Girl, Kidnapped

by Peter R. Stone

After disappearing six months ago on the night her best friend was found strangled in the Darebin Creek hotel toilet block, Caitlyn Hughes - daughter of millionaire Brayden Hughes - is found dumped on the side of the road just outside town. Wearing a threadbare knee-length dress and with her badly-bruised ankles encased in leg irons, she's filthy, malnourished and covered in burn scars. She has no memory of how she got there, where she has been or even who she is. A doctor's examination reveals that her memory has been deliberately erased by repeated electric shock therapy.

Desperate to find out who did this to her and why, and displeased with the police superintendent's plodding pace, Caitlyn launches an investigation of her own. However, she is unnerved by her brother's insistence that she talk to him first when her memories start returning because he suspects that their father is the one who did this to her...

Genres: Mystery

451 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 5, 2020

About the author

Peter Stone, an avid student of history, was reading books on Ancient Greece from the age of four. Periods of interest include the ancient world, medieval era, Napoleonic times, and the Second World War. He still mourns the untimely passing of King Leonidas of Sparta and Field Marshal Michel Ney of France.

A product of the Cold War Generation, Peter Stone studied the ramifications of a nuclear missile strike when he was in his senior year of high school, learning the effects of nuclear fallout and how to (hopefully) survive it. He has ever been drawn to post-apocalyptic and dystopian novels and films, and eagerly devoured The Day of the Triffids and John Christopher's Tripod Trilogy when he was a child. He is also an avid fan of science fiction, and his favorite books include the Lensmen Series by E.E.Doc.Smith, anything by Alastair Reynolds, and the Evergence trilogy by Sean Williams. He also enjoys J-pop (especially Ayumi Hamasaki trance remixes), K-pop, Korean movies, and K-drama.

Peter Stone graduated from Melbourne School of Ministries Bible College in 1988. He has been teaching Sunday School and playing the keyboard in church for over twenty-five years. His wife is from Japan and they have two wonderful children. He has worked in the same games company for over twenty years, but still does not comprehend why they expect him to work all day instead of playing games.

Reviews

[Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

On a cold night, on the road outside town, completely alone, malnourished, filthy, with scars and in chains, a young woman is found. They say she's Caitlyn Huges, the girl that has been gone for six months. But she remembers nothing, not even her name or how she looks like. But who did this to her? and why?
I don't usually read mystery books though I like them. And this book I enjoyed it thoroughly! The story's so engaging and intriguing. It captives you and with all those plot twists pushes you to keep reading.
I love how the author writes in such a way that you honestly suspect of every character!
I must say that in the beginning, I didn't connect immediately with the story. However, that changed quickly as I got totally intrigued, and I needed to find out the truth along with Caitlyn.
If you like mystery this book or are starting to read mystery this book's perfect!

I want to thank Peter R. Stone for kindly give me a complimentary copy of this book for an honest review

[Gifford MacShane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young woman awakens at the side of the road, in leg irons and with no memory of what’s happened to her.

Identified by the town’s leading family as the daughter who ran away six months earlier, Caitlyn is surprised by the memories people have of her as an insufferable diva. And the more she learns about herself, the more uncertain she becomes.

The characterization is excellent, including the many who will lie about almost anything. The story is told in first person, and it becomes a bit repetitious at times, especially as Caitlyn continues to be baffled by the tales she hears of her past behavior. It’s not that her behavior doesn’t fit with her nature, it’s the mental exercises she indulges in, which always come back to the same points of confusion.

That being said, GIRL KIDNAPPED is a fine psychological thriller with a deep underlying mystery, and lots of twists and turns. A few of them I expected, but the big one at the end took me by surprise. If you enjoy mind-games and want to pit your ability to find clues against the outcome, you’re sure to enjoy this book.

[Lucy Appadoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the mystery of Caitlyn and the small-town secrets, which kept me turning the pages until the very end. Her family had absolutely no morals, and I didn't like most of the characters in this novel. I only liked Caitlyn and the town's psychologist, Alice. Caitlyn was kidnapped and returns home, but she's lost her memory and slowly she regains fragments of her past. She investigates until she gets to the truth. In spite of enjoying the story, I found it extremely far-fetched in terms of how she was always easily triggered, but that's not how regaining your memory works. I found her memory coming back to her was more a matter of convenience for the plot of the story, but it was not realistic, especially when the character had experienced significant trauma. She remembered things far too quickly. However, the ending was interesting and it tied everything together. It definitely got me turning the pages.

[Barbara Daniels Dena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine. . .

If you have ever swung in the rope swing tied to the big oak, this book will remind you of how you twirled around and around, twisting the two ropes tighter and tighter. The author twists his mystery every few pages in the same manner as one would slowly untwist that rope swing. When I first began to read this book, I thought hohum another amnesia story. This is not a cookie cutter mystery in any sense of the word. Well written and detailed, the hours flew by as I could not stop my journey through the twists. I am off to be entertained by the next novel in the series.

[Rich Bisanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books grabs your attention on page one and never lets up.

I was captivated about the Hughes family and what they were doing involved in. I was thumbing pages and absorbing the material thinking I knew where this was going. But at the fifty percent mark the book to a dramatic turn in a whole different direction. No spoilers here but you have to read it to believe it. This author is a master story teller. All I can say is well done.

[Phyllis Wright]

I thought this book was too over the top. It was quite complicated working out who the various characters were. Although it had a plot which was finally revealed, I thought it was too far fetched and not realistic enough for my liking. True, I had to read it to the end, but I'm not interested in reading anymore from this author.

[Ginny · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first few chapters of this book really dragged for me. I felt like I was reading the script for a mediocre high school drama production. Dialogue was stilted and plot seemed disjointed. It got better though. Twists and turns in the plot kept me interested. Although the whole thing was totally implausible, it was entertaining.

[Gerri Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the story line, it was a bit long winded. The main character Catlyn is an amazing person who has amnesia but is trying to find out what happened to her and why. There are a lot of characters in this book so at times it was hard keeping track of them.

[Patty U. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story

I couldn't get into this book like I did Girl Abandoned. It's a good book just a little different. Half way thru till the end is very good. There are a few surprises you won't see coming.

[gunter helmholz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Girl kidnapped, a new way of story telling

I would recommend the book to all my friends, who like good writing. I enjoyed every page of it. It is wrong to dictate the number of words in a review!

[Red Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

Another Peter R. Stone gem! Not normally my cup of tea, but i have read the Forager series along with the two girl books and haven't read a bad book yet.
This one is a good mystery. I had no idea of who the real bad guy was until the reveal. Well done!

[Sabrina Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and intriguing

Lots of twists and turns in this tale of revenge! I thought the main character Cat was a very deep girl. She saw clues and fit them together, she also had a few good helpers.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

More Twists Than a Pretzel!

Entertaining thriller with my sister, Karen’s, favorite story line…….amnesia…….with a twist. Kept me entertained and wanting to read more. Not life-changing but a nice interlude between deeper reads.

[Ginny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is so complex I didn't know who to trust,it's full of twists and turns that you don't see coming.I feel bad for Kiera she didn't deserve to have such a hellish life and despite all she had been through she was a good person pretty much the only one in the whole book.

[paulette sarelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great thriller

This story kept you on your toes until the end. So much drama and conspiracy. What the main character Lists had to go through. Couldn't believe who the kidnapper was. Can't wait to read more from this author!

[LORRIE · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent qnd perfect mystery

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

Actually, I didn’t finish reading, but there wasn’t a choice, “Stopped 1/2 way through because life’s too short”. As much as I tried to solder on, the plastic surgery revelation on top of a lot of the other dumbness was the last straw.

[Sandy Dahlberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Couldn’t put it down

[Mary Dunlap · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twister

Wow, lots of crazy twists with the people in this small town. Greed seems to always be the could and I can't imagine going through what they did.

[G. Lea Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Girl Kidnapped

Truly a good mystery novel. Compiled me to keep reading
resolve . Some confusion regarding Australian terms for me but not difficult to sort out

[Sandra Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Revenge is a dish, best served cold in this book."

Sometimes, the past comes back, to bite you. Rich man, owned a game company, and the town it was in. Many secrets.

[Laverne Hankins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting concept. I found it somewhat confusing at times. But, still a good read.

[Arnita Jefferson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had me hooked from the start!

This book had me not wanting to put it down. Well written and surprises on each page. Best of all, it is a stand alone novel!!!!

[Tammi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm.

Interesting premise with lots of plot twists. Characters were a bit hard to sympathize with. Not a bad read though.

[gwen graves · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird creepy good

This was a really weird creepy story. I couldn't believe I read two creepy books in a row. The characters were interesting though.

[Olivia Chaffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the organization of the story line; it didn't toss me, the reader, around from scene to scene and instead kept a well-mannered course. At every turn there was an unexpected twist that brought life to the story. The characters were each unique and well thought out; if any of them were stereotypes i had no idea. I'm excited to see what else this author has to offer.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story. Had me guessing until the end.