensationalism; it felt authentic and believable and, unfortunately, is only too real.

You quickly become invested in the plight of Maggie and her son, Max; the strength of her human spirit and the will she has to keep her son safe whatever the cost oozes from the pages. It doesn't stop there though, oh no, her family are as big a part in this book as Maggie and Max and they embark on their own roller coaster ride in which you are a but a passenger.

Written from different perspectives and covering different timelines, you might think that this would be confusing ... it is anything but. With short chapters, great pace and easy writing, this book is a gem of a read and, cliché I know, hard to put down. I couldn't read it fast enough and thank goodness I was coming towards the end on a Saturday evening so it didn't matter if I slept in the next day!

This is most definitely a 5 star read for me and highly recommended.

Eternal thanks go to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction via NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.

At the age of 15 Maggie was abducted and has spent the last 12 years locked in a basement. But now she has just 7 days to escape or her young son will die.
I wasn't sure how a book with so few characters would hold my attention but that was before this author introduced me to the sickest, most warped and evil predator I have ever encountered. Every time I thought he could no longer shock me, he did something else. I think I held my breath for the last third of the book, waiting to see if Maggie would escape. I would highly recommend this exciting book.
Review posted on Goodreads and Amazon

15 year old Maggie is kidnapped on her way to her aunt Anne. She doesn’t know it yet, but this is just the beginning. Her family, especially her brother James, have a hard time coping with the changes Maggie's disappearance brings on in their lives. The story is told from the past and present, counting down the last seven days until Maggie's son Max turns three and has to go away if she can’t find a way out. I don’t know what was harder to read about, the past and all the things done to Maggie and her family. Or the present, feeling the anxiety growing in Maggie to find a way, find something to keep Max safe. This was such a great book and I couldn’t put it down. And it got harder to keep up the hope, everything seemed really going downhill.
Everybody...read this book!