(Blog Tour) Book Review: When They Find Her by Lia Middleton

Today I’m excited to share with you my stop on the blog tour for When They Find Her a gripping psychological thriller and a book I just couldn’t put down! I want to say a big thank you to Chrissie Antoniou for an early copy of the book and the chance to be a part of this tour! I hope you enjoy my review below and don’t forget to check out the other stops on the tour for this amazing read! Oh, and there’s a special kindle offer during the launch of the book so scroll down to find out more! 🙂

Title: When They Find Her
Author: Lia Middleton
Publisher: Michael Joseph
Genre: Thriller
Book format: Pre-publication proof
Sweet Strawberries:

Description: NAOMI ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A MOTHER.
But three years ago, her husband left, taking their child with him.
Now, her daughter has come to stay, and Naomi knows it’s her one chance to re-build her family.
But the night ends in a terrible accident.
And Naomi has no memory of what happened.
Panicking, desperate, Naomi finds herself telling a lie:
‘My daughter is missing.’
NOW SHE CAN NEVER TAKE IT BACK…

*Free copy provided by publisher for review…

Review: This is an amazing, gripping and heart-wrenching psychological thriller! When Naomi’s daughter Freya comes to stay at her house, Naomi is excited as it’s the first time in a long time that the two of them will be alone. But when Naomi puts Freya to bed and then falls asleep herself, she wakes up the next morning to find Freya missing. Frantic with worry, she calls out to Freya who isn’t in her room or anywhere upstairs, but when she rushes to the stairs she find her daughter unconscious on the floor, and it soon becomes clear that there has been a terrible tragic accident. In her grief and panic though, Naomi calls Freya’s father and tells him Freya is missing instead. With the police soon combing her house and surrounding area it’s just a matter of time before they discover the truth, but the trouble is that Naomi doesn’t actually know what happened that night, did someone hurt her daughter, or is she the one to blame?

Wow, this story really drew me in from the first pages. The story begins right away with Naomi having Freya over her house overnight. Although Naomi sounds like a good mum caring for her daughter and enjoying spending time with her in the evening before putting her to bed, there are hints that not everything is right, with Freya living with her dad and Naomi only now having permission to keep her overnight as well as a hesitation Naomi has on whether to take some medication before goig to bed. When she wakes up the next morning she finds Freya’s body and the grief she feels as well as her panicked mind make her do something terrible. She hides Freya’s body and despite the odd behaviour you can’t help but sympathise with her when we find out more about why she is so scared and how messed up her mind is with everything that happens.

The story soon becomes a police investigation with Naomi worrying not if but when they will find Freya, but while she waits and worries about what the police will think of her, she is still confused by what happened. Her mind draws a complete blank over the night Freya died and she doesn’t know if someone did something to Freya or if it was herself. The way this story sucked me in is amazing and I just couldn’t put this book down as soon as I started reading it. Narrated by Naomi we follow her thoughts as she deals not only with her grief over losing her daughter but also her panic and pain at wondering what happened. Naomi’s past problems with post-natal anxiety and other issues are slowly revealed and if affects her mental state as she struggles to deal with what happened.

As the investigation continues, more and more things are revealed about Naomi and the other people in her daughter’s life. I love how this story ends up making you believe that everything was gong to go one way and then throws in so many twists that you just don’t know what will happen at the end! There is brilliant final twist at the end of the novel and I just never guessed what happened, but the whole story concludes in a very satisfying way and I just felt so much for the Naomi and everything she went through. The story has a few uses of the f and s swear words and some descriptions that detail how the child died which can be distressing to read.

This really has been an amazing novel and I can’t wait to read more from this author! The book just never gives you a moment to rest, throwing in twists and turns that just kept me glued to the pages and not able to put the book down! The mental difficulties Naomi faces with trying to remember what happened and the grief she feels over her daughter’s death makes this all the more gripping and heart-wrenching to read at the same time. It’s a brilliant story and with the way the investigation goes and what happens at the end, that final twist adding to the excitement, I just love how you really feel for the characters and it’s a story I just know I’ll want to read again. A brilliant psychological thriller that I really do recommend!