Tia Sharp - The True Story

by Kate Smith Adams

On the evening of Friday, the 3rd of August, 2012, a 12 year-old schoogirl named Tia Sharp was reported missing in New Addington. So began a desperate search for this precious child - conducted at the apex of the London Olympics by hundreds of police officers and volunteers. The disappearance of Tia Sharp was a tale of police blunders, misplaced trust, community spirit, and sadness. It was a case which shocked the nation and reminded us that, sometimes, the real monsters hide in plain sight.

Genres: True Crime

154 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 4, 2019

Reviews

[Staceywh_17 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story that every mother's nightmare it's made of & it just goes to show how duplicitous someone can be. Few typos as per the last book by this author, but I loved this one because it went more into the law & legislation side of everything.

[Samantha Mosedale · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Very Sad Read

I remember the case of Tia Sharp, from her supposed disappearance to her body being found. My heart literally broke for Tia's family. Reading the book was extremely sad, especially understanding how much that Stewart Hazell was trusted by the Sharp family. How they defended him in public and asked the Media to focus on Tia's disappearance and not on Hazell. All the time he must've been thinking time was running out for him. Although the Police didn't find find Tia's body until after a few searches were made of the Grandmother's home, at least when she was found, justice could begin for Tia. Hazell was a paedophile, a monster, a thug and bully but he fooled people. It goes to prove that those sort of people live alongside us every day and we don't even know! I recommend this book, it is sad and upsetting because Tia was a beautiful girl who could have achieved so much in life. But read it and let it be a lesson, there are many people like the murdering scum - Stewart Hazell. They hide. Let's just hope that he gets what's due in prison - he must be one of the most hated people in there! My love and prayers go to Tia's family and friends.

[Dee Howard]

I read this book because I have read much crime fiction, psychology and body language tomes and wanted to delve deeper into exactly what makes criminals tick. This book shows up the Met Police for their many failings in the search for Tia, when she was above them all the time in the loft. If they had actually gone into the loft on the first day they would have found her and her mother would have been able to see her and say goodbye to her. As it turned out, because of police incompetence, by the time she was found a week later no mother would have wanted to view their child's body. I don't agree with the racist views of certain family members but, nevertheless, felt that the family were looked down upon purely because of their working-class background.

[Carole Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and moving

A very interesting and moving book. It is tragic how evil can find its way into an unsuspecting, loving family.
This young ladies life was cut short in the worst way possible, by a monster who did not deserve the respect given to him but this lovely family.
I have mentioned his name because he does not deserve to own one.
Well written, sympathetic book, sad to read. Thank you for sharing your harrowing story.

[Rob Sedgwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thorough

This is a very detailed look at the Tia story which is a real tragedy for everyone involved. The book quotes quite widely at times from reports and it's not always easy to distinguish between the quote sections, the narrative and the author's opinions.

[ARLENE STURROCK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

This book is very good a lot of stuff that wasn't made public .Sad read poor wee girl trusted This man .

[Danielle Shinns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

It was an interesting read and I enjoyed it. Would definitely recommend it to people who have interest in this kind of book.

[Jess Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative look at a heartbreaking case

Overall a good look into this case but there was quite a lot of repetition of the same facts over and over.

[Mick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very repetitive read.Quotes a lot of different sources who all have the exact thing to say.But if you can persevere read until the end

[Jane Steels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting

Read this as was interested in the case. It was very honest and interesting.
It was very easy to read and understand

[debbie windmill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok

Listen it was an ok read but an awful lot of tabloid reports....nothing remarkable but an easy read. Not much else to say

[niccihill13I cloud. com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book

I loved this book I couldn't put it down at least justice was served for the poor girl
In memory of Tia sharp

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because I remember this happening when I was younger and I was interested in reading it as a full case rather than how we received it in the media at the time, which was full of so much chaos and contradiction and madness.

I want to say outright that this is a very sad story. I think the author managed to put together a comprehensive telling from start to finish, while trying to present an accurate account of the different factors and relationships that were at play during this time.

However, because the media played such a big part in the moment and the author was evidently using a lot of reports and news articles to put this together, it can feel slightly repetitive? As in you can at times hear a lot of the same information repeatedly, but I am aware of the fact that I know a lot about this from when it happened and so for someone reading who is unfamiliar or literally has never heard about this, it might be different.