We were all agreed that this book was a quick and easy read, a page turner – more than one of us had completed it in two days. However the general feeling was that the plot lacked credibility with poorly developed characters. With its basic premise of a baby being kidnapped whilst the parents are at dinner next door it had overtones of the Madeline McCann case which lead some of us to approach it with trepidity, and the first part of the book was quite believable. However as it unfolded it took on some similarities with the Shannon Matthews case. As the twists and turns were added the story gradually became more convoluted and consequently less real.
Mental health was one of the themes -both postpartum depression and dissociative disorder, but even with these in the frame none of us really bought the ending which was not really needed. We went on to discuss the differences between social care and health systems in the US and the UK (would there have been better checks here?) and the closing of ranks to protect reputation with the result that problems are buried rather than being addressed, particularly where wealth is involved.
So the ultimate conclusion – readable but disappointing.
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