Taken tells the story of a woman called Alice who is going through a bad time and has a lot of mental health problems due to a horrific accident in her past. She becomes depressed and her new husband Tom tries to help her get over this new tragedy in their lives. Then things go from bad to worse once her second child is born. Things seem to be happening that are out of her control and her memory seems to be getting worse too. But who do you trust when you think you have no one to turn to? I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and was finished in two days! The plot was great, characters were very complex and so you could struggle to get into their head and see what they might think or do! It definitely kept me on my toes!!! Many thanks to Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read this arc copy via Netgalley. My opinion is my own. #Netgalley, #Danielle.Ramsay.Author.

Alice is a young British nurse, originally from Devon but now living and working in London, who meets and after a whirlwind romance, marries American neurosurgeon Tom, more than ten years her senior and in the country working temporarily. Some months later, following the birth of baby Noah, they return together to Tom's home, where his parents William and Barbara apparently welcome Alice with open arms. However, Alice has a guilty secret, one she has never shared with Tom, about a childhood incident at the family home, which has left she and her brother Oli virtually estranged and an emotionally and mentally vulnerable Alice, petrified of water. So when tragedy strikes for Tom and Alice, as well as them both being left bereft, torn apart by their loss and inconsolable with grief, a demented Alice is on the verge of completely losing her sanity. Having been placed under sedation for her own good and unable to communicate or move, Alice does overhear a conversation between Tom and his mother, which makes it clear that Tom is harbouring secrets of his own about a past history with someone called Blair. Totally unable to function, Alice's continuing paranoia leads to her being 'voluntarily and temporarily' sectioned, where she still adamantly refuses to discuss her past, even when Oli arrives out of the blue to support her, as Tom withdraws and grows evermore distant from his wife, especially after the unexpected arrival of Blair. At the end of his tether, Tom manages to convince Alice that he still loves her, although events conspire to take yet another strange twist of fate, filling them both with renewed hope, tempered with dread and trepidation about the future. During a short trip back to London, Alice receives an anonymous tip-off, which leads to her discovery of things about Tom which horrify and repulse her. Now convinced that she is not as sick as everyone would have her believe, with Oli's help, Alice plans to make good her escape and join her brother in Europe. However, her tormenter decides to up the ante, to the point where Alice is under suspicion of terrible crimes and threatened with prison, or worse! Can Tom convince people that Alice is innocent and that he had no part in the conspiracy against his wife? And will he and Alice ever find renewed solace in a relationship together? ... My potted synopsis of this masterful fictional psychological thriller, probably doesn't do it adequate justice, however to elaborate further would be to give the game away completely. With so many more twists and turns, false leads and accusations, many of which I never saw coming, be prepared for a gut-wrenching ride, which is unrelentingly pursued and consumed by anguish and guilt from just about every direction! Just a small word of warning to anyone who has a trigger point related to SIDS, who might want to consider the consequences of reading this book ... Although, to me as a layperson, it seems amazingly well researched, sympathetically authentic and true to the subject, it is thus very detailed and explicit. The narrative is set mostly in the present, although there are various flashbacks in time mingled in. However, when these events dictate, the chapter breaks are clearly defined and easy to follow, so no second-guessing is required. There are references to various locations in Europe, the UK and the USA, however, none are really fleshed out in detail, although they are real places. This dark, slow-burning storyline is all about the characters, their rollercoaster emotions, their vulnerabilities, their acts of revenge and deception, and their interactions with one another. I found it quite difficult to relate to, or become invested in, any of the characters, especially Tom, who I found particularly weak and a bit dim-witted when some things were staring him right in the face, although I'm not sure that was the outcome the author had hoped for. So whilst, yes, Alice's fragility and grief, leading to her complete breakdown and loss of reality, were undoubtedly founded and definitely twofold - Those lingering scars which had haunted her since childhood, her feelings of abandonment by her father, coupled with her belief that her mother didn't love or want her, and Alice's all-consuming guilt surrounding her mothers eventual death; coupled with those spiralling, traumatic and fragile emotions of a mother trying to come to terms with the loss of not one, but ostensibly two babies. However, no matter how vividly and realistically those events and their outcomes were portrayed, and never having walked a mile in Alice's shoes, as so many other readers might well have done, the storyline and narrative, descriptive, compelling and immersive as it was, was almost suffocating in its intensity, seeming much more lengthy than its purported 330 odd pages. Which, in all honesty, is probably the only reason I marked this review a little down at 4* Did I guess who the villain of the piece was? Well I must admit that I did have an inkling, but nothing tangible enough to make me 'nail my colours to the mast' over.

Alice and her husband Tom have just lost their infant son Noah to SIDS, Alice's mental health starts to suffer, and Tom manages to talk her into going into a mental health facility. Alice discovers that she is pregnant again. We find out later that she has an eight week old son called Eli. She also has a nanny to help her cope. When "a friend" sends her an incriminating video and tells her to check her husband's emails, she discovers Tom is planning to have Alice committed. So Alice leaves and takes baby Eli with her. But Eli disappears and no one believes her. This story is told from Alice's perspective. The story starts off slowly, then the pace is fast. It's emotional, traumatic, filled with twists, covers mental health and SIDS. At the beginning, it was a but confusing. The last 25ish% was gripping, and it has a great twist at the end. Published 25th November 2024 I would like to thank #NetGalley #BoldwoodBooks and the author #DanielleRamsay for my ARC of #Taken in exchange for an honest review.

Alice, Tom and new-born baby Noah move to America and stay with Tom’s parents in their home in New England. Noah dies suddenly of SIDS at eight weeks old and Alice has a breakdown believing it’s her fault. She’s struggling but nobody understands how losing a baby has affected her and she feels that Tom is gradually moving away from her. From the description I thought ‘Taken’ was going to be about the abduction of a baby so didn’t expect it to be so slow and drawn-out. It was so sad and depressing I couldn’t get into the story and the way the timespan moved around from what happened a year ago to the present time didn’t help. I only read about a third then my interest was lost and I was skipping chapters hoping it would improve. This is purely my impression and I’m sure a lot of readers will love it but unfortunately this time I’m not one of them.