Abduction

by Gillian Jackson

A heart-wrenching kidnapping thriller. Perfect for fans of Cara Hunter, Liane Moriarty, LJ Ross and Lisa Jewell.

What do you do when the unthinkable happens?


8 August, 2000

A carefree birthday party goes horribly wrong. The children scatter to play hide and seek. But one little girl never returns.

Three-year-old Grace has vanished without a trace.


Fourteen years later

With the case long-since gone cold, Grace’s family have done their best to move on.

But her sister, Elise, has never given up hope.

And now Elise thinks she may have found her…

Is Elise going crazy? Could Grace really have returned?

And if she has, where was she taken…?

ABDUCTION is a page-turning kidnapping mystery which confronts every parent’s worst nightmare. This emotional psychological thriller will stay with you long after the pages have turned.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Crime, Procedural

269 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 3, 2015

About the author

Author of Abduction, Snatched, The Accident, and four more books published by Bloodhound books

Wife to Derek, mother to four and grandmother to nine.

Our lovely rescue dog Liffey completes my family and ensures that I take regular breaks from my desk!

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having recently read one of Gillian Jackson’s more heart-wrenching pieces, I went in search of more. Thankfully, I was able to locate this book with ease, which ends up being almost as panic-inducing as a small child disappears and a family fights to find her. It was an August morning in 2000 when Grace Bryson was to celebrate her third birthday. When she disappeared at the party, no one could locate her, with the police soon becoming involved. The fruitless search lasted two weeks with no leads, leaving Stephen and Margaret Bryson devastated, as well as their older daughter, Elise. While out shopping in 2014, Elise sees a young woman she is convinced is her sister. After approaching her, Elise learns that the girl goes by Jane Solomon. While few people believe her from the outset, Elise is convinced and hopes to repair what was broken all those years ago. Able to convince the original detective, Jack Priestly, to take another look, Elise tries to determine what’s going on. Some oddities in the Solomon story leave Priestly curious about investigating a little more. As the narrative progresses, there’s a rush to see if Jane and Grace are the same person, as well as how the disappearance/kidnapping took place. Armed with a determination like no other, Elise will stop at nothing to rewrite her family’s horror story and turn it into a fairytale. Jackson does well in this book and keeps the reader’s attention throughout. Recommended to those who like an easy to digest book about child abduction and the devastation it brings to families, as well as those readers who like crime thrillers that can be devoured in short order.

While not as powerfully written as the other book of hers that I read, Gillian Jackson is able to effectively tell her story and keep the reader fully engaged from the opening paragraph to the final sentence. There is much to discover in this story, which tells a narrative from a variety of perspectives, all as the case heats up. Grace Bryson may have been abducted years ago, but there is one person who will not rest until the truths are known. Jackson uses the varied perspectives and added clues to paint an interesting tale that is sure to keep the reader wanting to know more. With a mix of character sentiments and time periods, the crime evolves as the chapters fly by. There is an underlying chill within the pages of this book, as one cannot shake that a child’s disappearance is sure to rock a family to its core. I did feel, however, that the story sped along, perhaps too quickly, resolving itself in short order and then used a sub-plot thriller until it is was time to piece together the events of August 2000 again. Jackson surely needed a little more content, though I might have wanted more on the more current Jane-Grace case, if I had my own way. A great experience overall, which is denoted in the fact that I read this in a single day.

Kudos, Madam Jackson, for another chilling tale. I am happy to have come across your work and hope others will take the time to enjoy them as well.

Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/

A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. It is every parents worst nightmare. I felt the pain of the family through the authors writing wondering what had happened to their daughter. This book held my attention from the very first page. It had likeable characters and the book is told by the Policeman who took on the job searching for her, The sister - who never stopped searching for her, The parents who left town and tried to get on with their lives, The uncle/aunt who were a great support system. I did predict the person who was involved but this in no way affected my rating . It is full of suspense , has a timeline of 14 years ago to the present. I love the missing person trope and this was just brilliant. I cant wait to read her other books.

[Selena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free e-copy of Abduction by Gillian Jackson from NetGalley for my honest review.

Every parents worst nightmare. The kidnapping of a three-year-old from her very own birthday party. Then there is a sighting in a supermarket of the missing girl. The missing girls sister is convinced that it was her but no one believes her.

A story written with such intense emotion that you feel the pain. I also enjoyed that it is told from several points of view.

[Linda Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Grace Bryson disappeared she was at her 3rd year outdoor birthday party. No one noticed where she went .. or why. All her family knows is that she is gone.

It's been 14 years and Grace has never been seen again. Her parents have moved far away to try to get rid of the grief of losing their younger daughter. Her big sister, Elise, has never forgotten and has never given up looking for her.

Now married and pregnant, she sees her sister. She can't believe it .. her sister is there. Elise tries to follow her and gets a bit of information. But no one in her family really believes her .... there are lots of blonde blue-eyed girls with freckles across their nose. But Grace is adamant that this was her sister.

But where has she been all these years and what really happened to her? Elise plans to find out.

This is a well written psychological look at a parent's worst nightmare.... how it changes the entire family's lives.... how the media portrays what they think happened ... how parents handle their grief while in the spotlight. And when is it time to abandon hope?

The reader hears from the sister, the parents the aunt and uncle, the police, the family liaison officer who plays a major role in this family. It's a real who-dun-it that kept me riveted from the very first page.

Many thanks to the author / Sapere Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this Psychological Drama. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

[Jayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This pacey police procedural was character-driven, engaging, and twisty.

Although this book is part of a series, it is also a standalone read.

A wife and mother of two is found dead in her kitchen.

Who did it and why?

I especially liked the fact that the two lead investigators were female.

I listened to the audiobook expertly read by Melanie Crawley.

Gillian Jackson is one of my go-to authors, and I look forward to listening to future titles by this talented author.

[Georgina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was so excited to read this, as the premise sounded pretty unique and I’ve never read anything by this author before. However, I was pretty disappointed by the whole experience.

If I’m honest, I just didn’t think the writing was very strong. If you didn’t read the character name at the start of each chapter, you would have no idea at all whose perspective it is - all of the characters talk and think exactly the same as everyone else. The dialogue was odd - very flat and monotone, and also completely unlike how real people actually talk.

I also really wasn’t impressed by the plot. It dragged on, endlessly, and then suddenly all got resolved right at the end with a massive dump of information. This was unnecessary though, as it was blindingly obvious who played a part in the kidnapping from the very beginning.

Overall, a real disappointed. My advice - save your time, and don’t bother.

[Lynda Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

If this is the revised version I shudder to imagine the state this book was in before any revisions !! Goodness.......I am not impressed in the least with the presentation. It's an utter mess and I saw in other reviews that I'm not the first person to mention this, either, so why has Amazon or the publisher or the author not fixed it ??? I PAID for this but sadly left it too long on my Kindle before starting it so couldn't put a refund request in.
Let's hope she releases ANOTHER revised edition but in the meantime I'd give this a wide swerve. I purchased August 2016 and the so-called revision was meant to be January 2016.

UPDATE 7th March 2017:
The author DID revise the book in January 2016 but thanks to Amazon transposing the date to 1/9/16 it didn't get put through until September so I bought the unrevised version. She's kindly sent me a proofread PDF copy and I'm now revisiting. Revised review to follow.

UPDATE 10th March 2017:
Yayyyy, the revised version WAS revised and I got to finish this terrific story. The whole reading experience was so totally different. A pleasure instead of a chore. It really makes such a difference. Instead of being irritated, you look forward to reopening the story.
I guessed wrong altogether as to what had happened and who was involved which is good. I prefer to be surprised. It certainly illustrates just how an abduction or death can affect the whole family dynamics as it did in this case. There's little more I can say without writing spoilers and I'm not doing that. Well worth me revisiting and thankyou to the author for sending it across.

[Eddi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book about a three-year-old girl, Grace, who was abducted from her garden birthday party. The book begins with a sighting of Grace fourteen years later by her older sister, Elise. No one believes Grace is alive, and they suspect Elise just saw someone who reminded her of Grace. Then the book shifts back to the time of the abduction, with each chapter told from the point of view of different family members, and Jack, the detective on the case. The story is engrossing, and although I had theories of what had happened, I was incorrect. The chapters eventually include ones from the perspectives of the abductors, as well as Grace, during her re-entry into the family. It was all very engrossing. I would recommend it!

[Skyesmum · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I liked about this book was the way it was written from all angles and using the emotions of each of the characters, which I thought was very well done. I asked myself when reading it of how I would feel/ cope and the honest answer was I don't know! So for Gillian Jackson to consider everyone's thoughts was impressive as I felt they were pretty accurate.
I guessed who the accomplice was quite early on just by a tiny snippet and the fact that I am suspicious of people in these scenarios.

I thought all in all that this was a good all round thriller and would appeal to someone who likes a drama without the gore.

Thanks to NetGalley, Gillian Jackson and Sapere Books for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

[Katie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I finished this book for two reasons: one, I actually did want to find out what happened, and two, I was stuck on an airplane.

The plot was relatively interesting, although I found several plot points too convenient and the main one (the real "villain") inexplicable.

The writing, however, was just plain awful. Clunky, heavy-handed, and uneven--too much time explaining one tiny detail, but other major parts absolutely racing along with not enough time devoted to them. Grammar, spelling, word usage, sentence structure, and punctuation were inexcusably bad. Self-published doesn't have to mean unedited.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a gripping thriller that had me hooked from the beginning. It is every parents nightmare - your child going missing. You everywhere for them and have no idea where they have disappeared, or who might have taken them. That's what happens in this book and you will be flipping through the pages as you read this addictive thriller.

I enjoyed how the story unfolded and the way the story was written. I flew through this book in one day, I was hooked and immersed in the story. This was the first novel I have read by the author and I look forward to reading more.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the writing style of Abduction. Every chapter is written by a different person. Some people only narrate a single chapter, others narrate several. The same events are often covered in subsequent chapters, just with variations and different information based on who the narrator is. This really helps to create a clear picture of what was going on at any given time while still having the whole thing in first person point of view. From very early on I strongly suspected what basically happened the day the child was abducted, though I questioned whether I could be right multiple times and did have a possible alternative suspect in mind as well. Even when it was revealed I was correct, I was still pretty surprised at exactly how it went. I could barely put this book down and had to force myself to close my Kindle and go to sleep knowing if I didn’t I’d “one more chapter” until I had read the whole thing. I highly recommend it to people who enjoy psychological thrillers.

[Mahayana Dugast · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fast-paced and did keep me reading, but the Audible cover that says "A psychological Thriller with a shocking twist" is unnecessary, seeing as this would be expected. However "a shocking twist" sets up a higher expectation than is finally told. I would remove that from the cover ...

[Maureen Timerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about a family’s worst nightmare, one you don’t even want to imagine, and yet we know that it happens!
The book is written so we know the thoughts of the person who is currently thinking or working on finding Grace or whom we are following at that time.
While I figured out the ending or who was the culprit early, I had to keep reading to find out if I was correct, and sadly, yes, I was right!

I received this book through Net Galley and Sapere Books Publishing, and was not required to give a positive review.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed this in that it was a good story but got irritated by the clumpy writing and the number of apostrophes in the wrong place! I'm sure this was self published which is fine but PLEASE get it edited correctly; it makes a difference.

[Isobel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good page turner, but sorely in need of editing by a competent editor, who understands the correct use of apostrophes!!

[Jayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read, impossible to put down.

This book is about an abduction that occurred at a 3-year old girl's birthday party. The story unfolds from the POV of the parents, police, and the child's sister. The author did a superb job with the character development of all characters and the book really moved.

I had one credibility issue with this book and that was the reason why the book did not earn 5 stars from me.
I found it very difficult to believe that the abducted child's sister was able to recognize her long-lost sister in a random crowd, after not seeing her little sister for 14 years. I did not look anything like my 3-year old self when I turned 17 and that is why I found this identification lacked credibility.

I listened to the audio version of this book. I always love it when an audiobook has multiple narrators, and all of this book's narrators did a superb job.

Thank you, Gillian Jackson! I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. This is my first Gillian Jackson book and I look forward to reading the author's future titles.

[Sharon Rimmelzwaan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Black Lies by Gillian Jackson is part of a series. I haven't read the book before this but had no issue keeping up with everything. So, yes, it can be read as a standalone. I'm saying that, though I now want to read the other ones too.

Sam finds herself with a murder investigation on her hands. She is still grieving for her fiance, who has not long since died, but she proves she is up to the job. As the investigation becomes more complex and becomes darker than she expected, the danger grows. Can she get to the bottom of it before the danger is too close?

A police procedural that kept me reading. The twists and turns of the story, along with characters I cared for, had me immersed until the end. A series I have put on my to be read list immediately!

Thanks to Bloodhound Books for my gifted ebook in exchange for a honest review.

[Natalee Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is every families worst nightmare. It had me hooked. Who did it? Why? How? Has she really been seen all these years later? Is her sister crazy? By the end, you have the answers to all the questions. Honestly, it's very underrated and probably up there in my top 10 books of the year.

[Suzisue13 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this as an audio book. Good storyline and likeable characters. Some of that narration was annoying, but that's very much a personal viewpoint and would not stop me recommending this.

Did not see the final twist coming. Very cleverly written.

[Gill Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first time reading this author and I definitely want to read more. I really enjoyed this, it had me riveted from the start.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Grace Bryson disappeared after a backyard game of hide-and-seek at her third birthday party. It's as if the girl disappeared into thin air. and the case soon grows cold. Fourteen years later, Grace's sister Elise McDonald is convinced she has seen Grace at a local department store. Elise's family is skeptical, but Jack Priestly, the Family Liaison Officer who had previously worked on the case, is open to the idea. Just when Jack is about to give up, an unlikely coincidence occurs that causes him to look at the case in a new light.

This story is told from multiple points of view. This can sometimes be confusing in a thriller, but in this case, it gives an in depth look into how several of the main characters are feeling about the investigation and events that occurred in the past. I enjoyed the mystery of what happened to Grace and if the girl Elise saw was really her sister after all this time. I became very engrossed in the story and didn't want to put it down because of the building tension over Grace's fate. I guessed part of the truth, but not the motive or other details. I liked how the facts were revealed at the end and I really enjoyed the characters of Jack and Elise. Some of the things that happen at the end are a little too pat, but I still really enjoyed the ending of this entertaining thriller.

I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Sapere Books. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

[Rachel 💚 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly a huge thank you to Netgalley for this arc!

An interesting read for sure! I drew some similarities to the Madeleine McCann case as the child was the same age, blonde and vanished into thin air.

I had my problems with it too though, I don’t like the repetition of events but from different characters POVs it felt unnecessary

There were also a few americanisms here and there such as ‘the school was a few blocks away’ even though the story is set in the UK...

I also remember whilst reading thinking there is no way any of this would have gotten this far without DNA confirmation, you don’t just assume that because it looks and lines up a certain way that this is legit 🙄

This really unsettled me as the mother of a 2 year old girl, I doubt I’ll be sleeping much tonight 😂

Other than that a good page turner

[Jennie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars. A child is abducted and a family never truly recovers. Grace’s sister thinks she sees her in public 14 years later. Is it Grace? Is it possible to run into you ur missing sibling at random?

The story follows the family before the abduction, after the abduction and current. Overall I think the story was dry and fairly predictable. No major plot twists until the very end, and the ending left much to be desired. After this, I can say I will not be reading another book about child abduction anytime soon. I only finished the book to see how it ended.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Lucinda Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A GOOD READ
A chance sighting in a department store sets off the story about a long lost sister abducted when she was three. The tale was handled sympathetically, without the hysteria and hype which made it all more realistic. An easy read, a good book to curl up with on a summer’s afternoon. The characters were easy to like and the atmosphere was so well described you felt you were right there with them. I like this writer and will be getting more of her books in the future.

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first book by this author and I loved it! It has the right mix of police procedural and family secrets. The book opens with a young girl giving birth and giving her children up for adoption without wanting to see them. The story then skips to a murdered wife and mother and the mystery of who killed her and why. The secrets in the story are revealed in a way that kept me guessing. I will definitely read more by this author!

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book I've read in quite a while. The author takes you into each participants mind to help solve an abduction of a three year old little girl. She is sighted fourteen years later by her sister and the detectives piece together the entire story. Very well written.

[Marty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good page turner, but I was able to figure out the ending early on.

[Una · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too much use of 's when word was a plural. Eg water's instead of waters