***purchased for my own personal reading but sharing my
honest and unscripted review.
Blurb
for STOLEN:
Is she missing…or a
murderer?
When Laura Chaucer,
daughter of a U.S. senator, vanishes from her college campus, celebrated FBI
profilers Special Agent Atticus Spenser and forensic psychiatrist Dr. Caitlin
Cassidy are called in. Thirteen years ago, Laura and her nanny disappeared from
her family’s Denver home. Laura was found alive, but her nanny wasn’t so lucky…
and the killer was never caught. Laura could identify him—if only she didn’t
have a deep, dark hole in her memory.
Now she’s missing again.
Did the troubled young woman run away or has the kidnapper returned? As women
who look eerily similar to Laura’s nanny begin turning up dead, the Chaucer
family psychiatrist renders a disturbing opinion: Laura is unstable, a danger
to herself and others. Who knows what terrible secrets lurk in the shadowy
recesses of her mind? Cassidy and Spenser must solve one of the most infamous
cold cases ever to uncover the answer: Is Laura a killer, or is a monster still
out there, waiting to claim another victim?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Thirteen years ago, Laura Chaucer was kidnapped,
and her nanny murdered. Memories, as well as the lack of memories, have plagued
her ever since. She has also felt as if she’d yet to be freed from the
nightmare since her Senator father continued to protect and control every
aspect of her life. When she decides to change colleges and returns to a school
near the site of her kidnapping, trouble finds her again. Now she has awakened
surrounded by blood, naked, sick, and there is an all too familiar lock of hair
tied with a pink ribbon. But where is the monster from her nightmares? When
will he return to finish her off, or is it possible that she is the killing
monster all along?
Called in to be part of the task force
investigating the disappearance of Senator Chaucer’s daughter who was kidnapped
thirteen years earlier, Caitlin and Spense put their investigative and
profiling skills to work. Much to Caitlin’s chagrin and Spense’s annoyance, the
family’s therapist is also a man from Caity’s past and as far as Spense is
concerned, a possible suspect. As the evidence begins to unfold, secrets become
known, as well as possibly more victims, and suspects present themselves
including Laura Chaucer as one.
As always, Carey Baldwin manages to weave an
exciting and suspenseful thriller…and STOLEN is no exception. However, I had a
bit of problem with how, when in Laura’s point of view, she seemed already to know
Caity and Spense’s names. I also stumbled over some very obvious proofing
errors but it was the prior problem that had me holding back from being totally
hooked into the story.
However, later, as the mystery began to unfold,
I got past all of that and became completely engrossed in the who-done-it and
just when I thought I knew who it was…Carey knocked my feet out from under me
and surprised me! I will say that I pride myself in figuring out the bad guy
before the reveal, but she got me this time. Brava Carey! That made up for any
other gripe.
I highly recommend STOLEN by Carey Baldwin to
anyone who loves a good thriller with suspense, danger—physical and
psychological, bad guys seemingly crawling out of the woodwork, and secrets
that blow the story wide open as the serial killer bad guy is finally revealed.
This entire series is exceptional and although the thriller part of the stories
stand alone, the ever-increasing intimate relationship between Caitlin and
Spense lends to this series being read in order. By the way, there’s a big
romantic gesture in this one. And just so I don’t miss out, I’m moving directly
on to reading book five in the series, COUNTDOWN.
Happy Reading Everyone!
STOLEN, a Cassidy-Spenser thriller by Carey
Baldwin, Witness Impulse, available now at Amazon,
Barnes
& Noble, and Kobobooks.
