Stolen by Rebecca Muddiman

 

Abby Henshaw and her eight-month-old baby Beth are traveling to visit a friend when Abby's car is forced into a ditch by a van on a country road. After being sexually assaulted Abby struggles back to her car to discover her daughter missing. 

I've recently joined a book group and Stolen by Rebecca Muddiman is the first book I've read for the group. We've not met yet to discuss the book so all thoughts are my own. I am interested to find out what the rest of the group thought about the book though. The group meets in our local library and I don't know who decided on this book for the group to read. I can understand the choice however, we're based in the northeast and the book is set around Redcar and Middlesbrough.

Abby and her husband Paul are happily married and both are devoted parents. Following a routine visit to the doctor, Abby sets off to visit a friend. The trip turns into a nightmare when her car is forced off the road by a van. After being sexually assaulted Abby discovers her daughter has disappeared from her car. 

DI Michael Gardner, recently transferred to Middlesbrough police station, is in charge of the investigation, a dedicated officer, he refuses to give up even when the case runs out of clues. Gardner is the biggest issue for me in the book. Apart from one small instance, he is a very one-dimensional character. Considering this is the first in a series of four books I do hope that some character development has taken place.

The author keeps the pace moving by the use of short chapters and portrays the emotional state of Abby Henshaw well. I'd guessed one of the storylines as it takes inspiration from a real-life case that garnered much media coverage, however, I didn't have a clue regarding the main storyline.

Author Details

Rebecca was born and raised in Redcar. She has lived and worked in Holland and London, and travelled across America on a Greyhound bus in 2002. She won a Northern Writers' Award in 2010 and the Northern Crime Competition in 2012. When not writing she spends her time watching Game of Thrones and dealing with her two unruly dogs.