This was a very dark read. It read like a fictional version of the Natascha Kampusch story. It was interesting to hear the various viewppoints of those affected but I felt this was just too dark and it was not the right time for me to read this!

What a thrilling read! Absolutely love Alex's books and this latest one did not disappoint.. Hooked completely from the first page this chilling physiological thriller will have you reading until the small hours. Bravo!

It’s just 7 days until Max’s third birthday, but his mum Maggie isn’t planning any special treats, in fact she has no contact whatsoever with the outside world. Maggie was abducted at the age of fifteen, and twelve years later she’s still living in a windowless basement with Max but all her thoughts are concentrated on overpowering her captor somehow, because she had two little boys before Max after becoming pregnant by her captor, and on their third birthday he took them away from her. This time however she’s determined to think of something - he can’t take Max, he’s all she has and she adores her little boy, but can she come up with an idea before it’s too late? The clock is ticking!

Maggie’s disappearance twelve years earlier almost destroyed her parents, and they’ve watched as her brother James’s life spirals increasingly out of control. They’ve all had to deal with it in their own way, they don’t even know that Maggie was abducted, as far as they know she just disappeared. James keeps his feelings bottled up and eventually turns to drink and drugs as a coping strategy which of course is no help at all.

I like the way the author gives every family member a voice to relate their feelings, to demonstrate how Maggie’s disappearance has impacted on all their lives.

It goes without saying that this is a very dark subject matter, and is in turns horrifying, sad, moving and has some heart stopping moments, and Maggie and Max will have you rooting for them from first page to last.

Omg this book is fantastic. I took my time with it because I really didn’t want it to end. Maggie is kidnapped at the age of 15 and imprisoned for 12 years in a basement, the story goes back and forth from when Maggie was took to present. Completely gripping. A massive 5 stars from me, highly recommended.

For twelve years Maggie has been held captive in a small underground room, abused and raped by her captor.
She has had three sons but two of them were removed on their third birthdays, Max is seven days from his third birthday and Maggie is determined to use that time to make sure they both can escape. She has tried before and things did not end well, with nothing she can use as a weapon it is seemingly impossible. As the clock ticks she must use all her wits to succeed.
This is a cracker of a thriller, fast paced and characters that are well developed and believable. I simply couldn’t put it down.

Oh. My. Goodness! What a tense, brilliant read that was!!! Maggie was kidnapped when she was 15 years old, 12 years later she is still being held captive along with her son Max, who turns 3 in 7 days. She has been here twice before, with a 3 year old child and each time they have turned 3 her captor has taken them away. This time she is determined to change the outcome.
My youngest is 3 in 3 weeks and so reading this was particularly hard at times, as I couldn’t help but imagine her in Max’s place. The author introduces us to Maggie’s family, leading us through the aftermath of her disappearance, at the same time as telling us her experiences over the years. I honestly was gripped from the beginning and couldn’t stop reading, despite the late hour! I definitely recommend this book!
Thanks to the author, publishers and netgalley for gifting me this arc in return for an honest, unbiased review!
I’m now off to check out the author’s other books.

This is one of those books that makes you think. I have a grown up daughter, and despite this just being a story I don’t know how I would have coped if something like this had happened to her. We know that young girls, have been taken off the streets and kept in captivity from documentaries on the news. There have been several cases.

The Coopers are a normal everyday hardworking family, Martin the father, Sandra, the mum, Maggie the fifteen year old daughter, and James the fourteen year old son. When Maggie goes out to go to her cousins which is only a short walk away, she promises to be back by a set time. But when that time arrives there is no sign of her, the family wait a while still nothing, after a little longer Martin starts to get more worried, so he calls her cousin, who informs him no she hasn’t seen her, she was meant to turn up but she didn’t, after calling everyone. Father and son go out looking, she is nowhere to be found. The police are called but tell them she may be at a friends, common with teenagers. 48 hours and a DI Jane Wynne is at the door, she has taken on looking for Maggie, as she is not your typical runaway. Jump ahead 12 years

Maggie knows she only has seven days, seven days before her 3 year old son Max is taken away from her, she knows this because he has already taken her two other sons Seb and Leo, away from her on their third birthdays. Maggie knows she can’t handle having Max taken away from her, that would be the end for her. She has spent 12 years in a room, no bath, no toilet, he brings meals down twice a day. She doesn’t know where he took her other sons.

The story is told from the present day when Maggie goes missing 7th July 2006, from the various points of view, of the family. On the 9th July we have the visit by DI Wynne, then it goes forward to the present. Twelve years later. The seven days countdown from Maggies POV. Sandra , Martin, and James each still struggling in their own ways with the aftermath of Maggies disappearance. The story cleverly jumps back and forth through the years, each time we know who’s viewpoint it is, and each section starts with chapter 1 again. But this works, you are never confused by the timeline, which could have easily happened. This is done just right. Showing how each person has coped not just with losing Maggie but other things thrown at them. We know from the start who has Maggie, in some ways I would have liked it to have been kept a secret who it was until the end. But I think there is a reason why it’s done this way.

I thought this book was brilliantly written, the emotions are there, the characters are relatable, you like them and you are rooting for them, as much as the family don’t know whether Maggie is dead or alive, Maggie’s thoughts are shown she wonders if her parents are still together, if her brother has a girlfriend, or is he married by the end of the twelve years. The tragedies they all have to deal with.

I would like to thank netgalley and Harper Collins publishers for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

Absolutely amazing, albeit heart-breaking. So many different turns and twists, leaving me desperate for more. Highly recommend - incredible book.

I found this book, by Alex Lake, to be riveting, chilling and anxiety provoking. This was a fictional account of scenarios played out in the US, Germany and other countries, where young women have been subjected to heinous entrapment, imprisonment and sexual trauma. I have read many newspaper reports relating details of these crimes but they have been matter-of-fact. In this novel I really became emotionally involved and felt the claustrophobia, darkness, guilt, pain and mourning that the main character, Maggie, went through. I suffered with her for her losses and felt the anger she would have had for the perpetrator, Best.

Sometimes, during reading this book, I had to stop as I was just horrified at the thought of my grandchildren suffering in this way. Best was a deluded, sick animal. You would not imagine anyone enjoying these activities, but it happens in our world and not just in fiction.

Alex Lake is a fine writer and all credit to her for depicting these terrible events in such a graphic way. I would commend this book to anyone who wishes to understand capture and the deluded mind of a psychopath.

Twelve years ago, Maggie was abducted. She has been kept in a windowless room ever since. She was just fifteen years old when the man took her. Maggie has a son, Max, whomwill be three years old in just seven days time. She has seven days to save him. Because Maggie knows that when his third birthday comes, the man will come and take Max, just as he had taken Maggie's other two sons.

The story is told mostly from Maggie's perspective but every character has a voice. We hear how her mum, dad and brother have coped over the years. There's also the policewoman, DI Wynne who has investigated the case from the beginning. My heart was in my mouth half the time reading this gripping read. I actually dreaded the day coming when Max would be three. The timeline jumps back and forward over the years, giving us more detail of what Maggie had to endure. The chapters are short and punchy. This is an addictive roller coaster read that you wont want to put down until the end. I routed for Maggie all the way. I highly recommend this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley, HarperCollins Uk HarperFiction and the author Alex Lake for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another good read from this author. I found the subject matter unsettling, but, then, it’s a thriller.

It’s a well written tale about a captive and her captor, but, it’s so much more as it explores the family who are grieving for their lost loved one and the young woman who was kidnapped has just 7 days to save her son, born in captivity.

It’s fast paced and I read it in one sitting.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for the opportunity to preview in exchange for this honest review.

If you liked ‘Room’ by Emma Donoghue then you’ll love this! Gripping tale of Maggie of how she went from a normal 15 year old girl to being imprisoned with Max, her 3 year old son and why she only has 7 days to save him. Brilliantly written that shows the effects of how a missing child affects the whole family. Scary and thought provoking how sometimes the truth is just hiding in plain sight waiting to be discovered! Highly recommend!

Maggie is a normal 15 year old teenager until one day she is kidnapped had held captive ,forced to live in a dark damp cellar and being repeatedly raped and attacked.
This is a gripping novel not just focusing on Maggie but the impact it has on the whole family.

It's seven days until Max's 3rd birthday and Maggie knows only too well what will happen then, she's been through the same thing with her previous two children. She has seven days to make this time different. But how? She's been held captive in the same room for twelve years without being able to escape. Why does she think this time would be any different? Told in a countdown to Max's birthday with events from the previous twelve years told in flashback, we follow both Maggie as she tries to escape and Wynne, a police officer, as she tries to bring who she thinks is behind it all to justice. We also hear from Maggie's family and what happens to them.
This is a strange book, and I don't mean that in a derogatory way at all. It's just different to pretty much everything I have read recently. We follow Maggie from just before she was abducted to the present day when she is desperately trying to save her child from a fate she can only imagine. We also follow Maggie's family, parents and brother, as they come to terms (or definitely not in one case) with life after Maggie disappeared. And then there's the cop who KNOWS who did it but is scuppered at every turn proving it as she has to follow the letter of the law. And all the time the clock is ticking for young Max. Compulsive reading indeed.
There's a lot of nasty stuff going on in this book. Both what is happening to Maggie and also what happens to her brother in his efforts to cope with the loss of his sister. Hard hitting stuff at times but always with the underlying feeling of hope which is key to keeping the story going. This is aided by the majority of the chapters being short and punchy which both progressed the story well, whilst at the same time reminding the reader that they are on a countdown.
Hard not to mention the ending but I did think it was a bit contrived and, although well built up, and indeed the ending the book should have had, I just thought it was a little artificial! Difficult to expand on this without spoilers but I found that it didn't quite satisfy me as much as I wanted it to given what had gone before to get to that point.
I've read a couple of this author's previous books and had mixed results. I know that this is an author writing under a pseudonym and I can't help wondering if it is because they are pushing the boundaries. They have certainly achieved that with this book, as with others, but I am not ready to sever my relationship with them at this time. At least the books I have read have all been quick easy reads that are definitely well written, holding my interest throughout, if not quite always leaving me wholly satisfied. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Maggie was fifteen when she was taken off the street by a stranger. The man hides Maggie in a room . No window. Just a bucket and a bath. Here she remains for years. Here she becomes a mum.
However, when the children reach the age of three they are taken from her.
It’s now a week before her son Max”s 3rd birthday. She can’t let the man take him she has to get out that room. Max”s short life depends on it.
Told in flash backs the author covers what it was like for Maggie”s family in the weeks and years after she was taken.
Initially I felt I had already read the book! Other stories are so similar. However, as the book progressed it started to stand out. Well worth a read.

This is a really good book with a solid storyline. It draws you in from the first page and doesn’t let go! I really enjoyed it.

I never repeat the blurb. This could have been so good given the true cases there have been, but this was superficial in the extreme. So disappointing.

omg you need to read that book! i read it in one day i just could not put it down! i was tense from beginning to end, the plot is building up and you are holding your breath until the last moment
great thriller a real page turner!

Maggie has a son called Max who is fast approaching the age of 3. Maggie is in despair as she thinks she knows what happened to her sons Seb and Leo when they had their third birthdays. Maggie was kidnapped at the age of 16 and 12 years later, she is still locked in a room and for now, she has Max for company.
Can she let the man take yet another child away from her?
What a fabulous read this is! My heart was in my mouth throughout this story. What I really liked was seeing how the rest of Maggies family coped long after she had disappeared. You felt as though you were on the journey with them all. I found myself shaking as the 7 day countdown that Maggie had made for Max’s third birthday was getting closer and closer to that all important day. Excellent writing and I shall definitely be reading more from the author.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Really good thriller. I read this book in one sitting. I was hooked from the start. There is a lot of suspense and I got totally caught up in the characters worlds. I would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.