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7 Minuten zu spät
Nur sieben Minuten zu spät kommt Alice Halpern zur Verabredung mit ihrer Freundin Lauren. Doch Lauren ist nicht da.Haben bei der Schwangeren die Wehen schon eingesetzt? Alice sucht sämtliche Krankenhäuser New Yorks ab, aber Lauren ist nirgendwo zu finden.Tage später wird ihre Leiche gefunden - mit aufgeschnittenem Bauch. Keine Spur von dem Neugeborenen. Eine fieberhafte Suche nach dem Baby beginnt ...
352 pages, Paperback
First published May 3, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
October 9, 2017
Would have been 5 stars if the ending hadn’t been so horrible and abrupt.
A thriller about a group of friends whose friend goes missing and is very pregnant. They soon find out her missing case is similar to that of another pregnant woman who went missing. The group of friends and their children are soon drug into a ring of deceit, lies, and bone chilling revelations.
Honestly a great story until the epilogue. The ending so needed to be different.
A thriller about a group of friends whose friend goes missing and is very pregnant. They soon find out her missing case is similar to that of another pregnant woman who went missing. The group of friends and their children are soon drug into a ring of deceit, lies, and bone chilling revelations.
Honestly a great story until the epilogue. The ending so needed to be different.
January 25, 2009
A mediocre mystery/thriller. The police were busy but never really solved anything to completion. The story was sordid and pitiful. The author throws out so many red herrings that I thought I was swimming in a school of fish. The best scene in the book is the one where our main character talks to the butcher in the walk-in freezer, that was tense and creepy. The most realistic mystery/horror element in the book is the price of housing in Brooklyn.
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August 15, 2023Entspannte, fesselnde Abendlektüre. Die Auflösung des Falles ist aber leider ein bisschen vorschnell und meiner Meinung nach nicht besonders gut ausgeführt.
January 20, 2021
Spannender Thriller
In dem Buch 7 Minuten zu spät von Kate Pepper, geht es um Alice Halpern, welche Schwanger mit Zwillingen ist und noch einen Sohn namens Peter und eine Tochter namens Nel hat. Eigentlich wollte sich Alice vor dem Kindergarten und der Grundschule mit ihrer besten Freundin Lauren treffen, welche auch Schwanger ist und ihre gemeinsamen Kinder abholen, aber sie kommt 7 Minuten zu spät und Lauren taucht nicht auf. Auch später, als die Kinder aus dem Kindergarten und der Grundschule kommen taucht Lauren nicht auf, vielleicht hat sie ja ihre Wehen bekommen und liegt im Krankenhaus, den erreichen kann Alice ihre Freundin auch nicht. Auch als Tim Laurens Freund von seiner Geschäftsreise zurückkommt, weil er von seiner Sekretärin gehört hat Lauren ist nicht zu finden, kommt er sofort nach Hause zurück und kann sie nicht finden. Kurze Zeit später wird Laurens Leiche mit aufgeschnittenem Bauch gefunden, aber wo ist das Baby ? Lebt es noch oder ist es tot ? Wer das wissen will, sollte das Buch selber lesen.
Meine Meinung:
Ich fand die Geschichte gut zu hören und die Sprecherin hat die Geschichte spannend vorgelesen. Bis zum Ende kam ich nicht auf die Auflösung und den Epilog am Ende, fand ich einfach noch sehr gut gemacht. Auch die Charaktere sind spannend gestaltet und handeln nachvollziehbar. Mir hat die Geschichte gut gefallen und ich freue mich schon auf das nächste Geschichte von der Autorin.
Fazit:
Ein spannende Geschichte mit interessanten Charakteren und einer guten Story, in der es um mehr als nur eine schwangere Frau geht.
In dem Buch 7 Minuten zu spät von Kate Pepper, geht es um Alice Halpern, welche Schwanger mit Zwillingen ist und noch einen Sohn namens Peter und eine Tochter namens Nel hat. Eigentlich wollte sich Alice vor dem Kindergarten und der Grundschule mit ihrer besten Freundin Lauren treffen, welche auch Schwanger ist und ihre gemeinsamen Kinder abholen, aber sie kommt 7 Minuten zu spät und Lauren taucht nicht auf. Auch später, als die Kinder aus dem Kindergarten und der Grundschule kommen taucht Lauren nicht auf, vielleicht hat sie ja ihre Wehen bekommen und liegt im Krankenhaus, den erreichen kann Alice ihre Freundin auch nicht. Auch als Tim Laurens Freund von seiner Geschäftsreise zurückkommt, weil er von seiner Sekretärin gehört hat Lauren ist nicht zu finden, kommt er sofort nach Hause zurück und kann sie nicht finden. Kurze Zeit später wird Laurens Leiche mit aufgeschnittenem Bauch gefunden, aber wo ist das Baby ? Lebt es noch oder ist es tot ? Wer das wissen will, sollte das Buch selber lesen.
Meine Meinung:
Ich fand die Geschichte gut zu hören und die Sprecherin hat die Geschichte spannend vorgelesen. Bis zum Ende kam ich nicht auf die Auflösung und den Epilog am Ende, fand ich einfach noch sehr gut gemacht. Auch die Charaktere sind spannend gestaltet und handeln nachvollziehbar. Mir hat die Geschichte gut gefallen und ich freue mich schon auf das nächste Geschichte von der Autorin.
Fazit:
Ein spannende Geschichte mit interessanten Charakteren und einer guten Story, in der es um mehr als nur eine schwangere Frau geht.
May 7, 2012
Katia Lief is one of my favorite authors right now. I found her books to be affordable on Barnes and Noble and I have purchased all that she has written. (I love affordable Ebooks!). This book is very good in the "oh my gosh, what if this happened to someone you know" feeling. I could not help but to actually feel scared for the characters and hope that all turned out well for them in the end. Can you imagine if your wife/husband never returned home one day? How your entire life would turn upside down in more ways then just missing them. I recommend this book, its a good thriller to keep you on your toes and appreciate what you have at home.
March 31, 2009
3 friends who had children, went to the park together. 2 of whom owned a business. 2 were pregnant at the same time. One of the pregnant women was reported missing. She also had a husband and a 5 yr old son. 2 days later, she was found dead. Her unborn baby was stolen from her as well.
UGH!! How could anybody do that? Crude C-section!! Give me the shivers just thinging about it. Was this a black market scam or what? Did one of the friends--wives or husbands-- commit such a violent acts?? Definitely a page turner.
UGH!! How could anybody do that? Crude C-section!! Give me the shivers just thinging about it. Was this a black market scam or what? Did one of the friends--wives or husbands-- commit such a violent acts?? Definitely a page turner.
July 29, 2025
Langweilig und verwirrend. Es werden viel zu viele unnötige Details beschrieben und das Ende ist zu abrupt und einfach nur absurd.
Keine Ahnung wie das ein Bestseller geworden ist
Keine Ahnung wie das ein Bestseller geworden ist
August 10, 2017
In 'Seven Minutes to Noon', Alice's worry about her friend Lauren's failure to meet up like they always do escalates when her whereabouts remain unknown. Lauren is due to give birth anytime soon and as Alice herself is expecting as well, she begins to fear for her own safety. What has happened to Lauren? Will Alice suffer the same fate or will she have the happy ending she longs for?
This book started off promising only to progressively go nowhere, thanks to the uneventful chapters, long-winded scenes and lack of development in terms of the investigation. Most of the chapters were repetitive, revolving around Alice and how she spent her days looking for a new house to move into (as the landlord was hellbent on evicting her family within thirty days), taking care of her kids (I use 'taking care' very loosely here) and missing Lauren. Strangely enough, none of her constant thoughts of Lauren delivered an emotional punch.
Despite the entire story being told from Alice's perspective (in third person narrative), I found it hard to connect to her. She lacked personality. Everything about her was wrapped around Lauren or her unborn twins. She didn't have a life outside of that - no interests or hobbies. She was annoying and unreasonable, frequently contacting the cops assigned to Lauren's case. She was also paranoid and suspicious of someone who might be stalking her yet she failed to lodge a police report. She contradicted herself many times.
The cops weren't any better either. They behaved more like distant friends who dropped by to check in on Alice, drive her to wherever she needed to be and answered personal calls from her. To make things worse, they didn't even excel at their job! The incompetent fools relied heavily on Alice for information, couldn't put two and two together and took forever to take any sort of action. All of these made me wonder if the author has any idea of what an actual cop is like? Because those two were ridiculously unconvincing.
The revelation regarding the perpetrator's identity and motive was underwhelming especially after wading through the sea of red herrings. The explanation was complicated, bogged down by tons of details that simply didn't work because they were far-fetched. Plus, the author didn't flesh out any character at all so it's impossible to understand or care about their feelings, actions and decisions. The epilogue further worsened the story.
Overall, 'Seven Minutes to Noon' had the potential to be an exciting murder mystery but it turned out to be a dreary, uninspiring read featuring cardboard characters. The pacing was so slow that a tortoise would have already long crossed the finish line.
This book started off promising only to progressively go nowhere, thanks to the uneventful chapters, long-winded scenes and lack of development in terms of the investigation. Most of the chapters were repetitive, revolving around Alice and how she spent her days looking for a new house to move into (as the landlord was hellbent on evicting her family within thirty days), taking care of her kids (I use 'taking care' very loosely here) and missing Lauren. Strangely enough, none of her constant thoughts of Lauren delivered an emotional punch.
Despite the entire story being told from Alice's perspective (in third person narrative), I found it hard to connect to her. She lacked personality. Everything about her was wrapped around Lauren or her unborn twins. She didn't have a life outside of that - no interests or hobbies. She was annoying and unreasonable, frequently contacting the cops assigned to Lauren's case. She was also paranoid and suspicious of someone who might be stalking her yet she failed to lodge a police report. She contradicted herself many times.
The cops weren't any better either. They behaved more like distant friends who dropped by to check in on Alice, drive her to wherever she needed to be and answered personal calls from her. To make things worse, they didn't even excel at their job! The incompetent fools relied heavily on Alice for information, couldn't put two and two together and took forever to take any sort of action. All of these made me wonder if the author has any idea of what an actual cop is like? Because those two were ridiculously unconvincing.
The revelation regarding the perpetrator's identity and motive was underwhelming especially after wading through the sea of red herrings. The explanation was complicated, bogged down by tons of details that simply didn't work because they were far-fetched. Plus, the author didn't flesh out any character at all so it's impossible to understand or care about their feelings, actions and decisions. The epilogue further worsened the story.
Overall, 'Seven Minutes to Noon' had the potential to be an exciting murder mystery but it turned out to be a dreary, uninspiring read featuring cardboard characters. The pacing was so slow that a tortoise would have already long crossed the finish line.
January 1, 2009
I don't usually read thrillers, but a friend of mine from college wrote this book, and I'm glad she did. It takes place in the familiar neighborhood of Carroll Gardens, in the familiar social network of a certain type of woman with young children in such neighborhoods, and the victim is one of our own... creepy. But "Kate Pepper" evokes this world with a sureness of touch and ample detail. I guess I'm a sucker for books that take place in Brooklyn.
July 21, 2009
I found this book interesting in the way it made me suspicious of first one character, then another. I always like mysteries that I can't figure out right away. This story is told from the point of view of a pregnant woman friend of the first victim rather than from the detectives who solve the crime, so we never know completely what the detectives know. The plot was maybe a little far-fetched, but it was good escapist summer reading.
September 15, 2012
This was third or so Katia Lief book and my last. Didn't enjoy the characters, storyline was hard to believe and ending was abrupt and because I hate to finish a book, found myself skipping through to the end.
November 4, 2008
This was an "edge of your seat" suspense novel. I really enjoyed it. This was the second book I've read by this author. So far she is two for two.
August 7, 2009
I love this book, your interest is peaked after page 2 and you can't put it down!!!
June 1, 2012
Loved the book up until the last chapter. Terrible ending. It was pointless. If the author wasn't going to properly explain then she should've just left it out.
August 1, 2020
This book was so good but the epilogue 100% ruined it. HORRIBLE ending. Read this book but skip reading epilogue! You’re not missing anything important!
April 4, 2021
An intense read, but the ending was unsatisfactory.
June 11, 2021
Ein Buch voller Spannung und interessanter Wendungen.
July 23, 2017
„Seitse minutit enne keskpäeva“ , selle pealkirja taga on õõvastav lugu armukadedusest, petmisest, suhetest perekonnas. Põnev mõrvalugu. Seitse minutit enne keskpäeva on Alice õe Laureni surma aeg. Lauren, nagu Alich isegi, oli viimast lõppu rase. OLI, sest ta mõrvati jõhkral moel. Tema beebi aga jäi kadunuks. Seesama beebi, kes jõhkralt laibast välja lõigati.
Külmavärinad!
Kes küll sellise jõhkruse suutis toime panna. Ja miks? See selgub suhteliselt raamatu lõpus. Nagu ikka kahtlustatakse kogu aja valet inimest. ;) Minagi läksin kahtlustustega kaasa ja seepärast kiire ja peaaegu ootamatu lõpplahendus pakkus pinget.
" Kui hirm oleks hiiglaslik laine, mis minu peale langeb, mida ma teeks? Sukelduksin sellesse või keeraksin ringi ja jookseksin minema? Kardaksin hirmu või alistaksin selle?"
Külmavärinad!
Kes küll sellise jõhkruse suutis toime panna. Ja miks? See selgub suhteliselt raamatu lõpus. Nagu ikka kahtlustatakse kogu aja valet inimest. ;) Minagi läksin kahtlustustega kaasa ja seepärast kiire ja peaaegu ootamatu lõpplahendus pakkus pinget.
" Kui hirm oleks hiiglaslik laine, mis minu peale langeb, mida ma teeks? Sukelduksin sellesse või keeraksin ringi ja jookseksin minema? Kardaksin hirmu või alistaksin selle?"
April 14, 2025
3.7, da ich es trotz einiger Lücken in der Handlung total spannend fand und praktisch verschlungen habe. Das Ende fand ich etwas an den Haaren herbeigezogen und der Prolog toppte dies nochmal. Außerdem ziemlich brutales Grundmotiv, was ich als Content Warnung angeben würde.
October 5, 2020
Potential war da, aber viel zu abruptes, kaum zufriedenstellendes Ende.
June 27, 2023
1.5 what the actual fuck ...hab den Plot nicht verstanden falls es denn einen gab
October 28, 2025
It an easy and interesting story. Its just not really a Thriller. More like family/friend drama and crime.
May 22, 2019
2.5 stars
Alice Halpern, pregnant with twins, waits for her friend Lauren outside of their children's school. Lauren, almost nine months pregnant herself, never shows up for their meeting. Alice collects both sets of children and goes home to wait--maybe Lauren has gone into labor and isn't able to call. As the hours grow later, still no one has heard from Lauren. Her husband, Tim, frantic with worry, is summoned home from a business trip. The police can pinpoint Lauren's last known location, but it seems as if she has vanished into thin air.
As Alice tries to go about her normal routines, she discovers that she's being followed. Information comes to light about another pregnant woman's disappearance. Is there a serial kidnapper at work? Is Alice in danger? The police aren't telling her everything, and Alice begins to get more and more suspicious. What is going on?
Seven Minutes to Noon starts off as a fast-paced, intriguing thriller. The eerie atmosphere is created immediately when Alice is waiting for Lauren and stepps up a notch as the hours pass and no one hears from her. Their families are incredibly close, and the disappearance affects everyone involved. Emotions are tautly on edge. Yet just when all of the pieces of the puzzle are laid out for the reader to put things together, SEVEN MINUTES TO NOON disintegrates into an unbelievable conclusion and resolution.
I had such high hopes for Seven Minutes to Noon since Pepper's first novel, Five Days in Summer, was so intricately plotted and exciting. But Seven Minutes to Noon never achieves the mysterious twists that leave readers gasping with surprise. It's redeemed somewhat by a likable cast of characters, but skip the epilogue if you want to maintain any sense of believability.
Alice Halpern, pregnant with twins, waits for her friend Lauren outside of their children's school. Lauren, almost nine months pregnant herself, never shows up for their meeting. Alice collects both sets of children and goes home to wait--maybe Lauren has gone into labor and isn't able to call. As the hours grow later, still no one has heard from Lauren. Her husband, Tim, frantic with worry, is summoned home from a business trip. The police can pinpoint Lauren's last known location, but it seems as if she has vanished into thin air.
As Alice tries to go about her normal routines, she discovers that she's being followed. Information comes to light about another pregnant woman's disappearance. Is there a serial kidnapper at work? Is Alice in danger? The police aren't telling her everything, and Alice begins to get more and more suspicious. What is going on?
Seven Minutes to Noon starts off as a fast-paced, intriguing thriller. The eerie atmosphere is created immediately when Alice is waiting for Lauren and stepps up a notch as the hours pass and no one hears from her. Their families are incredibly close, and the disappearance affects everyone involved. Emotions are tautly on edge. Yet just when all of the pieces of the puzzle are laid out for the reader to put things together, SEVEN MINUTES TO NOON disintegrates into an unbelievable conclusion and resolution.
I had such high hopes for Seven Minutes to Noon since Pepper's first novel, Five Days in Summer, was so intricately plotted and exciting. But Seven Minutes to Noon never achieves the mysterious twists that leave readers gasping with surprise. It's redeemed somewhat by a likable cast of characters, but skip the epilogue if you want to maintain any sense of believability.
March 15, 2015
WARNING: May contain a spoiler!
I wish there were an option for no stars.
This is a really horrible book. The author blathers uncontrollably with drivel. I had a hard time keeping characters straight. Probably because I lost interest in the story so many times. As for Sylvie, I still don't know who she was, or Analise, for that matter. Was one of them really Judy's daughter?
Now, the thing that makes this SO unbelievable...A little background first. Lauren is a friend of Alice. They are both pregnant and near delivery. Lauren is murdered by someone who is terrorizing NYC by murdering pregnant women near term and kidnapping the infant. Two years after this happens, Alice and her family are on vacation in a remote part of Mexico south of Puerto Vallarta. They stop at an area near this cafe to change one of the infants (Alice had twins and two older children). Now who do you suppose pulls up while they are there? The people who now have Lauren's baby. I mean, really! I need a statistician. With over 400 million people between the US and Mexico, just what are the odds?? Unbelievable? In deed it is. And before you respond, I know this is fiction. But it was never labeled as a fantasy!
PS: What does the title have to do with the story? Or did the boredom cause me to miss that too?
I wish there were an option for no stars.
This is a really horrible book. The author blathers uncontrollably with drivel. I had a hard time keeping characters straight. Probably because I lost interest in the story so many times. As for Sylvie, I still don't know who she was, or Analise, for that matter. Was one of them really Judy's daughter?
Now, the thing that makes this SO unbelievable...A little background first. Lauren is a friend of Alice. They are both pregnant and near delivery. Lauren is murdered by someone who is terrorizing NYC by murdering pregnant women near term and kidnapping the infant. Two years after this happens, Alice and her family are on vacation in a remote part of Mexico south of Puerto Vallarta. They stop at an area near this cafe to change one of the infants (Alice had twins and two older children). Now who do you suppose pulls up while they are there? The people who now have Lauren's baby. I mean, really! I need a statistician. With over 400 million people between the US and Mexico, just what are the odds?? Unbelievable? In deed it is. And before you respond, I know this is fiction. But it was never labeled as a fantasy!
PS: What does the title have to do with the story? Or did the boredom cause me to miss that too?
April 1, 2012
Disconcertingly cosy view of Brooklyn - that also never mentions Manhattan.
It was OK - especially since it cost all of 50p - but curiously uninvolving and certainly never scary.
My main gripe (trivial though it is) is that on my eReader I only ever get the option of small / medium / large font & always go with small but in this edition the small font is too large - barely 2 paragraphs per page. It wasn't as bad as when you accidentally pick up a large-print book & it shouts at you but it didn't seem too far off.
It was OK - especially since it cost all of 50p - but curiously uninvolving and certainly never scary.
My main gripe (trivial though it is) is that on my eReader I only ever get the option of small / medium / large font & always go with small but in this edition the small font is too large - barely 2 paragraphs per page. It wasn't as bad as when you accidentally pick up a large-print book & it shouts at you but it didn't seem too far off.
December 8, 2013
This is a hard book to review. I read it on a recommendation from someone. I wanted something other than the romance novels that were filling up my nook so I figured why not.
I know it's going to be a great book when I have a hard time putting it down. Unfortunately I was able to put this one down. Don't get me wrong, the book was good but it dragged in areas and failed to keep my attention.
The concept of the story was great but the presentation could have used more work.
I rated this 3 stars because I did enjoy the book to some degree.
I know it's going to be a great book when I have a hard time putting it down. Unfortunately I was able to put this one down. Don't get me wrong, the book was good but it dragged in areas and failed to keep my attention.
The concept of the story was great but the presentation could have used more work.
I rated this 3 stars because I did enjoy the book to some degree.
October 6, 2014
Katie Lief is very talented, the way she writes brings you into the story like your there in the middle of it all, the small attention to detail makes her stories so real life. Found it very hard to stop reading as was dreading but excited about what was to happen next. You won't be disappointed I promise. Great read (as all her books)
April 1, 2008
This is a mystery book; It has an attractive female detective an FBI profiler and the author makes it all a very "sit on the edge of your chair" type of book.
The reason I read mystery books is to try & figure out the clues to solve the mystery.
The reason I read mystery books is to try & figure out the clues to solve the mystery.
July 14, 2014
lamish, not all that suspenseful, hard to relate to people who describe others as greedy while trying to buy a 1.2 million dollar home, weirdly neglectful of the children while deifying pregnancy
April 4, 2013
Another fantastic little novel from Katia Lief this one however disappointed me in some ways purely for the fact it was quite predictable and a not quite as fast and intense as some of her other novels but overall a good read!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews