Gone in Seconds: A gripping and addictive crime thriller

by Ed James

A baby missing. A family in pieces. A shocking secret that can’t be told.

Landon and Jennifer Bartlett have everything¾money, influence and a picture-perfect family. But it means nothing when their lives are torn apart the day someone breaks into their plush mansion and takes their newborn child right from his cot.

FBI Agent Max Carter investigates child abduction cases. He has a reputation for working all hours to find every missing child on his watch¾after all, he was once one himself. When he visits the Bartletts’ sprawling home in an exclusive estate in the suburbs of Seattle, he’s immediately suspicious of Landon Bartlett and his brother Sam.

As Carter delves deeper into the lives of the brothers, he finds a web of dubious business deals and lies that could cost the Bartletts their entire family fortune. And it’s clear they will do anything to keep their secrets¾but would they withhold vital information that could lead him to baby Ky’s kidnapper?

As Carter begins a cat-and-mouse game with the kidnapper, he receives some startling news from home, which stops him in his tracks. And when a young woman is spotted boarding a bus out of town with a baby fitting Ky’s description, he must decide whether to risk everything to find the missing child or save his own family.

Fans of Kendra Elliot, Melinda Leigh and Robert Dugoni will love this heart-pumping, pulse-racing crime thriller from bestselling author Ed James.

• ASIN: B088FP74XH
• Publish Date: 12 June 2020
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Bookouture
• Format: eBook (Kindle)
• Pages: 356
• Language: English

Reviews

[Emma (SCR)]

This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to Bookouture for letting me take part in this review and for my copy of this book via Netgalley. This is the second book in the Max Carter series, I have book one on my TBR pile but I haven't had a chance to read it yet. You can read these as stand-alone but I am definitely going back to read book one. I love crime novels and I love giving new (to me) authors a try.

Special Agent Max Carter is the lead in the kidnapping of Ky Bartlett. As well as trying to hunt down Ky's kidnapper and bring him home safe Max has his own problems to deal with. We learn quite a bit about Max, his childhood and his dad in this book. Max is a very good agent but he does blur the lines a little. I think Max also lets his own issues affect the case a little. I'm looking forward to hearing the full story on Max because I think it's going to be a damn good one.

The case of Ky Bartlett is very interesting. At first, I was very confused by all the different threads to it. There seemed to be so many people involved but how they all came together was not at all what I was expecting. It also shined a light on a subject that I've not considered too much.

The story was well written and very easy to keep reading. There were some parts that were difficult to read due to their content but even then Ed manages to put the reader at ease. There were some horrific scenes but I always wanted to keep going. I can't wait to read more of this series.