A very good thriller which kept me hooked. Imagine you are left to look after your sisters child but during the night someone let’s themselves into the house and takes her. As the finger Of suspicion points to you and your own sister starts to doubt you, it’s a race against time to find the Truth and why does it appear that everyone is lying about their whereabouts?

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review this book.  This book opens up the story of every parents worst nightmare,  when your child goes missing. Young couple Amber and George are exhausted from caring for 7 month old Mabel. When they both get an opportunity for a break away they grab the chance and leave Amber's sister Ruby babysitting.  Little do they k ow that in the local park someone is watching their every move and that someone wants to destroy their little family. I enjoyed this book, as it kept me guessing.  Lots of twists to keep the reader interesting.  Not very likeable characters though

Here’s another book that I am left with mixed feelings over. 
On the one hand, I liked the plot. I thought the writing was good. There were twists and some unexpected revelations. It definitely kept me guessing right up until the very end. 
On the other hand, I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likeable. Therefore, I wasn’t sympathetic to anything that any of them were going through. 
Except Mabel. She was an innocent in all of this. God help her that she had a bunch of nuts around her.
In a strange way, I think that not liking Amber (particularly) actually made the story interesting for me. Usually a reader will root for something good to happen to the main character. In my case, I was hoping that she would get what she deserved.
Misplaced frustration and anger on my part, and Amber was an easy target? Maybe. It’s easier to dislike a fictional character. But she was dishonest and seemed to think she was better than other people, even as she thought the same thing about her “friend” group. 
It was obvious that she was hiding secrets, but still acted as if she was the victim. I suppose in a way she was, but she also wasn’t forthcoming. I’m repeating myself, but she just annoyed me. 
I was a little sympathetic to Ruby. It seemed like she had a little bit of self-fulfilling prophecy about her; she was flighty, so people underestimated her. But then she second-guessed herself because of their beliefs that she started to believe. She was a mess as well, but I understood her better. 
The male characters were practically non-entities. It’s hard to say exactly why without giving away plot points. Which makes it difficult, because they honestly didn’t seem like they were there for much other than plot points. 
And I wasn’t a fan of how a few characters showed up late in the book in pivotal points where there was barely a mention of them earlier in the story. 
I think that is my biggest pet peeve. I would have liked to have seen more character development of a particular couple (not giving anything away, but people who have read the book will know who I mean)
In re-reading this, it seems as if I didn’t like the book, which isn’t true. I did like it. As I mentioned, it did keep me guessing and there were at least two “oh, no way!” moments that I commend the author on – well-plotted. But my dislike of the characters, and rooting against them left me confused. 
I’d still recommend the book, if only for the overall arc. The author writes on a tightrope; there were chapters where great pains were taken to give information without spilling secrets. Those are worth reading alone.

If you love a story where you just can’t figure out who the bad guy is, then this is the book. There are so many twists and turns. Every time I thought I’d got it worked out a new clue was added to the mix.  So who actually took Mabel?? 
An absolutely addictive book that will keep you turning the pages to the very end. 
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the free copy for my honest review.*

Amber and George are new parents to Mabel and seem to now have everything they have ever wanted, but Amber is struggling silently with post partum depression. Ruby, Amber's sister, is insisting that she watch Mabel and Amber and George take a night away. But no one realizes that someone has  been watching Amber and Mabel. And then Mabel disappears under Ruby's watch.

This book had my attention from the start, which doesn't happen often. The story was intriguing and the misdirection throughout was fantastic! The characters were likeable at times, but I also felt like the pain of the situation was a bit of karma in the end. I did end up feeling quite bad for Ruby for the situation but also for how the family treated her after the abduction.

The pacing of the story and the misdirections and twists kept this novel new and very interesting and I can't wait to read more of Jess Ryder's novels!

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for letting me read this book prior to its publication. My opinion is 100% honest, unbiased, and my own. 

I really liked the premise for this story, and it turned out to be quite a surprising read. I truly enjoyed it, and the only reason why I don't give it 5 stars is because I found some things too predictable. And sometimes it felt more like a domestic drama than a thriller, but I didn't mind that because the story is really good.

The writing was great and the slow buildup of events until the final revelations was done in a superb way. I was guessing and double guessing all the time, and that's something that I love to do when I'm reading a good thriller novel. The characters were realistic enough as to make you think they could be your next-door neighbors. Likeable characters, characters that you dislike, even characters that you can sympathise with. You can find all of that in this book. Just like in real life.

Reading this book has been quite a rollercoaster and I cannot recommend it enough.

This is the first book that I have read by Jess Ryder and I have to say I throughly enjoyed it.  It has just the right amount of twists and turns to make sure that  you are unable to put it down!  You have no choice but to keep reading to see what is going to happen next!  I will be looking for more of her books, you do not want to miss this one! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a. Brilliant and tense psychological thriller that kept me on tenter hooks throughout. Once I had started reading I couldnt put it down. It was absolutely gripping and made you hold your breathe at times when Mabel has been discovered missing. It had lots of twists and turns which kept the reader guessing. This was my first book by this author and won't be my last.

"She has no idea that I'm in the park opposite, hiding in plain sight amongst the joggers and dog-walkers, the pram-pushers and duck-feeders. Watching."

It was one night away just for her. A night to refresh and replenish herself from the stress and strain of new motherhood. But when her baby daughter Mabel is snatched from her cot while the babysitter sleeps, every parent's nightmare becomes a reality for Amber. 

This book jumps straight into the action as someone watches Amber, judging her parenting and calling her daughter 'my little precious'. There is an immediate air of intrigue and foreboding that fills you with heart-stopping tension as you read helplessly as the mysterious person waits for their chance to strike. The author keeps up that knife-edge tension even after the abduction as we then try to figure out who took Mabel and why. 

"Amber has never felt so lonely. She's standing on an island, surrounded by a treacherous sea of secrets. Nobody can reach her." 

But this cleverly written book isn't as easy to predict as it first seems. I was confident that I had this figured out early on, only for the author to throw me for a loop with a surprising reveal. But that was ok, I had it with my second guess. I knew the culprit this time. Wrong! With another shocking reveal she pulled the rug from under me. I was left totally clueless and scrambling to figure it out. I loved this as it put me in the same position as Amber, who has no idea who could be behind her daughter's abduction. It is also clear that Amber is keeping some secrets that she's terrified of being revealed. Could these secrets hold the key to her daughter's abduction? 

This was my first book by this author and I loved not only the intelligence and tension in her writing, but the emotion too. You feel the raw fear, heartache, anger and desperation radiating from the characters at each turn. I liked that every character was flawed and that they each had something that made you feel for them, even the abductor. 

The Night Away is a compelling and twisty thriller that had me hooked from beginning to end. My only complaint is that the ending felt a little anticlimactic after the high tension of the rest of the book.

Amber & George are like many first time parents. Exhausted, stressed, trying to find time for each other, all while tending to the needs of their 7 month old daughter Mabel. 

One night they leave Mabel in the care of Amber’s sister, Ruby. Ruby doesn’t realize that while she is with Mabel at the park, someone is watching their every move.  Then one night Mabel goes missing; stolen in the middle of the night from her crib. 

As they try to find Mabel, Amber and George are faced with the lies they’ve each been living with. We all live with secrets, but now theirs were being uncovered. 

There were a couple plot twists I wasn’t anticipating but overall I didn’t feel like this was the ‘page turner’ I thought it would be. 

Still, as a mom with three daughters I couldn’t shake the eerie feeling this book brought on of someone stalking a mom at the park playing with her little one.  So I guess the writer did her job pretty well in that aspect. 

Thanks to NetGalley & the publishers for the ARC.

This is a really good read. A story of a missing child, rivalries, blame, secrets and lies. Very well written, and easy to read. I look forward to reading more from this author. Highly recommended.

My Review:

Wow, what a bumpy, twisty ride that book was. I’ve read several of Jess Ryders books and this one tops the cake. She is such an amazing writer and I will continue to read all the books she writes. This was a stand alone book and not part of a series. 

This book was about a baby that was taken and trying to find her. Is that all you ask? No, of course not. It really was about secrets and lots of them in order to find the missing child.  Do these secrets stay hidden? No, they do not. Does any secret really stay hidden? They all come to the surface eventually? 

I want to start by saying how much I enjoyed this book. I loved how the author wrote every character with a secret and when all the secrets came out they were big and juicy. It was like opening up a can that was just shaken and having it spill all over you but in a good way. Let’s talk about that storyline. Who doesn’t like a story involving a missing child? Missing children are very interesting to since they usually don’t run off by themself. They are taken by someone and you have to try and find them quickly or they might disappear forever. My favorite part of this book was the ending. It had so many twists and turns. I never knew what direction i was going in. That’s what makes a great book to me. If the ending shocks me then that book is a winner in my eyes. This is exactly how I felt about this book. 

Between the plot, characters and all the twists in this book it made it an easy and fast read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 5 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received an ARC copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for my honest opinion of it. Amber is suffering from post partum depression and decides that she needs some time away with her husband, George. Her sister, Ruby, takes care of Mabel overnight and everything seems to be fine. Amber then decides to go away for a weekend again and this time when Ruby takes care of the baby, she wakes up to an empty crib. Who took the baby and how did Ruby sleep through it? I really enjoyed the book until the end. I felt like it could have a stronger and more surprising ending. Just okay for me.

This emotionally charged thriller is the story of Amber and Ruby, two sister's who find themselves caught up in a living nightmare after Amber's seven month old daughter Mabel is abducted from her cot in the early hours of the morning whilst in Ruby's care. Because Ruby was the only person in the house and there are no signs of a forced entry, she and her boyfriend Lewis find themselves under suspicion and their innocence being questioned by the police, the media, the faceless trolls on social media, Amber's husband George, even Ruby and Amber's mother believes that they know what happened to baby Mabel. I know what it's like to be the black sheep of the family, the one who, no matter how hard you try, can never seem to do anything right, so I felt a lot of empathy for poor Ruby.Her situation wasn't helped by the fact that she appeared to be a bit of a scatter brain but was she? Could that have all been just a act and she really was involved in Mabel's disappearance? The sister's didn't have a close relationship, was she jealous of Amber, the favourite sister with her handsome husband, adorable baby and group of mummy friends? 

Amber appeared to be living a charmed life but in reality she was struggling to cope, she had always wanted a baby but had discovered that being a parent is hard work and that the reality is nothing like the happy, smiling babies that we see on television and in magazines.Amber was also harbouring a secret, something that could blow her seemingly perfect life apart, something that she knows is bound to be revealed once the police start digging into her life. As a parent myself, I felt a lot of empathy for Amber because she was the mother of a missing baby but at times, I didn't think that she was a very likeable character. I didn't like George or Lewis very much either. I really liked Sally, the family liaison officer who was assigned to Amber and George. 

Interspersed throughout the story was chapters that were voiced from the perspective of the person who had abducted Mabel. This person obviously had some serious issues and there was times when I had serious concerns for Mabel's safety and well being. Who was this person and what was the motives behind the abduction? Sadly, many child abduction cases don't have a happy ending or are never solved, would Amber ever see her baby daughter again?

As reader's have learned to expect from Jess Ryder's thrillers this is a intricately plotted,very well written, gripping story that hooks the reader in from the first page and causes you to experience a wide range of emotions. Her characters are realistic and believable. The twists and turns of the story keep the reader guessing and glued to their kindle, captivated by the drama that is perfectly paced and utterly enthralling. I really love Jess Ryder's books and this one was no exception. A brilliant read and very very highly recommended.

New parents Amber and George take a night away from their daughter, Mabel to reconnect, leaving their daughter with Amber's sister.  Little does anyone know, but someone else is watching their family and spends time with Mabel that night.  One week later, Mabel is taken from inside their home, with no signs of forced entry and little clues as to who the kidnapper might be.  Can they find Mabel before it's too late? Or will the secrets everyone in this story is keeping prevent them from discovering the truth? 

This psychological thriller (swipe for synopsis) took me on an emotional ride! The characters Jess developed are deep and complex, and honestly for the most part, deeply unlikeable. You have Amber, the perfect older sister suffering from Post-Partum Depression (not what makes her unlikeable, promise) who is keeping secrets, George, the seemingly too-good-to-be-true husband, Amber's sister, the "perpetual screw-up" and a cast of other side characters. As you get to know them, the more unlikeable they become. The writing is quite good, a few times I thought I knew where things were going, only for us to be twisted away in a completely different direction.

I give this one three stars , but I do so with a caveat: I think I like thrillers and mysteries better when the characters are likeable or redeemable, or the stories are told through the lens of a police procedural, because you're rooting for the good guys to solve the mystery. This book is more in the vein of the Girl on the Train or Gone Girl, which is just maybe too emotionally taxing for me at this moment. I think for someone where that isn't an hang-up, the excellent depth of writing and character development could ratchet this up to a four or five-star read, easily!

The Night Away by Jess Ryder is an edge of your seat psychological thriller.  Baby Mabel is kidnapped from her own home while being babysat by her aunt.  The characters are all well developed but not very likable due to their personal flaws. I kept guessing throughout who was responsible for what.  This was a great book!

I was fortunate to receive a copy of this ARC from NetGalley.

This book is brilliant! Dealing with the incredibly difficult situation of a missing child. How did she get out of a locked house and who would want to take her? This book definitely had echoes of the Madeleine McCann case, particularly with how the media portrayed it.

The multiple infidelities later in the book took me by surprise, probably because I was so focused on who had baby Amber! 
I thought I had it sussed but I was wrong.

My favourite quote:
"I soon had motherhood down to a fine art. Or was that a dark art?"

This is a real page turner and will keep you guessing!

First Chapter grabs you and doesn't let go!!  A must read for all thriller fans!  You'll definitely read this book in one sitting!!

I give this a 3.5. Overall, I enjoyed this book, although there were a lot f very obvious red herrings and the end 
came out of nowhere.

The book opens with a chapter from the point of view of someone who is obviously stalking the main character, which is a really creepy (but good) opening. Amber and her husband "Gorgeous" George have been together since high school and have a young infant, Mabel. Amber--who has always been able to control everything--is struggling with postnatal depression. Her younger sister, Ruby, offers to babysit for the first time to give the couple a night away, and Amber reluctantly agrees. The first night goes (relatively) smoothly, so Ruby comes back for a repeat performance the next weekend. Unfortunately, the baby is taken from her crib while Ruby sleeps, and while the reader knows what is going on in the mind of the stalker because of a handful of chapters, we don't actually know who the kidnapper is.

Postnatal depression seems to be an overused trope in many thrillers nowadays, but this one does not base the entire book around it, which is a welcome change. Amber and Ruby were both relatable in some degree, but with how overwhelming it can be to be responsible for an infant (as both a mother and a babysitter) and with their struggle with their life choices more generally. 

The men in this book were mostly throwaways, and all of their personalities were wanting. I don't know why any of the women in this book wanted relationships with any of the men since they were all pretty useless excuses for humans. The book was really about the dynamic between the sisters, with the stalker/kidnapper's alternative reality adding some suspense.

I didn't mind the ending -- although it did read like the author was running out of pages -- but I would have liked a final chapter from the kidnapper/stalker since we had gotten their impressions all the way through until then. It would have been better closure.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my opinon.

Amber and George have a seven month old baby and their life has changed. Amber seems to have postnatal depression and is constantly exhausted. They need some time alone to rebuild their sagging relationship. Amber's sister Ruby offers to stay with Mabel and George books them a luxury hotel with a Michelin restaurant. Amber feels uneasy leaving Mabel with Ruby and it seems she was justified. There is someone who has been watching Amber. Someone sees how desperately unhappy she is and how ungrateful she with her perfect life, perfect husband and perfect daughter. The baby should have been theirs, and she makes plans for her own happy family. Now, someone is watching Ruby. When Ruby forgets the key to the flat in the door, the watcher takes it and now has access to the flat. The next weekend, when Ruby again is staying with Mabel, she disappears. Who is to blame for her disappearance?

This is a suspenseful story. Who took Mabel? There are many suspects and I was sure I had it all figured out. The story is told with three POVs; Amber, Ruby and the kidnapper. We don't know who the kidnapper is, or why Mabel was taken until near the end of the story when it was revealed. I still wasn't completely sure of what was happening at that point, the story was that twisty. This is not just the story of a missing child, there are also secrets, guilt, family issues, and some mental health issues. Almost all of the characters were unlikable. I did like Amber and George at the beginning, but as I got to know them more, that changed. Ruby was likable. She had a lot of baggage, but loved Mabel and wanted to do what she could to help. Ruby's and Mabel's mother was not a very nice person. There is a reason why you are not supposed to have favourite children, and this woman takes it too far. This was an intriguing story that had me quickly flipping the pages to find out what was going to happen next. A well-written thriller with a different twist that certainly entertained. I recommend this one.