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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
This new thriller had me gripped from the first few pages. I was thrown straight into the action and become emotionally invested in finding little Leila Smith.
The character of Leila’s mother, Kelsey, is portrayed realistically and is beautifully created. This will resonate with anyone that has experienced any kind of addiction. As much a parent loves their children, the illness and need for their chosen drug takes over. You can’t help but feel passion and empathy as you discover the struggles she’s faced, and yearn her to get clean for her daughter.
This is very well written, keeps the reader engaged, and takes them on an emotional rollercoaster. Although we know quite early on who has taken Leila, the reasons behind it all unfolds naturally throughout the book, but at a pace that doesn’t drag. Every character having their part to play in one way or another.
A fast paced, captivating, moving story that I highly recommend!
The character of Leila’s mother, Kelsey, is portrayed realistically and is beautifully created. This will resonate with anyone that has experienced any kind of addiction. As much a parent loves their children, the illness and need for their chosen drug takes over. You can’t help but feel passion and empathy as you discover the struggles she’s faced, and yearn her to get clean for her daughter.
This is very well written, keeps the reader engaged, and takes them on an emotional rollercoaster. Although we know quite early on who has taken Leila, the reasons behind it all unfolds naturally throughout the book, but at a pace that doesn’t drag. Every character having their part to play in one way or another.
A fast paced, captivating, moving story that I highly recommend!
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Such an amazingly thrilling and hand-gripping book which does not surprise me at all, Lisa Stone “also knows as Cathy Glass” is such an amazing writer.
Leila is an 8-year-old neglected by her mother, she stays way past the limit in the play area in the estate they love in.
One day, without a warning, she’s disappearing without a trace.
Her mother is a prostitute, a heavy alcohol and drug abuser.
Will she be found?
Will this be a wakeup call for her mother?
When I started reading, I felt it was odd that the kidnapper was revealed so soon, but as I continued reading, it was clear why Lisa Stone did that.
The revelation of one of the accomplices of Colin was very shocking and unexpected. But the second accomplice was the bullet for me!
Although, as I reached 45% of the book, I started to have my doubts about the loyalty of the second accomplice and I was right.
Needless to say; any book written by Lisa Stone or Cathy Glass is a must-read!
Leila is an 8-year-old neglected by her mother, she stays way past the limit in the play area in the estate they love in.
One day, without a warning, she’s disappearing without a trace.
Her mother is a prostitute, a heavy alcohol and drug abuser.
Will she be found?
Will this be a wakeup call for her mother?
When I started reading, I felt it was odd that the kidnapper was revealed so soon, but as I continued reading, it was clear why Lisa Stone did that.
The revelation of one of the accomplices of Colin was very shocking and unexpected. But the second accomplice was the bullet for me!
Although, as I reached 45% of the book, I started to have my doubts about the loyalty of the second accomplice and I was right.
Needless to say; any book written by Lisa Stone or Cathy Glass is a must-read!
Leila tiene 8 años y es hija de una mujer que se dedica a la prostitución y tiene problemas de drogadicción.
Tan es así, que, los otros hijos de esta mujer, le han sido arrebatados para el propio bienestar de los mismos.
Sin embargo, ella quiere a Leila a su manera, y con sus limitantes.
La niña suele pasar el tiempo en el parque y un día desaparece. Su madre cree que el trabajador social de su caso se la ha llevado, y eso provoca que la policía no haga mucho caso al principio.
Sin embargo, lo que sucedió fue completamente diferente. Y posiblemente más siniestro.
¿Dónde y con quién está realmente Leila?
***
Un libro basado en las realidades de los barrios bajos de Estados Unidos, y la manera en la que los servicios infantiles se manejan en dicho país. Una historia de una maternidad problemática, una infancia en soledad, una comunidad en pobreza y un departamento de policía ineficiente.
Nos hace reflexionar sobre los riesgos que viven las infancias en dichos sistemas.
El libro es lento a ratos y no me parece que entre en la categoría de thriller, pues no es precisamente emocionante. Sin embargo, es interesante y me mantuvo queriendo saber qué sucedió con Leila, hasta el último momento.
Por esto lo promedié en 3 estrellas.
Tan es así, que, los otros hijos de esta mujer, le han sido arrebatados para el propio bienestar de los mismos.
Sin embargo, ella quiere a Leila a su manera, y con sus limitantes.
La niña suele pasar el tiempo en el parque y un día desaparece. Su madre cree que el trabajador social de su caso se la ha llevado, y eso provoca que la policía no haga mucho caso al principio.
Sin embargo, lo que sucedió fue completamente diferente. Y posiblemente más siniestro.
¿Dónde y con quién está realmente Leila?
***
Un libro basado en las realidades de los barrios bajos de Estados Unidos, y la manera en la que los servicios infantiles se manejan en dicho país. Una historia de una maternidad problemática, una infancia en soledad, una comunidad en pobreza y un departamento de policía ineficiente.
Nos hace reflexionar sobre los riesgos que viven las infancias en dichos sistemas.
El libro es lento a ratos y no me parece que entre en la categoría de thriller, pues no es precisamente emocionante. Sin embargo, es interesante y me mantuvo queriendo saber qué sucedió con Leila, hasta el último momento.
Por esto lo promedié en 3 estrellas.
I liked this book more than The Doctor. Leila is quite a little firecracker. I will probably read more by this author, quick and easy reads that don’t require a lot of thinking...
Looking for Leila…
Little Leila Smith has had to learn to look out for herself. Her mother, Kelsey, is often out of it on drugs or drink, which she pays for out of the money she makes from prostitution. So when Leila disappears from the playground one evening, it’s several hours before Kelsey realises she’s missing…
The reader knows, though, and we also know straight away who took her – a man who lives in the same block of flats as Leila and her mum. Happily, we also discover quite quickly that, although there are dark aspects to this story, it isn’t about child sexual abuse and the man is not a paedophile. That leaves us with the central mystery of the book – why has he taken Leila? And what does he intend to do with her? Will she ever get back home?
Meantime, Kelsey has been shocked into sobriety. She knew that there was already a good chance that the Social Services would take Leila away from her, and now she’s sure that even if Leila is found, there’s no chance of her being allowed to come back to live with a mother who didn’t even notice she was missing. Her struggle to stay clean forms another strand of the book. Here Stone doesn’t cut any corners in letting us see the sordid and dangerous life Kelsey is leading and at first it’s hard to sympathise with someone who has neglected her child so badly, but as we see her guilt and regret, and her terror at what might have happened to Leila, she becomes more likeable and I soon found I was rooting for her to finally get off the drugs and get her life together.
The main story regarding Leila’s disappearance requires a major suspension of disbelief at several points. She’s supposed to be eight but speaks and acts like a much older child. Partly this could be down to her having had to fend for herself more than a child of that age should, but it still doesn’t ring entirely true. The idea that she wouldn’t already have been in care is hard to swallow too but is necessary for the story, so let’s call it fictional license. Even though she didn’t wholly convince me, I admit that she gradually won my heart and I found myself hoping that somehow there would be a good outcome for both her and her mum.
Even the baddie got a bit of sympathy from me once his reasons became clear. I had a pretty good idea of where the story was likely to be going from about halfway through, but was still interested in seeing how it all worked out for the various characters, and found the ending satisfying and more credible than some of the stuff that happened in the earlier parts of the book.
It’s well written in a plain style that suits the story – third person, past tense, so we see various perspectives, Kelsey’s, Leila’s, the baddie’s, and Beth’s, the police officer who’s in charge of the investigation. It has twists enough to keep it interesting, but not the ridiculous kind that turn the whole story on its head twenty pages before the end. Well-paced and not overly long, I found it a fast read and, once I got into it and put my disbelief in cold storage, a page-turner. And much less bleak than that blurb had led me to fear, largely due to the sympathetic characterisation. An enjoyable read!
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, HarperCollins.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Little Leila Smith has had to learn to look out for herself. Her mother, Kelsey, is often out of it on drugs or drink, which she pays for out of the money she makes from prostitution. So when Leila disappears from the playground one evening, it’s several hours before Kelsey realises she’s missing…
The reader knows, though, and we also know straight away who took her – a man who lives in the same block of flats as Leila and her mum. Happily, we also discover quite quickly that, although there are dark aspects to this story, it isn’t about child sexual abuse and the man is not a paedophile. That leaves us with the central mystery of the book – why has he taken Leila? And what does he intend to do with her? Will she ever get back home?
Meantime, Kelsey has been shocked into sobriety. She knew that there was already a good chance that the Social Services would take Leila away from her, and now she’s sure that even if Leila is found, there’s no chance of her being allowed to come back to live with a mother who didn’t even notice she was missing. Her struggle to stay clean forms another strand of the book. Here Stone doesn’t cut any corners in letting us see the sordid and dangerous life Kelsey is leading and at first it’s hard to sympathise with someone who has neglected her child so badly, but as we see her guilt and regret, and her terror at what might have happened to Leila, she becomes more likeable and I soon found I was rooting for her to finally get off the drugs and get her life together.
The main story regarding Leila’s disappearance requires a major suspension of disbelief at several points. She’s supposed to be eight but speaks and acts like a much older child. Partly this could be down to her having had to fend for herself more than a child of that age should, but it still doesn’t ring entirely true. The idea that she wouldn’t already have been in care is hard to swallow too but is necessary for the story, so let’s call it fictional license. Even though she didn’t wholly convince me, I admit that she gradually won my heart and I found myself hoping that somehow there would be a good outcome for both her and her mum.
Even the baddie got a bit of sympathy from me once his reasons became clear. I had a pretty good idea of where the story was likely to be going from about halfway through, but was still interested in seeing how it all worked out for the various characters, and found the ending satisfying and more credible than some of the stuff that happened in the earlier parts of the book.
It’s well written in a plain style that suits the story – third person, past tense, so we see various perspectives, Kelsey’s, Leila’s, the baddie’s, and Beth’s, the police officer who’s in charge of the investigation. It has twists enough to keep it interesting, but not the ridiculous kind that turn the whole story on its head twenty pages before the end. Well-paced and not overly long, I found it a fast read and, once I got into it and put my disbelief in cold storage, a page-turner. And much less bleak than that blurb had led me to fear, largely due to the sympathetic characterisation. An enjoyable read!
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, HarperCollins.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated