September book reviews #50books2014

I've actually read one book this month! I've missed reading so much. I've read 23 (or 24?) books in total this year, so far. I really would LOVE to reach 50 but we'll see how that goes.
Also, please don't forget to tweet me your book review posts (or use the #50books2014 hash tag) before 30th September so I can add them to the monthly round up - which I have really missed doing.

"Aproximately one hundred and fifty thousand children go missing in the U.K. every year. That’s one child every three and a half minutes.

Seven year-old Natalie Barrett is missing. She was last seen at 3:45 on Friday afternoon, walking from her school. One witness reported seeing an unusual car parked in the road. Police are canvassing the area for evidence.

Sarah Jenson is Natalie’s teacher. When one of the detectives on the case is mysteriously killed, Sarah sees a connection between the incidents and sets about her own investigation. With suspects stacking up, she is in a race against time to discover the true identity of the perpetrator before Natalie winds up as another statistic.

Where were Natalie’s parents when they should have been collecting her? Why is Natalie so scared of her Uncle Jimmy? Could a convicted sexual offender from Sarah’s past be involved?

Children not found within the first seventy-two hours, rarely return home alive. Sarah knows the clock is ticking…

Set in Southampton, and with D.I. Jack Vincent leading the investigation, Snatched is the latest break-neck-pace thriller from the pen of Stephen Edger"
Source

A story about a girl named Natalie, aged 7, being kidnapped/snatched from the school gates after school. It becomes a mystery as to what happened to her. The police are involved as is the school teacher and they try to figure out what exactly has happened to Natalie. I'm not gonna lie, this wasn't really a book I would have usually read but it was free on amazon. I wasn't really sure about it to be fair. I did find it hard to get into but after a couple of chapters, it wasn't so bad. I did have to skip a few paragraphs in different places as I found it to much info and I would rather just not read it as it was rather horrific. I predicted who had abducted the girl quite early on, so I wasn't surprised at all. It didn't make any difference to the story, I still followed it ok. It's nicely written and easy to follow. The ending wasn't what I was expecting but again, it wasn't bad. I'm not a HUGE thriller fan and not my ideal read.

3.5 stars from me. 


"Bestselling author and foster carer Casey Watson tells the shocking and deeply moving true story of a young girl with severe behavioural problems.


This is the first of several stories about ‘difficult’ children Casey helped during her time as a behaviour manager at her local comprehensive.


Casey has been in the post for six months when thirteen-year-old Imogen joins her class. One of six children Casey is teaching, Imogen has selective mutism. She’s a bright girl, but her speech problems have been making mainstream lessons difficult.


Life at home is also hard for Imogen. Her mum walked out on her a few years earlier and she’s never got on with her dad’s new girlfriend. She’s now living with her grandparents. There’s no physical explanation for Imogen’s condition, and her family insist she’s never had troubles like this before.


Everyone thinks Imogen is just playing up – except the member of staff closest to her, her teacher Casey Watson. It is the deadpan expression she constantly has on her face that is most disturbing to Casey. Determined there must be more to it, Casey starts digging and it’s not long before she starts to discover a very different side to Imogen’s character.


A visit to her grandparents’ reveals that Imogen is anything but silent at home. In fact she’s prone to violent outbursts; her elderly grandparents are terrified of her.


Eventually Casey’s hard work starts to pay off. After months of silence, Imogen utters her first, terrified, words to Casey: ‘I thought she was going to burn me.’


Dark, shocking and deeply disturbing, Casey begins to uncover the reality of what Imogen has been subjected to for years"
  
This is a true life story about a young girl (Imogen) who has silent mutism and no one really knows why! Casey however, makes it her mission to find out. This book is beautifully written. It is a sad story with a good ending. I don't want to go into detail as its on a few of my blogger friends 'to read' lists. 
FIVE stars from me!!