What do you think?
Rate this book
Tallman's Valley Detectives #1
One Last Child
It was summer in the mountains when five small children vanished from their nursery school picnic. The heat was stifling that day, the tinkle of an ice-cream van in the air.
Three and a half years later, in the dead of winter, the children are returned by their abductor... one by one.
All except for Ivy - the granddaughter of homicide detective Kate Wakeland. The other four children say Ivy is dead.
Speculation grows that the kidnappings were revenge for an offender that Detective Wakeland put in jail years before.
She engages in a battle of wits between herself, the kidnapper and the cold, vast expanse of mountains in between.
Three and a half years later, in the dead of winter, the children are returned by their abductor... one by one.
All except for Ivy - the granddaughter of homicide detective Kate Wakeland. The other four children say Ivy is dead.
Speculation grows that the kidnappings were revenge for an offender that Detective Wakeland put in jail years before.
She engages in a battle of wits between herself, the kidnapper and the cold, vast expanse of mountains in between.
436 pages, Paperback
First published January 15, 2020
6281 people are currently reading
5377 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 803 reviews
January 23, 2020
Anni Taylor has written a cracker of a domestic thriller, involving a group of three year olds who go missing from a nursery school picnic. We're all very familiar with the 'missing child' trope in domestic thrillers, but not a group of five children all abducted at the same time without a trace, kept hidden for over three years until some of them are released back to their parents.
Kate Wakefield, a homicide detective with the Tallman's Valley police in Sydney's scenic Blue Mountains, is the grandmother of one of the kidnapped children. In her sixties, she is close to retirement but still loves her job and has a good track record in solving homicides. As a close relative of a victim, she is initially only allowed to sit in on task force meetings to keep in touch with the investigation but is later allowed to join the team when some of the children are returned years later.
The plot is well written with quite a few red herrings and unexpected twists. While the first half of the novel feels a little slow as it deals with the initial hunt for the children, following up leads and witnesses, it felt very realistic to me and highlighted the frustration the police often feel in these types of cases that seem to be going nowhere, especially when small children are involved. The slow build and lack of progress up to the point where the children started reappearing, made it more surprising when it happened. I loved the originality of an older female detective as the main lead in this novel, especially one who is happily married, doesn't drink excessively or rush into dangerous situations (like so many female detectives in this genre). I'm also very pleased to hear that a sequel is already underway! 4.5★
With thanks to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for a digital ARC to read
Kate Wakefield, a homicide detective with the Tallman's Valley police in Sydney's scenic Blue Mountains, is the grandmother of one of the kidnapped children. In her sixties, she is close to retirement but still loves her job and has a good track record in solving homicides. As a close relative of a victim, she is initially only allowed to sit in on task force meetings to keep in touch with the investigation but is later allowed to join the team when some of the children are returned years later.
The plot is well written with quite a few red herrings and unexpected twists. While the first half of the novel feels a little slow as it deals with the initial hunt for the children, following up leads and witnesses, it felt very realistic to me and highlighted the frustration the police often feel in these types of cases that seem to be going nowhere, especially when small children are involved. The slow build and lack of progress up to the point where the children started reappearing, made it more surprising when it happened. I loved the originality of an older female detective as the main lead in this novel, especially one who is happily married, doesn't drink excessively or rush into dangerous situations (like so many female detectives in this genre). I'm also very pleased to hear that a sequel is already underway! 4.5★
With thanks to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for a digital ARC to read
January 21, 2020
My first by this author and it will not be my last!
The premise was extraordinary - not one child abducted, but five! All at the same time from the same day care outing and not a clue as to how they disappeared. Even worse, one of the children is the granddaughter of a local homicide detective, Kate Wakeland.
Kate is an excellent main character. She is an older woman, very experienced in the job, happily married with a supportive husband and no apparent alcohol problems. I think she might be a workaholic but I am not going to hold that against her. In other words she is a pretty normal woman. Hooray say all of us who are finding ourselves tired of all the traumatised cops we normally get in this genre.
The rest is just a great story with lots of surprises, a couple of red herrings, heaps of police work, some delightful references to places near Sydney, and a satisfying ending. Very well done and I recommend it to anyone who likes a really good mystery.
My thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
The premise was extraordinary - not one child abducted, but five! All at the same time from the same day care outing and not a clue as to how they disappeared. Even worse, one of the children is the granddaughter of a local homicide detective, Kate Wakeland.
Kate is an excellent main character. She is an older woman, very experienced in the job, happily married with a supportive husband and no apparent alcohol problems. I think she might be a workaholic but I am not going to hold that against her. In other words she is a pretty normal woman. Hooray say all of us who are finding ourselves tired of all the traumatised cops we normally get in this genre.
The rest is just a great story with lots of surprises, a couple of red herrings, heaps of police work, some delightful references to places near Sydney, and a satisfying ending. Very well done and I recommend it to anyone who likes a really good mystery.
My thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
October 16, 2020
Amazing psychological thriller! I was hooked from the very beginning of this book. It's fairly short but with robust characters. A few compelling subplots keep the story from being hyper-focused on the kidnapping event. Several unpredictable twists that I did not anticipate.
The overall tone of the book is that of urgency and desperation which will push you to quickly finish this story. I won't speak of the ending because that would give away to much. But I highly recommend this gripping novel and I will definitely be checking out the sequel!
The overall tone of the book is that of urgency and desperation which will push you to quickly finish this story. I won't speak of the ending because that would give away to much. But I highly recommend this gripping novel and I will definitely be checking out the sequel!
January 19, 2020
The day five children – all three years old – disappeared while on a picnic from nursery school was the day the lives of the parents and family of those children changed forever. Homicide Detective Kate Wakeland was the grandmother of one of the children; Ivy, her daughter Abby’s child. The heartbreak and fear was immediate while the police swung into action, knowing those first minutes and hours were vitally important. The task force that worked tirelessly could find no answers – the frustration of everyone, especially Kate kept them ragged with worry…
Three and a half years later the children were returned – all except Ivy. And as those children were gently questioned, they all said one thing – Ivy was dead. Kate and her husband Pete were at their wit’s end. Abby was distraught – would she ever find her daughter’s body? Kate was determined to find the kidnapper; more so than ever now. She needed to know why…
One Last Child is the 1st in the Tallman's Valley Detectives series by Aussie author Anni Taylor and it was done in her usual brilliant, intense and gripping style! Set in the Blue Mountains of Australia, there are plenty of places to hide up there. Katoomba, Blackheath – great locations for a psychological thriller. I really hope this series is going to be a long one, if the rest is anything like One Last Child. Breathtaking with an electric pace, I have no hesitation in highly recommending One Last Child to all thriller lovers.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
Three and a half years later the children were returned – all except Ivy. And as those children were gently questioned, they all said one thing – Ivy was dead. Kate and her husband Pete were at their wit’s end. Abby was distraught – would she ever find her daughter’s body? Kate was determined to find the kidnapper; more so than ever now. She needed to know why…
One Last Child is the 1st in the Tallman's Valley Detectives series by Aussie author Anni Taylor and it was done in her usual brilliant, intense and gripping style! Set in the Blue Mountains of Australia, there are plenty of places to hide up there. Katoomba, Blackheath – great locations for a psychological thriller. I really hope this series is going to be a long one, if the rest is anything like One Last Child. Breathtaking with an electric pace, I have no hesitation in highly recommending One Last Child to all thriller lovers.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
August 31, 2022
3.5~4★
“The returns would need to be swift and efficient. Each child back to his or her home.
All but for one child.
One child would not be returned tonight.
One child would never be returned.”
[The events I describe are alluded to in the publisher’s blurb, not spoilers!]
This mystery opens with a nervous driver preparing to return abducted children to their homes. They were kidnapped at the age of three from a pre-school picnic in the park, where an ice-cream van playing the well-known ‘Greensleeves’ had stopped at the top of the hill. The driver had hopped out to eat a hot dog, and one of the teachers had gone up the hill to ask him to turn off the music, as it was distracting.
Of course it was! It could cause mayhem if all those three-year-olds start clamouring for ice cream, which is pretty much the point of the music. But when the teacher got up there, she seemed to get a bit foggy, and by the time she returned to the picnic, the other two teachers were already searching frantically for five missing children.
One happens to be the granddaughter of Senior Homicide Detective Kate Wakeland. Kate isn’t usually called about missing persons, except in cases of abduction, which might lead to murder, of course, so she’s called.
But it’s not her case – it’s too personal. Instead, Detective Sergeant Reagan Grimshaw will be in charge (as if that would stop a grandmother on the warpath). She marches into the Superintendent’s office.
“‘Grimshaw doesn’t want me but you can override her.’
‘If I did, and then you put one foot wrong, you could get yourself fired.’
‘I’m sixty-one, Andrew. You can’t scare me with that.’”
Actually, there’s not much that scares Kate Wakeland, except the thought of what might be happening to little Ivy. This takes place in a picturesque valley in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.
The Australian bush is famous for its mysterious, dark places and the odd assortment of (or the assortment of odd) people who may choose to live in its hidden corners.
Three years later, after the children, except for Ivy, have been returned, Ivy’s mother, Abby, comes back to town. She is understandably even more distraught that Ivy is still gone, and is upset that her own beloved Nanna is not home, but is dying in hospice, which was Nanna’s choice.
Abby is still close to her dad, Pete, who is also Kate’s rock. Since Abby’s mid-teens, Kate and her daughter have been estranged, but Pete has managed to keep close.
Kate is very close to her mum, and when she tells her Abby has returned to town, Nanna is hopeful.
“‘Maybe Abby’s finding her way back to us,’ Mum said softly.
‘I hope so. I just wish she’d open up to me.’
‘She will one day. You’ve always done the best you could, with the kind of job you had.’
There it was. ‘The kind of job I’d had.’ My mother had never understood me remaining in detective work after Abby was born. But my mother was from a different era. Women often didn’t keep working after children in her day, and they weren’t police officers, let alone detectives. I’d been born around the time the contraceptive pill had first come onto the market. I’d never known a time that women didn’t have access to it. It wasn’t like that when my mother was growing up and when she had me. She’d given up her job and lived on my father’s wage. She was born in the twenties and grew up in the depression.”
This is what Kate is up against. She’s very good at what she does, and she isn’t going to quit. In fact, running alongside this investigation is an old murder case she’s never solved and that still preys on her mind. She is suprised when a few things begin to cross over between it, the abduction of the children, and now her daughter’s new life as well.
I very much enjoyed the story and the writing. It seemed longer to me than it needed to be, and I found myself skimming pages of conversation or description, but the resulting story was good enough that I’m looking forward to the next one in the series.
“The returns would need to be swift and efficient. Each child back to his or her home.
All but for one child.
One child would not be returned tonight.
One child would never be returned.”
[The events I describe are alluded to in the publisher’s blurb, not spoilers!]
This mystery opens with a nervous driver preparing to return abducted children to their homes. They were kidnapped at the age of three from a pre-school picnic in the park, where an ice-cream van playing the well-known ‘Greensleeves’ had stopped at the top of the hill. The driver had hopped out to eat a hot dog, and one of the teachers had gone up the hill to ask him to turn off the music, as it was distracting.
Of course it was! It could cause mayhem if all those three-year-olds start clamouring for ice cream, which is pretty much the point of the music. But when the teacher got up there, she seemed to get a bit foggy, and by the time she returned to the picnic, the other two teachers were already searching frantically for five missing children.
One happens to be the granddaughter of Senior Homicide Detective Kate Wakeland. Kate isn’t usually called about missing persons, except in cases of abduction, which might lead to murder, of course, so she’s called.
But it’s not her case – it’s too personal. Instead, Detective Sergeant Reagan Grimshaw will be in charge (as if that would stop a grandmother on the warpath). She marches into the Superintendent’s office.
“‘Grimshaw doesn’t want me but you can override her.’
‘If I did, and then you put one foot wrong, you could get yourself fired.’
‘I’m sixty-one, Andrew. You can’t scare me with that.’”
Actually, there’s not much that scares Kate Wakeland, except the thought of what might be happening to little Ivy. This takes place in a picturesque valley in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.
The Australian bush is famous for its mysterious, dark places and the odd assortment of (or the assortment of odd) people who may choose to live in its hidden corners.
Three years later, after the children, except for Ivy, have been returned, Ivy’s mother, Abby, comes back to town. She is understandably even more distraught that Ivy is still gone, and is upset that her own beloved Nanna is not home, but is dying in hospice, which was Nanna’s choice.
Abby is still close to her dad, Pete, who is also Kate’s rock. Since Abby’s mid-teens, Kate and her daughter have been estranged, but Pete has managed to keep close.
Kate is very close to her mum, and when she tells her Abby has returned to town, Nanna is hopeful.
“‘Maybe Abby’s finding her way back to us,’ Mum said softly.
‘I hope so. I just wish she’d open up to me.’
‘She will one day. You’ve always done the best you could, with the kind of job you had.’
There it was. ‘The kind of job I’d had.’ My mother had never understood me remaining in detective work after Abby was born. But my mother was from a different era. Women often didn’t keep working after children in her day, and they weren’t police officers, let alone detectives. I’d been born around the time the contraceptive pill had first come onto the market. I’d never known a time that women didn’t have access to it. It wasn’t like that when my mother was growing up and when she had me. She’d given up her job and lived on my father’s wage. She was born in the twenties and grew up in the depression.”
This is what Kate is up against. She’s very good at what she does, and she isn’t going to quit. In fact, running alongside this investigation is an old murder case she’s never solved and that still preys on her mind. She is suprised when a few things begin to cross over between it, the abduction of the children, and now her daughter’s new life as well.
I very much enjoyed the story and the writing. It seemed longer to me than it needed to be, and I found myself skimming pages of conversation or description, but the resulting story was good enough that I’m looking forward to the next one in the series.
January 24, 2021
When five young children go missing from a nursery school picnic their parents are sick with worry and question how this could happen. Homicide Detective Kate Wakeland quickly learns that her granddaughter, Ivy is one of the missing children. The police had to work as quickly as they could to try to gather any information that could help track these children. As time passed by the police were not any closer to finding answers that would lead to the missing children.
Three and a half years later the children are returned to their family all except Ivy. One by one, the children are asked about what took place and where they went. The one thing all of them said was that Ivy was dead.
One Last Child by Aussie author Anni Taylor is the first book in the Tillman’s Valley Detective series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This was an intense read that captured my attention from the first page to the very last page. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my digital copy to read and review.
Three and a half years later the children are returned to their family all except Ivy. One by one, the children are asked about what took place and where they went. The one thing all of them said was that Ivy was dead.
One Last Child by Aussie author Anni Taylor is the first book in the Tillman’s Valley Detective series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This was an intense read that captured my attention from the first page to the very last page. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my digital copy to read and review.
February 8, 2020
The cover and synopsis of One Last Child drew my attention like a moth to a flame. I immediately knew it wasn't a matter of if I'd read it, but when. And after the publisher offered me an arc, I knew the time was now. Clueless to the fact that this story was written by an Australian author and was set in Australia, I began reading and quickly came to appreciate the author's utilization of environment to set an ominous tone in this heartfelt, gut-wrenching story. I highly advise readers skip all spoilers as the suspense building element of this story depends on the unknown.
The first half of One Last Child deals with the ongoing search and investigation of five children who go missing while on a daycare picnic. A search for the missing children turns into a three and a half year nightmare. I can see why some readers might find the pace a bit slow during this time, but I greatly enjoyed the author's meticulous attention to the smallest of details while crafting this suspenseful story chapter by chapter. Taylor sets and maintains a dismal tone of impending doom as a few slim leads turn into dead-ends. Her manipulation and development of characters throughout the story is fantastic, keeping readers off-balance as they attempt to figure out the who, where, how & why. The second half of the book picks up the pace when prayers are answered and four of the missing children are returned, and the case shifts to focus on why the grandchild of Homicide Det. Kate Wakefield isn't returned with the others. Four families celebrate while one family grieves. Why wasn't Ivy returned with the others? I'm not often left in the dark throughout most of a book, but this story kept me mystified until the end.
One Last Child is an emotional, raw, intense, heartfelt story that tugged on my heart strings time and again. I found myself reading late, burning through pages, praying for answers and a happy-ever-after for each family. The author's ability to set a despondent tone, build suspense and trepidation while keeping readers guessing is nothing short of brilliant in this stunning mystery suspense story. I know I held my breath through much of it. The author drops a small bombshell near the end that appears to be the set-up for the next book in the series, and I can't wait! I'm grateful to have discovered and read this hidden gem in the mystery/suspense/thriller genre. Highly recommended!
4.5 Stars
*Many thanks to the publisher for an arc of this book.
**Reviewed at: Cross My Heart Reviews
The first half of One Last Child deals with the ongoing search and investigation of five children who go missing while on a daycare picnic. A search for the missing children turns into a three and a half year nightmare. I can see why some readers might find the pace a bit slow during this time, but I greatly enjoyed the author's meticulous attention to the smallest of details while crafting this suspenseful story chapter by chapter. Taylor sets and maintains a dismal tone of impending doom as a few slim leads turn into dead-ends. Her manipulation and development of characters throughout the story is fantastic, keeping readers off-balance as they attempt to figure out the who, where, how & why. The second half of the book picks up the pace when prayers are answered and four of the missing children are returned, and the case shifts to focus on why the grandchild of Homicide Det. Kate Wakefield isn't returned with the others. Four families celebrate while one family grieves. Why wasn't Ivy returned with the others? I'm not often left in the dark throughout most of a book, but this story kept me mystified until the end.
One Last Child is an emotional, raw, intense, heartfelt story that tugged on my heart strings time and again. I found myself reading late, burning through pages, praying for answers and a happy-ever-after for each family. The author's ability to set a despondent tone, build suspense and trepidation while keeping readers guessing is nothing short of brilliant in this stunning mystery suspense story. I know I held my breath through much of it. The author drops a small bombshell near the end that appears to be the set-up for the next book in the series, and I can't wait! I'm grateful to have discovered and read this hidden gem in the mystery/suspense/thriller genre. Highly recommended!
4.5 Stars
*Many thanks to the publisher for an arc of this book.
**Reviewed at: Cross My Heart Reviews
February 13, 2020
Ah it's so hard to find a surprising crime novel these days but damn if she didn't do it. I had no idea where this was travelling.
Here's the lowdown: Five 3-year-olds go missing from a daycare excursion. One of the children is granddaughter to our cop protagonist, Kate, so you can bet she's gonna move earth and water to find the people responsible. Three years later, four of the kids show up unexpectedly. Now Kate is really mad because guess which one wasn't returned?
One thing that really struck me with this book is that it seems a lot of care was taken to research and include realistic details. Procedures, interview tactics, childcare, cameras and technology ... all of it seemed pretty in depth. I liked that.
This one is all about the children, but Kate's got another case as well, looking for a young woman's murderer, so that leads us down an interesting side-path to keep things varied. I always assumed they'd end up entwined somehow, but working multiple cases at a time is reality. So I enjoyed its inclusion.
Kate's a grandma so, as a single lady, her family stuff didn't really do much for me. She's got her rock solid husband, drama with the daughter, an ailing mother ... all things that I can't relate to. However I think there's a lot who will be able to relate to Kate and thus will feel a stronger bond with her. She didn't do much for me but she got the job done which I did enjoy.
The tension wasn't particularly tight throughout but I certainly had a lot of questions, and towards the end it got pretty hard to put down. Things went in directions I didn't expect and it all seemed to come together in the end quite well.
My thoughts on the ending:
Overall a decent crime novel that will keep you guessing. I'll be keeping an eye out for the next one.
With thanks to Netgalley for a copy.
Here's the lowdown: Five 3-year-olds go missing from a daycare excursion. One of the children is granddaughter to our cop protagonist, Kate, so you can bet she's gonna move earth and water to find the people responsible. Three years later, four of the kids show up unexpectedly. Now Kate is really mad because guess which one wasn't returned?
One thing that really struck me with this book is that it seems a lot of care was taken to research and include realistic details. Procedures, interview tactics, childcare, cameras and technology ... all of it seemed pretty in depth. I liked that.
This one is all about the children, but Kate's got another case as well, looking for a young woman's murderer, so that leads us down an interesting side-path to keep things varied. I always assumed they'd end up entwined somehow, but working multiple cases at a time is reality. So I enjoyed its inclusion.
Kate's a grandma so, as a single lady, her family stuff didn't really do much for me. She's got her rock solid husband, drama with the daughter, an ailing mother ... all things that I can't relate to. However I think there's a lot who will be able to relate to Kate and thus will feel a stronger bond with her. She didn't do much for me but she got the job done which I did enjoy.
The tension wasn't particularly tight throughout but I certainly had a lot of questions, and towards the end it got pretty hard to put down. Things went in directions I didn't expect and it all seemed to come together in the end quite well.
My thoughts on the ending:
Overall a decent crime novel that will keep you guessing. I'll be keeping an eye out for the next one.
With thanks to Netgalley for a copy.
January 16, 2020
OMG! I freaked out on this book. It was so fantastic. An absolute fan of this author. Wow!!
5 children aged 3 years were kidnapped from a school picnic and after 3.5 years, 4 were returned. The other children said the fifth had died. It was the grandchild of investigating officer Kate. And she had to get to the truth... From 4 six year old kids...
My first book by author Anni Taylor, I was kept mesmerized by the story. I couldn't stop reading it. My kindle pulled me in. I breathed this story from beginning to end. It was in me. The emotions of the worried helpless parents were brilliantly shown, they reflected in me.
Kate as the lead cop was brilliant. I could see her being pulled apart by her broken relationship with daughter Abby and her commitment to her duty even after knowing her grandchild had probably died. I kept egging her on to get to the kidnappers and destroy them.
This was one reactionary read which lured me in with every page.
5 children aged 3 years were kidnapped from a school picnic and after 3.5 years, 4 were returned. The other children said the fifth had died. It was the grandchild of investigating officer Kate. And she had to get to the truth... From 4 six year old kids...
My first book by author Anni Taylor, I was kept mesmerized by the story. I couldn't stop reading it. My kindle pulled me in. I breathed this story from beginning to end. It was in me. The emotions of the worried helpless parents were brilliantly shown, they reflected in me.
Kate as the lead cop was brilliant. I could see her being pulled apart by her broken relationship with daughter Abby and her commitment to her duty even after knowing her grandchild had probably died. I kept egging her on to get to the kidnappers and destroy them.
This was one reactionary read which lured me in with every page.
December 9, 2023
Tallman Valley Detectives, Book 1
...there is always a first time for every sort of crime. Just because we haven't seen it before, doesn't mean it can't happen.
One sunny afternoon, five small children (3-years-old) vanished from their nursery school picnic as an ice cream truck played it's music in the background. There's no trace of who took the kids or their motive for the abductions.
Three and a half years later, the children are mysteriously returned to their parents, except for Ivy Wakefield, granddaughter of homicide detective, Kate Wakefield.
During questioning, the kids all say that Ivy is dead, but Kate isn't sure what to believe. There is one thing for certain. This is personal. Kate will be relentless in uncovering the identity of the abductor and what really happened to her precious granddaughter.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
**I'm so happy that Ani Taylor has started a new crime series! I adore her books. I get so engrossed in the stories. She's certainly stepped up her game with this one. It's fantastic! Caroline Lee's narration makes it even better.** 💞 👌
...there is always a first time for every sort of crime. Just because we haven't seen it before, doesn't mean it can't happen.
One sunny afternoon, five small children (3-years-old) vanished from their nursery school picnic as an ice cream truck played it's music in the background. There's no trace of who took the kids or their motive for the abductions.
Three and a half years later, the children are mysteriously returned to their parents, except for Ivy Wakefield, granddaughter of homicide detective, Kate Wakefield.
During questioning, the kids all say that Ivy is dead, but Kate isn't sure what to believe. There is one thing for certain. This is personal. Kate will be relentless in uncovering the identity of the abductor and what really happened to her precious granddaughter.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
**I'm so happy that Ani Taylor has started a new crime series! I adore her books. I get so engrossed in the stories. She's certainly stepped up her game with this one. It's fantastic! Caroline Lee's narration makes it even better.** 💞 👌
September 24, 2020
Great thriller. 5 children are kidnapped from the picnic that kindergarten organised. One child, Ivy, is detective Kate's granddaughter. After 3 and a half years the children are returned unharmed, one by one, except for Ivy and the children are saying that Ivy is dead. Could this be? Kate is not going to rest until she finds the truth, and she does. A sad story.
September 17, 2020
Five pre-school children disappear while on their nursery school picnic. No one saw or heard anything ... no clues ... no motive ... no ransom note.. just nothing.
One of those children was the grand-daughter of Homicide Detective Kate Wakeland. Because of the family attachment, Kate is not allowed to work the case.
Almost 4 years later, the children are returned to their families ... one by one. All except Wakeland's grand-daughter.
Kate was prevented from investigating when the case was fresh, now that its gone cold, Kate will be relentless in identifying and finding whoever took the children.... and discovering what happened to her grand-daughter.
Although well written with an intricate plot, the first part of this novel is more about Kate and the dysfunctional relationship she has with her daughter. Characters are deftly drawn, warts and all. I did enjoy the main character not only being female, but over 60 and still nimble enough to do her job and do it well. While there is plenty of action, the pacing is not constant. The ending felt rushed and not really credible.
This is the first in this series and is easily read as a stand alone, although there is a minor cliffhanger separate from the main story.
Many thanks to the author / BooksGoSocial / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
March 13, 2023
Such a good book. I enjoyed the writing and am glad that it is a series. I am looking forward to the next books.
January 17, 2020
Five children are abducted during a daycare outing. Three and a half years later, four of them are returned. Only Ivy, the granddaughter of homicide detective Kate Wakeland, is still missing and presumed dead. Not allowed to join the investigation, Kate is unofficially following the case while working on a separate murder investigation.
This is the first in a series about 64 year old Detective Kate Wakeland, and I can’t wait for the next book. There are twists and turns and a completely unexpected ending. I read this through in a day because I could not put it down. It grabs your interest, your imagination, and your heart. If you love murder mysteries, stories about family conflict, and stories with strong female characters, you will enjoy this book.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley. My review is voluntary.
This is the first in a series about 64 year old Detective Kate Wakeland, and I can’t wait for the next book. There are twists and turns and a completely unexpected ending. I read this through in a day because I could not put it down. It grabs your interest, your imagination, and your heart. If you love murder mysteries, stories about family conflict, and stories with strong female characters, you will enjoy this book.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley. My review is voluntary.
January 28, 2020
My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Well written with lots of suspense to keep you turning the pages.
I found that the perpetrators had so much luck on their side. During the summation, I thought: seriously, all these coincidences and phobias and bad supervision of young children, all conspiring to aid in an almost perfect crime. Hats off to Detective Kate Wakeland for cracking the case wide open.
I rate this one a 3.75 out of 5.
Well written with lots of suspense to keep you turning the pages.
I found that the perpetrators had so much luck on their side. During the summation, I thought: seriously, all these coincidences and phobias and bad supervision of young children, all conspiring to aid in an almost perfect crime. Hats off to Detective Kate Wakeland for cracking the case wide open.
I rate this one a 3.75 out of 5.
December 31, 2020
I have read and enjoyed a couple of this author's stand-alone psychological thrillers so was delighted to see that she had decided to begin a crime series - and what a beginning it is!
Setting: Tallman's Valley - a lovely town in the eastern foothills of the Blue Mountains in NSW with a traditional centre but also an influx of hi-tech companies (similar to Silicon Valley in the USA) which has led to a diverse community of many nationalities and modern developments to go with the old;
Main character: Police homicide detective Kate Wakeland unexpectedly is 61 at the start of the book, 64 as the mystery unravels at the end - she has few hang-ups apart from not really getting on with her adult daughter Amy, has a supportive husband and dotes on her 3-year-old granddaughter Ivy;
Supporting characters: many well-fleshed characters, not only Kate's colleagues but also other residents of the town who she comes into contact with as the case progresses;
Crime: five 3-year-old children are taken whilst on a picnic outing to a local park from their nursery school, one of whom is Kate's granddaughter Ivy. The police are baffled and, because of her personal involvement, Kate is not part of the specialist team set up to investigate. Instead, she is trying to solve the murder of a young local woman, a case which is also proving hard to crack;
Twists: four of the five children are returned to their parents after three years, with the police no closer to finding the culprits - Ivy is the one not returned and the other children say she became sick and died. Kate is then introduced to the team and immediately sets about the investigation in her own way, which annoys her senior officer no end, seeking closure over Ivy. She eventually solves the case but the outcome and culprit is totally unexpected;
Sequel: a follow-up book has been promised and can't wait to see what this one reveals about the current characters. Clearly, Kate can't have much of a career left but the series is cleverly called 'Tallman's Valley Detectives' and not 'Kate Wakeland' so hopefully there is scope for further development of other police characters in the future.
Really enjoyed this one and, even as a lover of crime fiction generally, thought this one was a breath of fresh air - 9.5/10.
Setting: Tallman's Valley - a lovely town in the eastern foothills of the Blue Mountains in NSW with a traditional centre but also an influx of hi-tech companies (similar to Silicon Valley in the USA) which has led to a diverse community of many nationalities and modern developments to go with the old;
Main character: Police homicide detective Kate Wakeland unexpectedly is 61 at the start of the book, 64 as the mystery unravels at the end - she has few hang-ups apart from not really getting on with her adult daughter Amy, has a supportive husband and dotes on her 3-year-old granddaughter Ivy;
Supporting characters: many well-fleshed characters, not only Kate's colleagues but also other residents of the town who she comes into contact with as the case progresses;
Crime: five 3-year-old children are taken whilst on a picnic outing to a local park from their nursery school, one of whom is Kate's granddaughter Ivy. The police are baffled and, because of her personal involvement, Kate is not part of the specialist team set up to investigate. Instead, she is trying to solve the murder of a young local woman, a case which is also proving hard to crack;
Twists: four of the five children are returned to their parents after three years, with the police no closer to finding the culprits - Ivy is the one not returned and the other children say she became sick and died. Kate is then introduced to the team and immediately sets about the investigation in her own way, which annoys her senior officer no end, seeking closure over Ivy. She eventually solves the case but the outcome and culprit is totally unexpected;
Sequel: a follow-up book has been promised and can't wait to see what this one reveals about the current characters. Clearly, Kate can't have much of a career left but the series is cleverly called 'Tallman's Valley Detectives' and not 'Kate Wakeland' so hopefully there is scope for further development of other police characters in the future.
Really enjoyed this one and, even as a lover of crime fiction generally, thought this one was a breath of fresh air - 9.5/10.
May 4, 2020
3.5★s
One Last Child is the first book in the Tallman’s Valley Detectives series by Australian author, Anni Taylor. It was a regular outing at The Ponds nature reserve for the pre-schoolers at Tallman’s Valley. Nineteen three-year-olds got to roll in the grass, kick pinecones, run around and play. A picnic was just being put out when the senior carer saw there were some kids missing: were they hiding? Nola Hobson had been seeing off the noisy ice-cream van up the hill, but Justine and Kaylee searched to no avail: five children were missing.
Detective Kate Wakeland usually worked homicide, but her granddaughter Ivy was one of those missing. Her boss didn’t allow her onto the team until over three years later, when there was still no trace of the kids. Now, things begin to happen. Suddenly, four of the children are returned, unharmed and well, to their parents. But not Ivy. This prompts the question of it being some sort of revenge against Kate by or on behalf of a convicted criminal.
Kate doesn’t agree and, ignoring the strikeforce team leader’s direction, makes progress by her own methods with the hunt for the abductors. But her pending murder cold case is a distraction, as is her ongoing troubled relationship with her daughter, Abby, Ivy’s mother. Nonetheless, her deductions on both cases are well thought out and good progress is made.
Taylor really captures her Blue Mountains setting well. The plot has red herrings, a whole school of them, and a neck-wrenching twist, but there are a few holes (see my spoiler question here https://www.goodreads.com/questions/1...), and motive is not quite convincing, nor will every reader be persuaded by the calibre of these characters to invest in the follow up, especially if it also extends to almost five hundred pages: some judicious editing would have improved this.
The main action takes place in mid-2020 and, while it doesn't affect the rating, of course no author setting their book into the near future could have predicted that future would be written by Stephen King. This is a page-turner that doesn’t quite deliver on its promise.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Books Go Social.
One Last Child is the first book in the Tallman’s Valley Detectives series by Australian author, Anni Taylor. It was a regular outing at The Ponds nature reserve for the pre-schoolers at Tallman’s Valley. Nineteen three-year-olds got to roll in the grass, kick pinecones, run around and play. A picnic was just being put out when the senior carer saw there were some kids missing: were they hiding? Nola Hobson had been seeing off the noisy ice-cream van up the hill, but Justine and Kaylee searched to no avail: five children were missing.
Detective Kate Wakeland usually worked homicide, but her granddaughter Ivy was one of those missing. Her boss didn’t allow her onto the team until over three years later, when there was still no trace of the kids. Now, things begin to happen. Suddenly, four of the children are returned, unharmed and well, to their parents. But not Ivy. This prompts the question of it being some sort of revenge against Kate by or on behalf of a convicted criminal.
Kate doesn’t agree and, ignoring the strikeforce team leader’s direction, makes progress by her own methods with the hunt for the abductors. But her pending murder cold case is a distraction, as is her ongoing troubled relationship with her daughter, Abby, Ivy’s mother. Nonetheless, her deductions on both cases are well thought out and good progress is made.
Taylor really captures her Blue Mountains setting well. The plot has red herrings, a whole school of them, and a neck-wrenching twist, but there are a few holes (see my spoiler question here https://www.goodreads.com/questions/1...), and motive is not quite convincing, nor will every reader be persuaded by the calibre of these characters to invest in the follow up, especially if it also extends to almost five hundred pages: some judicious editing would have improved this.
The main action takes place in mid-2020 and, while it doesn't affect the rating, of course no author setting their book into the near future could have predicted that future would be written by Stephen King. This is a page-turner that doesn’t quite deliver on its promise.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Books Go Social.
January 17, 2020
Five children are abducted during a daycare outing. Three and a half years later, four of them are returned. Only Ivy, the granddaughter of homicide detective Kate Wakeland, is still missing and presumed dead. Not allowed to join the investigation, Kate is unofficially following the case while working on a separate murder investigation.
This is the first in a series about 64 year old Detective Kate Wakeland, and I can’t wait for the next book. There are twists and turns and a completely unexpected ending. I read this through in a day because I could not put it down. It grabs your interest, your imagination, and your heart. If you love murder mysteries, stories about family conflict, and stories with strong female characters, you will enjoy this book.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley. My review is voluntary.
This is the first in a series about 64 year old Detective Kate Wakeland, and I can’t wait for the next book. There are twists and turns and a completely unexpected ending. I read this through in a day because I could not put it down. It grabs your interest, your imagination, and your heart. If you love murder mysteries, stories about family conflict, and stories with strong female characters, you will enjoy this book.
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley. My review is voluntary.
August 12, 2020
One Last Child is the first book in the Tallman’s Valley Detectives series by Australian author, Anni Taylor. The audio version is read by Caroline Lee, whose voice is rather sharp and jarring when listened to for 15 hours. It was a regular outing at The Ponds nature reserve for the pre-schoolers at Tallman’s Valley. Nineteen three-year-olds got to roll in the grass, kick pinecones, run around and play. A picnic was just being put out when the senior carer saw there were some kids missing: were they hiding? Nola Hobson had been seeing off the noisy ice-cream van up the hill, but Justine and Kaylee searched to no avail: five children were missing.
Detective Kate Wakeland usually worked homicide, but her granddaughter Ivy was one of those missing. Her boss didn’t allow her onto the team until over three years later, when there was still no trace of the kids. Now, things begin to happen. Suddenly, four of the children are returned, unharmed and well, to their parents. But not Ivy. This prompts the question of it being some sort of revenge against Kate by or on behalf of a convicted criminal.
Kate doesn’t agree and, ignoring the strikeforce team leader’s direction, makes progress by her own methods with the hunt for the abductors. But her pending murder cold case is a distraction, as is her ongoing troubled relationship with her daughter, Abby, Ivy’s mother. Nonetheless, her deductions on both cases are well thought out and good progress is made.
Taylor really captures her Blue Mountains setting well. The plot has red herrings, a whole school of them, and a neck-wrenching twist, but there are a few holes (see my spoiler question here https://www.goodreads.com/questions/1...), and motive is not quite convincing, nor will every reader be persuaded by the calibre of these characters to invest in the follow up, especially if it also extends to almost five hundred pages: some judicious editing would have improved this.
The main action takes place in mid-2020 and, while it doesn't affect the rating, of course no author setting their book into the near future could have predicted that future would be written by Stephen King. This is a page-turner that doesn’t quite deliver on its promise.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Podium Audio
Detective Kate Wakeland usually worked homicide, but her granddaughter Ivy was one of those missing. Her boss didn’t allow her onto the team until over three years later, when there was still no trace of the kids. Now, things begin to happen. Suddenly, four of the children are returned, unharmed and well, to their parents. But not Ivy. This prompts the question of it being some sort of revenge against Kate by or on behalf of a convicted criminal.
Kate doesn’t agree and, ignoring the strikeforce team leader’s direction, makes progress by her own methods with the hunt for the abductors. But her pending murder cold case is a distraction, as is her ongoing troubled relationship with her daughter, Abby, Ivy’s mother. Nonetheless, her deductions on both cases are well thought out and good progress is made.
Taylor really captures her Blue Mountains setting well. The plot has red herrings, a whole school of them, and a neck-wrenching twist, but there are a few holes (see my spoiler question here https://www.goodreads.com/questions/1...), and motive is not quite convincing, nor will every reader be persuaded by the calibre of these characters to invest in the follow up, especially if it also extends to almost five hundred pages: some judicious editing would have improved this.
The main action takes place in mid-2020 and, while it doesn't affect the rating, of course no author setting their book into the near future could have predicted that future would be written by Stephen King. This is a page-turner that doesn’t quite deliver on its promise.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Podium Audio
March 14, 2020
★★★★★ 4.5 stars rounded up
I was first introduced to Anni Taylor with her debut "The Game You Played" which was scintillatingly brilliant and even more so that it was set around areas I am familiar with in Sydney and have frequented often. But more and more there are some wonderful Australian thriller writers coming out of the woodwork...and Anni Taylor is one of them.
I wasn't sure what to expect with ONE LAST CHILD but I shouldn't have been at all surprised if her debut was anything to go by. And I certainly wasn't disappointed. Despite being twice the length of many other authors in this genre, the pace of the story and the easy writing style had me devouring every last page in just over 24 hours - with a few hours for sleep in between...lol
The premise for this book was an extraordinary concept. Five 3 year old children disappear from a nursery school picnic within a few short seconds on inattention...and all without a trace. It was a day the lives of the parents and family of these children changed forever. Added to that is the fact that the grandmother of one of the missing children, Ivy, is the town's local homicide detective, DS Kate Wakefield.
Kate and her husband Pete have a cottage in the Tallman's Valley, a once-small now growing community situated just a short drive from the main hub of Katoomba in the vastly expanse and dense bushland of the Blue Mountains. Kate had worked homicide in Sydney until the birth of her daughter Abby before moving to Tallman's Valley where she has worked in the local area command for the past 20 years.
Abby was 18 when she returned from an overseas holiday pregnant and then giving birth to Ivy, who was clearly the light of their world. Abby was at a university lecture where she was studying law at the time Ivy went missing and her life took a rapid downward spiral in the wake of her little girl's disappearance. She never forgave herself for not being there for her. Abby and her mother have had a rocky relationship since Abby's teens and the disappearance only served to alienate the two women more. They fell out and Abby escaped to Sydney where they heard nothing more from her until years later she returned with 4 month baby Jasper.
It's now three and a half years later and the Strike-force team original set up to investigate the disappearance of the five children are no closer now than they were when they went missing. Kate is brought in and seconded to the team - something which she wanted from the beginning but was advised against due to her personal interest. She revisited the park from which the children disappeared and set about re-interviewing witnesses to get her own feel for the case. Almost at once, Kate got a sense that something wasn't right. The team leader, however, despite being the same rank as her, refused to entertain Kate's notions and instead focused on the paedophile ring angle...despite there being no evidence alluding to one.
Then within a day or so, the children start returning to their homes one by one...all except Ivy. Why the other children and not Ivy? What did the kidnappers want with her? And then, the team discuss the possibility that Ivy was the target all along in retaliation to someone Kate had put away. Was this true? Was Kate the reason Ivy and the other children were taken? Or was there something more sinister at play here?
Whilst not divided into "parts" as such, the first half of ONE LAST CHILD focuses on the search and investigation into the missing children which then turns into a three and a half year nightmare for their families. Despite this build up, the pace is not at all slow which alludes to the author's expert hand at penning such a compelling read with meticulous attention to detail. Anni Taylor not only tells the story, she draws the reader in and uses the surrounding environment to create an atmosphere of impending doom maintaining the element of suspense throughout. She manipulates the characters with ingenuity keeping readers guessing throughout as we try to figure out who is guilty and who isn't. But what we discover is that just about every character has a secret to hide...and it is up to Kate to sift through the secrets and the lies to uncover the truth.
The second half of ONE LAST CHILD with the return of four of the children and the investigation begins to shift focus. And as it continues, it seems that there are more and more questions than there are answers. New suspects come to light and new avenues pursued. But do any of them lead them to the truth? And more importantly, to Ivy? Even the parents of the children returned begin to question why Ivy didn't return with the others and if it had something to do with Kate. Tempers flare and accusations abound...but Kate is relentless. She will not rest until Ivy is found and those responsible are captured.
Alongside the investigation into the disappearance and return of the children is another case that has plagued Kate for as long as this one. The senseless murder of a young 20 year old woman who was beaten then strangled, the jewellery she was wearing stolen and never seen again. It lead us down an interesting side path when one of the pieces of jewellery turns up...in the house Abby now lives with her boyfriend. This leads Kate to question his involvement in the murder, putting Kate and her daughter at loggerheads once again. The way both cases entwined but separately was a clever addition which made for some compelling reading.
I really liked Kate. Sixty-plus, happily married and in no way at all like the stereotypical detectives of many other crime thrillers that end up grating on my nerves. Sure she has her problems, mainly her relationship with her daughter Abby, but those are things author Anni Taylor uses to create an even more captivating story...to which she has alluded will be included in the second novel in this exciting new series. I can't wait to see where that will be taking us! I love Kate's relationship with her husband which seems to go from strength to strength and is so refreshing to see, rather than the constant broken marriages of detectives drowning their sorrows whenever off duty. Pete is her tower of strength and it is refreshing to see his understanding of how demanding Kate's job is and doesn't at all accuse her of putting him second to it. Instead he supports her and comforts her when she needs his strength. It is so refreshing and I love it. I really look forward to getting to know Kate, Pete and Abby in in the future.
I was a tad disappointed in the ending as it did seem a little random and appeared to be unrelated to the rest of the story. The reasoning behind the abductions was a little obscure as well. I felt it should have had more to do with one or two of the other characters and their pasts (and woven together a little neater), one of which was mentioned and alluded to early on but nothing came of it disappointingly. But the tension and the build up in the climax was both atmospheric and foreboding. I could really see myself alongside Kate on that dark narrow road to Jenolan Caves.
I thoroughly enjoyed ONE LAST CHILD and it kept me guessing all the way through. I didn't foresee the guilty behind it though I do admit to picking up on a clue along the way...a witness to the abduction they couldn't interview but then a picture speaks a thousand words.
Although this is just the second thriller by Anni Taylor I have read, I simply LOVE her style and I eagerly await more from her (OK, so I do have a couple of her other books on my shelf to read yet...lol). She has the ability to create a sense of foreboding with just the environmental setting and her ability to set that tone and build up suspense with tension and trepidation whilst keeping readers guessing throughout is outstanding.
And what makes it even better...is the Blue Mountains setting. It is on my doorstep and I know it well.
Highly recommended to anyone who loves a good mystery thriller.
I would like to thank #AnniTaylor, #NetGalley and #BooksGoSocial for an ARC of #OneLastChild in exchange for an honest review.
This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.
I was first introduced to Anni Taylor with her debut "The Game You Played" which was scintillatingly brilliant and even more so that it was set around areas I am familiar with in Sydney and have frequented often. But more and more there are some wonderful Australian thriller writers coming out of the woodwork...and Anni Taylor is one of them.
I wasn't sure what to expect with ONE LAST CHILD but I shouldn't have been at all surprised if her debut was anything to go by. And I certainly wasn't disappointed. Despite being twice the length of many other authors in this genre, the pace of the story and the easy writing style had me devouring every last page in just over 24 hours - with a few hours for sleep in between...lol
The premise for this book was an extraordinary concept. Five 3 year old children disappear from a nursery school picnic within a few short seconds on inattention...and all without a trace. It was a day the lives of the parents and family of these children changed forever. Added to that is the fact that the grandmother of one of the missing children, Ivy, is the town's local homicide detective, DS Kate Wakefield.
Kate and her husband Pete have a cottage in the Tallman's Valley, a once-small now growing community situated just a short drive from the main hub of Katoomba in the vastly expanse and dense bushland of the Blue Mountains. Kate had worked homicide in Sydney until the birth of her daughter Abby before moving to Tallman's Valley where she has worked in the local area command for the past 20 years.
Abby was 18 when she returned from an overseas holiday pregnant and then giving birth to Ivy, who was clearly the light of their world. Abby was at a university lecture where she was studying law at the time Ivy went missing and her life took a rapid downward spiral in the wake of her little girl's disappearance. She never forgave herself for not being there for her. Abby and her mother have had a rocky relationship since Abby's teens and the disappearance only served to alienate the two women more. They fell out and Abby escaped to Sydney where they heard nothing more from her until years later she returned with 4 month baby Jasper.
It's now three and a half years later and the Strike-force team original set up to investigate the disappearance of the five children are no closer now than they were when they went missing. Kate is brought in and seconded to the team - something which she wanted from the beginning but was advised against due to her personal interest. She revisited the park from which the children disappeared and set about re-interviewing witnesses to get her own feel for the case. Almost at once, Kate got a sense that something wasn't right. The team leader, however, despite being the same rank as her, refused to entertain Kate's notions and instead focused on the paedophile ring angle...despite there being no evidence alluding to one.
Then within a day or so, the children start returning to their homes one by one...all except Ivy. Why the other children and not Ivy? What did the kidnappers want with her? And then, the team discuss the possibility that Ivy was the target all along in retaliation to someone Kate had put away. Was this true? Was Kate the reason Ivy and the other children were taken? Or was there something more sinister at play here?
Whilst not divided into "parts" as such, the first half of ONE LAST CHILD focuses on the search and investigation into the missing children which then turns into a three and a half year nightmare for their families. Despite this build up, the pace is not at all slow which alludes to the author's expert hand at penning such a compelling read with meticulous attention to detail. Anni Taylor not only tells the story, she draws the reader in and uses the surrounding environment to create an atmosphere of impending doom maintaining the element of suspense throughout. She manipulates the characters with ingenuity keeping readers guessing throughout as we try to figure out who is guilty and who isn't. But what we discover is that just about every character has a secret to hide...and it is up to Kate to sift through the secrets and the lies to uncover the truth.
The second half of ONE LAST CHILD with the return of four of the children and the investigation begins to shift focus. And as it continues, it seems that there are more and more questions than there are answers. New suspects come to light and new avenues pursued. But do any of them lead them to the truth? And more importantly, to Ivy? Even the parents of the children returned begin to question why Ivy didn't return with the others and if it had something to do with Kate. Tempers flare and accusations abound...but Kate is relentless. She will not rest until Ivy is found and those responsible are captured.
Alongside the investigation into the disappearance and return of the children is another case that has plagued Kate for as long as this one. The senseless murder of a young 20 year old woman who was beaten then strangled, the jewellery she was wearing stolen and never seen again. It lead us down an interesting side path when one of the pieces of jewellery turns up...in the house Abby now lives with her boyfriend. This leads Kate to question his involvement in the murder, putting Kate and her daughter at loggerheads once again. The way both cases entwined but separately was a clever addition which made for some compelling reading.
I really liked Kate. Sixty-plus, happily married and in no way at all like the stereotypical detectives of many other crime thrillers that end up grating on my nerves. Sure she has her problems, mainly her relationship with her daughter Abby, but those are things author Anni Taylor uses to create an even more captivating story...to which she has alluded will be included in the second novel in this exciting new series. I can't wait to see where that will be taking us! I love Kate's relationship with her husband which seems to go from strength to strength and is so refreshing to see, rather than the constant broken marriages of detectives drowning their sorrows whenever off duty. Pete is her tower of strength and it is refreshing to see his understanding of how demanding Kate's job is and doesn't at all accuse her of putting him second to it. Instead he supports her and comforts her when she needs his strength. It is so refreshing and I love it. I really look forward to getting to know Kate, Pete and Abby in in the future.
I was a tad disappointed in the ending as it did seem a little random and appeared to be unrelated to the rest of the story. The reasoning behind the abductions was a little obscure as well. I felt it should have had more to do with one or two of the other characters and their pasts (and woven together a little neater), one of which was mentioned and alluded to early on but nothing came of it disappointingly. But the tension and the build up in the climax was both atmospheric and foreboding. I could really see myself alongside Kate on that dark narrow road to Jenolan Caves.
I thoroughly enjoyed ONE LAST CHILD and it kept me guessing all the way through. I didn't foresee the guilty behind it though I do admit to picking up on a clue along the way...a witness to the abduction they couldn't interview but then a picture speaks a thousand words.
Although this is just the second thriller by Anni Taylor I have read, I simply LOVE her style and I eagerly await more from her (OK, so I do have a couple of her other books on my shelf to read yet...lol). She has the ability to create a sense of foreboding with just the environmental setting and her ability to set that tone and build up suspense with tension and trepidation whilst keeping readers guessing throughout is outstanding.
And what makes it even better...is the Blue Mountains setting. It is on my doorstep and I know it well.
Highly recommended to anyone who loves a good mystery thriller.
I would like to thank #AnniTaylor, #NetGalley and #BooksGoSocial for an ARC of #OneLastChild in exchange for an honest review.
This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.
January 26, 2021
Anni Taylor is a new to me author and, truthfully, it was the starkness of this cover that drew me in and made me want to read the book. I'm very glad I judged this book by its cover because I loved it!
Kate Wakeland is an older homicide detective nearing retirement age but that hasn't slowed her down at all. When she hears about five children going missing from a park, she doesn't give it a second thought since it's not her area - mispers vs homicide - that is, until she finds out one of the missing is her granddaughter. Kate desperately wants on the investigative team but is hampered for multiple reasons. Once the brass finally relents, Kate reviews all of the "clues" and begins unraveling who might have taken the children and why. When the children begin reappearing years later, the case is thrown into turmoil. However, One Last Child does not come home - Kate's granddaughter!
The storyline is well written and it was marvelous reading about a detective who is a woman, brilliant and older!! Some of us who are not young are growing very tired of only seeing young women cops or screwed up old men detectives. I'll take more like Kate Wakefield any day!! I loved the all of the characters, even the ones that were unlikeable. This definitely is a series I'm going to enjoy!
Kate Wakeland is an older homicide detective nearing retirement age but that hasn't slowed her down at all. When she hears about five children going missing from a park, she doesn't give it a second thought since it's not her area - mispers vs homicide - that is, until she finds out one of the missing is her granddaughter. Kate desperately wants on the investigative team but is hampered for multiple reasons. Once the brass finally relents, Kate reviews all of the "clues" and begins unraveling who might have taken the children and why. When the children begin reappearing years later, the case is thrown into turmoil. However, One Last Child does not come home - Kate's granddaughter!
The storyline is well written and it was marvelous reading about a detective who is a woman, brilliant and older!! Some of us who are not young are growing very tired of only seeing young women cops or screwed up old men detectives. I'll take more like Kate Wakefield any day!! I loved the all of the characters, even the ones that were unlikeable. This definitely is a series I'm going to enjoy!
April 10, 2020
I seem to be on a Mystery/Crime Fiction kick lately, so grabbing a quite fresh title in that particular genre seem like a logical thing to do.
Alas, among all the thrillers/suspense novels I’ve read so far One Last Child seems to be the most disappointing.
The book has a really rough start; after reading brilliantly written introductory chapters in In the Woods by Tana French, the first third of One Last Child was rather bad.
It honestly felt like I was reading a further book in the series and I should already know all the main characters. Or THE main character, Kate Wakeland. As a reader I was immediately expected to feel sympathy and root for the characters that I knew very little about, and this feeling of lack of connection stayed with me to the very end.
The story starts very awkwardly, with narration that is muddled and feels rather chaotic. Scenes feel disjoined and weirdly put together.
I understand that by using domestic moments the author wanted us to relate to the main protagonist, but there was always this awkwardness to them. And honestly, they didn’t really add much to Kate’s character development.
While in In the Woods every casual scene of main heroes had its place and added depth to their characters, here scenes like Kate working out with her husband feel unnecessary. Much more interesting moments, were the ones where she visited her mother in a hospice. Those not only had an emotional weight to them, but also had a significance for solving the mystery.
But what absolutely ruined first half of the book was… the blurb.
It basically sums up half of the plot.
I was expecting that the children would be taken, there would be a time progression, some of them would be returned and the whole story would be about Kate Wakeland figuring out what happened. But, no. You basically know what happens for the first half of the book almost immediately. It takes away any suspense from any developments that happened in those chapters.
The middle part of the book was the best; action progresses smoothly and there was a lot of moments that grabbed me. I was truly engrossed in the story and I started to like Kate as a protagonist. It was also the moment when a secondary murder mystery introduced at the beginning of the book started to take shape and became an interesting sub plot. I actually liked Kate’s investigation in Harper’s murder much more than the main one. It progressed smoothly, logically, and… it made sense who the killer was.
And, so, here we arrived to the One Last Child’s biggest flaw.
The main villain doesn’t make sense.
The whole reason the children were taken feels very… fantastical.
I’m not sure if it’s the right word to use, but for me the whole ‘cult’ plot felt like a B-movie scenario. Not that there's anything wrong with a good B-movie fun. It’s just the premise of this book was so good, so intriguing. And despite my complaints about choppy story progression, Anni Taylor successfully build the tension, hyped – if you will – the mystery. But somewhere near the end I started to fear the ending would be weak, because the mystery kept getting weirder and weirder. The scale of it – especially why the children were kept for three years, taken care of, and then seemingly abruptly returned – was huge. Such an elaborate crime begs for a satisfactory climax.
While reviewing The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn, I mentioned how well written the main villain was; how looking back you could easily spot all the clues that explain maybe not what happened exactly, but who the perpetrator was. The same can be said about story structure in Tana French’s book; the villain made sense. Their actions made sense. They were not pointed out via a deus ex machina moment just to quickly explain the mystery.
In One Last Child the reason for the maine crime comes out of nowhere. There are no clues, not even a small ones as to who did what and why. One of the villains doesn’t even appear in the story per se, they are only there in flashbacks and witness testimonies. The whole investigation feels almost unnecessary, because the case is solved after Kate checks license plate of a car of someone involved in robber of an electronics store. One scene. And ok, I might exaggerate here, but it truly felt that way.
Not to mention, the villain's reasoning of why they did what they did felt almost funny, it was so out there.
I was really disappointed with the ending. It was unsatisfactory and nonsensical. I guess, maybe the author just didn’t know how to end such an unique and weird story. And the blatant sequel baiting didn't sit well with me.
It’s really difficult for me to rate this book. First half was rough, the middle really entertaining and engaging, ending awful.
3+(?)/5 starts
Alas, among all the thrillers/suspense novels I’ve read so far One Last Child seems to be the most disappointing.
The book has a really rough start; after reading brilliantly written introductory chapters in In the Woods by Tana French, the first third of One Last Child was rather bad.
It honestly felt like I was reading a further book in the series and I should already know all the main characters. Or THE main character, Kate Wakeland. As a reader I was immediately expected to feel sympathy and root for the characters that I knew very little about, and this feeling of lack of connection stayed with me to the very end.
The story starts very awkwardly, with narration that is muddled and feels rather chaotic. Scenes feel disjoined and weirdly put together.
I understand that by using domestic moments the author wanted us to relate to the main protagonist, but there was always this awkwardness to them. And honestly, they didn’t really add much to Kate’s character development.
While in In the Woods every casual scene of main heroes had its place and added depth to their characters, here scenes like Kate working out with her husband feel unnecessary. Much more interesting moments, were the ones where she visited her mother in a hospice. Those not only had an emotional weight to them, but also had a significance for solving the mystery.
But what absolutely ruined first half of the book was… the blurb.
It basically sums up half of the plot.
I was expecting that the children would be taken, there would be a time progression, some of them would be returned and the whole story would be about Kate Wakeland figuring out what happened. But, no. You basically know what happens for the first half of the book almost immediately. It takes away any suspense from any developments that happened in those chapters.
The middle part of the book was the best; action progresses smoothly and there was a lot of moments that grabbed me. I was truly engrossed in the story and I started to like Kate as a protagonist. It was also the moment when a secondary murder mystery introduced at the beginning of the book started to take shape and became an interesting sub plot. I actually liked Kate’s investigation in Harper’s murder much more than the main one. It progressed smoothly, logically, and… it made sense who the killer was.
And, so, here we arrived to the One Last Child’s biggest flaw.
The main villain doesn’t make sense.
The whole reason the children were taken feels very… fantastical.
I’m not sure if it’s the right word to use, but for me the whole ‘cult’ plot felt like a B-movie scenario. Not that there's anything wrong with a good B-movie fun. It’s just the premise of this book was so good, so intriguing. And despite my complaints about choppy story progression, Anni Taylor successfully build the tension, hyped – if you will – the mystery. But somewhere near the end I started to fear the ending would be weak, because the mystery kept getting weirder and weirder. The scale of it – especially why the children were kept for three years, taken care of, and then seemingly abruptly returned – was huge. Such an elaborate crime begs for a satisfactory climax.
While reviewing The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn, I mentioned how well written the main villain was; how looking back you could easily spot all the clues that explain maybe not what happened exactly, but who the perpetrator was. The same can be said about story structure in Tana French’s book; the villain made sense. Their actions made sense. They were not pointed out via a deus ex machina moment just to quickly explain the mystery.
In One Last Child the reason for the maine crime comes out of nowhere. There are no clues, not even a small ones as to who did what and why. One of the villains doesn’t even appear in the story per se, they are only there in flashbacks and witness testimonies. The whole investigation feels almost unnecessary, because the case is solved after Kate checks license plate of a car of someone involved in robber of an electronics store. One scene. And ok, I might exaggerate here, but it truly felt that way.
Not to mention, the villain's reasoning of why they did what they did felt almost funny, it was so out there.
I was really disappointed with the ending. It was unsatisfactory and nonsensical. I guess, maybe the author just didn’t know how to end such an unique and weird story. And the blatant sequel baiting didn't sit well with me.
It’s really difficult for me to rate this book. First half was rough, the middle really entertaining and engaging, ending awful.
3+(?)/5 starts
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 26, 2020
This book was very exciting and had many unexpected great twists and turns. I really enjoyed this book. I am always looking for new authors to read and enjoy so I can follow them and their books. I have not read Anni Taylor before and I think I will read more. So far, I have enjoyed this author's book. Children go missing and several at once and a great detective is on the case, I love these types of books and this book was no different and had me on the edge of my seat. *This book was given to me for free at my request from NetGalley and I provided this voluntary review.*
April 13, 2020
Five three-year-olds being kidnapped and held for more than three years with no ransom demanded and then being returned safe and harm free? No. That premise is not believable. It’s a definite eye-roller.
All strings are tied up in the end with such contrived solutions as to bring on lots more eye rolls. All strings, that is, except the one that is supposed to entice you to read the follow-up book. I’ll be skipping that book.
I am confused about where all those five-star reviews came from. I struggle to give One Last Child a one.
All strings are tied up in the end with such contrived solutions as to bring on lots more eye rolls. All strings, that is, except the one that is supposed to entice you to read the follow-up book. I’ll be skipping that book.
I am confused about where all those five-star reviews came from. I struggle to give One Last Child a one.
June 12, 2021
This book took me completely by surprise. From the beginnng I got sucked in and needed to know more about what happened with these missing kids and what led up to them being returned. I thought everyone and their mother was involved but the actual guilty party. I was happy to be blindsided by that side of the story but the why was kind of a letdown. I also liked how the MC was working on dual cases from the same time period years later. It was cool how they connected with her and her family and even the missing kids. The suspense was high as as the buildup and being taken along for a ride of discovery with the mc was like a very exciting fact finding puzzle. I do think the book was a bit too long but otherwise I really enjoyed it. The MC is also in her 60s and working as a homicide detective which I thought was a pretty awesome facet of the book. Definitely not what I was expecting from an Amazon freebie. Will certainly look into further books in the series!
March 14, 2021
A really good book, with great characters and Kate, the lead detective/character, was wonderful. A book I read in one sitting!
February 14, 2020
Wow, just wow. I have just finished this book and twist at the end totally blindsided me. I really did not see that one coming. This is a really well written story, the kind that keeps you saying "just one more chapter" until before you know it the sun has come up without you noticing. It looks like this is going to be a new series so I can't wait for the next one.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book
Read
April 23, 2020One Last Child was a surprisingly intense story that completely stole my interest and an afternoon of my life. It was well worth the read and has me gearing up to read more by Anni Taylor in the future.
I don't always enjoy a mystery/thriller as they can tend to be quite predictable but this one kept me engaged throughout the entire story. I couldn't predict the ending and honestly wasn't entire sure where the story would end up.
I was first drawn to this story by its cover and the Australian setting behind the mystery. As an Aussie, I love to read books set in Australia and this one delivered with not only a tense, ominous writing style but also a few snippets of landmarks near Sydney being included. It's not often books are set close to home and this made the book seem almost sentimental to me.
What I truly enjoyed about this story was that the characters weren't the usual types you's associate with this genre. There weren't an abundance of police officers drawing out the plot. Rather, Kate was a seemingly normal person put in an utterly devastating position. The confusion surrounding the lack of return of one of the five children set up a story that was intense and grim towards the end. The inclusion of a few red herrings kept me off-the-mark and provided the perfect set up to an unpredictable ending.
This was my first book by Taylor but definitely not my last!
I don't always enjoy a mystery/thriller as they can tend to be quite predictable but this one kept me engaged throughout the entire story. I couldn't predict the ending and honestly wasn't entire sure where the story would end up.
I was first drawn to this story by its cover and the Australian setting behind the mystery. As an Aussie, I love to read books set in Australia and this one delivered with not only a tense, ominous writing style but also a few snippets of landmarks near Sydney being included. It's not often books are set close to home and this made the book seem almost sentimental to me.
What I truly enjoyed about this story was that the characters weren't the usual types you's associate with this genre. There weren't an abundance of police officers drawing out the plot. Rather, Kate was a seemingly normal person put in an utterly devastating position. The confusion surrounding the lack of return of one of the five children set up a story that was intense and grim towards the end. The inclusion of a few red herrings kept me off-the-mark and provided the perfect set up to an unpredictable ending.
This was my first book by Taylor but definitely not my last!
January 13, 2020
Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the eARC.
What a fantastic read this was, I didn't want to do anything other than read...forget about housework!
Kate, an Australian detective, is still working on the case of a murdered young woman when five 3-year olds go missing from a daycare picnic, one of them her granddaughter. Four of them are returned 3 years later, the only one still missing is her granddaughter. Her husband, daughter and she herself have been going through hell all this time and this nearly drives them off the edge of sanity.
This is one heck of a book, sooo good! And the best part is that there will be a follow follow-up, which I for one can't wait to read. This story will keep you reading with bated breath, I guarantee it. Highly recommended!
What a fantastic read this was, I didn't want to do anything other than read...forget about housework!
Kate, an Australian detective, is still working on the case of a murdered young woman when five 3-year olds go missing from a daycare picnic, one of them her granddaughter. Four of them are returned 3 years later, the only one still missing is her granddaughter. Her husband, daughter and she herself have been going through hell all this time and this nearly drives them off the edge of sanity.
This is one heck of a book, sooo good! And the best part is that there will be a follow follow-up, which I for one can't wait to read. This story will keep you reading with bated breath, I guarantee it. Highly recommended!
January 26, 2020
Set in the Blue Mountains of Australia this book was awesome! I was up into the wee hours of the morning to finish it. I loved the age and tenacity of Kate Wakefield the lead character. The psychological strain of the parents, detectives and suspects is palpable. This was my first book by Anni Taylor, looking forward to the next book in this series!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 803 reviews