With one call, her daughter’s life is on the line. Laurie Ahmadi has worked as a 911 police dispatcher in her quiet Northern California town for almost two decades, but nothing in her nearly twenty years of experience could prepare her for the worst call of her career—her teenage daughter, Jojo, is on the other end of the line. She is drugged, disoriented, and in pain, and even though the whole … though the whole police department springs into action, there is nothing Laurie can do to help.
Jojo, who has been sexually assaulted, doesn’t remember how she ended up at the home of Kevin Leeds, a pro football player famous for his work with the Citizens Against Police Brutality movement, though she insists he would never hurt her. And she has no idea where her best friend, Harper, who was with her earlier in the evening, could be.
As Jojo and Laurie begin digging into Harper’s private messages on social media to look for clues to her whereabouts, they uncover a conspiracy far bigger than they ever could have imagined. With Kevin’s freedom on the line and the chances of finding Harper unharmed slipping away, Laurie and Jojo begin to realize that they can’t trust anyone to find Harper except themselves, not even the police department they’ve long considered family . . . and time is running out.
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Stolen Things is relentless, a vortex that sucks you in, yet sparkles with grace notes that keep the story from being too dark. This book stays with you long after you close the pages.
Exciting storytelling and great characters make Stolen Things a powerhouse read. The writing is superb and I can’t wait for her next book!
Herron writes this story as only a seasoned 911 dispatcher can — gripping us with a cry for help that hits home and steering us, come what may, to the breathless finish. Stolen Things is an urgent, timely tale that transports readers into the minds on both ends of that worst-nightmare call: A daughter desperate for help, and a mother who will have to pass the ultimate test to give it.
R.H. Herron’s Stolen Things is a powerful debut. With tight, cutting prose and a breakneck pace, Herron crafts a haunting tale of a family’s shattering inflection point. Tragic, twisty, and timely, Stolen Things keeps you guessing while simultaneously breaking your heart a little. Thriller readers will surely be adding R.H. Herron to their favorite-author list.
There’s no down time in this book! From the first page, I was drawn into the worst nightmare a mother could experience. Laurie Ahmadi is a 911 police dispatcher when she answers a emergency call from her teenage daughter, Jojo. Jojo has no idea where she is, she’s in pain, and she has been drugged. As Laurie works to narrow down where Jojo is, Jojo begins to remember at least that she was with her best friend, Harper. But where’s Harper? Laurie’s husband and Jojo’s father is police chief, and he suffers a heart attack as they eventually find Jojo. Jojo’s pro football player friend is arrested for a murder that had also taken place in his home and for the rape of Jojo, even though Jojo knows her friend has done neither of these crimes. Laurie and Jojo begin reading Harper’s private messages on social media, and both are stunned at what they read. It quickly becomes clear there is no one in the Northern California police department that they can trust. Laurie finds her husband has been hiding secrets regarding Harper too. I found Laurie and Jojo’s relationship endearing and also frustrating. Laurie is extremely impulsive and Jojo is used to being spoiled and protected–I found both traits annoying and distracting. Overall, a great read and intense!
A very well done first book. The story was different and unpredictable and the characters were different and well-portrayed. A very up-to-date tale, with no apologies for any themes utilized. Couldn’t wait to continue reading.
Laurie is working as a 911 dispatcher, when she gets the most terrifying call of her career, in this captivating and convincing thriller!
”No one ever called 911 because they were having a great day.”
Not your typical child abduction story. That’s just the beginning and there is so much more to this tense story…deep-seated scandals, terrifying secrets and oh-so-twisted deceit.
It was hard to figure out who to trust and who you didn’t want to turn your back on, but what a ride while trying to figure it out!
Thank you to Edelweiss, Dutton and RH Herron for this digital ARC, in exchange for my honest opinion!
My Rating: 3.5 ’s (rounding up)
Published: August 20th 2019 by Dutton
Pages: 368
Recommend: Yes. This audiobook had perfect narrators, that kept me glued to my headset.
Rachael Herron @DuttonBooks @weiss_squad
#Edelweiss #StolenThings #AudioBook #TenseThriller
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This book started off slow for me but the more I read the faster I read.
A great cat and mouse domestic thriller that kept me guessing until the very end.
My first read from this author and won’t be my last!
The premise of this book was all too familiar to me, as a local scandal amongst police departments in our area. Readers will be shocked by the details enclosed in this fast paced debut thriller. The author took her past experience as a dispatcher and wove it between the pages, creating a realistic background on which our main characters draw on when caught in the middle of unthinkable acts and scandal within their own law enforcement department. While parts of this book were difficult for me to read because of the clear feelings of distrust towards the actions of law enforcement by the author, I choose to believe she also holds a place in her heart for the majority that are true to the profession. When I take my own feelings out of it, she wrote a great book that was fast paced, interesting and held my attention. I think her characters had depth and worked well together. Her storyline flowed and was well played until the very end.
It took me a chapter or two to get into Stolen Things, but then once I was in I was all in. I couldn’t put it down. I had other things I had to do so I would try and put it aside and do something else, but I would just be thinking about the story and wondering what was going to happen next until I gave up and started reading some more. It was great!
Now I don’t want to talk too much about what happens in this story as…well I went in not knowing anything except it was a thriller about a 911 dispatcher who answers a 911 call from her daughter. I cannot imagine what it would be like to do that job and then to have your daughter call in? Man, that would be rough. And Laurie does have a rough go at it. She tries to stay strong and be there for Jojo, to keep everything together and figure out what happened, but it is hard. It would be so difficult to go through that and she tries her best. I loved how real she felt. How she acted like you might if you were in a similar situation. It would be very stressful and then not sleeping well on top of that and going crazy with worry could make you a bit like Laurie. I loved it. I loved how true it felt. How real people are not perfect and know the right thing to do in all instances even if you worked in with these kinds of situations before. When it is your own family members it is different. You might not stay calm, cool, and collected.
And Jojo? She was such a teenager. There were moments when I wanted to hug her and tell her she doesn’t have to be that cool don’t want or need her parents person. She doesn’t have to push them away. She can ask for what she wants, get help when she needs it, just you don’t have to have that stoic I don’t need my parents even when I do thing going on. She went through something horrible and lashes out at times as one would expect. Really I think the characterizations of these characters is what made the story. What made it so compelling. Yes, I wanted to know what would happen next, what was going on, who is involved, how it would all end up, but without the character feeling like real people it would have been missing that special something that kept me reading. That made me not want to put the book down. This was a great read. The perfect amount of tension that keeps you hooked with a story with a few twists and turns along the way and characters I loved reading.
*Note: I received a free copy of this book for voluntary review consideration
This review was originally posted to Jen in Bookland
This novel is all about corruption in the police department and the repercussions for everyone. Jojo is the daughter of the chief of police and the main character, the one who is the victim of a terrible crime at the beginning of the book. Her mom Louise is a police dispatcher and her best friend Harper is from a wealthy family. That basically sets the scene for a book that is full of twists and surprises and lots of action. There is also a famous football player involved as well as over half of the police department. The book was a good, fast-paced read that entertained and tried to inform. The ending came rather abruptly, with everything all tied up in a neat bow, but it wasn’t very satisfactory to me. The author seemed to want to deal with all kinds of social issues in the book and instead of dealing with one thoroughly, none were adequately dealt with. I enjoyed the book and recommend it to those who like suspense, with the caveat that the violence, language and sexual content may be offensive to some.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
This was an intense book that grabbed me almost from the first page! It was fast paced and kept my attention to the very end! Thanks to Netgalley for the early copy
This book is a wonderful mystery/thriller mix! Laurie is at work as a 911 dispatcher when she receives that is her daughter Jojo and she is in trouble. Next is a roller coaster ride that makes an unputdownable book!!! I loved the relationship between Jojo and Laurie. Their relationship is real and shows their love for each other as mom and teenage daughter. Laurie will do anything and everything to help her daughter. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Wow, what can i say this was a gripping story of a mother’s love for her daughter. I read this book in a matter of 3 or 4 hours once I got started I couldn’t put it down. There are so many different elements happening in this book, that you were kept on your toes waiting to see what would happen next. Suspense/thrillers are one of my favorite genres, this was a new author for me but I definitely will read more by them. I wish at times the scoring could be a little different I would have given this book a 4.5/5 stars.
Action packed, edge of your seat suspense that covers several modern day issues weaved into the storyline. Twists and turns abound and will keep you guessing throughout. Great read!