The Stolen Child

by Sanjida Kay

Zoe and Ollie Morley tried for years to have a baby and couldn't. They turned to adoption and their dreams came true when they were approved to adopt a little girl from birth. They named her Evie. Seven years later, the family has moved to Yorkshire and grown in number: a wonderful surprise in the form of baby Ben. As a working mum it's not easy for Zoe, but life is good. But then Evie begins to receive letters and gifts. The sender claims to be her birth father.

He has been looking for his daughter. And now he is coming to take her back...

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Crime, Mystery, Contemporary, 21st Century, Suspense

337 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 6, 2017

About the author

Sanjida Kay is the author of psychological thrillers, 'One Year Later', 'My Mother's Secret', 'The Stolen Child' and 'Bone by Bone', which was longlisted for a CWA Steel Dagger. She's an Amazon rising star, and is published by Corvus Books. She has two short thrillers published in anthologies - 'The Beautiful Game', in 'The Perfect Crime' (which won a CWA Short Story Dagger), edited by Vaseem Khan and Maxim Jakubowski, published by Harper Collins, and 'The Divide' in 'The Book of Bristol' edited by Heather Marks and Joe Melia, published by Comma Press. Sanjida lives in Somerset with her husband and her daughter.

Reviews

[Paromjit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a dark, unsettling, and multilayered psychological thriller that dwells on every family's nightmares of their child going missing. In London, Zoe and Ollie Morley have seen their desperate dreams to have a child turn to ashes, pushing them to look towards adoption. They are blessed when they adopt baby Evie and so happy. Their circumstances change drastically as seven years later, they are living in Yorkshire, and have a surprise addition to their family in the form of naturally conceived baby boy, Ben, now a toddler. However, things are amiss within the family. Zoe is feeling underappreciated, missing her vocation as an artist, and has the lion's share of caring for the children. Ollie is largely absent out at work, and Evie is acting and behaving in a disturbing manner. The story is largely related from the perspective of Zoe.

Evie's behaviour becomes more understandable when it becomes apparent that she is being heavily influenced, and receiving gifts, and letters, purportedly from her biological father, keen to have her back. This increases the stresses and worries within the family, and events take a sinister turn when Evie is taken from school whilst Zoe is in hospital with Ben and Ollie. There are a host of suspects that appear to have motive for the abduction. The police uncover the gaping holes in
peoples' accounts, raising the levels of fear and paranoia in the novel. The fissures in Zoe and Ollie's marriage widen as conflict between them escalates, and Zoe feels a growing connection with Harris, a fellow artist with a passion for the bleak, dark and eerie moors. Psychologically, Zoe is a mess, and the sky high stress contributes to her poor and irrational behaviour and decision-making. She is a mother, with all that entails, desperate to have her child back. With the police failing to make progress, Zoe decides to take matters into her own hands as she hunts for Evie.

Sajida Kay has written an impressively plotted novel, with some great twists. Her prose is beautiful, and atmospheric, particularly in the descriptions that evoke the moors. I have to admit to not particularly liking either Zoe or Ollie but I find the scenario they found themselves in absolutely gripping. Kay authentically captures the dynamics, complexities, and difficulties of marriage, and the stresses and responsibilities that children bring into any family. Added to this mix are the thorny issues that adoption brings and a child being abducted. I found this a tense and suspenseful read infused with a growing sense of foreboding. Thanks to Corvus and Atlantic Books for an ARC.

[Miriam Smith (A Mother’s Musings) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Stolen Child" written by Sanjida Kay is a well written and cleverly plotted psychological thriller. I haven't read anything by this author before but I am aware of how respected she is and how popular her previous novel "Bone By Bone" was.
When Zoe and Ollie turn to adoption they feel their dreams have come true when they are approved to adopt a little girl from birth - Evie. Seven years later and a surprise baby for them both - Ben - coupled with a move to Yorkshire, life is good. But Evie starts to receive letters and gifts from her birth father. He has been searching for his daughter.....and now he is coming to take her back.....
Although I did find the whole story a little tame and slow going at times I still enjoyed it and happily read till the end. I didn't quite take to the characters but that often happens with a book you still enjoy. The atmospheric descriptions of the Moors were beautifully depicted and the perfect setting for the story.
All in all a decent read if you're looking for a slower paced novel and I'd easily read more by this author in the future.

[Pauline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple adopt a baby girl and seven years later the birth father contacts the child to say he wants her back. This is a very good psychological thriller that keeps you guessing until the end. I had sympathy with this child, her birth parent and the adoptive family and I was hoping for a happy ending.
I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for my e-copy in exchange for a honest review.

[Malia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Stolen Child by Sanjida Kay is a psychological mystery set in atmospheric Yorkshire. Zoe and Ollie have adopted a little girl, Evie, after years of trying and failing to get pregnant. When Evie is seven, they are a little family, having surprisingly had a little boy as well. Zoe is a painter working on an exhibition, and their family life is busy as she and her husband juggle work and family life. It comes as a great shock, then, when Zoe discovers letters Evie has been receiving from someone claiming to be her biological father and wanting her back.
The story moved quickly, and kept me entertained and curious, though I have to admit, I guessed the resolution about half-way through. Still, I wanted to know whether my suspicion was correct, so I happily kept reading until the end.
Here are the things I liked best and didn't like so much about this book.
The good: The setting was very atmospheric and felt almost like another character in the novel, which I always love, especially if it is a place I have never been. The author also builds a sense of suspense and the story of the adopted child really intrigued me, because I have always been drawn to the idea of adopting myself. The family dynamics were well-illustrated and felt quite real, which, however, brings me to the part I didn't love about this book.
The bad: The characters, though probably realistic in their behavior and the way Kay developed them, did not appeal to me. Zoe felt a bit whiny and not particularly warm, and her husband was difficult to gauge and a little colorless. I did feel for them - how could I not - but I did not want to know them. This is not unusual, of course. You don't always like the characters in books and sometimes even unlikable ones are terribly intriguing. However, in this story, I did feel it was the author's intention to make Zoe a relatable and likable character and it somehow missed the mark for me.
Final thoughts: Though I had some niggles with the protagonist, I was engaged and entertained by the story from start to finish and would definitely read books by this author in the future. I would recommend this book to fans of psychological thrillers and authors such as Sibel Hodge, Ruth Ware, or Fiona Barton.
Thanks to Corvus Publishing for supplying me with this copy in exchange for an honest review!

Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com

[Joanne Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just could not put this book down! This book is responsible for me being awake at 2.30 this morning unable to go to sleep until I had wrung every single word from its pages. So today I am a tired and grumpy book blogger especially as I have no coffee in the house any longer as it gives me palpitations! Which is probably a good thing as this book alone was responsible for plenty of palpitations yesterday!

I actually wish I hadn’t read the book blurb before I started The Stolen Child. That first chapter was such an intense, hard hitting and emotional few pages that it probably would have had even more impact on me if I hadn’t know what Zoe and Ollie were actually going through. But it was an incredible start to this highly emotive parenting journey that had my instincts as a mother on high alert for Zoe and her family immediately. This is one of those books where you suspect everybody and trust nobody as you hope and pray that everything comes good in the end. And one of the things that made The Stolen Child stand out for me was that you were never quite sure HOW it was going to end due to the realistically difficult family circumstances that were used to great effect by Sanjida Kay.

The setting of Ilkley gave this thriller an extra creepy and atmospheric edge and its vivid descriptions were beautifully written with a knowledge and passion that projected off each page. And whilst I didn’t particularly take to the “Boden catalogue” couple (in fact during that second chapter I absolutely detested Ollie!!) that didn’t impact on the tension I felt watching their beautiful but confused child deal with the difficult emotions she was going through. Her complex family dynamics also evoked many emotions within me and left me feeling completely drained at times.  But I still couldn’t put this book to the side!

This is a tense family drama that is taken to another level by the ravishingly descriptive narrative which sent shivers down my spine. The anxieties of parenthood were heightened to such an extent I just wanted to grab all my kids/grandchildren and give them the biggest ever bear hugs. Giving children the freedom to find themselves and make their own decisions is one of the hardest parenting choices you can make especially when all you want to do is   bubble wrap them and keep them safely close to you! And Samjida Kay obviously knows what frightens parents the most, using that knowledge to great effect in her fictional family so that her readers can safely live out their own fears within this melodrama.

I enjoyed this so much that as soon as I finished, even though it was the wee small hours of the morning, I went on Amazon to buy any other books by Sanjida Kay. Then learnt that apparently I had already bought Bone by Bone in March 2016 and that  it has been hiding in my kindle TBR pile ever since then! So I now know what I will be reading next time I can’t sleep! Insomnia does have its positives!

[Charlotte Ashcroft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book couldn’t put it down 😊

[Rachel (not currently receiving notifications) Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Stolen Child is a slow-burn psychological thriller that gradually pulled me into the story after a fairly predictable first third, with its multilayered approach and gradual unfolding of a story with multiple angles to explore. Considering the potential for discussion and associated issues that adoption gives rise to, I am surprised that the subject matter hasn’t already been extensively tackled within the psychological thriller genre. The Stolen Child not only broaches this topic, it adds a biological child into the mix and the additional unsettling influence of the threat of a biological parent suddenly wanting involvement in a child's life. Opening with husband and wife, Ollie and Zoe Morley, living in London and on their way to collect the child that they have been permitted to adopt at birth, the heartache of years of trying and miscarriages along the way is evident. Choosing to adopt the child of a drug addict, a girl they named Evie, just seven years later the couple and a healthy Evie have been joined by an unexpected biological child, two-year-old Ben and are living in the shadow of Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire, the area where artist Zoe grew up. However, life in the Morley household is less than perfect. Accountant Ollie has become obsessed with his work and is hardly ever at home, leaving Zoe effectively managing as a single parent. Zoe is frustrated at Ollie’s lack of consideration for her career, which he seems to regard as more of a hobby and the pressure of an upcoming exhibition to re-launch her artistic ambitions is hanging over her head. On top of all this, Evie’s truculent and changeable behaviour of late and her string of questions surrounding her real mummy has created tensions. Flighty and unpredictable, Zoe fears that the majority of Evie’s issues has arisen because of her skin tone and eye colouring, which is markedly different to the rest of the Morley family.

As Ben turns two and Ollie spends another Saturday in the office, a frazzled Zoe makes the stomach-churning discovery of the presents and cards which have been left in the garden, all supposedly claiming to be from Evie’s real daddy and attesting that they will soon be reunited. Husband, Ollie, offers little support, the police seem slow to take an interest (which I found unlikely) and as Zoe meets a fellow artist in brooding sculptor, Harris, she is presented with an opportunity to recapture her passion for art and her creative impetus. The story is narrated almost in entirety from Zoe’s perspective, however the occasional snapshot into the mind of Evie’s “real daddy” creates a overhanging threat and forewarned, the reader has an added incentive to stay with this story. The point of view of Zoe is easy to empathise with, however she does veer towards the rather melodramatic side, but it is simple to see how the finds herself falling for Harris, who seems to appreciate and understand her work. Finally feeling appreciated, the initial course of the story is predictable and a little lacklustre and the pretentious and overblown conversations surrounding art were somewhat cringeworthy. At this point I found Sanjida Kay drew in issues related to the arrival of a biological child in a family previously comprised of an adopted child only, most importantly how this has the potential to alter the family dynamic and change how a parent feels. As Zoe wonders if this is perhaps the reason for Ollie’s absence, the lack of communication between the two weighs in to create a building sense of angst. Despite the continuation of the mysterious gifts, both Ollie and Zoe’s minds are rather distracted and it takes a medical emergency for toddler Ben, before the worst fears of both parents are realised and Evie goes missing…

As the police rather drag their heels, Zoe find her paranoia rising and her suspicions aroused by an overactive imagination. Suddenly the innocuous comments of people who she considers her nearest and dearest, in best friends Andy and Gill and babysitter and schoolteacher, Jack, are making her take a closer look at people she once implicitly trusted. Assigned a Family Liaison Officer in the form of DS Ruby Patel, along with investigators DCI Collier and DS Clegg, initial alibis are riddled with holes and this forces Zoe to take the bull by the horns and hunt down every lead in the search for Evie. Unsure of who she can trust, a religious gift threatens to introduce an element of prejudice into the story and cause more friction with cultural stereotyping. I was disappointed with how I felt Sanjida Kay made little use of the menacing backdrop of Ilkley Moor. Whilst she name drops areas of note, having never been visited the location, it failed to stir much of threatening atmosphere or sense of real peril. Compare this for Belinda Bauer’s use of Saddleworth Moor in her evocative novel “Blacklands” and the poor use of the setting is apparent.

I had issues with the plausibility of this story, and even as someone with no intimate knowledge of the adoption procedure and the confidentiality issues surrounding it, I questioned the likelihood of some of the disclosures and police procedures. I also would have liked some insight into the age at which Evie was first made aware of her adoption, as I would have thought seven-years-old was rather too young for children to be questioning their origins and facing the stark truth. In this sense, Evie seemed beyond her years in terms of her ability to process and vocalise her emotions. The average seven-year-old would, I doubt have even give a second thought to whether they look dissimilar to their family let alone have had such a vivid imagination as to conjure up stories of evil step-parents stealing them away from the Moors. The viewpoint of Ollie and a greater presence from his character might have added to the novel too, however the far-fetched and eventual resolution was a stretch too far for me and my attention did waver into the close. However, on the whole this was an entertaining and perceptive take on the issue of child adoption, marital discord and career fulfilment. Unexpectedly nuanced, The Stolen Child held my attention and I would happily read more of Sanjida Kay’s writing in the future.

With thanks to reviewer, Miriam Smith, for sharing this book.

[Danielle Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stolen child

This book has touched me I find it's still playing on my mind the way the whole case is about .. being adopted myself it's a subject which is a mystery and the way the story has been told you are caught up in there lives

I think i know who her real dad is he sent eviee his daughter a note saying he was going to get her , but for a 7 year old she is determined to find out who real family is , she wants to know where she came from her mum was a drug addict and her dad no one knows who he is

[ReadAlongWithSue ★⋆. ࿐࿔catching up · Rating 5 out of 5]

How did I miss this authors first book Bone by Bone.
Because this latest thriller is so dam good.

The cover first attracted me, then the blurb.

Zoe and Ollie have this little 7 year old daughter who they adopted. They love just as much as any biological parents would.

When they thought they couldn't have children of they're own, along comes little Ben. It makes no difference in the love they equal out and care for with each child.

But Evie starts getting gifts left hidden from her parents from her Real Daddy.
When this is discovered of course all sorts of reasoning has taken hold in Zoe's mind. Is it her real dad? Could it be a child abduction in the making, someone preening her little girl for their devious desires?

What makes this compulsive reading are also the chapters of where you get the thoughts and what's happening, what that "person" is feeling periodically within chapters.

There are several I thought of who could have been the "villain" and I was so positive that I was right.
It's not until the last when you say "oh heck! I can see that now" The twist is so secretive it's really well hidden to guess correctly.

The emotions, the doubts. Everyone is Zoe's suspect. Everyone seems to be in the frame at some stage. After all, isn't the culprit one closest the family? Evan a parent?

An absolutely enjoyable read.

I want to thank the author and Kirsty, Publicity Director at Atlantic books for my copy.

[Dale Harcombe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and a half stars
After years of trying to have a baby and being unable to, Zoe and Ollie turn to adoption. In time they are approved for a little baby girl who they name Evie. She has a few medical issues but there is great rejoicing when they eventually get to bring her home from the hospital. Some years later they have a child naturally. They call him Ben. Both children are treasured although Zoe, an artist, resents that Ollie never seems to be home to help with the two children. Then Zoe meets Harris, another artist who really seems to get her and her work. Finally someone she can talk to. When Evie begins to receive cards and letters saying they are from her birth father who has been looking for her since birth and he now wants her back, her behaviour starts to change towards Zoe and Ollie.
I found this quite an interesting read, although I found Zoe rather annoying and she makes some ridiculously stupid decisions at times. Ollie was a man too focused on work, which seems to be a common theme. I didn’t warm to either of them. I did feel for them in the situation in which they find themselves though. The description of the moors was evocative and certainly a good setting for this story, almost like another character. I could see the Yorkshire moors in my mind as I read.
Once again this is a novel where I was not one hundred percent convinced by some of the actions of the characters, or the ending. But it was still an enjoyable enough read that mostly kept my interest. I loved the cover of this book.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books reviews on www.snazzybooks.com

The Stolen Child is a powerful and absorbing novel and I loved every second of it!

I am a big fan of Sanjida Kay’s first novel, Bone By Bone, so was very excited to read this. They’re similar in the way that they both focus on a mother and her child, but, as the title suggests, in The Stolen Child there’s a big element of a missing child, which adds an extra feel of tension to the novel.

I actually quite disliked the main character, Zoe – I found her quite judgemental and rash. One of the decisions she makes in particular paints her in a bad light and makes you wonder how valuable her family is to her – but when her daughter Evie goes missing you see her desperation and I did feel for her. Ollie is also quite unlikeable in the way he treats Zoe and her desperation and despair at him working all the time comes across so strongly in this novel; it makes you want to shake them both but for different ‘problems’. Neither are perfect, but both really love their children, and you can see clearly see that, so you’re rooting for them!

At times I second-guessed everyone and wondered if they were actually behind Evie’s disappearance, and I love books that make me do this! There’s always an element of whether Zoe herself could have something to hide, as well as Ollie, and though you don’t read any of the story from the police’s side particularly, I did wonder if they were suspecting the two parents as they investigated.

There’s dramatic moments and parts where I was convinced I’d figured it all out, but a satisfying twist keeps the readers guessing throughout. I loved the use of the moors to add an extra layer of eeriness to the narrative.

I honestly enjoyed reading every page of this well-written, tense novel. I didn’t want it to end, and I feel it’s probably one of my favourite books this year – and that’s saying something as I’ve read some great books so far in 2017!

The Stolen Child, along with the brilliant Bone By Bone, has propelled Sanjida Kay to one of my new favourite authors and I’m eagerly anticipating whatever she writes next, especially if it’s half as good as these two novels! A brilliant and gripping 5-star read.

Many thanks to Corvus Books for providing a copy of this novel, on which I chose to write an honest and unbiased review.

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having loved this author’s first book Bone by Bone I was looking forward to The Stolen Child, in the end I read it in one huge gulp of a sitting – like in her first novel, Sanjida Kay writes here with an emotional level that is utterly engrossing and it is genuinely difficult to stop once you start.

Exploring themes of family and adoption, wrapping it up in a twisty tale of suspense, The Stolen Child follows Zoe and her family. Her husband is mostly absent as she faces the daily toil of parenthood with her adopted daughter Evie and her natural son Ben, when Evie starts getting letters supposedly from her birth Father things take a sinister and highly emotive turn.

I love the layers the author puts into the story, not only creating a compelling and realistic family dynamic but giving us a truly atmospheric and taut mystery. Within the confines of the place they live where those Zoe trusts suddenly seem threatening, the tension is palpable throughout the telling and it is utterly utterly gripping from the very first page. The setting is beautifully described, adding to the sense of atmosphere, the truth is cleverly hidden from view making the ultimate resolution wonderfully unpredictable – basically it is everything you want from a psychological thriller but with added depth and perception.

Loved it. Absolutely highly recommended.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story starts in London with parents-to-be Ollie and Zoe rushing to a hospital for the birth of a baby, we then jump to 7 years later and to their son Ben’s second birthday party where the family are living in Yorkshire. Zoe is frazzled, having to cope on her own without Ollie’s support and Evie, their oldest child is behaving strangely, is she just jealous of Ben getting all the attention or is there another reason for her bad behaviour?

The first thing that I really noted during the early part of this story was the difference in Ollie’s behaviour. Whilst seven years previously he and Zoe were excitedly getting ready for the hospital and looking forward to bringing home a baby, he was a devoted and caring husband but just five short years later, he seems to be spending as much time away from the family as possible, pleading work commitments. It’s no wonder that Zoe feels as though she is a single mother and sometimes drops one or two of the balls she is juggling.

The Stolen Child is a really enjoyable suspense story that kept me intrigued all the way through and the setting of the Ilkley moors was so descriptive and atmospheric. The chapters are easy to follow as there is a timeline introducing each one. As well as seeing the main drama unfolding, we occasionally hear the voice of another unknown person; whoever it is clearly believes that their daughter has been stolen and wants her back. I have to admit there were times when I felt so frustrated with some of Zoe’s decisions that I wanted to shake some sense into her and on several occasions I was silently shouting ‘no don’t do that’. I do have to commend her though for following through with her intuition and gut feeling – she could sense some things were wrong even when others, for example the police, thought they knew better.

The plot is well structured and as you would expect from this genre, nothing is quite as it seems. I was feeling a bit smug as I thought I had worked out who was responsible however a clever writer always has a trick or two up her sleeve and the twists and turns in this story meant that by the time the big reveal came I had suspected everyone in turn. As well as the suspense element, the story focuses on the increasingly fractured relationship between Zoe and Ollie and also that of Evie and her adopted family. What does Evie really think – does she feel loved enough? Does she feel that Ben is their favourite because he is their biological child?

A recommended read – and such a lovely cover too! I had already bought the author’s first book, Bone By Bone, which I have yet to read – if that is as good as this one then I’m definitely missing out and need to bump it up the TBR mountain.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zoe and Ollie have tried for years to have a baby but things didn't quite work out for them. They turned to adoption and were approved to adopt a little girl from birth, Evie.

Seven years later, the family has moved from London to Yorkshire and things are very different. Not only is there the addition of baby boy, Ben, but the relationship between Zoe and Ollie has changed quite drastically.

Then Evie starts receiving letters and gifts from someone who claims to be her birth father.

True to form, this book offers a lot of twists and turns. Even when I thought I knew what was going on, the author managed to make my head spin so much I couldn't remember what was what. At one point, I suspected pretty much every character of not quite being who they pretended to be. Red herrings and surprise events in abundance, which I absolutely love!

Yet it's also a powerful story about families and about adoptions. Does Evie act out and behave a bit strangely because she's jealous of her baby brother? Is she struggling because she's adopted? Does she feel her parents treat her differently from their biological child? Or is there more going on?

The setting in the Moors was so descriptive it added an extra layer to the atmosphere of the story. Beautiful yet treacherous. The characters were believable and realistic, even though I didn't warm to them. Zoe in particular makes some choices that boggled my mind. But the despair and devastation she felt did make me sympathise more with her.

The Stolen Child is a highly absorbing and suspenseful read. Having read and enjoyed the author's previous book, Bone by Bone, I'm very much looking forward to what comes next.

[Bookread2day · Rating 5 out of 5]

I began to be a fan of Sanjida Kay after reading the paperback Bone To Bone. I am so glad that Sanjida is back with a brand new novel The Stolen Child that I must say is now one of the best paperback thrillers that I have read. My heart went out to Zoe and Ollie Morley as their family is torn apart. Zoe and Ollie tried for years to have a baby and couldn't. They decided to adopt a baby. There seems to be a problem with the little baby that they have named Evelyn, Evie for short. Evie seems to have black hair and her skin is pale brown. But little Evie is suffering from Foetal Alcohol Syndrome and is being treated for drug addiction. Once Evie starts school Zoe has her heart-broken when she reads a story by Evie about the princess who lives with her nasty wicked stepmother and father and she sets off across the moor in search of her real parents. Presents and letters are given to Evie who claims that he is her real daddy and her real daddy is coming for her. The race is on when Evie goes missing from school, someone has taken her. Will the police and Zoe find Evie? I loved every page with all its twists. A stop and order The Stolen Child is a must.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read and loved Bone By Bone, I was delighted to receive a copy of The Stolen Child to read and review.

The Stolen Child centers on Zoe, Ollie and their family. After having problems trying to conceive, they make the decision to adopt a child. Evie is their long awaited baby, and fast forward a few years, with the added surprise of Ben being born, they have settled into family life in Yorkshire.

All is not what it seems though. Evie has started receiving letters and presents, signed from her birth father. This obviously causes her parents to worry and wonder why ,after so long, this is happening now. And what if he does take her?

Every parents worst nightmare becomes a constant shadow on their lives. Zoe and Ollie are at their wit’s end wondering what could possibly come from these gifts and letters. The tension and worry they feel comes across really well in the writing, and more than once it made me feel uncomfortable while I was reading.

The Stolen Child is part domestic noir, part psychological thriller and it will definitely have the reader questioning the motives of the characters. It is a quietly gripping book that creates a sense of uneasiness that is hard to ignore.

Recommended!

[Shirley Revill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story will stay with you long after the book is finished. Deserves far more than five stars.
I will definitely be looking for more books by this author. Very highly recommended.

[Jamie Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh lol. Another annoying first person. Another bunch of rave reviews that frankly , leave me baffled and wondering if I read a different book. Wasted two hours of my life and I'm actually annoyed by it several hours later. Just noticed the ringing praise from the Daily Fail on the cover. So, it seems the DF book reviewing is on a delusional, dishonest par with their 'journalism'

The author tries so hard to implicate everyone with a penis in the abduction, it only makes it blatantly obvious who the abductors are. The story is weak and has no depth, relies on the 'twist' which isn't really a twist.

In this case the irritating narrator is a shallow, judgemental, narcissistic prat who whines her way through 300+ pages. (She did a birthday party with NO help from her husband, the terrible man was only at work, presumably to pay for the nice house and SMEG appliances she is too ungrateful to appreciate!) What a complete b#@£#£d...which is probably why he has to cook his own dinner after working late because she's busy sulking about 'raising two kids. ON HER OWN!' and drinking chardonnay. Try actually raising the two kids alone, without the benefit of a husband working his butt off to provide financial support, I might have been sympathetic.

Blaming the birth mother and assuming doctors are incompetent in diagnosis because her daughter has problems. Problems that most likely stem from her self involved, negligent 'parenting'. I bet this chick admires the McCann school of parenting.

judging a so-called friend for shagging a prostitute when he was young and single, while creaming her knickers over some random guy when she's married.

I'm not surprised her husband works too hard and her older kid keeps reminding her she's not her mother.

The poor toddler. Head injuries , seemingly on a daily basis and almost killed because Mommy Dearest drags him for a moors walk that might floor most adults. But, of course, those things are fine because it's not her fault, even though it totally is.

[Ingstje · Rating 4 out of 5]

More please! I haven’t read the first novel Bone to Bone by Sanjida Kay but I plan to go back and read that one in the future as well. The Stolen Child was a story that seriously kept me hooked, made me take a million guesses and still managed to surprise me in the end.

The Stolen Child starts with Zoe and Ollie’s high anticipation to seeing Evie for the first time, the little wonder they’d been waiting for and were able to adopt. Their bliss and love for her is springing from the pages. Seven years later there’s also little Ben who was their own little miracle and their family is complete. They move from London to Ilkley and all would be well if Ollie wasn’t so absent. Zoe has to raise the children almost single-handedly and is often angry at her husband for leaving her alone struggling to manage the household, the children and her painting.

On Ben’s second birthday Zoe finds Evie acting weird. She’s wearing a dress she has no memory of buying her and she soon discovers that someone is leaving her presents and cards, signed by her real daddy. Apparently her birth father was able to find her but they have no idea who he is, what he looks like, and when they talk to Evie about it, she claims to have never met him but it’s clear that he already has her into his grip. Through little snippets I was also painfully aware that her father is watching them and biding his time. Then she goes missing… a parent’s worst nightmare!

There were plenty of red herrings in this novel… and quite a few suspects who could be her father. Was it teacher Jack, family friend Andy, fellow artist and sculptor Haris who she came to know really well in the last weeks, or is even her husband Ollie to be suspected? I kept rotating these names in my head and each and every one of them seemed to be lying or hiding something. I dismissed them one by one but then something made me wonder and put them under suspicion again.. I wasn’t sure of anything or anyone in the end. It was wonderful to finally discover who it was!

This novel was a joy to read, it was well-written and had a carefully crafted plotline wih everyone acting as a suspect and with possible motive. Every time something was revealed I felt it was too convenient and too easy for that person to be the father and abductor. I was going slightly bazonkers (to put it mildly haha) being so clueless until the end.

My only misgiving was that Evie wasn’t a very likeable child and I found her reactions strange towards her being adopted. She might be curious about her real daddy but just to dismiss her family that she’s known for 7 years, while they love her so much, felt euhm a bit unrealistic.

A very recommended read if you want to take part in a little guessing game. This one will have you racing to the end to find out!

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

When they decided to adopt Evie, they didn’t even know if their baby would live. Daughter of a drug addict, she had to fight with all her strengths just to survive in the incubator, but she made it. Now, seven years past, Zoe and Ollie have a little boy of their own, Ben, but their love for Evie hasn’t diminished, even though their family isn’t always a perfect one. But their relative peace suddenly changes when Evie's alleged biological father starts sending her letters. Her child was stolen from him and he wants her back. And not even all of Zoe’s attention to his unexpected gifts can stop him from acting when the time is right…
One of the most impressive things about this book – and it is, overall, quite impressive – is how easy it is to enter in Zoe’s mind, understand her fears and frustrations, and still see the other sides of the story. Her relationship with Ollie is not perfect, she is not perfect and things have changed over time. Of course, nobody is perfect in this story and that is precisely what makes it so intense. Because, when the major turning points do happen, anyone can be responsible. All explanations are possible.
The writing is also quite enthralling, highlighting the mystery of it all, but also the unexpected and intriguing features of the various characters. Zoe and Evie are the most important characters, yes, that is to be expected. But the people around them? Well, everyone has secrets and the ways those secrets are revealed – always in the moment when they matter most – make the story much more intense and unexpected.
So it is mostly a mystery – of a child’s biological father who wants to take her child back and of what happens when he takes his plans into action. But it is also more than that. It’s a story about family lives, and how nothing is ever as perfect as we imagine. About maternal instincts and the need to protect our loved ones. About what happens in someone’s mind when the tension and the fear are overwhelming – and how everything, misconceptions, scary scenarios, harsh judgements, becomes natural when all that matters is to find the missing child. There are many important questions in this book and the way the author manages to approach those while telling a story that’s full of mysteries and intrigue and unexpected changes it also a quite impressive feat.
So, impressive is a good word to describe this book: a story where no one is exactly who they seem to be and everything can change in the blink of an eye. Intense, intriguing and super addictive, a most impressive read, and a book I’d definitely recommend.


** I received this book from Corvus in exchange for an honest review.

[⋆Isaᵕ̈ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book made me feel like I was trapped in someone else’s nightmare.

Zoe is terrified, unraveling, and trying so hard to be everything a mother should be. Her adopted daughter, Evie, starts acting strange - and then boof - gone. Disappeared. Meanwhile, Zoe is expected to hold it together for her younger son, Ben, with practically no help from her husband. I felt for her. But somewhere along the way, her fear curdles into suspicion, and her protectiveness becomes corrosive. I didn’t always like her, but I understood her - even if I was raging at how irrational she could be.

Every character drove me up the wall. And maybe that’s unfair - this is a thriller. Also Ollie, the husband? Entirely ineffectual.

The writing gripped me. The dread settled in slow. And then it ends - just… ends. What the hell happened to Harris? What about Zoe and Ollie’s marriage? Are we seriously meant to believe that’s resolved?? That they can raise two kids together??

Three stars because it’s good. Maybe even great. But I closed the book angry - for I know who - and I don’t think I’ve unclenched my jaw since.

[Janel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars - This was my first novel by Sanjida Kay and what an enjoyable one it was. I particularly liked the opening chapter, despite the reader knowing from the blurb, that Zoe and Ollie are adopting a baby, Kay introduced this novel with the couple on route to the hospital – it was a very good introduction to the novel and if you read this book without reading the blurb, you’ll find your first surprise at the end of the chapter.

Seven years later, Zoe and Ollie have a baby of their own but Evie is still very much their ‘first-born’ and the couple’s worst nightmare comes true when Evie’s dad comes to take her back. I read this novel in two sitting – Kay has a nice, easy writing style that allows you to fly through the pages. When Evie begins acting a little ‘off’, the trouble begins… My only real issue with this novel was, there was a point when Evie was wearing a dress and Zoe didn’t know where Evie got it from as she didn’t buy it for her, but she didn’t want to ask her where she got it because she didn’t want to risk upsetting her – at seven-years-old, Evie clearly didn’t buy it for herself. That annoyed me because if my child was wearing clothes and I didn’t know where they came from, the world is standing still until I find out!

Based on me thinking, ‘it couldn’t be that simple’, I figured out the twist in the novel, nonetheless, this novel does have a few surprises along the way. Even though I wasn’t fooled, I appreciate Kay’s ability to misdirect the reader several times. The portrayal of the family’s grief was realistic and Kay used the moor setting, where the family lived, to add a dark layer to the parent’s grief as it allows the reader to imagine some truly horrific circumstances.

This is another novel I’m placing in the ‘light-hearted’ psychological thriller category because I didn’t find it too dark or disturbing and the psychological thrills don’t run too deep. As a general fiction novel, I’d say this is a very good book but if you’re looking specifically for a mystery and thriller novel, this is one may fall a little short for you. For me, I didn’t find the plot too complex and I usually look for much darker content in my psychological thrillers.

However, I have no reservations recommending this novel and I look forward to reading more from this author.

*My thanks to the publisher (Corvus) for granting me access to a digital copy of this book via Netgalley*

[Venessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Stolen Child
Having read Bone by Bone and given it a 5 star rating, I had high expectations for Sanjida Kay’s second book …

I didn’t want to consume this book in one sitting. Often this can so easily happen, and I did find this book very hard to put down. As Sanjida had given her writing so much effort, and had taken so much pride in her exquisite prose; and as Corvus had put a lot of thought into the book design including size and font, I really did want to savour every morsel as much as possible. Even so, this book was very hard to read slowly!

Zoe and Ollie Morley have tried for years to have a baby, and eventually they are lucky enough to have Evie. Seven years on, they have had the joy of the unexpected – a second child named Ben, but Zoe, like a lot of mothers, doesn’t find it easy to balance motherhood with work (in her case she is an artist), or balance all of that with a relationship.

The first chapter bashed me over the head and spurred me on at the same time. My first moment of stopping, gasping, putting my tea down and really feeling the story was when Zoe meets Harris, fellow artist and moors lover. For me, this is where Sanjida’s writing really comes into its own. Expressive, vivid, eloquent and evocative, the description of the Yorkshire moors is beautiful and breath-taking.

“ …so the moor has always been part of my life. It’s like a muse: the colours of the heather and the skiy; how you can see the savagery of the wind in the way the dwarf pine trees are bent double; the bleak lines of the landscape in winter when everything save the moss and the grass are dead, stones like bones, poking through a thin skin of bilberry bushes, rushes reflected in black bog water.”

Harris begins to feature sharply in Zoe’s thoughts. Meanwhile Ollie is more and more absent. With a school teacher and teaching assistant all too happy to babysit, Zoe has to use their goodwill to be able to get any work done. But the reader becomes quite suspicious of Harris, Jack and Hannah because of Evie’s sour moods and odd behaviour.

Without spoilers, suffice to say, that there are many moments that transport you to the moors, both in the beautiful, spectacular way, as well as the atmospheric, dark and brooding way.

“Like a fairy tale, his [Harris’s] word pictures replace the dark greens of this dark, primordial wood.”

It’s just too easy to fall in love with Harris, but beware the old adage; anything that looks too good to be true, usually is.

Throughout the book, Zoe’s narration is peppered with the voice of the perpetrator making the reader wonder about motive and intent. The reader is also enlightened to the ease at which others (in a cyber age of social media) can find out about your daily routine, your passions, your joy. This is something that Sanjida Kay wrote about in her first novel Bone by Bone. The reader is also drawn to the idea of six degrees of separation – the idea that all living things and everything else in the world is six or fewer steps away from each other. This notion is the belief that any two people are connected by a strong chain of ‘a friend of a friend.’

I was thrilled that our author creates a very real relationship between Zoe and Ollie, and the very regular circumstance where more than one thing is happening in any person’s life at any given time. Both our protagonists are busy and stressed people. No one has the right to say that Ollie’s work priorities are not normal because they are. Often as a parent you can lose sight of your precious treasure in the quest to provide for your loved ones. On the flip side, no woman has the right to berate Zoe for wanting some of her life back to be an artist again – what parent doesn’t crave a piece of time or something for themselves. Finally, when the shit hits the fan, who hasn’t hurt the person they love the most? Again, very normal, very real, and it is this, that makes Kay’s writing so credible, sincere and authentic.

“I take him [Ben] from Ollie as often as I can, partly because I want to keep Ben close, but also to prove that he loves me best and to make Ollie feel worse. Which makes me a complete bitch. And the entire time I feel as if I’ve been eviscerated. Evie has been missing for three days.”

The other aspect of The Stolen Child that captured my imagination was the ‘outing’ of several others people’s lives in the search for Evie, and ultimately, leading to the truth about Evie’s abduction and where she’d been hidden. As we go about our every day lives, we don’t stop to consider how we crash into each other with our every emotion, be it a smile, a kind or bad word, a piece of gossip, and how these encounters are passed on. We probably all know that’ shit rolls downhill’, but it is also interesting to see how communication and how we go about it in the 21st century is having such a huge impact on how we perceive one another. As our author points out; how well do we really know the people around us? How much do we observe the people our children interact with?

Finally my thought would be that this story points out our unwitting prejudices and assumptions about religion, gender and authority figures; be that an automatic assumption of trust or in fact the complete opposite. This story challenges the reader’s notions of our inherent values.

I don’t want to spoil it for future readers, but there is a final piece of description about Evie that is beautiful beyond compare, and it brought tears of happiness to my eyes. Sanjida Kay has created something I hadn’t experienced before – a magical, sparkling, colourful, psychological thriller. Absolutely brilliant.

[morasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Rebecca Garnett Haris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zoe and Ollie tried for years to have a baby. They adopted a baby girl and called her Evie. Seven years on they are living in Yorkshire and have another child Ben. Life is challenging with Ollie and Zoe both working and raising their 2 children. Evie begins to receive letters and gifts from someone claiming to be her father. He has been looking for his daughter. And now he's coming to take her back.

I loved this book. I started in the morning and was still reading it at 3am the following night as I just couldnt put it down.
Written in first person POV (Zoe) the author captures the difficulties of marriage and young children, juggling careers with the unfolding drama of her adopted child Evie. I found myself in solidarity with Zoe. I wanted to squeeze Ben and kiss his fat cheeks. I was fascinated by Evie. Here are Zoe's feelings about her 2 chidren:

"He's my longed for son, the one I felt I'd waited a lifetime to meet, the baby I thought I'd never have,the child I love so much I feel my heart might burst. I'm singing and smiling and my eyes are filling with tears and then I look up and catch sight of Evie..
Ben looks like a pudgy blond cherub from a Michelangelo fresco. Evie folds her arms over her thin chest. She's scrawny, with bony knees. Her hair is dark, her skin is the colour of milky tea and her eyes are streaked green and brown."

Then the nighmare begins. If Zoe thought life was a challenge beforehand nothing could prepare her for what happened next. Lots of twists and turns and a corker of a revelation at the end!

You have to meet Evie. I'm just hoping there may be a sequel!!

[Lauren-Tess Anderson-Watkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to be honest, I really struggled with this book. I felt it was rather slow compared to other pyschological thrillers I've read.

I couldn't connect with any of the characters at all, and I felt that it wasnt overly believable at times.

Though, I liked the twist - it wasn't overly thrilling as perhaps described. But to another reader it just may well be.

I had wanted to read this book for a long time, the title, cover and blurb had me intrigued.

It is a quick read and quite possibly one anyone could read in one sitting.


This was my first book by Sanjida Kay. I have Bone by bone waiting for me on kindle, so I'm looking forward to reading that at some point.

I can recommend this book of you are wanting a change of scenery, pace or genre.

[booksofallkinds · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE STOLEN CHILD by Sanjida Kay is a chilling and haunting tale of love, loss, and desperation, and will make you hold your little ones extra tight.

Zoe and Ollie finally have their beautiful little daughter, their beloved child that they have gone through so much to hold in their arms. It doesn't matter that she is adopted or that her mother was a drug addict. Evie is their little girl and they will love her with all of their hearts.

Fast forward seven years and Zoe and Ollie were even more blessed when they unexpectedly fell pregnant with Ben who is now two years old. Their little family is now complete with their daughter and son, and from the outside, they look like the perfect family. Zoe loves being a mum but she doesn't get to focus on her art as much as she would like, while Ollie is throwing himself into his career more and more. And Zoe worries about Evie sometimes as her little girl seems so angry and out of her reach. So when a fellow artist reaches out to Zoe, she blooms under his attention and yearns for the connection that seems to exist between them, while at the same time her husband seems to be moving further and further away from her. But when Zoe makes a terrifying discovery in her back garden, she must focus on her family more than ever before, because Evie's biological father has found them and he wants his little girl back. And he will do whatever he must to retrieve everything that was stolen from him.

THE STOLEN CHILD by Sanjida Kay is terrifying as we watch Zoe and Ollie's entire life fall apart piece by piece, and when their children are in danger, it literally made my skin crawl as it is every parent's worst nightmare. The drama and pace of this novel really worked for me and I was sure that I knew what was going to happen but I was wrong, and there are plenty of shocks and twists along the way that really kept it interesting from start to finish. I have to say that I didn't always like Zoe as there were times where I felt that she was selfish and acting stupidly, but that didn't stop me from empathising with her as her life unravelled around her.

THE STOLEN CHILD by Sanjida Kay is a gripping and compelling thriller that should definitely be on your reading list for this year.

*I voluntarily reviewed this book from the Publisher

[Następcy Książeki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rodzina Morlyeów wiedzie spokojne życie w pobliżu wrzosowiska. Zoe jest artystką, która stara się w ferworze pracy jednocześnie wychowywać dzieci. Najstarszej z nich, Evie, zostało adoptowane od razy po urodzeniu. Pewnego dnia Zoe natrafia na tajemniczy prezent i list. Nadawca twierdzi w nim, że jest biologicznym ojcem Evie i od zawsze jej szukał. "Siedem lat temu zabraliście mi dziecko. Teraz muszę je odzyskać i nie cofnę się przed niczym..."
Jest to niepokojące, gdyż brak jakichkolwiek dokumentów, które wskazywałyby na to kim są biologiczni rodzice dziewczynki. W między czasie Zoe, bez wiedzy męża, wchodzi w interesującą relację z Harrisem (również artystą). Po pewnym czasie dziwne prezenty i listy przestały się pojawiać. Wydaje się, że wszystko wrzuciło do normy. Wtedy właśnie dochodzi do tajemniczego zaginięcia Evie. *
*
Chcę zwrócić uwagę na tą piękną okładkę, za co wielki szacun do grafika. Świetnie oddaje klimat, który próbowała stworzyć autorka. Szkoda, że jej to zbytnio nie wyszło. Na początku liczyłam na to że książka wywoła dużo emocji, będzie nieco kontrowersyjna. Chciałam czegoś na kształt sprawy mamy małej Madzi z 2012 roku. Niestety nie dostałam tego. *
*
Połowa tej książki to życie rodzinne, emocje i inne tego typu rzeczy. Często jest to wykorzystywane jako podbudowa czegoś epickiego (np. było tak u Stephen King w "Carrie"). Osobiście nie lubię czegoś takiego, gdyż łatwo w ten sposób znudzić czytelnika i zniechęcić do dalszego czytania.
Potem dopiero dochodzi do zaginięcia. I wiecie co? Ja na tym etapie wiedziałam już wszystko. Wiedziałam kto, czemu i jak. *
*
Nie była to dla mnie przyjemna lektura. Nudziłam się niemiłosiernie. Być może nie jestem grupą odbiorczą tej książki. Wydaje mi się, że może być idealna dla matek, gdyż najlepiej będą rozumieć Zoe. Osobiście jestem na nie. Nie zrozumcie mnie źle, nie jest ona zła, jest po prostu poprawna. (5/10⭐)

[Asia (zupa.czyta) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Każdy, kto szuka sporych emocji w thrillerze psychologicznym, powinien być zadowolony po lekturze "Skradzionego dziecka" - to całkiem porządna powieść z lekkim dreszczykiem, mnożącymi się pytaniami i zaskakującymi odpowiedziami na nie.
Chyba po raz pierwszy zetknęłam się w thrillerze tego typu z tematem adopcji i późniejszego zniknięcia/uprowadzenia adoptowanego dziecka. Autorka wie, jak wzbudzić w czytelniku emocje, robi to naprawdę dobrze, bo czytając pewne fragmenty czułam się wręcz przyspawana do książki. Co jeszcze mi się podobało? Umiejscowienie części akcji na wrzosowisku - jest to idealna sceneria, dodająca trochę mroku do całości.
Zakończenie można uznać za zaskakujące, jednak w zeszłym roku czytałam historię, której końcówka miała praktycznie identyczny przebieg, dlatego zupełnie nie zdziwiło mnie odkrycie sprawcy całego zamieszania, na tę osobę stawiałam od samego początku. Oczywiście nie zdradzę Wam o jaką zeszłoroczną powieść chodzi, żeby nie zepsuć Wam przyjemności z lektury! ;)
Podsumowując: "Skradzione dziecko" to porządny thriller psychologiczny, który trafi przede wszystkim do rodziców drżących o swoje pociechy. Naprawdę mocna czwóreczka!