The title of this book The Stolen Sisters sums up the plot so well, three young sisters kidnapped from outside their home. Carly aged 11 and her twin step sisters Leah and Marie aged 8. As a mother of three children myself the thought of them being kidnapped is unimaginable.

The ordeal the girls went through not only affected them at the time but had many repercussions in their adult life. They may have been physically unharmed but emotionally and mentally untold damage has taken place. As grown ups their closeness seems to have disappeared and as the story progresses it’s heartbreaking to see how circumstances and secrets can tear a family apart.

Childhood experiences can affect our lives more than we imagine and this was brilliantly portrayed. The chapters which are written from each sisters viewpoint added deeper understanding to each girls private battle.

Louise Jensen has written a tense, thought provoking thriller , I did not see many of the twists in the plot coming and was gripped right to the end. The Sinclair sisters and their story will stay with me. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for my chance to read this brilliant book.

Psychological thriller about three sisters being kidnapped as children.
The story follows them through the ordeal and in the present, twenty years later where we find them still suffering the after effects of the ordeal.
Leah and Marie, the twins and their half sister Carly who is several years older than them.
They are all haunted by the past - Marie is an addict, Leah married to George has OCD and Carly is a loner.
They all struggle with relationships with their parents and George is struggling in his marriage.
There are several strong storylines in this, lots of surprises and a real twist at the end.
After a slow start I really enjoyed this book, parts of it are very emotional and disturbing but I think it is gripping.
Highly recommended. 4.5 stars ⭐️

The Stolen Sisters is written from the point of view of the three sisters who are kidnapped one day outside their home: Carly aged 11, who feels responsible for her twin step-sisters Leah and Marie, aged 8 at the time of their abduction.

Twenty years later they are the focus of media attention and offered a TV deal. But while Marie wants to take up the opportunity of publicity and money, Leah and Carly are terrified the secrets they are hiding about their abduction will break their fmily apart. There is a terrific twist at the end which I didn't see coming.

Once again Louise Jensen nails the psychological thriller. Highly recommended. Many thanks to NetGalley and HQ for the opportunity to read and review The Stolen Sisters.

The Stolen Sisters offers an interesting perspective on the usual kidnapping story. Not only does the reader learn of the experience when it happens, we also see how it affects the kidnapped as adults.

Louise Jensen has a talent for creating tension and suspense in her novels. This is ramped up in The Stolen Sisters, particularly with the use of short chapters, which I enjoyed.

Delving into each of the sisters' thoughts and how the kidnapping affected them is useful. Each is bearing the consequences of what happened and the secrets they individually harbour. The kidnapping act has more ramifications than the family ever expected.

I enjoy novels where the "villain" isn't so clear cut. We are all battling our own demons. The stolen sisters are certainly all waging a war with theirs. Sometimes we're our own worst enemy.

Thank you to Netgalley for this early copy of the novel before publication.

This is a truly riveting psychological thriller. From the first page to the last I was gripped. The chapters are written from the view of each sister through the timeline of now and then. Carly the oldest aged 11 and twins Leah and Marie aged 8 were snatched from outside their gate almost twenty years previously. Coming up to the 20th anniversary the sisters are once again the focus of journalists and fanatics and are offered a great TV deal. Marie now an alcholic and drug user wants to take the deal. Leah, her twin who is married with a child suffers from ocd and anxiety hates the thought of the horrors they endured being dragged up again. Carly is also against it. Each girl fears the thruth and the secrets they each carry.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good thriller. It is hard to put down and you are drawn into a web of family loyalty, betrayal, fear and love.

I really enjoyed this. Three sisters are kidnapped, they are gone for days until they manage to escape, all traumatised in their own ways. Now as adults the truth behind their ordeal is about to come to light. A few of the twists you may see coming but I defy you to guess them all, a thoroughly gripping read.

I began reading The Stolen Sisters with a degree of trepidation, as the subject matter dealt with,child abduction, is the stuff every parents nightmares are made of. The opening is shocking, drawing the reader in and grabbing your attention but because the storyline quickly switches to the three adult sisters, in the present day, I knew however harrowing some of the narrative would be, Carly,Marie and Leah at least live to tell the tale.
And what a dark and sinister tale this turns out to be with twists and turns aplenty. Simply told mainly from the perspectives of the three women in the present day and reverting back to their childhood past and that fateful day, The Stolen Sisters tells of the kidnapping of the Sinclair sisters, older half sister Carly and eight year old twins Marie and Leah. Their lives are changed irrevocably one ordinary afternoon when two men snatch all three girls from just outside their garden gate. With Carly left in charge of twins whilst their parents are elsewhere, the author brings to life the normality of these sisters lives prior to their disappearance; the bad mood of teenager Carly, mooning over the lack of communication from a potential boyfriend, the twins exuberance at playing with their pet dog Bruno and their love of dancing, especially to Madonna songs and in particular 5 6 7 8 by pop group Steps. Little do they know their innocence, their “naive faith in the belief that people are good and adults can be trusted”is about to be swept away forever.

Now in the present day, the twentieth anniversary of their abduction is fast approaching and we discover how they are faring in their adult lives. Something so dramatic and terrifying is bound to define who there are today. Leah is married to George whose business is failing. They have one young son Archie who is the light of Leah’s life but her everyday existence is blighted by contamination OCD, rituals and panic disorder, diagnosed with a syndrome I’d never even heard of. Marie lives alone, is an alcoholic and part time actress, disappearing from the sisters lives for weeks at a time whilst Carly also lives alone, scraping a living through selling charity shop bargains on EBay and childminding her adored nephew Archie. Over the years,continually hounded by the press, I didn’t know which sister to feel most sorry for. The tension as the anniversary approaches is palpable, especially as Leah seems to be unravelling before her husband’s eyes, anonymous notes posted through their letterbox only serving to increase her paranoia. Ultimately I wanted to know why these girls were abducted, who was responsible and how they survived their ordeal. I wanted to know where their parents were now and how it affected family life once they were reunited and why they chose to remain in the small town that holds such terrifying memories. All questions that are answered by the author in due course and in the most gripping of ways so that I found it impossible to stop reading once I’d started!

The flashbacks to the past whilst providing necessary detail are distressing to read. The girls fear is tangible, with these scenes chilling to the core. How they have survived is testament to their inner resilience but they are tainted by an ordeal no child should ever experience. Is it any wonder they are all wary of placing their trust in anyone, with every passing stranger a potential threat to their safety? Trust is a prominent theme throughout so just like Leah I became wary of all the key players, even contemplating whether the sisters are hiding secrets from one another. Were they even telling the truth about events leading up to their disappearance? I spent the whole time suspicious of every character including George and Leah’s work colleague and only friend Tash. Written in two halves the first part ends explosively, with a shock that bizarrely I didn’t see coming.

As well as exploring the theme of trust, this is a novel about love and the lengths an individual will go to to fight for and protect that love, often in surprising, unexpected and extreme ways. Can sibling bonds strengthened throughout childhood survive under such immense strain? You’ll have to pick up this book to find out!

As a twin myself, younger than my sister by ten minutes I felt a deep connection to the storyline. Like Leah who assumes the younger, more dependent sibling role whilst Marie takes on a protective, more outgoing persona, I could recognise parts of myself and my sister in these fictional pair. It’s hard to describe the bond that exists between twins and how the author has managed to convey that closeness showcases her talent as a writer, capturing that unusual bond brilliantly, whilst not neglecting the importance of that outsider feeling Carly must experience as the older half sister. I thought all three had a sisterly bond that is virtually unbreakable, even withstanding the horrors of their childhood and the impact their abduction has had on them. They may have survived their ordeal but in differing ways they are all broken and damaged as I’ve discussed earlier.

Was there a sister I favoured? No, I don’t think so since all three are deserving of the readers empathy, although with much emphasis placed upon Leah’s character it’s hard to ignore her fragility and perhaps overlook the extent to which Carly and Marie are suffering. All are blighted by guilt, all believing they are the one person who could have prevented their kidnapping, responsible for destroying each sisters lives, all prisoners to the past. As I would expect from this author every character is well developed, each one slotting into the storyline effortlessly, no one surplus to requirements.

With a second half as addictive as the first, offering more insight into Marie and Carly as adults and revelations galore this is a psychological thriller not to be missed, insanely gripping and cleverly written. The ending is bursting with emotion and I couldn’t stop myself from welling up at the sad and shocking outcomes. The Stolen Sisters is a sure fire winner, placing Louise Jensen as an author at the top of her game. My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This book was amazing. I loved its twists and turns, and the final twist at the end was a shock! It also gives a valuable insight into how life goes on when kidnap victims return home - and how they are forever damaged.

Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review I enjoyed this book and was not expecting that ending

If you have younger siblings then you can probably empathise with thirteen year old Carly Sinclair’s frustration at having to look after her younger twin sisters Leah and Marie while their parents are at work..... especially when they don’t follow instructions. Her anger turns to panic and a desperate attempt to protect them when all three are abducted. The story is told Then and Now (twenty years on) by all three girls and Leah’s husband George.

If you fancy reading a jaw dropper and an eye popper, full of tension and a multitude of emotions then look no further than this. What is so good about it is the principal focus is on the mental and physical toll the sisters ordeal causes and how it affects their dynamics and their families. I don’t want to include spoilers but these effects are incredibly damaging and heart breaking. The style of writing is so good at conveying all the varying emotions thus making it a gripping read. It’s an emotional rollercoaster with everything from guilt, sadness, an inability to trust and fear that looms over them like constant black storm clouds. Reading their story from George’s perspective is intriguing too as you get an appreciation of the wider implications. The writing is powerful and there are some taunting and haunting images that burrow into the sisters brains and scares them witless. Louise Jensen uses places, building and weather to create taut and tense atmospheres. All the sisters are damaged but my especial empathy goes to Carly whose maternal resourcefulness and caring protectiveness of her sisters in and post captivity is very touching. When all the various strands of truth connect the calculated wickedness beggars belief. I really like the ending which is a mixed bag of feelings from sadness to love but hopeful healing.

Overall, this is a gripping and very compelling psychological thriller which I found hard to put down. Highly recommended to fans of this genre.

With many thanks to NetGalley, HQ and Louise Jensen for the ARC for an unbiased review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. It is set to be published in October 2020.

"The Stolen Sisters" by Louise Jensen is a gripping thriller that adds a few exra twists to the missing-child standard plot. Firstly, there's three missing children instead of just one--two twins and their older half-sister. Secondly, the story focuses on the aftermath of the abduction even more than on the abduction itself.
I totally enjoyed this fresh, original approach to the subject, and the fast-paced, action-packed pace of the narration.
The characters felt so human and flawed that I couldn't help empathizing with every single one of them.
There's some memorable, almost lyrical quotes interspersed in the story, such as "Blame is a game we pass between us like a parcel and the one left holding it has to peel off another layer of the lie. Nobody wants to be left holding the truth."
The only thing I didn't appreciate was the switching back and forth between first-person narration (in the chapters from Leah's point of view) and third-person narration (in the chapters from Carly's, George's and Marie's point of view). It felt a bit disorientating.
Overall, though, this was a highly enjoyable read, and I loved it from page 1 all the way to the touching ending.

A story of kidnap and the aftermath that ruins the lives of those taken and all their futures. The details slowly emerge and we are drawn in to who and why and the full impact dealt with by the siblings. Each of them deals with what happened in different ways and as more detail is revealed we begin to appreciate how and why they act as they do. The ending has an unexpected twist.

Twenty years ago three sisters were abducted. Carly, Marie and Leah were held captive but finally were reunited with their parents. Now on the 20th anniversary secrets begin to unfold and it seems not everyone has been honest.
This was quite a slow burn for me and I did struggle to feel gripped by it but the second half of the book was really intriguing and I enjoyed it.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

20 years ago 3 sisters are bundled into the back of a van by 2 masked men. Who were their kidnappers?
Told in the then and now format by Carly(the older sister) and Marie and Leah (twins) we relive the fear they went through and the fear they still live through scarred by the effects of being kidnapped and the fear that the person behind it may be released from jail.
They all suffer from guilt surrounding the period before the kidnap and each seem to blame themselves.
There were several twists and moments where I thought one thing, then another turn which had me thinking something else. Well done Louise for keeping me on my toes.
I enjoyed this book and would recommend

Three terrified children abducted from a garden I can’t think of anything more frightening and every anniversary they have to re live the experience which has dire consequences which you won’t be able to stop reading until you find out what really happened and you’re in for a shock at the ending definitely recommend it and thanks to publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read it.

The story tells of three sisters that get kidnapped. It is written in the past and present but is an easy read flipping between the two. Some of the story is somewhat far fetched but focuses on how the ordeal affected each of them in a different way. Stick with it and you will discover some interesting twists and turns.

The Sinclair sisters, Carly age 13 and twins Leah and Marie age 8, were kidnapped and now the 20th anniversary of the kidnapping is nearly here. What affect did the kidnapping have on the three girls?

This is a very well written, tense and gripping psychological thriller with lots of twists and turns. Told in different points of view and timelines, I flew through the book in one day as I couldn't put it down.

It will appeal to readers of psychological thrillers who like creepy twisty stories.

Firstly I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. It drew me in from the first page and I was not prepared for the amount of twists and turns the story took. I will be recommending this book to all my friends.

This book was absolutely brilliant. All of the characters have depth of character which enables the reader to be on this rollercoaster of emotions with them. It is a story of how a traumatic event in childhood can have repercussions later in life, and how it shapes our future relationships and choices. This is an amazing tale of loyalty, betrayal, love, family, and sisterhood.. Excellent!

The three Sinclair sisters, Carla aged 13 and twins Leah and Marie aged eight were kidnapped. Although they survived the terrifying ordeal, twenty years later, with countless well-executed twists and turns, you find out what the sisters endured and the effect the kidnapping has on each sister growing up.
The story is set in two-time frames which weave in and out wonderfully,
It is difficult to describe the plot without giving away spoilers.
A must-read, highly recommended, exceptionally well written psychological thriller—another gem by Louise Jensen.
I want to thank NetGalley, HQ and author Louise Jensen for a pre-publication copy to review.