Cover Image: The Night Away

The Night Away

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Member Reviews

This is a great read that had me hooked from the first few pages.
Amber and George have been struggling since the birth of their daughter, Mabel, so Amber’s sister, Ruby offers to look after her while they have some time alone.
They go away for a night and come back and everything is fine, but Ruby can’t find the door key. We know it’s been taken by the person who has their eyes on Mabel but Ruby and Amber are clueless.
Amber decides on a weekend away a few weeks later, but then receives a frantic call from Ruby to say Mabel has been taken.
The story is told from three perspectives - Amber, Ruby and the person who takes Mabel.
The connection to Amber and the reason for taking Mabel seemed a bit weak but who knows what goes through people’s minds. Also, the conclusion felt a bit abrupt and we don’t really know if the person got away with it.
A great read nevertheless.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

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Wow what a book!

I absolutely loved The Night Away by Jess Ryder. From the first page it had me hooked and it kept me that way until the end. There were so many twists, turns and skeletons in the closet that I had no way of knowing how it was going to end.
I found all the characters interesting and I liked them all especially the sisters Amber and Ruby.

I have never read anything by Jess Ryder before but I will definitely be reading her books in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my ARC.

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This was my first read by this author and I was completely pulled in and intrigued by the cover and the title.

It tells the story of Amber, George and their much loved and long awaited daughter, Mabel. Despite her unconditional love, Amber is finding motherhood tough and lonely, and is feeling that George is slipping away from her…

So when her sister offers to babysit for one night so that the couple can rest and reconnect, Amber is reluctant but eventually decides what could possibly go wrong? Ruby is forgetful and a little disorganised, but she is also her sister and loves baby Mabel as if she were her own, so it will all be fine, right?

Wrong! There is a complete unravelling of events and lots of twists, turns and surprises. I was kept hooked on this one as the writer used different perspectives and time frames to slowly reveal to the reader what had happened to baby Mabel.

I loved how she used a variety of narrative voices so that we could hear from a distinct set of characters, sometimes without revealing who those characters were.

There were some bits where I was sat thinking “That seems to be a bit odd to be true”, so I was glad when the ending revealed I was right to be suspicious! The ending was original, climactic and well written.

This was an original take on the well trodden psychological thriller plot of a missing child and one I highly recommend to fans of this genre.

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3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Since the birth of baby Mabel seven months ago, Amber and George have been desperate for a night away. Mabel is all that Amber ever wanted but she can't deny that at times she struggles. George books them into a luxury hotel and Amber's sister, Ruby is babysitting. But someone has been watching and taking notes, someone who is desperate for a child of their own.

Who took Mabel? I was desperate to find out. But the pace was slow and the plotline was a bit predictable. All the characters were a little annoying, unlikeable and they are all hiding secrets. I also heard the ending was a bit far fetched. The story is told from multiple points of view. The only person I liked and felt sorry for was Ruby.

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

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Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

The story centres around couple Amber, George, and their daughter Mabel. Amber is struggling with motherhood and has postnatal depression. George books him and Amber a night away and Amber’s sister Ruby agrees to babysit for the night. The following weekend George has to work away, and Amber decides to also go away as she can’t face looking after Mabel herself without George being there. Again, ruby agrees to babysit. Except this time Mabel gets abducted in the middle of the night while Mabel and Ruby are asleep. A police search begins and people come under suspicion, but Ruby and her boyfriend Lewis are the main suspects. As the story unfolds we learn that everyone has secrets and motives. We read the story from the perspectives of the two sisters and the abductor, which I really enjoyed.

This is the first book I’ve read from this author, and will not be the last. The storyline was great, and it was eye opening to see an element of how social media can hinder a police investigation as much as help it. The writing was good, and flowed really nicely. There was always something happening. And when I thought I knew who it was, I was completely wrong. A real page turner, and highly recommend for fans of the domestic thriller genre.

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As a Mom I can relate to how it feel the first night you decide to leave your baby away with someone. I loved this book from the very beginning.

Told in three perspectives - Amber, Ruby and the stalker - THE NIGHT AWAY, which was actually two nights away on separate weekends, is a well written tale that will have you hooked from the very first page. There are so many secrets within the story keeping it a page-turner from beginning to end. I was encapsulated by the stalker and who they may have been, as well as Amber and Ruby's tangled lives. There were several twists, some of which I didn't see coming. But I picked up on a little tidbit dropped to the reader in passing and I snagged on that little morsel till an idea began to evolve.

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This was my first book by Jess Ryder and it was a real page turner. Thank you Netgalley.

Amber and 'gorgeous' George. The perfect couple who have completed their family with the adorable Mabel. Now seven months old Mabel is proving more of a challenge then they were ready for. In need of a break Amber's sister Ruby is left to babysit with unimaginable consequences. Unaware that someone has been following their every move a chance mistake means Mabel is taken in the dead of night.

Will she ever be seen again? Will she found dead or alive? And just how much have the secrets that Amber and George are hiding contributed to her disappearance?

A real page turner with fantastic twists had me guessing until the end. A fabulous 5 star recommendation.

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In some families children have their place: The Responsible One and The Flighty One. Here we have such a family alongside the partners, parents and a child who goes missing while the irresponsible one was in charge of her care. The thing is, there are lots of secrets that each are desperately trying to hide. While the police work tirelessly to find the child, the secrets spill one by one. This is an interesting and engaging read - definitely recommend!

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★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)

I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Jess Ryder's addictive new domestic thriller THE NIGHT AWAY.

There have been quite a few missing child stories/thrillers in recent years and I admit to being a bit of a sucker for them. But this one is slightly different in that we know from the beginning what happens to baby Mabel...although not who is responsible or why. And that makes this thriller a little more enticing.

Someone is watching Amber. Someone watches her every move...her routine, her habits, her flat. Someone sees how desperately unhappy she is and curses her for being so ungrateful for her perfect life, her perfect husband and her perfect baby...the baby that should have been someone else's. Not Amber's. And one night when Amber isn't watching, her whole world is going to fall apart.

New mum Amber should be ecstatic. After months of trying to conceive unsuccessfully, she fell pregnant and both her and hubby George were over the moon. Throughout her pregnancy she glowed and couldn't wait to meet her precious longed-for bundle of joy. And then baby Mabel arrived...and since then, Amber has felt nothing but the crushing and overwhelming sense of guilt and unhappiness. She wanted Mabel so much and now she is paying the price by twenty four non-stop hours of trying to deal with her incessant crying and demands of her time. She should be happy...she knows she should be. She wanted Mabel so much...but was it too much?

Amber's younger sister Ruby can see her sister is struggling so suggests a week away from it all. A week? Too long. Five days then? Mabel would miss her. OK, so a weekend then. In the end, they decided on a night away. Just one night away. And Ruby would babysit. George took the opportunity to book a gorgeous and romantic getaway for them so they could spend some precious time reconnecting with each other.

But then one night while Ruby babysits Mabel, someone walks into the flat in the dead of night, creeps into the nursery where Mabel is sleeping...and takes her from her cot. And then the real drama begins. George instantly blames Ruby, for being inattentive and for letting Mabel disappear on her watch. Amber blames herself, for wanting Mabel too much and this is her punishment. Ruby blames herself...after all, she was supposed to be looking after Ruby...how could she not notice her disappear in the middle of the night?

But who was to blame really for Mabel's disappearance? Who took her? And why?

Told in three perspectives - Amber, Ruby and the stalker - THE NIGHT AWAY, which was actually two nights away on separate weekends, is a well written tale that will have you hooked from the very first page. There are so many secrets within the story keeping it a page-turner from beginning to end. I was encapsulated by the stalker and who they may have been, as well as Amber and Ruby's tangled lives. There were several twists, some of which I didn't see coming. But I picked up on a little tidbit dropped to the reader in passing and I snagged on that little morsel till an idea began to evolve.

I didn't much like Amber or George, nor Amber and Ruby's mother, but they were perfect for this role. I loved Ruby probably because I most identified with her. Not being a mother myself and thrust into the role of babysitter and finding the task a little more daunting than at first thought...lol I think I would have been left exhausted myself. The other minor characters were also a perfect addition to the story and worked well.

I especially loved this excerpt from the second chapter when Amber woke at 5am declaring she was not a morning person...

"She can hear him (daddy) singing to Mabel as he baths her...It's not Mabel's usual bath time, but she woke up with a full nappy, the contents of which had mysteriously spread up her back, and it was the easiest way to clean her up. Judging by the protests coming from the bathroom, her daughter isn't a morning person either."

I can so relate! There were a few laugh out loud moments in the book though mostly it was an edge of your seat thrill ride.

The ending was a bit anti-climatic as you anticipate the police bursting in ready to rescue Mabel and whisk her away back to her frantic parents. But overall, THE NIGHT AWAY is a well plotted addictive thriller that will keep you guessing until the big reveal.

Definitely recommended for lovers of domestic thrillers.

I would like to thank #JessRyder, #NetGalley, #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheNightAway in exchange for an honest review.

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The Night Away, by Jess Ryder is a thrilling and suspenseful story with an explosive ending! In The Night Away, Jess Ryder conveys emotions so acutely that she pulls you into the story and you LIVE every moment of it! Her depictions of the characters, events, experiences and emotions are mesmerizing! You don’t just read The Night Away - you FEEL it, and are drawn into the story as if you were living right alongside the characters! It is impossible not to get swept away with this riveting story of love, loss, fear and betrayal!

The character development is superb, and Jess Ryder makes it easy to love some of the characters...and love to hate some of the others. It is an emotional whirlwind with twists that you’ll never see coming! I felt so connected to the characters and enthralled by the plot that I was glued to the book and couldn’t put it down! I loved Jess Ryder’s writing style so much that I immediately searches for other books written by her as soon as I finished The Night Away. The emotional upheaval had me reaching for the Kleenex several times! I was hooked from the beginning until the end, and couldn’t stop thinking about it after I finished reading it! Although I was able to figure out who was guilty and it became slightly predictable at times, Ryder’s writing was so magical that I was under a spell that made me desperate to find out more. Captivating, enthralling, suspenseful, and thrilling, The Night Away is definitely a jaw-dropping book that will shock you to your core!

Amber is exhausted. Being a new mother to a challenging baby isn’t easy, and Mabel is certainly challenging! She refuses to admit that she’s suffering from postpartum depression and has shut herself off from the world. Desperately needing a brief break from reality and a chance to rekindle the romance with her husband George, Ruby offers to watch Mabel so they can have time to themselves. Ruby, Amber’s younger sister has never been the model of perfection that Amber always was, but George assures her that Ruby can handle Mabel for the short time they are away. Shortly after they return, George tells Amber that he has to be away for the weekend due to the demands of his job, and Amber immediately panics. She cannot even begin to imagine taking care of Mabel by herself all weekend! She immediately starts secretly making plans to see the one person who George has always forbidden her to see, and asks Ruby to babysit Mabel again for the weekend.

Amber has been living in such a fog of denial, secrets and guilt ever since Mabel was born that she never noticed someone had been following her and watching her every move. While George and Amber are away, Rudy spends the day taking care of Mabel and puts her to bed in her cot. The next morning Ruby wakes up in an empty house and Mabel is gone, with no signs of forced entry either. Amber and George rush home, and the investigation into Mabel’s disappearance reveals secrets that go well beyond the kidnapping. No one is prepared for the fallout and everyone has reasons to be considered a suspect.

Thank you Jess Ryder, Bookouture, and Netgalley for allowing me the privilege of reading The Night Away. My feedback is voluntary and expresses my honest review.

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I loved the suspense of this story. I was going back and forth in my head who took Mabel, and I was learning about new characters and their past with Amber.
I’m a bit disappointed with the ending of the story though. With all the evidence and work done by the police, I was really hoping that they’d put the pieces together and come barging in to catch the guilty party. I found the ending to be abrupt.

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I enjoyed this book and it really grabbed my interest from the start. It was full of secrets and lies and I didn’t really know who to believe. My only issue was that I didn’t really like any of the characters and found them so annoying and unbelievable in their behaviours!

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Great book , very well written hence the 4 stars . Only thing that let it down for me was the fact I guessed who’d done what . I’ve probably read too many psychological thrillers. I still love Jess Ryders books and will continue to read them in the future . I do recommend this book , well worth a read

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A baby abduction? Unlikeable characters? Secrets and mystery? Fast paced thriller? Check, check, check, and check! Amber suffers from postpartum and her baby is abducted. Accusations and secrets run rampant:.. who took baby Mabel? Everything does tidy itself up, however unbelievable, it certainly won’t be what you expect! Great book!

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This is the first book I’ve read by this author and it certainly did not disappoint.
A fast paced book about the abduction of a little baby that had me hooked from the start.
A few interesting characters in this book, although not many of them likeable but that didn’t affect my enjoyment.
The book had me in suspense until the end, however the ending was a bit far fetched in my opinion.....but that’s the beauty of fiction, right?
I will most definitely be reaching for this authors books again, a smashing little read.
Thank you to NetGalley, Jess Ryder and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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The Night Away by Jess Ryder
Mabel is Amber and George's seven-month-old daughter. Amber is suffering from postpartum depression, which is taking its toll on her and George's relationship. Hence, Ruby, Amber's sister, offers to babysit so the two of them can have some time away together, to instil some much-needed romance and balance back into their lives.
Ruby takes Mabel to the park, unnoticed by Ruby they are being stalked. The following weekend George has to go away on a business trip, and Amber decides at the last minute to go to a yoga retreat, again leaving Ruby to babysit. The next morning, Mabel is gone, taken from her cot, Kidnapped. DI Benedict and the team investigate.
The story is told through the voices of Amber, Ruby and the kidnapper. The plot has manipulation, deception, dark secrets, and unexpected twists and turns; a well written fast-paced psychological thriller.
A recommended read, Don't miss it.
I want to thank NetGalley, Bookouture and author Jess Ryder for a pre-publication copy to review.

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As a mother this made my heart stop! A great read, fast paced and suspenseful. The characters were well done and the story was unique and intriguing. This captured my attention from page one and held it till the very end. So many twists and turns. Will they ever get Mabel back? What will the cost be? And why was she taken? Read this book to find those answers. This one comes highly recommended!

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Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for the ARC, which I received in exchange for my honest review. The Night Away, has a great premise. A young mother is being observed by an obsessed individual and her 7 month old daughter is stolen when she has a night away. The book is fast-paced and compelling. A very quick read, I finished the book in just a few hours because I was desperate to find out what happened to baby Mabel.

Despite the intriguing storyline, most of the characters are absolutely unlikeable. Some readers may be able to overlook the personalties of the main characters and be satisfied with the many twists and turns the author deftly delivers. For me, the interesting plot points were simply not enough to overcome the reprehensible behavior of the characters.

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Clear your schedule because you are not going to be able to put this one down. This is a hard review to write because I don’t want to give anything away but…you will think you have it all figured out then something or someone changes and you go whirling on to the next twist and the next. This is a 5 Star domestic thriller!

Amber and George are discovering that life with a new baby can be grueling. Now that Mabel is 7 months old, Amber’s sister Ruby offers to babysit to give them a weekend away. George books a night at a 5 star hotel and spirits Amber, who is mired in postpartum depression, away for the night. Ruby, babysitting without her partner Lewis, is her usual disorganized self. She takes Mabel to the park but doesn’t notice that she is being watched. The next weekend George has a business trip and Amber makes a sudden decision to go on a yoga retreat. Ruby is again called to babysit. The next morning, Mabel is gone.

The story is told in three voices: Amber, Ruby and the stalker. They follow the police investigation, the intrusive press attention and their reactions as secrets they thought were hidden come to light. Amber and Ruby are very sympathetic characters and you feel the desperation as they try to help the police and avoid becoming suspects themselves. When you finally discover what happened and why, you’ll see how Jess Ryder skillfully dropped hints throughout the story. The Night Away is a chilling, satisfying read. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Jess Ryder for this ARC.

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Thank You Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC! This review is based completely on my honest opinion.

Amber is dealing with being a mother to Mabel and her sister, Ruby, suggests that Amber and George go away on a romantic getaway to spend time with each other. But then one night, while Ruby is babysitting Mabel, a kidnapper who had been stalking Mabel and Amber for a while kidnaps Mabel from the cot. Then the drama begins.

At first, I really like the story. The story was quiet a page turner and there were some unexpected twists and turns that kept the reader at the edge of the seat. The author did a good job of bringing the reader into the story, making the reader hooked into the story. This book was also a fast paced thriller which was a good thing and what I would expect from a good thriller. There were so many secrets that Amber seems to be hiding and as a reader you want to know what those secrets are. And the abductor? You would want to know why this abductor targeted Mabel. However, except for Ruby and Mabel, I didn't really like the characters much, particularly Amber's and Ruby's mother. I also like to see the strained sisterly relationship between Amber and Ruby.

Overall, this book is a gripping thriller where you simply cannot put down and will keep you up all night reading the book! Worth four stars!

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