When eight-year-old Vinni Stewart disappears from a Jersey shore town, Maddy, her distraught single mother, begins a desperate search for her daughter. Maddy’s five-year journey leads her to a bakery in Brooklyn, where she stumbles upon something terrifying. Ultimately, her artist neighbor Evelyn reconnects Maddy to her passion for painting and guides her to a life transformed through art.… art.
Detective John D’Orfini sees more than a kidnapping in the plot-thickening twists of chance surrounding Vinni’s disappearance, but his warnings to stay away from the investigation do not deter Maddy, even when her search puts her in danger. When the Russian Mafia warns her to stop sniffing into their business, Maddy must make a choice whether to save one child – even if it might jeopardize saving her own.
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In A Matter of Chance, author Maloney offers a journey through grief and betrayal by reconnecting to life through the expression of art. This gorgeous book explores and evokes desperate love, continued hope, and, finally, a way through to a surprising conclusion. You won’t want to stop reading this compelling novel until you turn the very last page.
This beautiful book! Maloney spins a heart-wrenching tale with depth and heart. I felt every single emotion alongside Maddy as she spiraled through the kidnapping of her young daughter. Hard to put down and oh so beautifully written. I’m still thinking about these characters. Brava, Julie. You’re a magnificent writer and storyteller.
Julie Maloney’s A MATTER OF CHANCE captures the desperate heartache of a mother’s unthinkable loss in haunting, beautiful prose. Maloney’s vividly etched characters immediately drew me into this suspenseful, emotionally stirring novel. A MATTER OF CHANCE is not to be missed.
While the premise of the story was good, the actual telling was not that appealing. I cannot begin to imagine having my child abducted and Maddy’s distress is understanding. Her unwillingness to give up as year-after-year there is no resolution is admirable. But…
This book felt too stilted. The words did not flow smoothly. I literally felt like I was riding in a car on a bumpy road, being jerked from side to side as I tried to take in the story. I do think the author has great potential and would read another book by her to see if the writing style is more appealing.
Thank you to NetGalley and She Writes Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
“A Matter of Chance” is a stunning portrayal of emotion engendered by heartache. The book is told from the point of view of Maddy Stewart, a mother whose only daughter is taken from a New Jersey beach. In the years that follow, Maddy must balance hope and grief to create a new way of being without her child. Maddy’s pain ignites a renewed passion for painting and a thoughtful romance with the officer investigating the crime. In a masterful balancing act, “A Matter of Chance” is both a plot-driven thriller and an introspective character study. I look forward to more from this author.
The author elegantly weaves a thriller of a story grounded by a mother’s love and the choices she makes to reclaim her daughter. A heart-wrenching, incredible quest that belongs on the top of everyone’s to-be-read pile.
I finished this book the other night, I swear, I could not put it down. But as soon as I reached the very last page, as soon as I learned everything I needed to know, I turned back to the first page and started reading it for the second time.
That’s the kind of book A Matter of Chance is. That’s the kind of author Julie Maloney is. I was fortunate to hear her speak about this book at the Gaithersburg Book Festival and she is delightful, knowledgeable, and funny. And she writes so, so beautifully.
I loved this book for so many reasons: the characters, the love between mother and daughter, the loss.
If someone’s ever taken what’s yours, if you’ve ever wondered why, read this book.
In this very intriguing debut novel by Julie Maloney, A Matter of Chance deals with the heartbreak of a mother losing a child to kidnapping and the torturous and difficult five years she searches for her eight-year old daughter, Vinni. Maddy Stewart feels in her heart that her daughter is alive somewhere and vows never to give up searching for her.
Maddy suffers endlessly and her life is turned upside down, but her elderly neighbor, Evelyn, a mother figure and painter who is nurturing, and Detective John D’Orfini’s vigilance and care help sustain and get her through the traumatic years. John D’Orfini and the FBI are well aware of the dangers in this case, and his numerous warnings as well as the Russian Mafia’s to stop meddling into their business don’t deter Maddy from taking things into her own hands. As distraught as she is, she defies everything and continues her search as nothing can penetrate the love for her child.
Julie Maloney’s mysterious and thrilling story grips and captures from the very beginning. It’s fast reading and a page turner, and I couldn’t put it down. It definitely has a “wow” factor, and that’s what I love about a book. Maloney’s character descriptions pull you in as well as the way she describes her vivid scenes. I also like the way she says it like it is, and she writes with moxie. I enjoyed this book immensely, and I HIGHLY recommend it.
I received an ARC of this book from Julie Maloney and her publisher, She Writes Press, for my honest review.
Julie Maloney’s poignant novel, A Matter of Chance, is at once a mystery, a romance, and a literary rendering of the horror of a kidnapped child. Narrated by the main character, with the deep sensibilities of an artist, the regret of a shunned child and a divorced woman, and the depthless love of a mother for her daughter, this is a story that fascinates, rivets and stays with the reader.
Horrible never finished it
I was hooked from the start
Couldn’t put the book down finished it in one day !!
I did finish the book but it did seem to just go on about her search for her daughter. I think the book was well written. I will read more books by this author.
Julie Maloney’s debut novel is a remarkable, riveting journey. What lengths will a mother go to when her child vanishes? Clear your schedule for this book, because you will not be able to stop reading.
How do we hold on to the things we’ve lost? In Maloney’s incandescent novel, an eight-year-old girl vanishes, leading to a heart-wrenching exploration about what it means to look after your own, the mystery of how and why we leave, and what is taken from us when we do. Beautifully written and impossible to forget.
I enjoyed the book and being from NJ it was fun to see names of towns “coded”. Kept my interest because as each character was introduced, I thought they would were the kidnapper. Without being a spoiler, I felt some info/plots were just added for filler. Love the head detectives character. This is the author’s first book and will look forward to more from her.
A Matter Of Chance, a domestic thriller, is Julie Maloney’s debut novel. Maddy Stewart, a single mom is on vacation at the Jersey shore with her eight-year-old daughter, Vinni. While on the beach with her daughter, she sees her elderly neighbors, and the husband appears to be having a heart attack. Maddy runs for help, leaving her daughter with the wife. She returns to find her daughter and the wife gone and the husband’s body in the sand.
What ensues is the typical police/FBI scenario in which it seems that the investigation is stalled. When Maddy takes matters into her own hands, she uncovers a circle of corruption that carries this novel into something of a global thriller. Five years pass, yet Maddy remains convinced her daughter is alive. What makes this book stand out from the usual kidnapping stories is depth and carefully nuancing of Maddy’s emotions. She suffers, yet sustains herself with friends and art and a potential new love. The characters are well developed, and each shows a nice character arc.
Had the kidnapping of Vinni actually been planned? Were Rudy and Hilda watching and planning each time Maddy and Vinni were at the beach?
Maddy couldn’t stop blaming herself for Vinni’s disappearance. Why didn’t she have her cell phone with her instead of having to run back to the house to call the ambulance for Rudy. Was his accident really an accident or had Hilda planned that on her own too?
We follow the police investigation as well as Maddy’s own investigation and share Maddy’s pain as she mourns the disappearance of her daughter. Maddy did annoy me a little when she did her own investigation that might have hindered the investigation. I am sure I would have done the same though.
There were not that many characters in the story, but you did get to know each character well. Ms. Maloney described each character in detail and will have you feeling as if you are sitting right there with them and experiencing what they are experiencing.
A MATTER OF CHANCE has beautiful, detailed writing and a smooth, pull-you-in story line. You won’t want to stop reading because of the engaging situations.
Mystery fans as well as suspense fans will enjoy A MATTER OF CHANCE.
There are a few sensitive topics addressed, but this book is a marvelous, moving read that will fill you with terror as well as love. 5/5
This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the author in return for an honest review.
“Time does not heal. It stretches the pain so it lies flat like a sheet, but it does not heal.”
On an ordinary day at the Jersey shore, an eight year old little girl disappears. Vinni was there one minute and when her Mom, Maddy turned back after making a 911 call- she vanished.
How, where and with whom are what we try to resolve.
This is a gripping story, one that will leave you shaken . It’s every parent’s nightmare.
Maddy needs to accept that Vinni is gone, but she can’t and won’t. She begins her own dangerous search for her daughter.
I could not put this novel down, it is excellent!