The Stolen Child

DCI Hanlon, Book 1

By: Alex Coombs

Narrated by: Elizabeth Bouckley

The start of an addictive, tense and gritty series from bestelling author Alex Coombs.

Meet DCI Hanlon. A woman with a habit of breaking the rules and a fierce loyalty to the few people she respects.

When the kidnap of a 12-year-old boy blows the case of some missing children wide apart, the finger is pointing at the heart of the Met.

Hanlon is sent in as the only cop who is incorruptible enough to handle it. But can she find the killer before another child is stolen?

Once you start the DCI Hanlon series, you won't be able to stop. Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Lisa Regan and Mark Dawson.

This book was previously published as Time To Die by Alex Howard.

©2021 Alex Coombs (P)2022 Boldwood Books

Intriguing plot

It was a bit difficult to follow at times when change of scenes occurred mid chapter

Gripping

I really enjoy Alex’s Coombs and as usual he has written a brilliant one again this time

Superb!!

I loved this series. My kind of heroine DS Hanlon. Very invigorating to listen.

A very good introduction to a great cast of characters

I purchased this on audible and absolutely enjoyed it from beginning to end. My only negative, and it’s really not much of one, is with the narrator. Her voice is lovely and she speaks and reads very clearly, the only downside she has is that her performance is rather wooden. She reads dialogue in a way that people don’t normally talk to each other.

loved it!

Alex Coombs is an amazing writer! couldnt put it down.

The subject matter is dicey, but the writing is incredible.

the narrator is exceptional.

Later books are better

I listened to the second Hanlon series, before realizing there was a first series, which starts with this book. I really liked the second series, but it feels like a much younger author wrote this one, and I'm not crazy about it.

This feels a tiny bit like a Dan Brown novel, or a James Bond movie, in the sense that it feels like something a nerdy high school boy dreamed up: There are almost super villains that are just a little too much, and conspiracies that are a little too far fetched, and a plot line that that does not develop naturally or make a ton of sense. Those things make fun entertainment sometimes (I can enjoy a Bond movie), but this feels awkward to me, and the nature of the crimes is definitely gross. I have listened to a lot of true crime, so I'm used to hearing about absolutely horrific things that actually happened to people, but the way that Coombs writes about it, in this book, from the perpetrator's perspective gives me the heebeegeebees a little bit. I've got about 2 hours left and I don't really want to finish it.

Elizabeth Bouckley is a good narrator, but not as good as Carolyn Bonnyman, who does the second Hanlon series. This is one of the rare instances in which I'm glad I stumbled upon the second series first, because I really liked it, and I never would have tried those if I had started with this book.

Horror upon horror!

Why write this distasteful tale which obviously delights in extended descriptions of human depravity, brutality and horror? The author needs to see a shrink! What a waste of time!

One of the Worst :(

I don’t often leave negative reviews, but this book was particularly awful. It has the usual tropes… troubled, bad ass female antihero, faithful sidekick, fighting against police bureaucracy and a boss who is secretly on her side but exasperated with her. Where it really goes off the rails is with the fact that our main character also tampers with evidence, condones and performs torture, as well as outright murdering people. As if that weren’t enough, it should come with a warning for those who have been abused or raped. I am very fortunate that hasn’t been my experience, but for the graphic descriptions of what the villian(s) wanted to do to the Stolen Child, I can imagine this would be troubling. Lastly, the narrator was terrible. I can put up with some less than stellar reading. It’s not everyone that can be a Richard Armitage or Angus King. This performance, however, was riddled with terrible phrasing, mispronunciations and a wooden, robotic tone. Again, I feel terrible bashing other people’s work, but this was absolutely not worth the credit.

Couldn't finish

This book is so boring. it's hard to follow. so many things don't make sense. do not recommend.

Excellent story, poor reading

The story was satisfyingly complex. I don't know whether the choice to read it in a rapid monotone was the decision by the reader or director/producer, but it really detracted from the writing. Too many times the emphasis was on the wrong syllable or word. It was very distracting.