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A Riveting Kidnapping Mystery Series #26
The Willow Springs Kidnappings
The disappearance of two children leaves a small Florida town in disarray. A suspect remains at large, and investigators are baffled by conflicting evidence and anonymous calls to the police station by their alleged kidnapper. With Halloween approaching, two detectives find themselves racing against the clock to find the children before it’s too late. They soon realize they are dealing with a madman who has plotted his vengeance against the town for years, determined to carry out his plans to the fullest.
- GenresMystery ThrillerMystery
312 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 30, 2020
210 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
December 19, 2023
👍
Wouldn't mind reading more about these two detectives. The story moved along at a good pace and held together to the very end.
Wouldn't mind reading more about these two detectives. The story moved along at a good pace and held together to the very end.
May 10, 2021
I actually really liked the story and found it to be original and very interesting. I would have rated the book 3...possibly even 4 stars. But the text was replete with editing oversights that became a real distraction from the story.
March 2, 2022
Good Read, but needs editing
What can I say? This book had a good story line, and was really suspenseful, but the author needs help. It seemed as though it was spell checked, but no one edited for content. There were so many places where names were different in the same sentence and the same sentence, or their sex went from Him to Her (as an example). I wanted to give it a better rating, but those errors were really off putting.
What can I say? This book had a good story line, and was really suspenseful, but the author needs help. It seemed as though it was spell checked, but no one edited for content. There were so many places where names were different in the same sentence and the same sentence, or their sex went from Him to Her (as an example). I wanted to give it a better rating, but those errors were really off putting.
January 20, 2021
This is book twenty six of the Riveting Kidnapping Mystery series and sees the small town of Willow Springs, Florida have their first ever kidnapping. A young boy, Josh Cooper, is taken by a man whilst he was playing out in his front yard with his friend Adam. All Adam saw was his friend Josh being pulled into a car and screaming. He had gone to pick up the football and hadn’t noticed anything else. Josh’s parents are shocked and a call goes out to the police straight away. A description of the car is finally gotten from the young witness and an alert gone out to all on a text message. A couple driving to a luncheon see a car of that colour, driving erratically, and call it in, catching Detective Vaughn nearby as he was having a sly drink before going back to the office to meet his new partner. He was the one who managed to tease the description from Adam, but hadn’t expected such a fast response and with a location close by. He starts off in pursuit and is soon closing in, until the suspect drives through a residential area, full of children playing in the street, and Vaughn has to swerve to avoid a child, crashing his car. The suspect has gotten away and Vaugh is kicking himself, which he finds out has been recorded by many witnesses on their phones, leaving a red face for the town’s mayor and is captain.
Detective Vaughn is only one more year from retirement on full pay, and is quite happy to just stay under the radar and plod his way through his final weeks. Being the head of the Missing Persons department in Willow Springs, doesn’t mean much, since he is really the one person. Now he has to meet his new partner, Detective Amy Branson, who has run far from a previously troubling episode in her life, believing she can’t be found there after having changed her name and hopefully moved far enough away from everyone she knows. He is a bit banged up from his car crash and not exactly in the right mind to have to deal with a new partner, whilst at the start of such a serious case. She is on her first case as a detective and wasn’t even due to start until the Monday, but had come in early. They start looking up sex offenders in the community and trying to trace the details of the sighted car and its owner. The car turns out to have been stolen and chasing this lead, brings about another missing child, this time ten year old Natalie.
The guilty suspect is revealed by the author and the reader gets to see his actions from his viewpoint and what his reasoning behind his actions are. Halloween is approaching, and children are now having to be closely watched by their parents, as the worry increases about two missing children from this small town and a curfew is soon levied. The pressure is on the police now and in particular, Detectives Vaughn and Bronson of the Missing Persons department, rom their captain and the mayor, to get results and find these children before it’s too late! Small bits of information bring about clues about the person who may have committed these crimes, especially after a call to the station made to dig at Vaughn and a previous case about a young child who was taken some years ago. Another vehicle spotted prior to the kidnappings was described by various witnesses and leads the duo to an employee of the local small supermarket in town. An employee who then calls in sick, adds to the gut feelings Vaughn has about the suspect, whilst Branson tries to get him to rely on evidence and do more research, before just jumping in.
They need more before they can arrest any suspect, but the kidnapper has his own thoughts about the police and the actions they are taking. He wants to punish the police for disturbing his peace and his opportunity to get on with his plans for the children. He has had to put them on hold to get rid of certain evidence and this delayed what he had planned for years. It is all about to come to fruition. His vengeance against the town will finally come about after a long wait, for all they have done to his family and to his dreams for what his future should have been. It will soon be realised that they are dealing with a madman, with a family history of mental health issues, a loner who wants his sick creations to be created and will use those children towards those ends. An inexperienced detective but with plenty of police and criminology experience, Branson takes a step too far, more like something her elder partner Vaughn would have done and places herself in a dangerous situation. A kidnapping case where the children have to stay strong and one has more sense of how serious matters will become and what they may have to do to survive. Only a lucky break will have the police in the correct place before the children are lost, and you can only hope it happens and soon. A sick act of revenge from a twisted madman, with a semi alcoholic detective counting down his remaining days working with an eager whippersnapper must do all they can to stop him. Sickening scenario, family issues at its core and police intuition mixed with a bit of luck bring the story to an epic conclusion. Another interesting read in this series, with books by multiple authors. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
Detective Vaughn is only one more year from retirement on full pay, and is quite happy to just stay under the radar and plod his way through his final weeks. Being the head of the Missing Persons department in Willow Springs, doesn’t mean much, since he is really the one person. Now he has to meet his new partner, Detective Amy Branson, who has run far from a previously troubling episode in her life, believing she can’t be found there after having changed her name and hopefully moved far enough away from everyone she knows. He is a bit banged up from his car crash and not exactly in the right mind to have to deal with a new partner, whilst at the start of such a serious case. She is on her first case as a detective and wasn’t even due to start until the Monday, but had come in early. They start looking up sex offenders in the community and trying to trace the details of the sighted car and its owner. The car turns out to have been stolen and chasing this lead, brings about another missing child, this time ten year old Natalie.
The guilty suspect is revealed by the author and the reader gets to see his actions from his viewpoint and what his reasoning behind his actions are. Halloween is approaching, and children are now having to be closely watched by their parents, as the worry increases about two missing children from this small town and a curfew is soon levied. The pressure is on the police now and in particular, Detectives Vaughn and Bronson of the Missing Persons department, rom their captain and the mayor, to get results and find these children before it’s too late! Small bits of information bring about clues about the person who may have committed these crimes, especially after a call to the station made to dig at Vaughn and a previous case about a young child who was taken some years ago. Another vehicle spotted prior to the kidnappings was described by various witnesses and leads the duo to an employee of the local small supermarket in town. An employee who then calls in sick, adds to the gut feelings Vaughn has about the suspect, whilst Branson tries to get him to rely on evidence and do more research, before just jumping in.
They need more before they can arrest any suspect, but the kidnapper has his own thoughts about the police and the actions they are taking. He wants to punish the police for disturbing his peace and his opportunity to get on with his plans for the children. He has had to put them on hold to get rid of certain evidence and this delayed what he had planned for years. It is all about to come to fruition. His vengeance against the town will finally come about after a long wait, for all they have done to his family and to his dreams for what his future should have been. It will soon be realised that they are dealing with a madman, with a family history of mental health issues, a loner who wants his sick creations to be created and will use those children towards those ends. An inexperienced detective but with plenty of police and criminology experience, Branson takes a step too far, more like something her elder partner Vaughn would have done and places herself in a dangerous situation. A kidnapping case where the children have to stay strong and one has more sense of how serious matters will become and what they may have to do to survive. Only a lucky break will have the police in the correct place before the children are lost, and you can only hope it happens and soon. A sick act of revenge from a twisted madman, with a semi alcoholic detective counting down his remaining days working with an eager whippersnapper must do all they can to stop him. Sickening scenario, family issues at its core and police intuition mixed with a bit of luck bring the story to an epic conclusion. Another interesting read in this series, with books by multiple authors. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
December 20, 2020
A Willow Springs Kidnapping by Roger Hayden is a fantastic story to read. This is book number twenty - six in this fantastic series that I have loved reading and can not wait to see what this author will write next. I highly recommend this story to everyone who loves reading about horror, mystery and suspense in their stories.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
June 7, 2022
Decent story
The book was good and kept me reading. I would have given it a higher rating but it needs to be proofread in the worst way. Trying to guess what the author intended to say sure took away from my total enjoyment. I always said I missed my calling. I should have been a proofreader !
The book was good and kept me reading. I would have given it a higher rating but it needs to be proofread in the worst way. Trying to guess what the author intended to say sure took away from my total enjoyment. I always said I missed my calling. I should have been a proofreader !
February 7, 2023
Good story, horrible editing.
The story is good and the characters are interesting and engaging but the editing is non-existent. Genders are mixed up,similar words are used one after another as if the author couldn't decide which one to delete. Really annoying and detracting and a great disservice to a good story.
The story is good and the characters are interesting and engaging but the editing is non-existent. Genders are mixed up,similar words are used one after another as if the author couldn't decide which one to delete. Really annoying and detracting and a great disservice to a good story.
December 16, 2020
Good book
I found the book The Willow Springs Kidnappings by Roger Hayden to hold my attention. There were many editing errors that bugged me but the story was riveting. And I would recommend it.
I found the book The Willow Springs Kidnappings by Roger Hayden to hold my attention. There were many editing errors that bugged me but the story was riveting. And I would recommend it.
February 21, 2021
I was riveted.
I liked the characters. They felt real. The police procedure was well done and it moved right along with no dead spots. I found it entertain and recommend it for a good read
I liked the characters. They felt real. The police procedure was well done and it moved right along with no dead spots. I found it entertain and recommend it for a good read
April 29, 2021
Poor structure
Right at the beginning the woman was called Sharon and Shannon. It took several,pages to realize it was just one person. Words in sentences are redundant. Ex: he took the tray and brought it carried it across the room. Sentences like that filled the book.
Right at the beginning the woman was called Sharon and Shannon. It took several,pages to realize it was just one person. Words in sentences are redundant. Ex: he took the tray and brought it carried it across the room. Sentences like that filled the book.
February 19, 2022
Good book for a quiet afternoon
I liked the story. It had some odd twists to it, but that's what makes these books fun to read.
The editing is horrible however making the book harder to read. These authors need to find someone who can do some actual editing.
I liked the story. It had some odd twists to it, but that's what makes these books fun to read.
The editing is horrible however making the book harder to read. These authors need to find someone who can do some actual editing.
April 5, 2022
Very good book
I enjoyed reading this book and liked the characters. The only downside is just my own opinion that the writing included a little too much detail and was a little dry the first part of the book. I would recommend.
I enjoyed reading this book and liked the characters. The only downside is just my own opinion that the writing included a little too much detail and was a little dry the first part of the book. I would recommend.
May 9, 2022
Intriguing Read!
This story is a great fit for this series! I was so happy, despite the horrors of the storyline, to read this book after it's predecessor which was horrible. The story had me so involved that I read it straight through. Well worth the read!
This story is a great fit for this series! I was so happy, despite the horrors of the storyline, to read this book after it's predecessor which was horrible. The story had me so involved that I read it straight through. Well worth the read!
March 4, 2023
Excellent book. Grabbed me at first page...
Loved it. Writing was excellent. What can I say after excellent. I recommend that other people read it. And I won't be leaving any more reviews. Too aggravating.
Loved it. Writing was excellent. What can I say after excellent. I recommend that other people read it. And I won't be leaving any more reviews. Too aggravating.
December 14, 2020
This book was riveting! I did not want to put it down! I would recommend this book to everyone and am looking forward to reading more from this author!
December 16, 2020
Excellent
I chose this rating because this book is an amazing book that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end.
I chose this rating because this book is an amazing book that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end.
December 17, 2020
Cliff hanger
Great book. Kept me on edge of my seat. Just couldn't put it down. Love the kidnapping mysteries. Characters were great.
Great book. Kept me on edge of my seat. Just couldn't put it down. Love the kidnapping mysteries. Characters were great.
December 29, 2020
This is the first book I read by this author. I will read more. It really held my interest throughout. Well written mystery.
I finished this book in one sitting
I finished this book in one sitting
January 2, 2021
Interesting
The intriguing plot kept me reading. I almost quit because of such poor editing. Several times a character was called by two different names and it was confusing.
The intriguing plot kept me reading. I almost quit because of such poor editing. Several times a character was called by two different names and it was confusing.
January 9, 2021
Gripping story
I couldn't put the book down. Good suspense story . I certainly recommend reading. I got it on my tablet from Amazon.
I couldn't put the book down. Good suspense story . I certainly recommend reading. I got it on my tablet from Amazon.
May 15, 2021
Exciting
I enjoyed this story. And all the others I have read from this author ..no sexual content easy to read. Enjoy I did.
I enjoyed this story. And all the others I have read from this author ..no sexual content easy to read. Enjoy I did.
August 22, 2021
I hate typos.
The typos were so numerous, they were distracting. There were a half dozen on every page. Hire a proof reader.
The typos were so numerous, they were distracting. There were a half dozen on every page. Hire a proof reader.
April 19, 2022
I could not put this book down. I thought it had plenty of twists and turns. Well written, good characters and kept you guessing. Recommend read.
July 16, 2022
Good story….Editing an issue
This was a good story, and I enjoyed it. The editing needs lots of work, which made it difficult to read at times.
This was a good story, and I enjoyed it. The editing needs lots of work, which made it difficult to read at times.
January 18, 2024
I liked the beginning of this book, but the bad guy was soo off the rails he was hard to believe. There were a ton of editing errors as well. It was a fine story, but I wouldn't really recommend it.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews