Emma's Baby
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Review
'It's a roller-coaster thriller and a great read.'
--CLOSER, 28 March 2009
--CLOSER, 28 March 2009
Book Description
A rollercoaster child-in-jeopardy novel
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I enjoy a psychological thriller but they are often a let down. I have to say though that this book really kept me turning the pages and it flows along at a neck-breaking speed. I'm not particularly maternal and not at all interested in babies, but I had real empathy for Emma's plight as she tried to find her missing son. If you are looking for a book with lots of twists and turns, then I would say this isn't for you as the plot is pretty straight forward, this didn't detract from my enjoyment though and I can't wait for the author's next book.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I very often buy books from Amazon based on the customer reviews (in this case 13, 5 star reviews out of 19)and Emma's Baby was no exception.I thought this would be an ideal book to get me started on my new Kindle and paid over £5 for it.
After reading the book ( and may I say not for the 1st time) I ask myself the question if my expectations are far higher than that of other readers.
If the criteria for a 5 star rating includes poor or no plotting, weak storyline, improbable events littering the book, predicatable ending then indeed I would rate this book as 5 star. However if like me your standards are a little higher then you would be pushed to give this book 2 stars
(which I have done)
The book opens with a young mother seeing the doors shut on an underground train. Her little boy is on the train , she is standing on the platform. The story revolves around Emma's quest to find Ritchie with the help of the stranger (Rafe) who saw the events unfold. Strangely enough the police don't seem to be interested in looking for the missing child and question whether Emma has a mental illness. Some of the events are so unrealistic, in particular the whole DNA testing saga that I was tempted to abandon the book . I did manage to finish it but there was no unexpected twist, no shock ending , only more revelations about the shortcomings of Emma's parenting skills.This book just wasn't for me.
I thought Lullaby from Claire Seeber which deals with the same subject but from a different angle was far better written than Emma's baby.
After reading the book ( and may I say not for the 1st time) I ask myself the question if my expectations are far higher than that of other readers.
If the criteria for a 5 star rating includes poor or no plotting, weak storyline, improbable events littering the book, predicatable ending then indeed I would rate this book as 5 star. However if like me your standards are a little higher then you would be pushed to give this book 2 stars
(which I have done)
The book opens with a young mother seeing the doors shut on an underground train. Her little boy is on the train , she is standing on the platform. The story revolves around Emma's quest to find Ritchie with the help of the stranger (Rafe) who saw the events unfold. Strangely enough the police don't seem to be interested in looking for the missing child and question whether Emma has a mental illness. Some of the events are so unrealistic, in particular the whole DNA testing saga that I was tempted to abandon the book . I did manage to finish it but there was no unexpected twist, no shock ending , only more revelations about the shortcomings of Emma's parenting skills.This book just wasn't for me.
I thought Lullaby from Claire Seeber which deals with the same subject but from a different angle was far better written than Emma's baby.
40 of 43 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I became so absorbed with Emma, the lead character's life that eventually the book became two stories for me. One about the abduction of her toddler son Ritchie (and the mystery of who and why he was taken) and the other half about Emma's hopeless and desperate situation of being an unloved, lonely, depressed, single young mother, who is living in London and on the dole. However, Emma's life didn't start out this way. In flash backs, we learn of a young woman who is right out of university, with a promising future. That is until Emma meets the man that eventually becomes the baby's father, Oliver. That is when her life seemed to spiral out of control and into despair.
The author relates Emma's story in a very compassionate way, and you have much empathy for this young woman. Which makes me think that the author understands something about bringing up a baby alone. If not, then this splendid author has done her research well. The only compassion, understanding, and help seemed to come from the second lead character, Rafe, who Emma runs into the day her son goes missing on the train. Rafe believes her at the time when the police have their suspicions after discovering that Emma has told her doctor in confidence some dark, disturbing, and troubling thoughts about her son and her helpless circumstances previously to her son's disappearance. Rafe sees how Emma has been terribly wronged and not just by the events of the kidnapping but by the system itself. He becomes Emma's only hope in finding her son.
I thought I had the book figured out in the middle but it didn't faze me one bit. I wanted to keep reading because there were so many loose and possible ends (why the abduction, Emma's relationship to Rafe, etc...). Yet, I was somewhat surprised by the ending. The story actually brought a few tears to my eyes and a few smiles too. This is the sort of book you need to take a deep breath before diving into another book by a different author. The story and the characters were very believable and human to me. Too often crime novels come off as really bad TV dramas with leading characters who could win the "too stupid to live" award, but not this book.
I also wanted to add that I loved how the author reveals Emma's emotions without being too overly dramatic or exhausting. The reader understands Emma's guilt and deep love for her son Ritchie, but also we can grasp her frustrations and desperation too without the character going too far over the top. This truly is a wonderful book and one that I didn't wish to see an end to. I do hope the author will give us more wonderful stories. I will certainly be first in line to buy up anything else she writes in the future. In fact, it was very hard for me to believe this is the author's first book. I wondered while reading it, if perhaps Abbie Taylor might be a pseudonym for a more well established author, but my researched has turned nothing up. For that reason, I have to assume this is Abbie Taylor's first published work and what a great piece it is.
The author relates Emma's story in a very compassionate way, and you have much empathy for this young woman. Which makes me think that the author understands something about bringing up a baby alone. If not, then this splendid author has done her research well. The only compassion, understanding, and help seemed to come from the second lead character, Rafe, who Emma runs into the day her son goes missing on the train. Rafe believes her at the time when the police have their suspicions after discovering that Emma has told her doctor in confidence some dark, disturbing, and troubling thoughts about her son and her helpless circumstances previously to her son's disappearance. Rafe sees how Emma has been terribly wronged and not just by the events of the kidnapping but by the system itself. He becomes Emma's only hope in finding her son.
I thought I had the book figured out in the middle but it didn't faze me one bit. I wanted to keep reading because there were so many loose and possible ends (why the abduction, Emma's relationship to Rafe, etc...). Yet, I was somewhat surprised by the ending. The story actually brought a few tears to my eyes and a few smiles too. This is the sort of book you need to take a deep breath before diving into another book by a different author. The story and the characters were very believable and human to me. Too often crime novels come off as really bad TV dramas with leading characters who could win the "too stupid to live" award, but not this book.
I also wanted to add that I loved how the author reveals Emma's emotions without being too overly dramatic or exhausting. The reader understands Emma's guilt and deep love for her son Ritchie, but also we can grasp her frustrations and desperation too without the character going too far over the top. This truly is a wonderful book and one that I didn't wish to see an end to. I do hope the author will give us more wonderful stories. I will certainly be first in line to buy up anything else she writes in the future. In fact, it was very hard for me to believe this is the author's first book. I wondered while reading it, if perhaps Abbie Taylor might be a pseudonym for a more well established author, but my researched has turned nothing up. For that reason, I have to assume this is Abbie Taylor's first published work and what a great piece it is.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Emma's Baby
Having read several books on the topic of 'missing child' whilst off sick from work, I was sceptical about reading another, but having read the reviews decided to give it a go. Read more
Published 19 days ago by Debvfm
A real page turner
I really enjoyed this book and read it in two days. I couldn't put it down wanting to find out what happened next. Read more
Published 29 days ago by Sarahwoo
Mixed Bag
I cant quite make up my mind whether Abbie Taylor will become a fixture on my Kindle or not. I liked the central character Emma - I liked that she was struggling that she was... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Soulie61
Satisfying Read
Having recently purchased books with similar rated reviews (that I wasn't content with) I was half expecting a disappointment; but I was pleasantly relieved, surprised and... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jane2212red
Loved this book!!
This book was a great read! I could not put it down, I thought it was so well written and utterly grasping! The characters are well thought out and described well. Read more
Published 13 months ago by R. Macdonald
Absolutely brilliant!!!
A very good debut novel from Abbie Taylor - I am very much looking forward to her next novel out in Feb 2011. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Sarah H
wow....amazing
i read this book straight in 3 hours i just couldnt close it i needed to know how it all turned out. Read more
Published 16 months ago
Simply the best!
Emma`s Baby is a cracking read. I could not put it down. A real page-turner, so well written. Emma is a believable character who gets inside your head, and your heart. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Philanty
Mixed Feelings
I have wanted to read this book for a while - the synopsis sounds brilliant and very Jodi Picoult-esque. Read more
Published 19 months ago by C. Rucroft
Keep the Kleenex close
If you're not blubbing like a loon by the end of this, consider yourself entirely heartless. Emma's having a hard time of it - she didn't mean to end up living in social housing... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Eileen Shaw
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