🎧5⭐️

I had the audiobook read by Emer Heatley. I love Irish narrators, although it’s not all Irish. Emma doesn’t disappoint. There were a lot of swallowing noises during the narration which I don’t usually get on audio, it didn’t stop me loving this book.

A new author to me. Initially I thought another stolen child trope nothing new to see here, but this is excellent, my favourite read using this trope. Hats off to the author this is in my books of the year.

There are two seemingly separate threads, Robert a young child goes missing on a cruise ship. His mother Kimberley and his step dad Jason spend 40 yrs wondering what happened to him as he wasn’t found at the time.
The other thread friends Sally and Elsie age out of social services care in the 80’s.
The two threads from the past are joined with one in the present.

I found it totally engaging throughout with a good pace, plenty of interest spread evenly through the story. The threads are weaved together well to divulge the story in a seamless manor. The majority of the characters are likeable, there’s some we are not supposed to like.

An enjoyable novel which I would class as a domestic thriller.
The multiple timelines add to the interest.
The premise of the ending was fairly easy to work out, however I'm not sure it was supposed to be a 'twist'. The story seems to be more around the surrounding incidents.
Some of the characters were a tad irritating, probably intentionally (I never want to hear anyone say 'Oh my days' again .
On the whole an engaging holiday listen / read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC which was very much appreciated.

Captivating from the prologue with intriguing characters and a complex plot. The story is told over a triple timeline and from three different POVs which takes a bit of concentration but is well worth the effort.
In 1983 Kimberley and Jason wake up in their cabin aboard a cruise ship to discover their two year old son Robert has disappeared. With their younger daughter Lily the couple and extended family and friends searched for Robert intensely but he was never found. The strain of the situation split the family.
In 2023 a man named Zach turns up in Lily's psychotherapy practice claiming to be her missing brother.
Alongside these timelines we are sent back to 1963 where Sally is 5 years old and living in Sunshine House Orphanage. Sally is befriended by an older child, Elsie, who looks out for her and they become great friends.
The final part of the book brings together all the different parts to explain what truly happened. Whilst I did guess the twist based on the very early clues it did not spoil my enjoyment of this emotional, domestic suspense novel.
I am grateful to to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced listener copy of this well narrated and highly recommended audiobook.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book & found it difficult to put down. While I did predict the twist, it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story. I especially loved Sally & Elsie’s friendship throughout their childhood into adulthood & I thought the dual timeline worked really well the plot.
This was my first read from this author & it certainly won’t be my last!

I received both an eARC and an audiobook for review. However, I had to DNF the audio at 15% due to distracting mouth noises from the narrator.