This was quite good! I have read and enjoyed Joy Fielding in the past so I knew that I had a pretty good chance of enjoying this book as well. I have had a review copy for a while but for one reason or another never ended up actually picking it up. This is a story of a missing child so I knew that it might be a bit more emotional but when I saw that my library had a copy of the audiobook, I thought it was time to give this book a try. This book ended up being really hard to set aside because I just had to know what really happened to Samantha.

This book is told through several points in time. We see everything happening to Caroline and her family today and all those years ago during that fateful trip when Samantha disappeared. We do also see a few shorter scenes at different points during the fifteen years that have elapsed since the disappearance. I really thought that everything fit together very well and came together to tell a very sad tale.

I was completely invested in learning what happened all those years ago and felt really bad about everything that Caroline has been through over the years. Not only did Caroline lose her daughter, but she was also treated terribly by society. Everyone seemed to blame her for her daughter's disappearance. As the actual night that her daughter disappeared came together, my heart hurt for her. It didn't seem right that one bad decision should have such a devastating impact on her life.

The story that was set in the present was equally well done. I understood why Caroline had to find out if the girl on the other end of the phone could be her daughter. I did have some issues with her older daughter, Michelle. I couldn't understand why Caroline allowed her to have the control that she did and it got to be a bit much for me. I know that Michelle had also been through a lot and was dealing with things differently but Caroline, as her mother, should have stood up to her a bit more. Once everything was finally revealed, there were a few surprises.

Tanya Eby did a great job with the narration. I thought that she added a lot of emotion to the story and really brought the characters to life. I found her voice to be very pleasant and had no problem listening to the book for hours at a time.

I would recommend this book to others. I thought it was a very well done and sometimes emotional mystery with plenty of twists to keep things interesting. I definitely plan to read more from Joy Fielding in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books via NetGalley and borrowed a copy of the audiobook from my local library via Overdrive. ( )

I enjoyed this book, but was surprised that Ms. Fielding never mentioned the McCann kidnapping in her acknowledgements. Basically the same thing, parents dining with friends in restaurant at resort, child stolen from hotel room, parents suspected. In any case, some of the setup was thinly veiled in the first few chapters, so I had a good idea of several of the plot twists which were unveiled later. All in all, an enjoyable book. ( )

With a premise ripped straight from the headlines, 2 year old Samantha Shipley goes missing from her hotel room one night while her parents are dining in a restaurant down below. Whether a coincidence or intentional, the premise of She's Not There by Joy Fielding was so very reminiscent of the real world disappearance of Madeline McCann, that I was instantly hooked.

Fifteen years later, Samantha's mother Caroline is struggling to cope while the press continue to hound them and the pressure of the disappearance has torn their family to shreds. Out of the blue, Caroline receives a call from a girl who believes she might be Samantha.

She's Not There was an absolutely gripping psychological thriller and I enjoyed getting to the truth of who Samantha was. The family dynamics seemed genuine and Caroline was a likeable character. I especially enjoyed the real-life inspiration for Caroline's mother and the mention of her in the author's acknowledgements: "...without mentioning my very own long-deceased grandmother Mary, my father's mother and as miserable a woman as ever walked this earth. She was the inspiration for Grandma Mary, and while this novel is unquestionably a work of fiction, many of the quotes attributed to her came straight from her mouth." Wow! This made me love the book even more.

As well as being chock full of suspense, this is also a mystery/whodunnit, so it will appeal to a wide range of readers. The only reservation I have is the cover; I didn't see the relevance to the story at all.

She's Not There was my first time reading Joy Fielding so what a thrill to discover she has a huge back catalogue. I'll admit I did allow myself at times to believe this could be the story of Madeline McCann, and perhaps there's nothing wrong with that. Highly recommended.

* Copy courtesy of Allen & Unwin * ( )

I've always been a fan of Joy Fielding, ever since I first read her book Heartstopper back when I was in grade 10. Granted, I haven't read a book by her in a while, but reading this one makes up for it!

15 years ago, Caroline Shipley was looking forward to her wedding anniversary. But the celebratory trip to Mexico with her husband and friends became a disaster when her infant daughter, Samantha, was kidnapped. Now, 15 years later, there is still no trace of Samantha. Divorced and isolated, Caroline is forced to relive the horrible event every year by reporters who won't stop calling her. But this year, when the phone rings, Caroline hears another voice - the voice of a young girl claiming to be Samantha. Taken back into a world of heartbreak and suspicion, Caroline doesn't know who or what to believe. But when she starts to piece things together, she finds the answers are dangerously close to home.

I'm still trying to put my thoughts together on this novel so I'm going to start off by saying the things that I liked about this novel (this is basically my way of saying I'm going to ramble):

This book is emotionally charged and it does a really good job of staying that way. It shows the ways in which this kidnapping affects not only Caroline but her older daughter, Michelle, too. And while Michelle's character might be annoying, she is arguably accurately depicted. In fact, everyone is accurately depicted, and I love that the author took the time to make realistic characters. It made the story that much more believable and emotional.

The story flits back and forth in time, to show the events leading up to and after the kidnapping, as well as showing what is happening in the present moment with the mysterious caller. It was a nice effect and kept me intrigued with the actual mystery of the story.

However, and this is the one thing that has made me feel confused in terms of my feelings about this book, I didn't like the actual mystery aspect. For 90% of the book, the author focuses on the emotions and the events themselves, not bothering to mention how such an act could have happened. And I was fine with that. The story was gripping enough as it is and the mystery of the identity of the caller was good enough for me! But in the last few chapters, the author decides to unveil the perpetrators of the crime. And while this was necessary, it is the one thing that I don't think was done well. There was a lack of build-up, of investigation, and it gave the effect of just being plopped down there as an afterthought. A few more chapters that focused on the whodunit aspect would have been appreciated and would have allowed for a smoother transition. I especially did not like the cliched effect of having all of the suspects in one room and having each one be hinted at as the possible kidnapper, only to finally reveal the truth. It reminded me of something out of Hercule Poirot, and it just made the whole scene really cheesy.

Another thing that felt a bit weird to me was when the mysterious caller arrives and just integrates "so well" with the family. It was a bit cheesy and made the story fall a bit, especially when compared to the previous spot-on emotional aspects of the story.

While this novel was emotionally strong, with great characters and details, it rushed parts of the ending and gave the feeling of not being satisfactorily completed. For that reason, I would give this novel a 3.5/5.

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What a cracking read!

This book engaged me from the very outset. We have a child who went missing whilst on holiday 15 years ago (and yes it is almost Madeline McCann’s disappearance story, so some people may have difficulty reading this book) and then suddenly out of the blue the mother is contacted by a teenager telling her she thinks she is that daughter. Cue the emotional turmoil, what do you do? Believe her and jump into a situation that could end up destroying you, or reject the young girl out of hand and spurn someone who could be your daughter.

I was hooked by this story from the very first page! There is great characterisation throughout the book and I felt the mother’s pain, as not only has she been destroyed by what has happened, but the story is relayed every Anniversary and if that is not bad enough she is vilified by the press. As a result I was totally emotionally involved in the book and just needed to keep reading! I loved the time taken to get to know all the characters in the first half of the book and as both the backstory and current story were presented.

It is definitely a book you do not want to put down and not only that I loved the ending, and the shocking twist in the final pages. I have not read this author before but on this book she could quickly become one of my favourites. I will certainly be searching out more of her books to read. I would definitely recommend the book if you enjoy books in this genre.

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review as is relayed here! ( )