Three little girls missing. One family torn apart…

Twenty years ago the Sinclair sisters, or 'The Stolen Sisters' as they are now famously known, Carly, 13 and her 8 year old twin sisters, Leah and Marie, were abducted. What happened to them on that fateful day, and during the days that they were held captive, had an immeasurable effect on their future wellbeing, Marie blocks it out with drug and alcohol abuse, Leah suffers terribly with OCD and other issues which are threatening to destroy her marriage to George, and Carly has never forgiven herself for not keeping them safe whilst she was looking after them, but now the twenty year anniversary is looming and the revelations that are about to be exposed threaten to blow this family apart all over again, will they ever recover from their ordeal and live normal lives again?

This story switches between the two timelines and is told from the perspectives of all the sisters, with little snippets from George along the way. I felt great sympathy for all the sisters at one time or another and couldn't begin to imagine the hell they went through and were still experiencing all these years later. If you've read any of this author's work before you will know that she loves to hit you with a sucker punch of a twist in every book, and she doesn't disappoint again this time. The plot is so well constructed, the characters so authentic and mostly likeable, even with their flaws, making this a truly exceptional read and Jensen's best psychological thriller to date. If you love a read that's tense, intriguing and keeps you guessing till the end, then this one is for you. I loved it and can't wait for book seven!

I'd like to thank HQ and Netgalley for the approval. I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

This was an enjoyable & intriguing, twisty read. The story is told from a variety of viewpoints, mainly the sisters, 
Carly, Marie & Leah, as well as alternating between time - then and now. This sets the nerves at rest a little as it is the harrowing story of the kidnap of these three sisters, Carly the older sister & Marie & Leah, the twins, and the impact it has on all their lives. 

It took me a while to embed the different personalities/ traits of the girls but all became clearer as the story unfolded. From here the characters developed well making them distinct from each other. There were definitely characters to despise as well as some to draw your empathy. 

The settings were well described and visually very clear to me - I was there with them. 

The reader quickly finds out that the sisters are all suffering from their experiences, but in a variety of forms. The experience constantly nudging them, threatening to destroy any futures they may have. 

It became clear that fear destroys lives in many different ways and it was comforting to glimpse some inner strength coming forward when it was least expected. I don’t want to give any spoilers away but I will say the plot had me intrigued and the secrets gradually spilled out with a variety of consequences and a fair share of blind alleys. 

This was a well written, easy to read book. The second half gathered pace and held me reading solidly for several hours. 
I was cleverly led up blind alleys, and suspecting people left right and centre.

Another five star winner from Ms Jensen, full of twists and turns and guilty secrets. I was relieved to know from the start that the sisters were physically unharmed and felt that their mental health issues were dealt with thoughtfully and with sympathy
Thank you to netgalley and HQ for an advance copy of this book.

This is a great family drama with a chilling undertone. 
Carly, Leah and Marie are sisters who were all abducted when they were younger. 
Now they are adults they’re all dealing with the past in different ways. 
It’s coming up to the twenty year anniversary of their abduction and things are happening around them that’s causing Leah to become very anxious.
Marie has disappeared and Leah is trying to find her but there’s no sign of her. 
The story comes to a nail biting conclusion and the truth about the past finally comes out. 
This is a gripping read that I really enjoyed. 
Thanks to HQ and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Really good twisty turny book. 

Very creepy and shocking.

Louise Jensen is a very talented writer.

Highly recommended read

When we start The Stolen Sisters we know that twenty-years on from a dreadful event they are all healthy adults. Well, they're healthy in the physical sense, but Carly has trust issues, Leah has OCD and Marie drinks. They're the Sinclair sisters and one day they were all stolen. Carly was thirteen-years-old and she was in charge of her sisters, the eight-year-old twins. Much as she loved them Carly was desperate to get a text from Dean Malden and her mobile phone held her attention. Leah and Marie were nattering about a lost ball and a fleece which had been left outside. The gate wasn't shut properly and Bruno, their boxer dog, escaped. As the three girls went to chase after him they were snatched by two men.

It was terrifying. The girls were bundled into a van, with Carly losing a tooth in the process and finally they were off-loaded at a disused army barracks and shut in a room with no toilet facilities and only one stained mattress. The story switches between then - twenty-years ago - and now, with the press insistent that they want a story for the twentieth anniversary of the crime. The money on offer is good and it would help each of the women but only Marie is keen. Carly and Leah would feel sullied by talking about what happened.

Marie wants them to tell the truth but what is the truth? Perhaps the girls don't know either. Leah's OCD is getting worse and her husband, George Morgan is becoming increasingly worried about her and (if he dares to admit it to himself) frustrated at the extreme cleaning which Leah undertakes and the extent of the protection she gives to their son, Archie. But then, why wouldn't she? She knows that bad things don't just happen to someone else and - worst of all - the man who organised the abduction is about to be released from prison. Leah suffers from Fregoli syndrome - a rare neuro disorder which means that she believes that different people are her abductor in disguise. Even the police are getting rather tired of what's happening.

Louise Jensen has a real talent for creating atmosphere - as I read I had a constant feeling of uneasiness and it was simple to understand how the women felt. It might be twenty-years since the abduction but the effects are very real and present in their daily lives. The plot is clever but I found that events were trailed just a little too heavily for my taste and on all but one occasion I guessed what was going to happen - but that exception was a stonker which left my mouth hanging open.

The characterisation is good: Jensen captures (if you'll forgive the verb) the damaged women perfectly and sometimes it's difficult not to become frustrated with their limitations as you read. I'm sure that's down to my lack of empathy.

I enjoyed the book and I'd like to thank the publishers for allowing Bookbag to have a review copy.

Leah's perfect marriage wasn't what it seems. Marie drinks to help her forget. Carly has never forgiven herself for not keeping them safe. 

Twenty years ago these three sisters were taken. It would have brought them closer together, but howcan a family,y ever recover?

Carly, Leah and Marie had been bundled into a van twenty years ago by two masked men. The story starts as the twentieth anniversary of the abduction approaches. The women all have troubled lives. The story unfolds in the then and now format and narrated from the three womens perspectives. Something happened twenty years ago that drove a wedge through the sisters.  It eventually became clear that one of the sisters had .Iied about what had actually happened. The tension builds almost from the first page. It's well written, and gripping  read. It's thrilling, emotional and full of twists. Another great read by the author. 

I would like to thank #NetGalley, #HQ and all the author #LouiseJenson  for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another great psychological thriller from a brilliant author. It will keep you hooked right from the start.

What a cracker of a book, I loved it.

I raced through this so quickly that I had to go back to reread chunks.

Loads of drama and intrigue, a true master of the psychological thriller.

It was a rollercoaster of a ride that kept me guessing until the very end.

A well deserved 5 stars (would give more if I could), highly recommended.

A stunning read - touching on things I've never really considered before!

The Sinclair Sisters were lifted off the street twenty years ago, but they're still dealing with the trauma. Leah is married with a child; a perfect marriage from the outside look in but plenty different from the inside looking out. Marie has issues with alcohol, overindulging to help her forget and Carly just can't forgive herself for not protecting her two younger siblings better. They need to move on, but how can they when not everyone is being honest?

Wow. This is a very different psychological thriller. I love that, from the very beginning, we know that the girls survived their ordeal - at least physically. I don't tend to read missing children books as I find them just too difficult to digest, but this one is both well-planned and addictive. I can't begin to imagine the intricacies of the author's mind to write a novel such as this, keeping the readers hooked from first to last. It has great characters and a gripping story line but I did lose focus once or twice once or twice as it wasn't moving quickly enough for me. Still a novel I would recommend though, and I'm happy to give it 4.5*.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

Well this book certainly has a little bit of everything - tension, suspense, mystery, emotion ... Louise Jensen hasn't held back. This is the story of three sisters who go through unimaginable trauma as children and the impact that is has upon them as adults. We join the sisters, eldest child Carly and twins, Leah and Marie, as they are approaching the twentieth anniversary of the day on which they were abducted for reasons, at the time, that were not clear. Their parents were relatively successful, so was it a ransom demand or with it being three young girls were the intentions far more sinister? Whatever the cause, the memory of those awful days have been etched in the girls memories and now they are all struggling in their own ways with coming to terms and coping with what happened, especially when they hear that the person behind it all is about to be released from prison.

The story is told in two halves really, the past and the present. In the present day we follow events from the point of view of Leah, the only one of the three who has been able to forge her own family, albeit very tentative as her own fears often come to the fore when she is under stress, none more so than right now with the anniversary always on her mind. All three women have deep psychological scars after what happened that no amount of counselling seems able to quash. Leah's plays out as OCD and a deep seated fear of germs for reasons that will become apparent to readers , Marie loses herself in addiction and Carly has a fear of letting anyone close as she is scared they will get hurt because of her. The three could not be more different, even the twins, but I found myself developing a deep sympathy for each of them as Louise Jensen has done a brilliant job of making each reaction feel authentic, manipulating emotions and letting readers see and feel the fear that still resides within them, especially Leah who has the most to lose ovf everyone.

When we are taken back to the past it is largely from Carly's point of view. As the oldest sister she is in charge, she is the one who tries to keep them all calm and to find a way for them to escape, in spite of the fact she is barely more than a child herself. We learn much more of the family dynamic in these scenes, and it was fascinating see how the author portrays the conflict between Carly's determination to keep everyone safe, but also watching her spirit slowly break. The tension is high in these scenes, readers never knowing what might happen or what kind of danger the girls are really in from the men who took them. There are some real edge of the seat moments, scenes that will have you holding your breath in anticipation, and keep you turning page after page even though you know, to a degree, the girls emerge from their captors safely.

Setting is key in this book and although the present day action takes place largely around Leah's home and work, there is still areal sense of dread attached as it was from home that the girls were taken, plus Leah's safe space is being sullied by someone who is leaving threatening letters in the run up to the anniversary. But the place to which the three are taken as children, a disused military base, is creepy and eerie, and so rich in atmosphere that it really adds to the creeping tension of the novel.

The story is jam packed full of mystery and suspense, clues as to what really happened slowly drip fed in to the story through the present day conversations and the gradual reveal of events from the past. There are so many secrets in play, so many lies, that it is hard to know who to trust. As the story reaches its very dramatic climax, you can almost feel a sense of peace descend over the main characters, as well as a feeling of melancholy for all that was lost as a result of a cruel twist of fate all those years before. Because the truth is shocking and very, very cruel and yet somehow believable. But it is the gift of the author to leave readers with a final sense of hope, something that Louise Jensen delivers on with aplomb. If you love her writing, you will love this as it is another brilliant story that will both thrill and haunt you after you turn that final page. Definitely recommended.

Childhood experiences affect adult lives.

Oh my word! I so enjoyed The Stolen Sisters. It's an absolute corker of a read that I simply couldn't tear myself away from.

At the beginning I wasn't sure I'd appreciate a narrative that had three sister perspectives as well as George's because I often find I need to concentrate too hard to follow multiple voices. However, such is the skill of Louise Jensen's writing that I had no difficulty in not just following, but relishing immensely, the interweaving narratives. Indeed, I thought Louise Jensen's plotting in The Stolen Sisters was magnificent. It's a real masterclass for all aspiring thriller writers and thoroughly exciting for readers. The then and now structure, and the different character perspectives, all add up to a roller-coaster read that I found completely mesmerising. With some chapters only a few lines long, the pace is dramatic and I lost count of the number of times my reader expectations were inverted or confounded so that I found myself exclaiming aloud. Frequently my heart was thumping as the tension mounted. Each chapter ends dramatically so that I had no autonomy over my responses. I simply had to read on.

The Sinclair sisters are clear and distinct characters in spite of Leah and Marie being twins. I thought the way their shared experience affected then differently was utterly brilliant and the manner in which Louise Jensen uncovers the reasons for their differences is genius. I can't explain more because that would be to give plot spoilers but I would say that readers should be prepared to be jolted out of their beliefs as they read.

Aside from a being a brilliant, fast paced thriller, The Stolen Sisters is a humane and sensitive insight into families, relationships, guilt, mental health, love and fear so that it is a multi-layered and wonderfully textured read. Louise Jensen presents both the prosaic and the unusual in tandem, and weaves a narrative that is compelling, affecting and riveting. There are elements that readers will recognise as well as aspects they may never have heard of before. Again, I don't want to explain too much as it will spoil the read, but I felt I understood Carly, Leah, Marie and George perfectly by the end.

I realise that this review of The Stolen Sisters is somewhat inadequate and vague, but I really don't want to undermine any other readers' enjoyment and entertainment by saying too much. For me the novel was the perfect blend of threat, emotion, resolution and understanding. Louise Jensen is fast becoming one of my favourite writers because not only does she produce fiction with immense skill, she does so with heart and soul too. I thought The Stolen Sisters was superb. I loved every moment of reading it and cannot recommend it highly enough.

Gritty thriller with lots of surprises. Three sisters kidnapped and manage to escape this story is mostly about how they coped/moved on with their lives in the present day as adults.Tricky and twisty.

This is the first Louise Jensen book I have read and it won’t be the last... I read this in 24 hours, I couldn’t put it down! 

Carly is the eldest at 13 with 8 year old twin sisters, she is responsible for them one evening when the garden gate is left open and the dog runs off.. the three sisters are grabbed, blindfolded and thrown in the back of a van.. the story follows the harrowing experience of their abduction and the aftermath into adulthood. Each sister is impacted in different ways and as the twenty year anniversary of their abduction looms emotions are heightened. 

There are numerous twists and turns throughout, this is a very good psychological thriller. I liked that way the book was written, alternating between past and present & it will have you guessing throughout on several elements, I thought I knew where it was going but I was so wrong! 

Just brilliant!

Wow. A really good story with loads of suspense and some totally unexpected twists. I sat open mouthed in a few places. 

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

The Stolen Sisters follows the story of what happened to the 3 sisters when they were kidnapped in the past and the present story of Leah and how she deals with the upcoming 20th anniversary of the kidnapping.

The book was written well but for most of the book/70% everything was really predictable. I did not like the way the book was structured, when something happened – there was no build up of mystery as the next chapter just revealed the answer which I found disappointing as I felt like some reveals could have been told in a different way. This was mainly because of how the book is told – it alternates between the present and the past which have events that make the story flow but there is also the perspective of Leah’s husband, I personally did not find it relevant and thought it would have been better if the book was told just from Leah’s perspective in the present – it would have meant there was more mystery in the book. The plot was predictable, the events and how the character’s personalities and actions were very typical of adult mystery books and even the red herrings reveals but I always read on because the reveals/twists near the end of the book are mainly unique and can make up for the boring plotline – the reveals are either good and work for the book or there just for the shock factor and make no sense.

The reveals in this book were really good, it fit the book really well and I liked the direction the book took however I did not like how the reaction to the reveal was handled. The reveal was surprising and then how a certain character reacted was very cliché and ruined the reveal for me. The book then adds more perspectives in the present which I felt was unnecessary and again – it did not let any sense of thriller/suspense in the book.


I did think that the sisters and how they dealt with what happened to them was written well and I also liked reading the chapters that were set in the past on what happened to them and how they survived. I did like the focus on sisterhood as a general in the book too.

2/5

She's done it again!!! @fabricating_fiction

This is my 6th out of 6 Louise Jensen books and once again I'm not disappointed!!

Absolutely loved the terror, creepiness, and twisty turny character development. 

I lost count of how many times I simply thought 'what a mess!' 

Louise examines how life events, trauma, lies and betrayal can rip through not only individuals but families, with devastating consequences. She writes about how desperate times can push people into taking desperate measures and once again she explores real-life medical conditions with sensitivity whilst interweaving them into a thrilling plot.

I wasn't sure who to trust in this story and who to blame but I'm glad that the loyalty I have too one character was rewarded in the end.

I’d like to thank HQ and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Stolen Sisters’ by Louise Jensen in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Carly is thirteen and her parents thinks she’s old enough to look after her two sisters, eight-year-old twins Leah and Marie, while they’re out.  Two men in balaclavas abduct all three girls and what happens thereafter will affect their lives for ever.  Twenty years later Leah is married to George and has a young son Archie, Marie is an actress and Carly has never forgiven herself for not keeping them all safe.  The anniversary of their abduction is fast approaching, can they get through it without it tearing them apart?

‘The Stolen Sisters’ is a gripping psychological thriller about three sisters one of whom is keeping a secret.  The plot is tense and dramatic and moves effortlessly between what happened twenty years ago to the present time, it’s both exciting and convincing with twists and turns, interesting characters, and an ending that comes as a huge surprise.  This is a compelling novel that I have no hesitation in recommending.

The Stolen Sisters is the intense new thriller by Louise Jensen. I’m a huge fan of Louise Jensen’s work, and she never disappoints! 

Twenty years ago, three sisters disappeared. Their story hits all the major newspapers, news outlets in the UK and abroad. What they went through was horrific, but they survived. In the twenty years that have followed, they have struggled to move on. It particularly affects the eldest sister, Carly. She is haunted by the fact that she failed to keep her younger sisters safe that day. Now, Leah also has her own child to worry about. But with the person responsible for their kidnapping now set to be released, it adds new stress into her life. Leah is terrified that he will come after them. When she begins to receive letters, counting down to the anniversary of their disappearance, she knows her fears are very real.

Louise Jensen keeps the tension turning up a notch with each new chapter. Leah’s fears come through very strongly in Louise’s writing; it’s not just her own safety she is worried about now; it is also her son’s. This causes extreme levels of anxiety for Leah, and we begin to see the relationship she has with her husband fracture. He simply doesn’t know what to do or how best to look after his wife. But I struggled to reason with him on this point. He knows his wife has gone through a terrible ordeal, yet he can’t seem to understand why it is affecting her still, all these years later. 

Louise Jensen also takes us back in time to the moment when the girls were taken. Louise describes the horror of their ordeal, yet she still also keeps parts of it cloaked in mystery. As each new anniversary of their kidnapping arrives, they are faced with renewed interest from the press. A few years ago, they even released a book about the case. But now, on the twentieth anniversary, the press want a different angle. But Leah is less than keen to take part in a new round of interviews. She feels that she is being pressured to do so by her sisters. This did make me think about what new details the press hope to learn from the girls. 

Louise does a good job of keeping up the tension throughout the book, especially in the chapters when the girls are being held captive. We know that they are somehow going to escape, but I wanted to know how they were going to make this happen. I found that I was holding my breath as I was reading some of these scenes, and I had to know what was going to happen next. 

It’s the twists which come later in the book that make it so dark and twisted. I couldn’t believe what I was reading, as Louise revealed her secrets. 

If you’re a fan of Louise Jensen’s work, you’re in for a treat, and if you haven’t read any of her novels before, then you really need to. I thoroughly enjoyed The Stolen Sisters. I will now be patiently waiting for Louise to release her next book.

WOW! What a heart-racing thriller! 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Although at first, I did find it difficult to get into. Having just read a very similar book with an almost identical plot I became disheartened. However, with the realisation that this book was going to have a lot more progression and in-depth description I soldiered on. Due to the two-timeline perspective you quickly understand that their abduction is not the ‘end’ as they’re fine…. Right? It really was the definition of a psychological thriller, and the elements of horror were surprising!
The writing style and the overall set-up of the novel makes it extremely easy to read. Perfect short chapters with multi-character point of view was amazing (especially when you want to just read one or two whilst eating lunch!). Jensen really excels in setting the scene to the point you could almost touch and smell each location. At some points I did have to (reluctantly) put the book down and grab a cup of tea to settle my nerves and remind myself it wasn’t real. In today’s society mental health is a prevalent subject, however Jensen’s attention to detail went beyond just ‘mental health’, without revealing too much you learn through the different characters point of view exactly how the events have effected them, but also how their actions have effected the lives of others – something which I believe isn’t often touched upon. 

Extremely well researched and fascinating! Many thanks to NetGalley, HQ Stories and Louise Jensen for this ARC!