Another great read by a talented author I really enjoyed reading it and will definitely read more and recommend reading it

Having read other novels by Louise Jensen I had some idea what to expect from this one, The Stolen Sisters, and I wasn't wrong as, from the outset, it was a wonderful read for me.

About the Book:
Sisterhood binds them. Trauma defines them. Will secrets tear them apart?

Leah’s perfect marriage isn’t what it seems but the biggest lie of all is that she’s learned to live with what happened all those years ago. Marie drinks a bit too much to help her forget. And Carly has never forgiven herself for not keeping them safe.

Twenty years ago The Sinclair Sisters were taken. But what came after their return was far worse. Can a family ever recover, especially when not everyone is telling the truth…?

My Thoughts:
The Stolen Sisters is told from all three of the Sinclair sisters' viewpoints with input from Leah’s husband, George. I loved the way secrets were slowly unveiled and that the story principally focused on the mental and physical toll that the sisters' ordeal had on them and how it affected their dynamics and their families. In this compelling and taut tale, Louise Jensen writes so well about relationships and I soon found myself completely immersed in the lives of these people. This is an incredibly suspenseful and shocking read with real depth, style and maturity in the writing. There is so much to keep the reader turning the pages and guessing and it was a riveting, heart-stopping read right through to the remarkable ending.

The Stolen Sisters is a must for anyone who is partial to a compelling novel about duplicity, relationships, deceit, family drama, OCD, addiction and evil.

I read The Stolen Sisters in staves with other Pigeonholers as part of a group. A special thank you to HQ, Louise Jensen, NetGalley and The Pigeonhole for a complimentary copy of this novel at my request. This review is my unbiased opinion.

#TheStolenSisters #NetGalley This was a thought provoking and intense thriller dealing with the aftermath of an abduction that had happened 20 years ago.  Told from the perspective of the three sisters and in both 'now' and 'then' scenarios, it was heartbreaking to see how this event had completely ruined so many lives. Although I couldn't really warm to any of the sisters (maybe this was intentional), the plot had many twists including one I didn't see coming.  This is the first book I have read by this author and will certainly look for more as I enjoyed the style of writing.

I have read a variety of different books on similar themes of abduction and family trauma but this one was from a different perspective which makes it unique, 
I enjoyed reading about each sister and their problems, how they are dealing with their past trauma and how they interact now with one another. It was an excellent read and very gripping right to the end,.

I read this book through and it was a sad family tragedy. It had a reasonable twist but it I still wasn't all that enthralled with it as I couldn't relate to the characters.

This was a strong read, unpredictable and twisty-turny. Great dialogue and good suspense but maybe dropped a bit of pace towards the end. Still very highly recommended.

Leah’s perfect marriage isn’t what it seems but the biggest lie of all is that she’s learned to live with what happened all those years ago. Marie drinks a bit too much to help her forget. And Carly has never forgiven herself for not keeping them safe.  Twenty years ago The Sinclair Sisters were taken. But what came after their return was far worse. Can a family ever recover, especially when not everyone is telling the truth? 

This is a very dark and absorbing read, although it is obvious. Jensen has packed this with plot twists but some are unfortunately very obvious. They were right for the plot but Jensen really hyped them up so it was a disappointment. Aside from this, I found the read very engaging and I was hooked into this dark world Jensen has created. 

This is written in the present day and the past as well as different character perspectives. All of it comes together to add more intensity to the read and fear. The chapters set in the past are quite harrowing and Jensen does a fantastic job of setting the scene and showing the consequences of past events. Jensen's characters are good, likeable and yet flawed from their experiences. Leah is a very strong character and absolutely carries the read. This would not have been anywhere near as good without her presence. 

'The Stolen Sisters' is very harrowing and a book that leaves its mark on the reader. The plot twists are disappointingly obvious but the horror of the read makes up for this. 

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for an advance copy.

Thanks to Net Galley and HQ for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review. 
Carly was 12, her twin sisters, Marie & Leah are 8, they have been stolen after stepping outside the gate of their garden, snatched in broad day light. They are terrified. Carly feels she needs to be strong and brave for her sisters.  
20 years later, the impact of their shared trauma has hunted them and defined their lives, Marie is an alcoholic , Leah struggles with OCD, obsessive rituals and panic attacks, Carly lives alone, trusts no one,.   Over the years the sisters have by hounded by the press and this year tensions run high at the 20th anniversary.  
As the story unfolds, told by the sisters in both the past and the present, there are many secrets, lies and twists revealed, they survived their childhood trauma but all three woman our broken, The ending is a rollercoaster of emotions, tension and shocking revelations.

This is a thought-provoking and emotional story of 3 sisters who were abducted 20 years ago and how that traumatic event has impacted on them as they have grown into adults.

I haven't read anything by Louise Jensen before and although I am unable to absolutely rave about this book, I will say that it's a well-crafted story that will appeal to many, many readers.

Why am I not raving about this?  To be honest, it's hard to explain exactly why and I don't really understand it myself!  It started off brilliantly and I was definitely hooked but it just seemed to take too long to get anywhere and although there were surprises, they just didn't hit the spot for me and I didn't get that feeling of excitement and anticipation unfortunately.  I don't think this is a fault of the author rather than of me as a reader who is used to reading rollercoaster-of-a-ride books which I don't think this is; I feel it's more of a family drama type story with mystery and tension thrown in. 

The story is told in the then and now and from a variety of viewpoints; this isn't as confusing as it sounds and I actually found this worked well for the most part however, I felt that the "then" parts worked better for me and were more engrossing than the "now".

The characters are an interesting bunch, not all of them particularly likeable but all the main ones are well fleshed out.

What I thought shone throughout was the strong relationship between the sisters and the way their horrific experience impacted on their lives and their mental health; this was expertly done with sensitivity and I have no shame in admitting that there were parts that made me a bit emotional - I am the youngest of 3 sisters and I did wonder how we would have turned out if this had happened to us but I quickly stopped that because it is too horrific to contemplate.

Like I said at the beginning, I am unable to say this has been one of my best reads of 2020 but I will certainly read more by this author in the future. 
 
Thank you to HQ (an imprint of HarperCollins UK) via NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

Thank you to #NetGalley and HQ for giving me an ARC of #TheStolenSisters by #LouiseJenson in exchanged for my honest review.

2 stars - 🌟🌟

Twenty years ago Carly, Leah and Marie were stolen and taken to an abandoned army camp where they fought for their lives to escape. The three girls are now haunted by their experience and all suffer with guilt that they were each to blame for their abduction.

As the anniversary creeps closer Carly becomes more withdrawn fighting the internal battle that she should have done more to protect her sisters. Leah starts to see their attacker in everyone that she meets and is struggling to hold her marriage together whilst imagining that her son is going to be abducted just like her. Marie finds that alcohol just doesn’t cut it any longer and seeks solace in illegal drugs. Can the sisters fight their inner demons and come out of this in one piece, together?

I really wanted to love this book but unfortunately, I didn’t. The concept is really good for a thriller, but I found that I didn’t especially like any of the characters. I must admit that I didn’t guess who was the brains behind the kidnapping and the concept of the book is really good. I think I would have preferred this book if I liked Leah’s character but I just found her very bland.

I read this for a blog tour. 

I thought this was really interesting, focusing not on the investigation into the missing sisters but on their survival and lives twenty years on.

Leah has crippling OCD, anxiety and other mental health issues, Marie has a drinking problem and a habit of disappearing, Carly can barely leave the house and can't trust anyone.

As the build up to the anniversary counts down more details start to come to life around the kidnapping and why the three women are so damaged by it.

The ending was absolutely shocking, as the sisters return to abandoned army base where they were held, and it all comes out.

It's the nightmare every parent hopes they never experience - their child going missing. When three little girls from the same family go missing at the same time, everyone is glad it isn't their family. A tragedy, an unbearable nightmare.

The sisters learn to protect and rely on each other, even after everything they have experienced together and the losses they suffered. Each one of them has their own scars to carry and damage to control. It makes having relationships difficult and sometimes the memories have to be drowned in the bottom of a bottle.

Leah in particular has very specific demons to battle, which are enhanced by the need to keep her own child safe. Her marriage is suffering because of her inability to leave the past behind her, but then some people are determined to keep the past alive.

Jensen lets the reader decide where to lay blame and guilt, if indeed they decide to do so. There isn't really a way to discern the true measure of pain, betrayal and a lifelong sense of fear - no way to measure the times it interferes with their lives and the way each sister conducts or interacts with the outside world. So, no I'm not sure there is a real way of distributing the blame, despite the fact the sisters do it quite well themselves, albeit often in an unbalanced way.

The author takes a horror scenario and fills it with a shocking twist that changes the narrative, and yet the bond between the characters remains strong. The feeling of gratefulness overshadows the events and even the anger towards the guilty, at least to a certain extent.

It's a domestic psychological thriller, which probably won't read or go the way you expect it to. A typical riveting Jensen read.

A gripping page-turner, I stayed up well into the night to finish this book!

There were plenty of twists and turns, which kept me intrigued from start to end.

What a gripping, page-turning, breath taking rollercoaster this is! I should NOT have started ready this at 8pm last night - I couldn’t put it down and finished the book in the wee hours of the morning. 

The way the narrative flips between past and present and the different characters is tantalisingly frustrating in its brilliance. The only characters perspective I felt jarred a little was George’s, but I can see how it contributes to the plot. 

I did not expect the twist at the end!! 

What a cracking read!

I read this ARC in exchange for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

A new author to me, I shall be looking out for more
Loved this.  
Dark and full of twists and turns

I was totally engrossed and was sorry when the ride was over !!

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher's HQ for this review copy.  This is my unbiased review of the author's work and style. 
If you want plot lines and spoilers, please see the publisher's blurb and other reviewers' reports.
Well!  I have just put this book down and now I feel I can breathe again. 
This is my first read of Louise Jensen's work, but it will not be my last. This story uses a then and now chapter heading technique which a very suited to the plot and, if you're like me wanting to see ahead and guess where I am being led, it exercises the memory so you have to keep two threads running and try not to muddle them.
Rarely does a book have me metaphorically on the edge of my seat and cause me to be late for meals, but this one did.
Being in the mind of someone else is inevitably stifling but as I inferred previously this one stopped gave me feelings of claustrophobia. 
A brilliant tale please read. 
Five stars all the way.

This story alternates between THEN (when three sisters; Carly, Leah and Marie are kidnapped) to NOW, 20 years later.  Equally, the POV changes, mainly told from Leah’s perspective, but occasionally from her sisters, and her husband George’s.

On paper, the method of telling this particular tale could seem confusing; however, it undoubtedly works, and is a great way to ensure you want to read “just one more chapter” before bed.  It lends itself to a quick-paced book, which obviously works wells for the genre.  In that sense, it is a very easy read.

The chapters detailing the past are wonderfully written, and make you feel equally hooked and horrified.  Obviously, as readers, we know the three sisters make it out alive, but we don’t know the details.  Did they escape?  Were they rescued?  Were they released?  Who took them?  Why?  Are they still out there?  There are so many questions, and the author does a really good job of playing on those throughout the story.

However, there were a lot of wrong paths and red herrings that I felt didn’t need to be in there.  Ultimately, I found that more frustrating than entertaining, and for me, let the story down.  What was a wonderful premise, and on so many levels executed so well, just felt gimmicky to me and a little disappointing.

In the end, there were a few things that felt rushed, and too many elements that were too far-fetched even for my over-active imagination.  It didn’t entirely work for me.

The Stars
Another strong 3 stars for this author, who was a wonderful way of creating a scene, and hooking you in.  If you like psychological thrillers, and are already a fan of Louise Jensen’s work, then I definitely recommend this; personally, I do think it’s her best yet.

She's done it again! Louise Jensen's sixth psychological thriller and it'll have you hooked like each of those that have gone before!

The Stolen Sisters shares the misfortunes of eldest sister Carly and twins Marie and Leah, who are snatched outside their home and held captive in an abandoned military base for reasons unknown. Many years later the sisters each carry their own residual traumas from the event and as the 20th anniversary of their kidnap approaches, Leah in particular seems to be hovering precariously at the brink of a breakdown, sightings of one of their former captors only adding to her fear. With Marie pushing for a 'new angle' television interview to mark the anniversary, will the sisters ever be free of the notoriety that being one of the Sinclair Sisters brings?

Rule number one with reading anything written by Louise Jensen (an auto-buy author for me) is to assume nothing, the web of her stories being so intricately woven that it is impossible to ever be smug in the certainty that you know the lay of the land. Whilst its clear from the outset that the children did not incur any physical harm during their capture, this does not break the spell of tension which immediately draws the reader in, intensifying towards a crescendo in the final pages. My heart raced as I experienced the sisters' attempts at escape and bore witness to the unsettling aftereffects which plague their adult lives. The relief from tension occasionally offered by late nineties nostalgia was welcomed, to the point of me wanting to throw on a checked shirt and put my dancing skills to the test with a bit of 5, 6, 7, 8 (if you know, you know!). 

Grapevines aside, The Stolen Sisters is a top notch addition to the TBRs of any thriller lovers, my only disappointment being that now that I have finished reading it, I have to be patient in my wait for the next instalment of Louise's psychological thriller catalogue. 5 sparkling stars from me and I hope that you love it too!

Thank you to HQ Stories, Louise Jensen & Netgalley for the advanced reader copy.

I was really disappointed with this book, i enjoyed the "then" part but founf the "now" characters hard to warm to and very frustrating.

My first read by Louise Jenson and it certainly won't be my last- I really enjoyed every moment of this dark  twisted thriller. It is deeply full of gripping lies, traumas, family anguish and many unexpected twists and turns. A real tale of how childhood events and trauma never leave you and how guilt can consume you. Would very much recommend to anyone who enjoys a pacy psychological thriller - would give it a 4.5 stars if I could!