Maggie was abducted when she was 15, and she has been imprisoned ever since. Having given birth to two sons and having them taken away on the day they turn 3, she is determined not to let it happen to Max, whose third birthday is fast approaching.
Maggie has 7 days to think of an escape plan.

The story, following Maggie, jumps back and forth over the years of her captivity and is interspersed with her parents' and brother's perspectives, as well as the one of DI Wynne working on Maggie's case.
It is an instantly gripping book that doesn't let you go until the last page. It's a rollercoaster ride with short but intense chapters. Fast-paced and unputdownable, it's bound to keep you on the edge of your seat.
Although the plot bears some similarities to Room by Emma Donoghue, the story takes a different direction.
The only downside is that I felt a little confused with the timeline jumping back and forth, but after reading other reviews, I conclude that it must have been because I was listening to an audiobook.
However, it is the reason that I've decided on 4 instead of 5 stars.
Nevertheless, it is a fantastic and thrilling book, full of suspense and highly recommendable. Just make sure you choose an actual book over an audiobook.
This was my first book by Alex Lake, but I will definitely be reaching for his other novels.

#SevenDays #NetGalley
A rollercoaster of a suspense novel with multiple twists.
Maggie was abducted at the age of fifteen by Mr Best and has spent twelve years in a basement, she gave birth to three sons but two were taken from her on their third birthday.She has a son Max. It’s just 7 days until Max’s third birthday, but his mum Maggie isn’t planning any special treats. 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.
Told from Maggie's point of view, each and every character is briefly crested and has a bold voice in the book. After reading this author's After Anna, I was dying to read this book and this book fulfilled my all expectations.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction for giving me a digital copy of this wonderfully writing psychological thriller.

I was completely drawn in by this book. It's every parents nightmare, a child leaves the house and doesn't come back. The story is told from different pov and different time frames as we learn what happened to Maggie when she went to visit her cousin but never arrived.
This is a fast paced novel but you still feel like you get to know all the characters. A new author for me and I was impressed!
My thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for this copy.

Twisty. Amazing! I love the ya that the author gives every member of the family a voice. It’s easier to relate to their feelings and what they’re going through. Although the subject matter was incredibly dark, I just couldn’t put it down. Brilliant!

Seven Days by Alex Lake was DARK. It was bordering on horror for me, not supernatural horror but the horror of what one person can do to another. The real monsters out there. The people I hope never to come across. I was disturbed by this book. I was made uncomfortable by the book. And I wanted to put it down, but at the same time, I desperately wanted to know the ending to Maggie’s story.

It was well written with lots of short snappy characters and although the setting was limited, I could feel the claustrophobia, heat and darkness oozing off the page. Seven Days was a page-turner. It was a gripping life and death story, told from multiple POVs and a dual timeline. Alex Lake has the knack of writing characters that I believe in and become very attached too. It was a sad tale of loss and it was a survival story. Seven Days was also a novel that deals with rape, murder and children being taken from their mother. It was brutal and Alex Lake doesn’t relent in his storytelling.

I won’t be forgetting Seven Days anytime soon – and I am not sure that is a good thing.

This is the first book by Alex Lake that I have read and if I am honest it might be my last. This was a brutal story and it’s not usually my type of read and I hesitate to recommend it.

Well what a book! Such a tense emotional read that was absolutely brilliant. Maggie was snatched at just fifteen years old and kept in a basement for over twelve years. The story follows the life's of herself but also her family's anguish and a detectives sheer determination to find what had happened to Maggie. Great pace and had me in tears at the end. Loved it

Psychological thriller in which every parent’s worst nightmare happens. They lose their child. A very dark read. Exceptional plot. Very emotional but gripping.

I couldn't put this book down. I needed to find out what happened and I finished it in two sittings. The story is harrowing and at points very emotional. It make you consider the fragility of the life you have.

It is written beautifully and keeps you wanting more until the very end. I also like that the end wasn't rushed and time was taken to tie up the loose ends.

Seven Days by Alex Lake is a tense and fast paced thriller. The storyline is particularly traumatic, involving the kidnap of a young girl, Maggie, and documenting her life from then. The story flits back and forth between the present and the past and chronicles, not only Maggie's life, but also the lives of those she was forced to leave behind. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a fast paced thriller.

A gripping page turner that has you hooked until the very end.
I read it one go, sitting up all night. And that doesn't happen very often !

Seven Days begins just about as the tragic saga of Maggie and her son Max is about to end this way or the other. If Maggie doesn’t stand in her kidnapper’s way, in seven days the man will take away her 3-year old son and she will never see Max again. It happened before. Twice.
There is a huge amount of tension in those seven days as Maggie contrives ways of escape, tries and fails. I cringed at the man’s cruel punishments and the utter hopelessness of Maggie’s situation.
But this book isn’t just about the seven days of savagery. The reader learns about Maggie’s past, gets to know her family: her parents and her brother James suffering the consequences of her disappearance, some of them in ways leading to self-harm. The identity of the kidnapper and his links to the family are also revealed early on in the story. The background knowledge of all the characters going back twelve years contributes to the reader building relationships with them. The most acutely felt relationship is with Maggie and her beautiful, happy and charming little boy.
As the action moves towards its final dénouement, the reader is gripped by the throat: physically and emotionally. Once I reached that point I couldn’t put down my kindle. An emotionally charged 7-day read!

Gripping, suspenseful, and a page turner.
The lives of a family are changed when their daughter is taken. A little like the book Room, Maggie is held in a room, but in this book, she has to save the life of her child. Great character descriptions, making it easy to sympathise with them all - except the perpetrator, of course. Keeps you praying for a happy ending.
A great read and be warned - it’s hard to put down!

When Maggie Cooper was 15 years old, she was snatched from the street by a stranger, and held captive in an underground room. Now 12 years later, Maggie is counting the days until her son - born in captivity and conceived through rape - turns three. She's had two other sons and both were taken by their captor on their third birthday. Maggie is not prepared to lose a third son and will do anything she can to save him.

This was a fast-paced gripping read, and I really enjoyed the mix of Room and The Lovely Bones this book felt like. Maggie is a character to root for - amazingly resilient and still full of love for her children and her family. The storyline in this book flashed back and forth from when Maggie was taken and the police reaction to present day and what she was up to planning how to save Max, and what her family was doing while trying to survive the tragedy of her disappearance.

I did find the police quite inept in this and I did think the immediate pin pointing of a culprit a bit strange - and then I also wondered at the author choice to have the culprit be known so early on odd., But then as was in the family's lives, it gave the book a perversity that was difficult to read because he was so vile but also added a lot to the story.

I don't think the actual writing in this was the best I've ever read - but in saying that, I was still gripped to the story and what was going to happen to Maggie and Max. I also don't think that the addiction storyline the author tried to go down with James wasn't handled as well as it could have been and it didn't feel particularly believable.

Simply mind blowing, this tense psychological thriller had me poised on the edge of my seat, desperately wanting to know what was going to happen next.

Well done for a fantastic, tense and well written book.

5 well deserved stars

I really enjoyed this book, a difficult story but gripping. I loved the way it was written, cleverly done in the past and back to the present.
I enjoyed the ending and look forward to reading more from this author,

What a great book. Would definitely recommend to it others I no. Great work will look out for this author again

What a gripping read, had to put down a few times to get my breath back. Will look for more by this author.

This is a dark phycological thriller that gripped me pretty much from the first page.

The book centres on Maggie who was abducted when she was 15 and has been held captive in a basement for twelve years. In this time she has given birth to 3 sons and her two eldest sons were taken away from her by her captor on their 3rd birthdays. Maggie’s youngest son Max is 3 in seven days and she needs to come up with a strategy to ensure Max is not taken away from her and to hopefully find a way of escaping from the basement.

The book also centres on the impact Maggie’s disappearance has on her parents and brother who never give up finding her.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an open and honest review.

I found this book somewhat bizarre. It tells a well-worn story about a teen being abducted and held long-term as his 'beloved wife' style relationship. Its well-written, but nothing stands out. She has children by him, and the children are taken on their 3rd birthday for disposal. Her eventual escape is pretty run of the mill.

This was a fast paced and stunning read. Couldn't read the pages fast enough. Really brought home how living in captivity would be like and how the fight for freedom never leaves. Also how the family left behind adjusted to the abduction was dealt with superbly. I will definitely read more by this author!