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lyvalittle's review against another edition
4.0
Could NOT put this down. Felt like I was immersed in a movie.
I need to discuss this ending with someone though!!?!?
I need to discuss this ending with someone though!!?!?
kberry513's review against another edition
4.0
I just reread this one, as I'd totally forgotten what the end result was. This author is really good at twists and turns that still somehow seem believable, as well as dropping threads in previous books and picking them back up later.
Summary: 9 years ago, Liv's boyfriend and father of her child disappeared. A few months later, the day she was supposed to move back in with her parents, she finds them dead of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning, even though her father was anal about that sort of thing. The man who had just bought her flat is there for her and when he proposes six months later, she marries him. They have two more children. Fast forward seven years and her husband and children disappear for a few days. She called the police and they are frantically searching, when her family returns. Her husband Robert convinces the police that she had just forgotten. After the police leave, he tells her if she ever thinks of leaving him, he will kill their children. He installs cameras so he can watch her every move and starts planting doubts about her sanity everywhere. She manages to reconnect with her best friend Sophie, who recognizes a picture of Robert as the creepy guy who used to stalk Liv in university and together they hatch a plan for Liv and her kids to escape, especially once they realize Robert killed Liv's boyfriend and parents all those years ago. They get Dan's brother Samir to help and plant evidence in the house indicating Dan was killed there. Liv and the kids take off, telling no one where there going, and Sophie takes some nieces and nephews with her as a decoy to the place where they were supposed to be on holiday, but somebody snaps her picture.
Meanwhile, the police including DCI Tom Douglas and DI Becky Robinson (who has relocated from London to Manchester following a disastrous affair with her married boss) are on the trail. Once Robert realizes Liv used Sophie as a decoy, he takes off and tries to torture info out of her. The police then find all of the unsettling information that Robert keeps on his computer - video of his wife, along with indications of blood spatter which no one would have survived. Their tech also uses the IP information from FaceTime to figure out the vicinity that it appears Liv has taken the children. They can also tell that the last week's worth of video is actually spliced together from old footage. Once Sophie is found, she lets them know what a crazy pants Robert is and how Dan had been to see her, telling her he was going to confront Robert. They get in touch with Samir, who says the same thing and that he hasn't heard from his brother since then. They discover he has figured out where Liv is. Tom and Becky make it to the island just after Robert has made off with the children. Luckily, they manage to save them right before Robert jumps off a cliff with all three kids. Tom asks to take a DNA sample from Jasmine, Dan and Liv's daughter, to compare with the blood found in the house. Liv confesses that Jaz is actually Samir's and that's why Dan had left.
Tom realizes there is something fishy about the story with Dan. He believes that Robert committed the murder, but that it was 9 years previously, not now. He brings his suspicions to his boss, but she tells him that she would need proof. He struggles with this, as he had previously let a woman get away with murder which he believed was justified. Leo asks him if he thinks Robert would harm the children if he got out of prison and he agrees, also agreeing that he committed three murders nine years before. Leo tells him to leave it up to his boss' conscience. She finally agrees she wants a relationship with him
While all this has happened, Tom's cabin was broken into, but nothing was stolen. His girlfriend Leo goes to sort it out and it's only papers of his dead brother's that have been disturbed. He recalls that his brother's girlfriend Melissa had tried to get the will changed, and how strange it was, as they had only been together for six months. His previous gf Emma had been nothing like that. He resolves to go through all of the files.
Cut back to Liv, Sophie and Samir - they used Samir's blood because they couldn't find any proof that Dan had been murdered - no one had heard from him in 9 years and he wouldn't have abandoned his family. Samir and his wife were in on the conspiracy. They say goodbye to Dan where they believe Robert had buried him.
Summary: 9 years ago, Liv's boyfriend and father of her child disappeared. A few months later, the day she was supposed to move back in with her parents, she finds them dead of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning, even though her father was anal about that sort of thing. The man who had just bought her flat is there for her and when he proposes six months later, she marries him. They have two more children. Fast forward seven years and her husband and children disappear for a few days. She called the police and they are frantically searching, when her family returns. Her husband Robert convinces the police that she had just forgotten. After the police leave, he tells her if she ever thinks of leaving him, he will kill their children. He installs cameras so he can watch her every move and starts planting doubts about her sanity everywhere. She manages to reconnect with her best friend Sophie, who recognizes a picture of Robert as the creepy guy who used to stalk Liv in university and together they hatch a plan for Liv and her kids to escape, especially once they realize Robert killed Liv's boyfriend and parents all those years ago. They get Dan's brother Samir to help and plant evidence in the house indicating Dan was killed there. Liv and the kids take off, telling no one where there going, and Sophie takes some nieces and nephews with her as a decoy to the place where they were supposed to be on holiday, but somebody snaps her picture.
Meanwhile, the police including DCI Tom Douglas and DI Becky Robinson (who has relocated from London to Manchester following a disastrous affair with her married boss) are on the trail. Once Robert realizes Liv used Sophie as a decoy, he takes off and tries to torture info out of her. The police then find all of the unsettling information that Robert keeps on his computer - video of his wife, along with indications of blood spatter which no one would have survived. Their tech also uses the IP information from FaceTime to figure out the vicinity that it appears Liv has taken the children. They can also tell that the last week's worth of video is actually spliced together from old footage. Once Sophie is found, she lets them know what a crazy pants Robert is and how Dan had been to see her, telling her he was going to confront Robert. They get in touch with Samir, who says the same thing and that he hasn't heard from his brother since then. They discover he has figured out where Liv is. Tom and Becky make it to the island just after Robert has made off with the children. Luckily, they manage to save them right before Robert jumps off a cliff with all three kids. Tom asks to take a DNA sample from Jasmine, Dan and Liv's daughter, to compare with the blood found in the house. Liv confesses that Jaz is actually Samir's and that's why Dan had left.
Tom realizes there is something fishy about the story with Dan. He believes that Robert committed the murder, but that it was 9 years previously, not now. He brings his suspicions to his boss, but she tells him that she would need proof. He struggles with this, as he had previously let a woman get away with murder which he believed was justified. Leo asks him if he thinks Robert would harm the children if he got out of prison and he agrees, also agreeing that he committed three murders nine years before. Leo tells him to leave it up to his boss' conscience. She finally agrees she wants a relationship with him
While all this has happened, Tom's cabin was broken into, but nothing was stolen. His girlfriend Leo goes to sort it out and it's only papers of his dead brother's that have been disturbed. He recalls that his brother's girlfriend Melissa had tried to get the will changed, and how strange it was, as they had only been together for six months. His previous gf Emma had been nothing like that. He resolves to go through all of the files.
Cut back to Liv, Sophie and Samir - they used Samir's blood because they couldn't find any proof that Dan had been murdered - no one had heard from him in 9 years and he wouldn't have abandoned his family. Samir and his wife were in on the conspiracy. They say goodbye to Dan where they believe Robert had buried him.
holmstead's review against another edition
2.0
Eh. This being a first with me for Abbott: Mildly grasping at best. Predictable at worst. Will think twice before reading more of this author.
casimoore's review against another edition
5.0
This was a great book! Page turning "thriller". Scary to think of how obsession can turn people evil.
kaymarieplz's review against another edition
5.0
this is basicly a mix of gone girl enough and double jeopardy
robojany's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
cursedkirst's review against another edition
4.0
I stumbled on this book as it was on offer for the kindle, and have to say I will certainly be going back to read her previous offerings, this is a definite page turner and I look forward to getting to know her characters better
emjay24's review against another edition
3.0
This was a book featured on the new Kindle Prime free book service and I did not realize when I got it that it was third in the DCI Tom Douglas series. I have not read the first two, but this book functions as a standalone book anyway. Detective Chief Inspector Tom Douglas returns from a short time working in London to his original precinct and picks up a missing person case related to something he had helped investigate ten years ago. Ten years ago Olivia’s boyfriend had disappeared, leaving her alone with a new baby. Now, her current husband reports Olivia and her three children missing. The book jumps around to different points of views, so it’s not a simple police procedural, and we’re left guessing what is actually going on. The book wasn’t amazing, but it had enough twists and thoughts to make it good, and I liked Tom and his new detective working under him enough to want to continue with the series, or maybe go back and start from the beginning. Good mystery!
wellingtonestatelibrary's review against another edition
4.0
I liked the book and flew through it. While it was a bit predictable, I really enjoyed the characters of Becky and Tom, and look forward to seeing more of them. I hope Tom's relationship with Leo peters out soon. She is not ready for a relationship!