Member Reviews

I’ll admit I hesitated after reading the synopsis about a missing child. I’m anxious enough these days….BUT it was written by Shalini Boland. I had to read it!

I think Boland’s success is that she writes about the plausible and because of this, readers become absorbed in the story. As is the case with all Boland’s books, readers spend most of their time ruminating about the potential villain and it makes them suspicious of every character. I love Boland’s voice and how she tells a story. It’s her trademark and followers of her writing come to expect it.

Boland explores the Nolan family in crisis and uses the stressful dynamic to showcase how characters react to stress and how blame initiates. With mounting pressures caused by family members, neighbours, friends, work and the press, readers see the different ways people respond when the unthinkable happens. Boland sheds light on the relationships and reveals how mistrust, misdirected motivation and the daughter vs. mother-in-law dynamic play out when forced to deal with the unimaginable. Boland’s denouement considers whether a broken family can be pieced together again once it’s torn apart by trauma. This was another spectacular domestic thriller by a trusted author. Keep it on your radar come April 22, 2021.

Many believe Boland tied up the ending too neatly. I think the opposite! I don’t believe the Nolans should take their eyes off their little girl just yet….

Thank you to Shalini Boland, Bookouture and NetGalley for the gifted advance copy. I was under no obligation to provide a review.

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Great opening chapter that didn’t let up. As the chapters progress we learn about family dynamics and distrust within the family. I love this element of doubt and was rooting for a reconciliation.

This is a psychological thriller that has a fast pace throughout. It really is a book you don’t want to put down!

I loved the characters, so many and with suspects coming from all directions you don’t know who to trust and suspect. I loved the suspicion being switched as this just made me want to find out what was going on and who the culprit was.

While reading I could feel the anxiety heavy in my chest, probably because my own daughter is the same age as Beatrice, the child who goes missing. A book that can trigger those emotions will always be a winner.

A great thriller! The author has wowed me once again and I can’t wait for the next!

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I have always enjoyed Shalini Boland books and I was really excited to get my hands on this one.

I was very disappointed. It was really different to her other books, it was long winded and predictable. I figured out what was happening fairly early on and the story did seem to drag.

Thank you Bookouture and Netgalley for my advanced copy, sorry I didn't enjoy it more. i will still look forward to her next book.

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Wow! This one got me right from the first page. What I loved about My Little Girl is that I was constantly shocked and really was invested to find out what happened. I truly connected with Claire and felt most of the character development was done well, as Shalini Boland usually does.

What I struggled with was the pace. I also figured it out earlier than I had wanted. I love when thriller/mysteries keep me guessing all the way until the last page and unfortunately this didn't do that.

I did enjoy this and think its a definite read!

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Chilling and really tense, every parent’s nightmare. A seven year old girl goes missing whilst at the fair with her grandma and a friend. Everybody is devastated and everybody is looking for somebody to blame. The resulting fallout puts immense strain on even the strongest of family bonds and tensions are really high. This isn’t helped by figures from the past being closely involved and some divided loyalties suddenly come under the microscope.
As the days pass the situation seems to become more and more desperate and there aren’t any real leads. The characters are built up really well and I had no idea which direction the story was going to take right up until the last minute, with the final twist and turn. Absolutely worth a read.

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I have read all Shalini's books, all brilliant and this was no exception I just loved it from the beginning to the final page and the ending was fantastic, I never guessed a thing.

I can definitely recommend this book and thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this great book.

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My review of my little girl by Shalini Boland this was another brilliant ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read from this amazing author. If you love psychological thrillers that keep you on your toes then I highly recommend this author.

This book was so addictive that once I had started I couldn’t put it down and couldn’t go to bed till it was finished in the early hours. It is a domestic psychological thriller but also encompasses a story that encapsulates the themes of lies and obsession and jealously and also how families do not always see eye to eye. As the story progressed the events also showed the coming together of families and friendships as well as others not being as they had originally seemed. The story has lots of twists and turns and really kept me guessing until the end. It would make a great tv drama

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Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for an early copy of My Little Girl. I was so excited for a Shalini Boland new book but I was sooooooo disappointed. This was not like her other novels, it was boring and written like a YA novel. I’m sorry to say this because I love her books but I couldn’t wait to finish. I kind of figured out who the culprit was but I couldn’t wait to turn the page to finish.

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This is my fourth (or fifth) book by Shalini Boland and it didn't disappoint in terms of keeping me swiping the pages until the end. However, I did figure out quite early on where it was going, and I felt some of the characters could have been more strongly portrayed. I also struggled with the mother's reaction to the disappearance of her daughter which seemed somewhat laidback in light of the horrendous situation. It brought to mind a recent read where a similarly placed mother's heartbreaking anguish was raw and realistic.
I do admire the author's ability to weave a compelling tale, and I enjoy her writing style. I just felt this one didn't quite hit the mark.

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This was a decent enough read but definitely my least favourite book by this author as all her others have been fantastic. This one left me slightly disappointed. The first half of the book was quite repetitive but it got better in the second part. I also found it quite difficult to actually like or relate to any of the characters.

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3.5 stars. Wow, this was my first Shalini Boland book and it definitely won’t be my last. I could barely put the book down as I needed to know what happened to Beatrice. This book had it all family drama, suspense and relationship issues. I will definitely be recommending this one to friends.

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My Little Girl was a real thriller. Had me from the first to last. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. I figured out the who, but read it just to be sure.

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I love Shalini Boland and she’s one of my favourite authors at the moment.
This one didn’t disappoint and I was hooked again from page 1.
I guessed the ending but that certainly didn’t take away from my enjoyment.
This is another great book from this fantastic writer!

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Really enjoyed this book, It pulled me in from the very start and i found it very hard to put down. I loved the style of writing and how it switched between each character giving a different perspective. Would highly recommend.

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I am a huge fan of Shalini Boland so I knew even before starting My Little Girl that I would absolutely love it. It’s the perfect mix of family drama & suspense over a missing girl. I love the well developed characters, the constant twists and turns, and the ending that was unexpected. I’ve already recommended this book to 5 friends and I just finished it a few hours ago!

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This was a decent read, but not my favorite book by Boland. It starts out with action almost immediately, when 7-year-old Beatrice disappears from the fair that she attended with her grandmother Jill. Jill is beside herself with worry and Bea's parents, Claire and Oliver, are mad at each other for having situations that didn't allow one of them to be with her. There is a lot of mistrust between these characters that the author delves into further as the story progresses.

I found the first half of the book to be a little repetitive, and almost boring. We hear from all the primary players about how worried they are about Bea and there is similar dialogue both between characters and in their heads that made me want to skim through some of the detail. There were multiple red herrings thrown in
that kept me engaged during this part of the book, though. Things really start to come together in the last quarter of the book, and the culmination of the story provides not just one, but a couple of unique twists.

I wish that I would have learned more about Oliver in this book- the author didn't provide enough detail about his background and even his marriage for me to understand him as a person as much as I felt I did with Claire and Jill.

Overall, decent read and it won't stop me from picking up Shalini Boland's next book, but it just wasn't my favorite amongst a crowded genre of similar stories. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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This is my first read from this author and I will certainly be reading more.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it s very well written and really gripping, I found myself thinking about the story when I wasn't reading it, hardly ever happens!
The characters were all quite complex, none of them were particularly likeable but then as threads start to come together I suddenly got the unsettling feeling Id been played by the author, very well done and a little disturbing!
A clever read with a good twist that I only saw coming when the author allowed it, very clever writing.
Highly recommend, and look forward to reading more of her books.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the advance copy.

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This is the second book I read by Shalini Boland, and it proves that she has cracked the domestic thriller code pretty well. The premise is obviously formulaic, the missing child, but she manages to take it and write a book with tension and that keeps your interest.

As I see it, the only problem I found is that there were too many unnecessary detours and details thrown in merely to complicate the story without any real effect on the plot, and everything becomes a bit muddled in the end.

Its is a quick read tho, and I had fun reading it, so don't miss it if you enjoy domestic thrillers, and/or if terrified mothers (and grandmothers!) are your MCs of choice.


*ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Oh I really enjoyed this one! Shalini Boland knows how to write a good story, one that you just can't put down! I liked the motley assortment of characters here, there is some humour in the book and I did find myself laughing at some of the situations. Of course the main theme, the missing child is absolutely gut wrenching but it isn't too dark a book if that makes sense. I would recommend this author, I have loved all her books and I really like her style of writing.

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I started this book yesterday and finished it today. Meaning a five-star book of course. I could not put this story down. It starts off with an abduction of a 7 year old child and unlike most books this type...it does not follow what the police are doing to find her. Instead we have the mom, dad and grandma involved in this every step of the way.

When Beatrice goes missing Claire's world is turned upside down. But that does not stop her from turning over every rock to find her daughter. Her relationship with her husband, her mother-in-law and her friends are entangled in this search for her daughter.

This amazing book I could not put down and with every page I was greeted with another twist, another surprise and a different look into the world of kidnapping. Not the first book I have read by Boland and certainly not the last. Thanks to #Netgalley I got to read this ARC before its release on April 22, 2021. Make sure you pre-order and place it on your TBR list. #fivestars

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