Edge of my seat ! I was gripped from the start. A heartbreaking story of child abduction and worse you will feel sick to your stomach by Maggie’s story and cry for her parents, Seb and Leo.

Exciting story , well told but what grips you is the depth of characterisation and how the characters mature over the years. I hope there’s more from this author- I genuinely loved this book

If you loved Room, you’ll love this, however if you didn’t like Room you will still love this! While Maggie has been abducted and kept prisoner in a room for over a decade, we learn about the impact on her brother and parents, as well as the investigating police officer and abductor. The ending is terrifying and seems to speed up as chapters get shorter. A really good read.

Initially, this storyline reminded me of “Room” but as the book developed and more characters were introduced, showing the situation from the family perspective and how they were affected too, I became more invested in the story.
Well written characters made you root for the truth to finally come out and hope for a happy resolution for all of the family.

Fabulous book! Packed a punch and left me wanting more. I'll be reading more from Alex Lake asap!!!
I'll be recommending this book to everyone I know!

I loved this book.
I’m a huge fan of The Collector, as I was getting Caliban vibes from this from the very beginning. It was dark, deep and emotional. It’s so hard to not tell at the characters in the book when you realise how close they all are.

Spoilers:
The only reason that it’s not a 5 star review from me was the ‘perfect’ ending, which included Max being totally well adjusted and Maggie being fine with everything and James seeming to kick his habit easily. It was just a bit too picture perfect for me.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy this book as it had me gripped from the start to finish I didn’t want to put it down because I need to know what happen next. The book had short chapters so every time I finish a chapter I needed to read the next. You find in the begin that Maggie is lock in a room an in seven days it will be her son’s 3rd birthday an she needs to save his life. Definitely gripping.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. what a great read, had me hooked from the beginning, mind you really enjoyed this authors previous 2 books. Would highly recommend.

A smashing little thriller. Tense, pacy and one that will keep you guessing all the way through.
This is one of those books where you are praying for a happy ending and urging the heroine on to the end.
A great finale too, that didn't slow up and left me finally able to breathe out on the last page.
Many thanks to all concerned.

This was a well written book. Very sad.but terribly hard to,put down.
Maggie was kidnapped by the man aged 15.
Locked up in a room with no windows and fed every day.
The man said he was saving her from the terrible things that happen in the world.
Her parents and her brother never really gave up,hope that she was still alive, and neither did DI Wynne .
Wynne always though the man had something to do with Maggie being kidnapped but could never find any proof.
Well,done Alex Lake for a brilliant and exciting book, it certainly kept me on edge.

Loved this book very fast paced very well written but also very harrowing!! Look forward to more from this author!!

I really enjoyed this book despite the grim story. Maggie is fifteen when she’s snatched on her way to her cousins. The rest of the book is written in two timelines, one story tells Maggie’s story from the day she was taken and the other the current day with Maggie still in captivity counting down the days until her son turns three. When her son turns three her captor will take him away and she will never see him again. It’s written from several POV including Maggie’s parents and the police investigating her abduction.
I loved how the story unfolded and the emotional impact of Maggie’s abduction to all of those involved. This was definitely worth reading and I shall now be looking for the authors previous novels.
Thanks to Harper Collins and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#SevenDays #NetGalley

Seven Days is a very quick and mostly easy read. There were times when I had to suspend my disbelief and when I marvelled at the shortsightedness of the protagonist, but overall, the story was very touching and had a satisfying ending. The characterisation was good, the pacing, though quite slow to start, picked up in the second half, and I was on the edge of my seat reading the final chapters. Alex Lake will go on my list of authors to read more of.

A harrowing tale that kept me up two nights in a row. Well written, lulling you in until you find yourself spellbound. I had tears in my eyes at the end. One week on, since finishing it, I still think about what it must have been like to have gone through all that. Thoroughly recommended.

I absolutely loved this thriller. It had all the ingredients that make for a nail biting chilling story. The fast pace of this story meant I couldn’t put it down needless to say I read it over two days.

It all begins with every parent’s nightmare with 15 year old Maggie not returning home and no trace of her to be found. The clever devised book is made up of chapters in the present and the past as Maggie is kept prisoner for twelve years. She bears three sons while living in squalid conditions but each child is cruelly snatched away from her on their 3rd birthday.

This captivating, creepy read tells of the horrific life Maggie endures and also the impact it has on her family who are tormented as they don’t know if she is alive or dead.

A definite 5 star read which I can recommend to thriller lovers.

My thanks to Net Galley for the digital ARC of Seven Days.

Seven Days will inevitably be compared to Emma Donahue's Room. The similarities are all there: the kidnapped woman kept prisoner and forced to bear a child who she then has to bring up in a very confined space. But there are differences. Room was in the voice of the child whereas this is from several different points of view. Maggie, the kidnapped girl has had three children, not one but the older two were taken from her on their third birthday. When the book starts it is seven days from her third child's third birthday and she is determined to save him.

I liked that the book gave us a look into the lives of those left behind when someone is taken. Maggie is the older child of Martin and Sandra. She is a typical teenager, close to her parents on the whole but beginning to move away from them and her little brother Jamie. They are devastated when she disappears and this affects them all in different ways. We also get some insight into the effect on the Detective in charge of her case though to be honest this didn't really come alive for me and I got little sense of how she was affected. At times I found the narrative very repetitive especially in the first half of the book. The second half was much better and quite gripping at times.

Overall, as you might expect given the subject matter, this was a dark read. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

This was an excellent book with a very topical theme. You read more and more cases in the press of girls being abducted and kept locked up, sometimes by their own relatives. Maggie, who is only fifteen, finds herself in a locked, very basic room, kept prisoner by an elderly, sinister man who insinuates himself into her grieving and distraught family.. I daren't give any more away otherwise it will spoil the story line. The chapters given over to Maggie's turmoil are excellent, particularly when we are allowed to see how she gives her son, Max, a full life despite being underground with only her for company. I did scan some of the pages of James' downward spiral, probably because I was so eager to get back to those with Maggie herself. It's a brilliant book and I look forward to reading more by this new author.

I loved Seven Days by Alex Lake. Chilling, thrilling and impossible to put down. I was drawn in from the first page to the last. A great weekend read. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins and the author for the chance to review.

This book grips you from the start and you don't want to put it down.
It's chilling, emotional, creepy and spine-tingling
An amazingly written fast paced physiological thriller

Not read this author before, will now definitely be more reading from Alex Lake

Thank you netgalley, Alex Lake and HarperCollins for allowing me to read and review this book.

After reading “After Anna” and “Killing Alex” I was really looking forward to starting this book. I kept thinking about it all day at work!!

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 soon to be three, she is counting down the days until his birthday, as her abductor always takes her sons when they reach three. Seb and Leo were taken, never to be seen again. This time she is determined to overcome her abductor and to escape.

The story alternates between the present and the time after she was taken. We get to see how the family is affected especially her brother James, whose life spirals out of control.

This book had me gripped from the first paragraph. It is well written and it keeps you intrigued even though you know early on who the abductor is, although it doesn’t ruin the story. I found myself screaming at the book at the audacity at Mr Best at how he infiltrates himself into Maggie’s family.

A must read book. I felt every emotion possible reading this book and although it’s not real I will be thinking about this for a long time.

Looking forward to Alex Lakes next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Uk for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Having read a couple of this author's previous books, and then read the blurb for this one, I was eager to get reading.

This story was absorbing from the very beginning, and gripping to the very end. The whole story Is gradually pieced together by using narratives from the main characters in past and present. Although the story is put together like a puzzle, it is easy to read and easy to follow.

The content is so well written and descriptive that the reader can visualize exactly how life must have been for Maggie and her family. This did make for some necessary, but uncomfortable and upsetting reading.

Prepare for a compulsive, thrilling and an emotional read!