What do you think?
Rate this book
Henry Parker #3
The Stolen
Five years ago the boy vanished without a trace. Today he came back.
Five years after he disappeared, young Daniel Linwood returned to his suburban home for dinner as though he'd never left. It's a blessing for both his family and their community. And I've snagged the exclusive interview.
But it turns out Daniel is just one of a string of abducted children who have mysteriously returned to their families with no memory of their lost years. Some people want me to leave it be. Some want me to simply let the healing process begin. But these wounds are deeper than anyone realizes.
To get the story on these bizarre kidnappings, I need the help of the one woman who owes me nothing. I've got to find answers before another life is snatched away from sight and time and memory. But doing so means we could be the next ones to go.…
Five years after he disappeared, young Daniel Linwood returned to his suburban home for dinner as though he'd never left. It's a blessing for both his family and their community. And I've snagged the exclusive interview.
But it turns out Daniel is just one of a string of abducted children who have mysteriously returned to their families with no memory of their lost years. Some people want me to leave it be. Some want me to simply let the healing process begin. But these wounds are deeper than anyone realizes.
To get the story on these bizarre kidnappings, I need the help of the one woman who owes me nothing. I've got to find answers before another life is snatched away from sight and time and memory. But doing so means we could be the next ones to go.…
244 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2008
400 people are currently reading
477 people want to read
About the author
Jason Pinter
28 books613 followersJason Pinter is the bestselling author of HIDE AWAY and A STRANGER AT THE DOOR in his Rachel Marin series, as well as six other novels: the acclaimed Henry Parker series (The Mark, The Guilty, The Stolen, The Fury, and The Darkness), the stand-alone thriller The Castle, as well as the middle-grade adventure novel Zeke Bartholomew: SuperSpy, and the children’s book Miracle. His books have over one million copies in print worldwide and have been optioned for film. He has been nominated for numerous awards, including the Thriller Award, Strand Critics Award, Barry Award, and Shamus Award, and more
He is the Founder and Publisher of the independent publisher Polis Books, as well as Agora, an imprint launched in 2019 dedicated to diverse and underrepresented voices in crime fiction. He was honored by Publishers Weekly’s Star Watch, which “recognizes young publishing professionals who have distinguished themselves as future leaders of the industry.” He has written for the New Republic, Entrepreneur, the Daily Beast, Esquire, and more. He lives in New Jersey, with his wife and their two daughters. Visit him at www.JasonPinter.com, and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @JasonPinter.
He is the Founder and Publisher of the independent publisher Polis Books, as well as Agora, an imprint launched in 2019 dedicated to diverse and underrepresented voices in crime fiction. He was honored by Publishers Weekly’s Star Watch, which “recognizes young publishing professionals who have distinguished themselves as future leaders of the industry.” He has written for the New Republic, Entrepreneur, the Daily Beast, Esquire, and more. He lives in New Jersey, with his wife and their two daughters. Visit him at www.JasonPinter.com, and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @JasonPinter.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
November 26, 2009
I like the character of Henry Parker and the fast pace and twists in Pinters books. The novels never drag and keep you interested late into the night. This one however disappointed me at the end. I found that the whole premise for the kidnapped kids far-fetched, a stretch of the imagination. I don't want to give it away because it's the ending that clears up all the loose ends, but I found it implausible that this would ever happen, not the bad guys part of it (although even that was a stretch) but the parents part of it ... hard to believe they could be suckered in like that. That kind of ruined it for me, but the writing is good in my opinion. I'm reading all his books, Starting with The Mark, The Guilty, The Stolen, The Fury, The Hunters, and a new one out soon. I find it best to read them in order to keep up with the personal side of Henry's life and relationships. This will appeal to either gender. My husband is liking them too.
May 16, 2020
Mysteries about missing children come with a lot of suspence already. But this one takes the prize, as the kidnapped child comes back to his home without any harm. This is the most mysterious thing for the investigators and keeps them up all night. Loved how things panned out in the end.
June 24, 2009
This is the first book of Pinter's that I've read. I don't even remember when or why I picked it up, but I enjoyed it so much that I intend to buy his other books! I read mostly at night, before I go to sleep...let me tell you, I had trouble turning out the light, it was such a good read! It's about a child who had been kidnapped 5 years ago. He suddenly reappears at his house, unharmed and with no knowledge of where he'd been. When an investigative reporter is assigned to interview the boy, he soon realizes that there might be a connection to other kidnappings.
August 16, 2008
One of the most unbelievable things has happened. Twelve year old, Daniel Linwood has returned home. So your probably saying so what’s the big deal about that? Well the big deal is that five years ago Daniel Linwood vanished. The police, his family and the community searched but never found a single trace of what happened to young Daniel. Now here he is, standing on his parents door step without a single scratch on him as if he never was gone.
Henry Parker is a reporter with the New York Gazette. Henry’s boss gives him the assignment of interviewing the Linwood family reunion story. While interviewing Daniel, Henry learns someone or something more sinister is behind a whole string of children disappearing just the same way as Daniel did. Henry could have just stumbled on one of the biggest stories of his career. There is just one problem… Henry needs help. Henry knows just who to turn to be will she lend a hand to Henry or will Henry be on his own this time?
Henry Parker is a fine character. He’s one of those reporters where they will do anything to bring the readers the best stories around even the gritty and grimiest ones that other reporters might not tough. The Stolen is the first book I have read by Jason Pinter featuring Henry Parker. I have wanting to check out a Pinter book for a while. Well after finishing The Stolen I have to say that I was not disappointed. I am glad to say that I have now read a Jason Pinter book and enjoyed it. While not a new author, Mr. Pinter is one of the greatest new author’s to come my way. The Stolen is Mr. Pinter’s third book featuring Henry Parker. You can be assured I will be checking all Mr. Pinter’s other books featuring Henry Parker.
Henry Parker is a reporter with the New York Gazette. Henry’s boss gives him the assignment of interviewing the Linwood family reunion story. While interviewing Daniel, Henry learns someone or something more sinister is behind a whole string of children disappearing just the same way as Daniel did. Henry could have just stumbled on one of the biggest stories of his career. There is just one problem… Henry needs help. Henry knows just who to turn to be will she lend a hand to Henry or will Henry be on his own this time?
Henry Parker is a fine character. He’s one of those reporters where they will do anything to bring the readers the best stories around even the gritty and grimiest ones that other reporters might not tough. The Stolen is the first book I have read by Jason Pinter featuring Henry Parker. I have wanting to check out a Pinter book for a while. Well after finishing The Stolen I have to say that I was not disappointed. I am glad to say that I have now read a Jason Pinter book and enjoyed it. While not a new author, Mr. Pinter is one of the greatest new author’s to come my way. The Stolen is Mr. Pinter’s third book featuring Henry Parker. You can be assured I will be checking all Mr. Pinter’s other books featuring Henry Parker.
October 19, 2023
(Keeping things as vague as a foggy London morning to remain spoiler-free.)
---
This is my first book featuring Henry Parker, so I'm missing some of the background here.
The premise? Intriguing as a locked door in a mystery mansion.
The delivery? More like someone forgot the key.
It felt like all the reasons behind the kidnapping were half-baked. The idea wasn't bad, but it wasn't believable. I kept waiting for more in-depth reasoning. It felt as though everyone was merely instructed to kidnap, and they all just agreed, thinking it made sense to abduct a child for some supposedly heroic reason.
To be honest, I found it rather predictable from the start. Perhaps that's why I anticipated a much deeper and more complex plot.
And while we're on about twists and turns, let's chat narration. Mostly first-person à la Henry – intimate, like a heart-to-heart in a quiet pub corner. But then, out of the blue, an omnipresent narrator chimes in for a sentence or two. Rather jarring, like someone suddenly changing the radio station.
Moreover, it irked me that Henry consistently mentioned what Amanda was wearing EVERY SINGLE TIME she made an appearance.. Henry's consistent commentary on Amanda's wardrobe. Was he vying for a spot in a fashion magazine column? Unless her outfits were sending Morse code messages, it seemed completely unnecessary. Amanda often felt less 'leading lady' and more 'window dressing'. A touch more depth wouldn't have gone amiss.
That said, I don't believe it's a bad book overall. It was an easy and entertaining read despite its faults.
---
This is my first book featuring Henry Parker, so I'm missing some of the background here.
The premise? Intriguing as a locked door in a mystery mansion.
The delivery? More like someone forgot the key.
It felt like all the reasons behind the kidnapping were half-baked. The idea wasn't bad, but it wasn't believable. I kept waiting for more in-depth reasoning. It felt as though everyone was merely instructed to kidnap, and they all just agreed, thinking it made sense to abduct a child for some supposedly heroic reason.
To be honest, I found it rather predictable from the start. Perhaps that's why I anticipated a much deeper and more complex plot.
And while we're on about twists and turns, let's chat narration. Mostly first-person à la Henry – intimate, like a heart-to-heart in a quiet pub corner. But then, out of the blue, an omnipresent narrator chimes in for a sentence or two. Rather jarring, like someone suddenly changing the radio station.
Moreover, it irked me that Henry consistently mentioned what Amanda was wearing EVERY SINGLE TIME she made an appearance.. Henry's consistent commentary on Amanda's wardrobe. Was he vying for a spot in a fashion magazine column? Unless her outfits were sending Morse code messages, it seemed completely unnecessary. Amanda often felt less 'leading lady' and more 'window dressing'. A touch more depth wouldn't have gone amiss.
That said, I don't believe it's a bad book overall. It was an easy and entertaining read despite its faults.
May 12, 2018
Can you say 'red herrings'? Can you say 'red herrings that aren't really 'red herrings'? Jason Pinter can. I guess next question should be, "Are you surprised about what I said, above?" If yes, then I'm glad I piqued your curiosity.
For instance-Who would steal a kid, just to return the kid fie years later? Twice. Right. No one. But in this little up and coming town it happened. Twice. Since Henry, the reporter for a local newspaper, has that same streak in him that killed the cat, readers are in for a wild ride! Will he get back with his ex girlfriend whose help he needs? Will they get killed by the kidnappers? Why did these kids get 'napped? Henry, like the fortune teller will know all...but does he, really?
If he does know all, why are there so many more Henry Parker books in this series, anyway? Trouble follows Henry everywhere. Can he get out of it?
For instance-Who would steal a kid, just to return the kid fie years later? Twice. Right. No one. But in this little up and coming town it happened. Twice. Since Henry, the reporter for a local newspaper, has that same streak in him that killed the cat, readers are in for a wild ride! Will he get back with his ex girlfriend whose help he needs? Will they get killed by the kidnappers? Why did these kids get 'napped? Henry, like the fortune teller will know all...but does he, really?
If he does know all, why are there so many more Henry Parker books in this series, anyway? Trouble follows Henry everywhere. Can he get out of it?
July 24, 2017
Daniel Linwood walks up to the door and knocks, returning to the life he'd left after four years. He has no memories of the time he was missing and his family hopes to settle back into some sense of normalcy as quickly as possible. Henry Parker, newspaper reporter, is allowed in by the family to do a story on Daniel. The interview goes smoothly but Henry is bothered as he reviews the tapes. Daniel mentions his 'brothers' more than once. But he only has one brother. Henry begins to delve into the story and is surprised to find another similar story - a young girl who'd gone missing and returned years later with no memories of her time away.
Enjoyable, well-plotted story with a mix of stories weaving around in the background.
Enjoyable, well-plotted story with a mix of stories weaving around in the background.
February 16, 2020
Henry a guy who was an newspaper editor was to cover a story about a boy who had disappeared five years ago and has miraculously appeared on his moms & dads porch one day. He seemed not to know how he got there or where he was for the last 5 years. Then later a girl went missing . Henry looked into it more and tried to find out the why and how and who of what was going on. Everyone told him to just let it go but he couldn't - kids lives were involved. Eventually his old girlfriend Amanda helped him . They had to figure out why were most of these kids suddenly re-appearing after 5 years and why don't they remember anything and who was doing this . What was all behind this . What a story of the answers Henry , Amanda and other find out about. Crazy and unreal.
May 31, 2020
the first book i've read by this author. sorry....but this book is junior high school level writing at best. it's ridiculously dated (i had to check the publication date to make sure it was written in this millennium), unengaging characters and a plot so ridiculous it's hard to believe anyone who read it, bought it. i give any book that i don't put down without finishing 2 stars. luckily for this one, i had little access to other novels during this current pandemic, or i wouldn't have bothered finishing and it would have been 1 star. obviously not going to bother with anything else by this author.
October 29, 2017
The basis of this story really intrigued me - why would anyone take a child only to return them a few years later apparently totally unharmed, well with the exception of no memory of where they'd been....& in this case, for me it wasn't a totally credible reason (I did wonder about something along these lines very early on but thought "Nooo...couldn't be that!") Still it was an engrossing enough read & Parker was a likeable enough character to mean I will read more in the series should I come across one.
March 10, 2018
Robuster
This is the first book I’ve read of this Author and his protagonist.
It was a good read. A little wordy but still entertaining.
Where this slips down from a solid four star or higher rating is the ending. It was unneeded To many twists and turns left me wondering why? The hook was good , the protagonist and his girlfriend well crafted ,why the messy ending.
At least for me this was a good read that should have been more enjoyable when it was thru and laid down.
This is the first book I’ve read of this Author and his protagonist.
It was a good read. A little wordy but still entertaining.
Where this slips down from a solid four star or higher rating is the ending. It was unneeded To many twists and turns left me wondering why? The hook was good , the protagonist and his girlfriend well crafted ,why the messy ending.
At least for me this was a good read that should have been more enjoyable when it was thru and laid down.
April 7, 2018
Did anyone proof read it?
The story line was very good. However, it was immediately obvious that the book has not been proof read. There were numerous spelling and grammar mistakes along with missing words. There were places where words were jumbled up enough that the gist of the sentence or the paragraph was lost and I had to skip over those parts. All in all it was not a very enjoyable read.
The story line was very good. However, it was immediately obvious that the book has not been proof read. There were numerous spelling and grammar mistakes along with missing words. There were places where words were jumbled up enough that the gist of the sentence or the paragraph was lost and I had to skip over those parts. All in all it was not a very enjoyable read.
April 11, 2018
Can you say proofread?
I found the story line interesting enough to finish the book but it was a major struggle. The English language took a severe beating in this book. Words misspelled, misplaced and occasionally repeated, such as, took took near the end of one sentence. One of the characters is an alcoholic. With all of the constant, glaring mistakes, it made me wonder if it was written in a state of inebriation. Either that or it was typed and proofread by a fourth grader.
I found the story line interesting enough to finish the book but it was a major struggle. The English language took a severe beating in this book. Words misspelled, misplaced and occasionally repeated, such as, took took near the end of one sentence. One of the characters is an alcoholic. With all of the constant, glaring mistakes, it made me wonder if it was written in a state of inebriation. Either that or it was typed and proofread by a fourth grader.
November 17, 2019
It was an okay book. I’m still not sure how all the pieces were fit together. There was a side story that made no sense at all. The side story should have been left out because it didn’t help the main story in anyway & the book would probably have been better without it. I don’t know that I’m going to seek out this author in book stores but if I come actress another one of his books that look interesting I will give it a try.
August 6, 2020
I have really enjoyed these books!
The plots are comp!ex and keep you guessing. The turns are quick and you have to keep up. I enjoy the humor and Jason Pinter is quite the storyteller. He pulls you in and the next thing you know is that you got on a roller coaster. Can't wait to read the next one!
The plots are comp!ex and keep you guessing. The turns are quick and you have to keep up. I enjoy the humor and Jason Pinter is quite the storyteller. He pulls you in and the next thing you know is that you got on a roller coaster. Can't wait to read the next one!
July 1, 2021
Book 3 in the Henry Parker series was a good one! Better than the second I think. I listened to the audio version and the one thing about the narrator that bugs me is how plaintive he sounds, almost whiny or so dramatic. One line got to me “when his heartbeat had taken its last breath”. But I got over it because the plot was pretty good!
July 28, 2025
This is my first Henry Parker book and I’m very pleased with it. I really enjoyed Pinter’s writing, especially the little quips he throws in to give the words on the page more life. My only critique is that the big reveal at the end where he spills everything was a little predictable, but still enjoyable.
December 17, 2017
The plot was engaging and the characters likable, but the frequent and furious editing errors were almost a deal breaker. As an ex-teacher I would have handed this book back and told him to try again.
December 23, 2017
Lousy editing, if any
The lack of editing and proofreading, the missing words and misspellings made this a frustrating and difficult read. I only toughed it out because it was a good story. I loathe sloppiness.
The lack of editing and proofreading, the missing words and misspellings made this a frustrating and difficult read. I only toughed it out because it was a good story. I loathe sloppiness.
January 17, 2018
Great Story......Worst editing ever
So many spelling, grammar and using the wrong words in many instances. Such as at least two references to “called id “instead of caller id. Still a great story that held my interest in spite of the distracting errors.
So many spelling, grammar and using the wrong words in many instances. Such as at least two references to “called id “instead of caller id. Still a great story that held my interest in spite of the distracting errors.
May 5, 2018
Does not cease to disappoint! I did realize that I do enjoy the author a lot more when I can just sit down and read for a long period of time instead of "snipets; not into my liking that way; Overall great 3rd book, will definitely pick up the next book!
September 6, 2018
Mr. Pinter desperately needs a new editor. Aside from the grammatical errors and typo's, i enjoy the stories of Henry Parker. A bit jumpy from one character to the next, could be difficult for some to follow, but overall a good read with enough excitement to keep you reading late into the night.
January 22, 2019
Thought I'd be gripped to my seat, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. I thought the story was obvious, my first guess at what was happening was correct as there were no unexpected twists in the story.
January 3, 2020
To many boring characters, the main one the most boring of them all. Parker seems to be afflicted with the a bad case of the need to be the hero! All of his "heroic" acts are lame and unbelivable!
I really regret the time i wasted on this read!
I really regret the time i wasted on this read!
August 6, 2020
Let me start by saying that I really like the Henry Parker series. This one had my attention about missing children returning home after being gone for years. I couldn't wait to see what was happening. The ending wasn't what I was hoping for but still a good mystery.
November 28, 2020
A well written book with some very colourful characters. The sub-plots help to keep the mystery going as well as painting the scene of life as an investigative journalist. Shows people in their often discovered ‘true colours’.
November 30, 2020
Part way through I realized I'd read it before but good enough for a reread. Children are being kidnapped then returned five years later with no memory of those years. Kept you wondering what was going on.
August 30, 2021
I didn't enjoy this book. The plot is unbelievable, I worked out what was going on really quickly and it all became very predictable and silly. The writing style is brittle with no likeable characters at all.
January 7, 2018
Ok, not spellbinding.
January 8, 2018
while this was slow to get going it picked up pace but the ending was unbelievable. it was obvious who was behind the kidnapping s but the reasons were hard to belive.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews