Although netgalley seems to think I have this book I am unfortunately unable to review it as it has not been received or I have taken too long to read it and it has disappeared

The premise of this book was interesting. From the very beginning, it was clear that something was being missed by investigators leading to a lot of red herrings and twists. The novel is basically split into two halves – the first while the kids are missing, and the second when all but Ivy are returned. The pacing in each part was different as well. The second part seemed to go much faster, but also seemed long. As the mystery was unraveling I grew more and more frustrated with the investigative team other than Kate. I would not want that crew investigating anything for me.

Overall, I liked the way the story wrapped up but it was about 100 pages too long.

The front cover of this book already gives it a spooky vibe, and now I saw its the first book in the series as well. This tells you that the author has it well planned out, and plans on giving the reader a lot of entertainment and thrills. Five kids are abducted, eventually four of them is returned, but one is still missing. The search and justice for this missing child continues throughout the book (and the series), and keeps you gripped until the end. Recommended.

Never read a book by this author before but I can start by saying sincerely this will not be the last.

Not just one child missing but 5 children missing. I mean this is utterly gripping and terrifying from the very start.

The main character Kate is just fab, Strong, independent, hard working. A real power house.

The book is amazing and fast paced. I was hooked and am hooked and want to read more - quite urgently !

When five young children go missing from a nursery school picnic their parents are sick with worry and question how this could happen. Homicide Detective Kate Wakeland quickly learns that her granddaughter, Ivy is one of the missing children. The police had to work as quickly as they could to try to gather any information that could help track these children. As time passed by the police were not any closer to finding answers that would lead to the missing children.

Three and a half years later the children are returned to their family all except Ivy. One by one, the children are asked about what took place and where they went. The one thing all of them said was that Ivy was dead.

One Last Child by Aussie author Anni Taylor is the first book in the Tillman’s Valley Detective series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This was an intense read that captured my attention from the first page to the very last page. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my digital copy to read and review.

I # one Last Child # Netgalley
This was a enjoyable read. You just would not expect 4 of the 5 children kidnapped; 3 and a half your Ago would ever be returned back home, after all that time I personally would not have expected them to be Alice’s it as a well written book with a nice steady pace I could understand the frustration of Kate Wakeland, being a detective wanted to be on the same Taskforce as the investigation into her granddaughters kidnappers were about and who they were. It was a really good plot and Kate love she as got for her granddaughter As much as I liked Kate and her husband trying to help their daughter bring up ivy I couldn’t help thinking when she got into drugs and various. That she was a bit selfish. Ok it was believed that ivy would not be ever coming back. When she disappeared out of the blue she returned. Unexpectedly with another baby a boy this time I was pleased to hear that the little boy was not a replacement for Ivey. All in all a enjoyable book with a excellent plot. I could say a fair bit more.but I do not do spoilers. Whatsoever.... funny enough I was reading a review on a book I really fancied reading. Until the review not went on chatting away about the book and I noticed the person who was writing away there, and before I knew it I was reading a really big spoiler yet how it was reading I genuinely do not think the person who put a huge spoiler in had realised she said what she did say, it certainly didn’t come across like that. However I know now I will no longer read the book. I don’t like spoiler so what reason would I want to spoil a book for others. Anyhow going of tangent. This really was a good read. I teally enjoyed it. I have actually downloaded boom 2 in this series. I do recommend you should read this I think it will be a good seres. I am already 2 thirds of a way into another boon then I will be reading the book 2 crib this author who by by the way this was the first book I have read by this author and I will be reading more. AS I have already stated that I have book 2 already downloaded ready to start

I very much enjoyed this book. It has a good story and excellent main characters. I would definately recommend this book.

How good to read of an older female protagonist! An enjoyable, fast paced read, that keeps you guessing until the very end. Recommended.

I loved this story!! Lost a lot sleep trying to get to the end. Fantastic writing style & intense plot make for a great read!

It was summer in the mountains when five small children vanished from their nursery school picnic. The heat was stifling that day, the tinkle of an ice-cream van in the air.

Three and a half years later, in the dead of winter, the children are returned to their families... one by one.
All except for Ivy - the granddaughter of homicide detective Kate Wakeland. The other four children say Ivy is dead.

Speculation grows that the kidnappings were revenge for an offender that Detective Wakeland put in jail years before.

She engages in a battle of wits between herself, the kidnapper and the cold, vast expanse of mountains in between.

Five pre-school children disappear while on their nursery school picnic. No one saw or heard anything ... no clues ... no motive ... no ransom note.. just nothing.

One of those children was the grand-daughter of Homicide Detective Kate Wakeland. Because of the family attachment, Kate is not allowed to work the case.

Almost 4 years later, the children are returned to their families ... one by one. All except Wakeland's grand-daughter.

Kate was prevented from investigating when the case was fresh, now that its gone cold, Kate will be relentless in identifying and finding whoever took the children.... and discovering what happened to her grand-daughter.

Although well written with an intricate plot, the first part of this novel is more about Kate and the dysfunctional relationship she has with her daughter. Characters are deftly drawn, warts and all. I did enjoy the main character not only being female, but over 60 and still nimble enough to do her job and do it well. While there is plenty of action, the pacing is not constant. The ending felt rushed and not really credible.

This is the first in this series and is easily read as a stand alone, although there is a minor cliffhanger separate from the main story.

Many thanks to the author / BooksGoSocial / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Thee and a half years ago five 3 year old children went missing from their nursery picnic without a trace. Police leads have led nowhere and the children are still missing. Only one day four of the missing children are returned. All except one. The grandchild of Detective Kate Wakeland has not been returned and she is determined to find out who tore her family apart

This book is fast paced and keeps you guessing until the end. Well worth a read and I certainly did not see the ending coming. Read now to find out what happens.

I really enjoyed this book, and if you go into expecting more mystery than thriller, I think you can really enjoy it as well. The story itself was really intriguing, and the character relationships and how it was all interconnected was interesting. My biggest issue was the time jumps. There were so many and so far apart that it was hard to keep up sometimes and could be a little confusing. I would have loved to see more action, but the first half of the book was the missing child's mother trying to overcome her grief and reconnect with her own mother. The actual solving of the mystery didn't really pick up until later in the book. If you like a slow burning mystery, then you should check this one out!

This was an easy to read thriller thaylt kept my attention all the way through! Lots of twists and surprises I didn't see coming. Very good, would recommend!

3.5★s
One Last Child is the first book in the Tallman’s Valley Detectives series by Australian author, Anni Taylor. It was a regular outing at The Ponds nature reserve for the pre-schoolers at Tallman’s Valley. Nineteen three-year-olds got to roll in the grass, kick pinecones, run around and play. A picnic was just being put out when the senior carer saw there were some kids missing: were they hiding? Nola Hobson had been seeing off the noisy ice-cream van up the hill, but Justine and Kaylee searched to no avail: five children were missing.

Detective Kate Wakeland usually worked homicide, but her granddaughter Ivy was one of those missing. Her boss didn’t allow her onto the team until over three years later, when there was still no trace of the kids. Now, things begin to happen. Suddenly, four of the children are returned, unharmed and well, to their parents. But not Ivy. This prompts the question of it being some sort of revenge against Kate by or on behalf of a convicted criminal.

Kate doesn’t agree and, ignoring the strikeforce team leader’s direction, makes progress by her own methods with the hunt for the abductors. But her pending murder cold case is a distraction, as is her ongoing troubled relationship with her daughter, Abby, Ivy’s mother. Nonetheless, her deductions on both cases are well thought out and good progress is made.

Taylor really captures her Blue Mountains setting well. The plot has red herrings, a whole school of them, and a neck-wrenching twist, but there are a few holes, and motive is not quite convincing, nor will every reader be persuaded by the calibre of these characters to invest in the follow up, especially if it also extends to almost five hundred pages: some judicious editing would have improved this.

The main action takes place in mid-2020 and, while it doesn't affect the rating, of course no author setting their book into the near future could have predicted that future would be written by Stephen King. This is a page-turner that doesn’t quite deliver on its promise.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Books Go Social.

I have never read a book by this author but I was extremely impressed with this story! It is a fast=paced, heart wrenching story that I had trouble putting down. The characters were interesting and relatable and the storyline was very engaging. Overall a great book!

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was a book that I had to push my way through unfortunately. I really love a good mystery and while is was ok it wasn't great for me.

This book was very exciting and had many unexpected great twists and turns.  I really enjoyed this book.  I am always looking for new authors to read and enjoy so I can follow them and their books.  I have not read Anni Taylor before and I think I will read more.  So far, I have enjoyed this author's book.  Children go missing and several at once and a great detective is on the case, I love these types of books and this book was no different and had me on the edge of my seat.  *This book was given to me for free at my request from NetGalley and I provided this voluntary review.*

One Last Child was a surprisingly intense story that completely stole my interest and an afternoon of my life. It was well worth the read and has me gearing up to read more by Anni Taylor in the future.

I don't always enjoy a mystery/thriller as they can tend to be quite predictable but this one kept me engaged throughout the entire story. I couldn't predict the ending and honestly wasn't entire sure where the story would end up.

I was first drawn to this story by its cover and the Australian setting behind the mystery. As an Aussie, I love to read books set in Australia and this one delivered with not only a tense, ominous writing style but also a few snippets of landmarks near Sydney being included. It's not often books are set close to home and this made the book seem almost sentimental to me.

What I truly enjoyed about this story was that the characters weren't the usual types you's associate with this genre. There weren't an abundance of police officers drawing out the plot. Rather, Kate was a seemingly normal person put in an utterly devastating position. The confusion surrounding the lack of return one of the five children set up a story that was intense and grim towards the end. The inclusion of a few red herrings kept me off-the-mark and provided the perfect set up to an unpredictable ending.

This was my first book by Taylor but definitely not my last!

One Last Child
Tallman's Valley Detectives Book 1
by Anni Taylor
436 pages
Publication date: January 15, 2020
5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Description:
Five long-missing children are about to be RETURNED
It was summer in the mountains when five small children vanished from their nursery school picnic. The heat was stifling that day, the tinkle of an ice-cream van in the air. Three-and-a-half years later, in the dead of winter, the children are returned to their families... one by one.
All except for Ivy - the granddaughter of homicide detective Kate Wakeland. The other four children say Ivy is dead.Speculation grows that the mysterious abductor is enacting a cruel revenge plot due to a murderer that Kate put in jail years before. Kate isn't sure what to believe. But one thing is certain - she's about to begin the battle of her life. When the children were first stolen, she was prevented from investigating the case.
But now, Kate will be relentless in uncovering the identity of the abductor and discovering what happened to Ivy.
🛑My Review🛑
Anni Taylor has written a incredible heart wrenching suspenseful thriller. It is a little bit slower paced than most thrillers but it fits this story perfect. The whole story is very well written and had me guessing all the to the end. This heart racing, suspense filled, mystery crime thriller will have you quickly flipping the pages to find out what is going to happen next. It had me reading all night. There was likeable and unlikable characters as all good thrillers should have.It is full of twists and turns. Having read alot of child kidnaping psychological thrillers I must say I loved this authors different spin on it. The characters are well developed, the plot well done. The ending was totally mind blowing. Left me in total shock ! I would recommend this book to all mystery and thriller lovers. Definitely looking forward to the next Anni Taylor book. If you would like to read this story you can read it for free on Kindle unlimited. As always if you like the book you read please take the time to leave a review for the author in places like goodreads & Amazon. It does not have to be long. Just a few sentences saying you liked the book will do. Authors really appreciate every review they get !Thank you to NetGalley ,the publisher, and author for the chance to read and review this amazing 5 star read for an honest review !
#OneLastChild #NetGalley

One last child by Anni Taylor.
It was summer in the mountains when five small children vanished from their nursery school picnic. The heat was stifling that day, the tinkle of an ice-cream van in the air.
Three and a half years later, in the dead of winter, the children are returned by their abductor... one by one.
All except for Ivy - the granddaughter of homicide detective Kate Wakeland. The other four children say Ivy is dead.
Speculation grows that the kidnappings were revenge for an offender that Detective Wakeland put in jail years before.
She engages in a battle of wits between herself, the kidnapper and the cold, vast expanse of mountains in between.
I really enjoyed this book. Surprised and twisted. Wasnt who I thought. 5*.