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The Wrong Child

By: M. J. Arlidge, Julia Crouch
Narrated by: Alex Rivers
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Summary

A mother with a dark secret...
A daughter dying to tell.

When 3-month-old Max is abducted, his parents are plunged into their worst nightmare. Devastated mum Sarah only took her eyes off him for a second, but that doesn't stop her guilt. Even husband Jake can't hide his anger that their little boy went missing on her watch.

By contrast there are smiles and celebration at a caravan park in Lincolnshire, as baby Blaze is introduced to the Star family. Jenna and Gary are delighted with the new addition to their family. He is their fourth child and a real object of delight to their eldest - fifteen-year-old Willow - who once again will raise the child.

But trouble is brewing for the Star family. Willow is concerned by the desperate online appeals from Sarah and Jake, baby Max has neonatal diabetes and without regular treatment will die. As baby "Blaze" becomes seriously ill, Willow makes a shocking discovery. What is the truth about her family? And how far will they go to hide their deadly secret?

©2024 M. J. Arlidge, Julia Crouch (P)2024 Orion Publishing Group Limited
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Such A Great Listen

The Wrong Child by @m_j_arlidge & @juliageek

This was such a great read. I bought and listened to this on audio and found it unputdownable/unstoppable.

I’ve never read anything by Julia Crouch before but I love M. J. Arlidge so this was an auto buy for me.

This book does an excellent job of portraying exactly how an overwhelmed - possibly post partum depressed - mothers can feel. Especially one who was promised all the support in the world when she was contemplating not going through with her pregnancy but whose partner never follows through with that support in the end.

The depictions of social media and the keyboard warriors online could have been pulled straight from any news outlet comments section and the newspaper headlines, Daily Fail - is that you??

The writing is so true to life that you are sucked in from the get go! This could have been me or anyone of the many mums I know who just need 5 minutes to remember who they used to be before they only ever seem to answer to mum.

I enjoyed the contrasting lifestyles of the Star family under the leadership of Jenna and her devoted Gary though occasionally I felt like the lifestyle was, in some parts, stereotypical. However there were other families living in the same way as Star family and they were not depicted in the same manner which I was grateful for and enjoyed that this was met with questioning from others in the community.

Whilst this story does ease you in once it gets going it doesn’t let up! A fantastic read and a great audio that you can pick up and any point and it sucks you straight back in! I was actually disappointed when it finished!

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great storytelling

I normally like a book that keeps you guessing to the baddies identity, but this book kept me enthralled right to the end.

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Great Listen

I listened to this in two days, very enjoyable, good narration and good story. I wonder if there will be more to this story later although I think it will end here.

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Great narration, top storytelling, I couldn’t put it down!

I’m a fan of Julia Crouch’s domestic noir, and this latest novel had me on the edge of my proverbial seat.

Very entertaining and highly recommended.

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Absolutely loved it

The plot, the characters and the narration were spot on. Highly recommend listen. Get this on your wish list today.

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When is the TV series?

Could easily see this being made into a tv drama series. Great storyline with believable characters.
Didn’t think the narrator always got the tone right in their delivery but still a really enjoyable read.

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Worth the wait!

I signed up to the waitlist for this book (something I wouldn’t usually do) as I have read others by M J Arlidge- never been disappointed. Brilliant plot and well written

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