This book was intense and suspenseful, holy! It is going to take me a day or two to get over it I think. ( )

Interesting story.
Possible triggers.
Multiple POV.

( )

In seven days Maggie’s son Max is about to turn three, and when the children turn three that’s when her captor takes them from her.

Maggie was kidnapped at 15 and has been locked away in a basement where she has given birth to three boys. But when each boy has turned three, her captor comes and takes them away. But she won’t let that happen this time...

Written from the perspective of Maggie, her family and the police officer investigating her disappearance, and covering the time between her disappearance and the current day.

This was a really enjoyable read, the story is well paced and the twists and turns unfold throughout the book which kept me wanting to read just one more chapter. I will definitely be looking out for more books from Alex Lake.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ( )

Seven days.
Maggie has seven days to come up with a way to save her son, Max. And maybe herself.
Over a decade ago, 15 year old Maggie, on the way to her cousin’s house, stopped to help a stranger with directions and that’s how it began. How she became a prisoner in the room. For years.
The years passed by in the room underground. Then there was Seb. And then he was gone on his 3rd birthday. And then Leo, who disappeared the same way on his 3rd birthday. Max will be 3 in seven days. What can she do to stop the man from taking Max? In that locked underground room with four walls, a bed, a rain barrel tub and a few toys. Because if she can’t stop it, Max will be gone, like his brothers and she won’t see him again. And she can’t live through that again. She can live through losing another son.
This is one highly enjoyable read. Sad at times. Sad for Maggie. And her boys. And the family she left behind. It’s frustrating at times and thought provoking. And a little part of you wants to cheat and flip to the end to see where it all goes. But it grabs you right from the beginning. And doesn’t let go. Much of the books is Maggie’s story for the seven days until Max’s third birthday intertwined with the past; the last 12 years for Maggie, her family, the police who investigated her disappearance.
This is the 3rd of Alex Lake’s books that I have read and they were all delicious reads that kept me flipping quickly through those pages. This is a solid 5 star book for me and I can’t wait to devour another one of her books. ( )

Review of uncorrected proof

Seven days from now, Max will turn three years old.

Seven days from now, the man will snatch him away from his mother.

Seven days from now, Maggie must have a plan If she is to save her son.

Abducted at the age of fifteen, Maggie’s existed for the past twelve years in a small, windowless room. Repeatedly raped by her captor, she's given birth to three babies in those twelve years. And, after having her first two sons snatched away from her on their third birthdays, she knows the same fate awaits Max. She's desperate to find a way to save her son from what she believes will be certain death for the little boy, but she has nothing to use as a weapon.

However, that doesn't matter because nothing can stop a tenacious mother determined to protect her child.

The gut-wrenching narrative alternates between past and present, switching points of view between Maggie, her parents, her brother, and the adamant detective inspector searching for find her. Well-developed characters and a strong sense of place add to the intrigue.

Readers will find themselves pulled in from the first page and, although there is a fair amount of repetition in the telling of the tale, it does nothing to stem the ever-building tension as the story unfolds. Reminiscent of “Room,” the abducted-girl-with-a-child story takes some surprising and unexpected turns. Short chapters amplify the suspense and the revelations concerning the impact of Maggie’s disappearance on her family strengthen the narrative.

It’s dark, it’s gritty, it’s tense. It’s a story readers will find difficult to set aside.

Highly recommended. ( )