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Where her daughter had played Gretel in front of a cheering audience, only two faint stage lights remained. The theater was deserted and eerily silent; the only sound she could hear was her own heart, pounding in a frenzy against her chest. She rushed outside and stopped sharply at the top of the stairs, stunned, her blood turned to icicles. Darkness had fallen, thick and filled with ocean mist, lampposts like ghosts sprinkling yellow haloes in the sky.

Paige was gone. They’d taken her little girl.

301 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 11, 2021

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Leslie Wolfe

36 books2,420 followers

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5 stars
3,046 (51%)
4 stars
1,987 (33%)
3 stars
711 (12%)
2 stars
142 (2%)
1 star
36 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 220 reviews
Profile Image for Linda Strong.
3,878 reviews1,697 followers
July 3, 2021
Paige is only 8 years old, a little nervous because she's participating in a play in front of a l ot of people. Somehow she manages to go stage and does her part perfectly.

Mom is in the audience, a bit upset .. her husband has not shown, nor has her ex-husband, Paige's father. A man comes up to her, explains that he accidentally bumped into her car in the parking lot.

Following him out of the auditorium, she remembers very little. She wakes up lying in a pool of blood .. and it's nighttime. Running back, she finds the auditorium dark and empty. Where is her daughter?

FBI Special Agent Tess Winnett is called in to investigate. She was requested personally by Paige's father ... the State District Attorney. He and Tess have a contentious relationship, and she's surprised when he wants her there.

So how did someone kidnap this child from a theater full of people, in the middle of a play ... and no one saw anything?

As she investigates, she discovers that Paige's father received a ransom call ... but he held that information to himself. Does he know more than what he's telling?

Tess has a choice to make: trust her instinct and follow the leads that seem to indicate an organized crime connection? Or give in to the demands of the parents and assist with the ransom payment?

Action-packed, full of suspense, and well-written, Tess Winnett is front and center of this police procedural. The FBI Agent is a strong female character, smart as a whip, and dedicated to her job .. but she's not all warm and fuzzy ... she's got an attitude and she will do what it takes to finish her job. Drawn in from the beginning, the action takes the reader from suspenseful start to unexpected conclusion. Although 8th in the series, this is easily read as a stand alone. However, I do recommend starting at the beginning to gain all those nuggets of gold that make this an exciting series.

Many thanks to the author for the digital copy of this police procedural/crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
Profile Image for Misty.
320 reviews290 followers
November 1, 2021
I closed the cover on this one with an “eh”, and even after ruminating on it for a few hours, I’m just not able to find a whole lot more to say. This was my first Wolfe book, and sadly, it may also be my last. Perhaps if I’d had an investment in the series, I would have been more inclined to overlook what were, for me, choices in the narrative and/or vocabulary that removed me from the story. Although petty, one of those choices that most irked me was the development of the character who was a tweaking junkie, ballsy enough to situate herself right in the middle of a high stakes kidnapping. This rough, unpolished street rat, when making her outrageous demands to be cut in on the action, suddenly finds her filter and blurts out “what the heck?” to display her frustration. It felt sanitized and synthetic, like watching a Disney version of a gritty crime drama. Additionally, Miriam, mom of the kidnapping victim, was completely unlikable and just didn’t elicit the sympathy needed to engage the reader in her plight. I found myself wanting to smack her off of her pedestal when I should have been sharing her fear and angst.

Overall, a very mediocre read that may have more of an appeal for fans of the Winnett series.
Profile Image for Jéssica | Chuvadeletras__.
236 reviews57 followers
April 13, 2022
Uma criança rodeada de muita gente desaparece sem deixar rasto. Como é que uma coisa destas acontece, pergunto eu? A verdade é que a criatividade de Leslie Wolfe é enorme e esta premissa demonstra isso mesmo.

Adoro a escrita da autora, a história fluiu tão naturalmente que nem dei pelas páginas a passarem. Para além disso os capítulos curtos tornam sempre as minhas leituras mais ritmadas, tal como aconteceu com este livro.

Em A Rapariga Que Desapareceu encontramos mais uma vez a nossa já conhecia Tess Winnett, uma força da natureza. É sempre tão bom voltar a ela e conhecer um pouco mais sobre a sua vida. Neste livro, a sua perspicácia mantém-se e as suas aptidões profissionais são colocadas em prática de uma forma diferente do habitual. Gostei muito deste novo registo, trouxe uma lufada de ar fresco que não esperava e fez com que este volume se destacasse de todos os outros da série.

Para além de Tess, temos acesso a muitos outros pontos de vista, nomeadamente ao dos maus da fita. Já não é novidade para ninguém que gosto muito de acompanhar o outro lado, de saber de que forma agem para alcançar os seus objetivos. Pode parecer estranho, mas consegui simpatizar com uma personagem com a qual não seria expectável que isso acontecesse.

A narrativa foi bem construída, lógica e dinâmica, com vários momentos de suspense e reviravoltas inesperadas que tornaram a história bastante misteriosa e imprevisível. O final foi do que mais gostei. Quando achava que não iria ser mais surpreendida, eis que tudo muda… As revelações finais alteraram por completo o rumo dos acontecimentos e encaixaram na perfeição em tudo o que aconteceu. Já só quero ler o próximo!

Comparativamente com o livro anterior, este conseguiu superá-lo em muito (só o facto de a história não ter sido fragmentada já ajudou nessa diferença).

Este é um livro que faz refletir sobre o desespero familiar perante um rapto e a importância dada à família e ao emprego, bem como ao que se está disposto a fazer para progredir na mesma. Um policial que recomendo muito aos amantes do género.

Agradeço imenso à Alma dos Livros pelo envio de um exemplar para a partilha de uma opinião honesta.
Profile Image for Sonia Cristina.
2,103 reviews66 followers
October 12, 2022
É sempre um prazer ler mais um livro com Tess e revê-la e a Donovan mas senti falta de outros 2 personagens recorrentes na série, os detetives da Polícia Michowsky e Fradella.
Gostei deste livro mas reconheço que esperava mais.
Não esperava aquela última revelação.
Era importante agora haver outro livro para terminar uma ponta solta:
Sou só eu a pensar que há ali qualquer coisa no ar entre a Tess e o Donovan?
Profile Image for Carina Carvalho.
638 reviews19 followers
May 12, 2023
Não foi dos melhores da série mas lê se bem. Não senti muito entusiasmo em resolver o crime mas o final até que foi interessante. Em certa altura desta série a vida privada de Tess deixa de ter parte na história o que é uma pena pois estava a ser giro ver a evolução dela com o colega. Agora nem se fala em nada da vida particular dela.
1,853 reviews21 followers
June 14, 2021
So it continues

The Tess Winnett series has been a series worth reading. Doesn't matter in which order you read them because they are very much independent from each other. No cliffhangers, no waiting for the next installment to come out to find out just what is going to happen only to realize you need to purchase the next one, and so on, and so on. There always seem to be an off beat reason for the crimes that Tess is involved with.
Profile Image for Lynda Kelly.
2,116 reviews97 followers
April 1, 2023
Love this series of stories. I've greatly enjoyed almost all of this author's work aside from the Hoffman series, which is a bit blokey for my liking. All espionage and all that caper. This series is terrific.
It has a real shocker right at the end as well, just when you think everything's all done 'n' dusted !! So that was a great addition. I'll be looking forward to the next in this series. I did make a note about 40% into this one, however, that Tess is usually more on the ball and working stuff out faster than she did here. Just more ahead of the game as a rule. This one has a beautiful cover as well, though no doubt someone-who-always-remains-nameless will decide to change it, which would be a great pity.
There were errors in this-writing look, not looked and arch not arc, as examples, then this sentence didn't bear the repetition, ".....who'd never before been prosecuted before," evidence collecting needed a hyphen and this sentence lost for-"There, rumor had it, Mitchell arranged him to be beaten...." Interesting too how they add the word to in American language, "pissed him off to no end" whereas we say "pissed him off no end" !!
I did look up the liquid nitrogen mention and saw a guy experimenting with a chain online, so learnt something there, too !!
All in all, I enjoyed this instalment and much prefer the Tess series in full-length books as well.
Profile Image for Adelaide Silva.
1,245 reviews61 followers
March 29, 2022
Embora tendo gostado mais deste que do anterior, não é nada de espectacular, sendo uma leitura leve e rápida as 3⭐️⭐️⭐️são pelo final
Profile Image for Ler aos poucos.
239 reviews47 followers
May 3, 2022
Leslie Wolfe traz-nos mais uma emocionante investigação da agente especial Tess Winnet.

Mas, contrariamente ao que estamos habituados, Tess não vai perseguir um serial killer.

Uma menina foi raptada à vista de todos e Tess é a responsável pelo caso. Foi escolhida para o tentar solucionar
pela sua maneira de ser pouco ortodoxa. Por não se importar com regras e protocolos e por fazer tudo para apanhar o culpado.

É uma investigação muito emotiva porque envolve uma criança. Sentimos o desespero e a angústia da mãe a tentar recuperar a sua filha.

Acompanhamos esta luta contra o tempo, onde todos os minutos contam, por isso o enredo é bastante acelerado e viciante.

Gostei da autora ter apostado em algo novo, fugindo da sua normalidade, tornando o livro numa experiência de leitura diferente, aumentando o interesse nesta série da Tess Winnet.

Só tive pena das personagens habituais não terem aparecido, mas certamente que no próximo volume irão estar presentes.
1,606 reviews36 followers
June 15, 2021
When your ex-brother-in-law is the reason you went to jail.
Sometimes,
Payback really is hell. Especially if you're the DA of the county, and the person who now controls your former relative, only wants one thing.
Charges against himself dropped. And if it means your 8 year old child being leverage?
Then so be it.
Now your only hope is the FBI SA that you reamed out a few years ago for not following the rules.
Now, the rules are an inconvenience since it's now your child's life on the line.

Defined characters, developed plot, and plenty of action
Profile Image for Nicinha || Nicinha_book’s.
532 reviews10 followers
March 28, 2022
Tess Winnett está de volta após o rapto de uma menina de 8 anos, Paige, aos olhos de todos.
Como foi possível desaparecer uma criança à vista de tanta gente?
Miriam vê-se em mãos com o drama da sua filha ter sido rapta, debaixo do nariz de toda a gente incluindo o dela.
Com o desenrolar do livro Tess e Miriam desenvolvem uma relação de confiança que as levará a prosseguir com a investigação, pagar resgate e quem sabe recuperar os raptores.
Desesperada por respostas e dolorosamente ciente de cada minuto que passa, Tess tem de fazer uma escolha: confiar no instinto e seguir as pistas que parecem indicar uma ligação com o crime organizado… ou ceder às exigências dos raptores e ao desespero dos pais e viabilizar o pagamento do resgate.
Será o resgate o principal motivo do rapto, ou o pai ser o Procurador Joyce tem relevância no mesmo??
Ao longo do livro vamos também assistindo ao respeito e admiração que afinal Tess e Joyce nutrem um pelo outro.
As últimas 5 páginas são surpreendentes quando se descobre quem é um dos raptores, Max.

Livro escrito, tal como Leslie Wolfe nos tem habituado, de forma apaixonante e de leitura compulsiva até se compreender todos os meandros do rapto e das diligências que Tess, como sempre, desenvolve.
O plot Twist final é soberbo!!
Profile Image for Xana.
767 reviews45 followers
November 16, 2022
Gosto destes livros de Leslie, são leves mas mantém-nos sempre interessados.
Uma escolha segura, por enquanto.. torna-se uma autora de "conforto"...
Profile Image for Tam.
2,098 reviews51 followers
June 19, 2021
Fast-paced! Riveting! Emotional! Suspenseful! Compelling! Complex! This book brings it ALL! It was an artful melding of twisted psychological thrills and nail-biting suspense. THIS is how you successfully keep a series interesting and keep your readers wanting more!

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.
Profile Image for Joyce.
1,785 reviews17 followers
June 13, 2021
Paige, an eight year old girl is kidnapped following a school play. Her mother is at the play and gets called out of the theater for a purported accident to her parked car. The man who is escorting her to the accident scene knocks her unconscious and leaves her in a janitors closet. When she awakens, the theater is empty and her daughter long gone. Our protagonist, Tess Winnett is called in by her FBI SAC and is the only Agent involved in the case. Miriam, the Mother, is currently married to Max, an architect. Her ex-husband and the child’s father is the District Attorney. They have a distant and combative relationship over his lack of contact with Paige. I won’t go any further into the plot because of spoilers, but it is well written, complex and loaded with equally well developed characters. It is also not the novel to start reading in the evening or the reader will find themselves losing sleep in your desire to learn what happens next. Thanks to the author and publisher for an ARC for an honest review.
Profile Image for Ana Correia.
Author 2 books63 followers
May 23, 2022
A Rapariga que Desapareceu é a mais recente obra da Leslie Wolfe e não pôde faltar na minha wishlist de aniversário deste ano.
Depois de ter lido A Rapariga da Rosa que, como referi anteriormente, me desiludiu um bocadinho – o que não era nada típico da autora – esperava afincadamente que ela se redimisse com este novo enredo e...meu Deus! Alguma vez encontrarei palavras suficientes para fazer esta review?
Começamos pelo facto de pela primeira vez a agente Tess lidar com um rapto de uma rapariga viva, tendo em conta que o trabalho dela é mais centrado em resolver assassinatos em série. Quando Paige é raptada à vista de todos sem ninguém se aperceber, o pai da menina e também procurador distrital, exige expressamente que seja Tess a resolver o caso, o que a apanha desprevenida dado o historial profissional de ambos.
À medida que a história se desenrola vamos descobrindo novas pistas e percebendo que o rapto tem duas vertentes. A vertente onde reside o verdadeiro motivo pelo qual foi levada, e aquela em que os raptores exigem um resgate que não estava nos planos do cabecilha. A equipa fragmenta-se, torna-se um caos completo e Paige fica em risco de vida. Enquanto isso, Tess não sabe se deve seguir a razão ou o seu instinto que nunca lhe falhou antes. Chegará ela a tempo de salvar Paige?
Num livro de prender a respiração do início ao fim, Leslie Wolfe leva-nos de encruzilhada em encruzilhada, dá-nos pistas a conta gotas, leva-nos ao limite da nossa curiosidade, prende-nos de tal forma ao livro que só conseguimos descansar na última linha e acho que nem isso!
Adorei, foi uma excelente leitura sem qualquer dúvida! E o fim? Totalmente arrasador e inesperado com um toque de cliffhanger que eu adoraria ver explorado num próximo livro.
Profile Image for Don.
497 reviews
July 10, 2021
The Girl They Took
(Tess Winnett #8)
by
Leslie Wolfe

We often send children to school functions thinking they will be safe. That was mother Miriam’s thought when she left seven year old daughter Paige, backstage with other children and teachers at the school’s play. Within 45 minutes Paige had been kidnapped and Miriam was left unconscious in a broom cupboard.

The Girl They Took, the eighth in the Tess Winnett series, has Tess specifically requested to solve the kidnapping of the District Attorney’s daughter, Paige.

Two botched ransom drops, organised by a blow-in junkie and the paedophile kidnapper, only serve to exacerbate Mother Miriam’s hysteria. The other kidnapper is against asking for a ransom as he is working for someone who has no ransom agenda and he is doing his best to keep Paige safe and sound. Why?

Meanwhile Father District Attorney appears to show little or no interest in his daughter’s disappearance. He seems to want to carry on as usual. Again…Why? You will have both of these questions answered when you read the book.

The Girl They Took has Winnett at her most subdued with most of her time waiting for ransom calls and trying to subdue distraught mother, however, it did show another side of Tess Winnett.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Girl They Took and recommend it to all Leslie Wolfe/Tess Winnett fans.

I rated The Girl They Took as a solid four star read.

At the time of writing my review other Goodreads readers have rated The Girl They Took an average of 4.45 stars, from 236 ratings and 26 reviews
Profile Image for Heather.
2,258 reviews11 followers
October 11, 2021
I was so excited to discover that this novel had been published! Finally, after four novellas, Tess Winnett had her own full-length novel again - my wish had been granted! Sadly, though, The Girl They Took didn't meet my expectations and I was left feeling disappointed.

The storyline was slow and lacking. There were no twists and turns or nail-biting moments that I usually expect from Leslie Wolfe books and Winnett wasn't her usual strong, feisty self. Instead of solving a sex crime, which is what FBI Agent Tess Winnett does best, she had to find a kidnapped child. The plot dragged and I wasn't as invested as I usually am when Tess is on a case. Overall, an okay read but not to the usual standard I associate with this author.
Profile Image for Laura (laura.s.m.m).
408 reviews35 followers
February 10, 2023
Mais um livro fabuloso da autora, arrisco-me a dizer que este foi o meu preferido até agora, porque? Porque foge imenso da caixa em relação aos livros que antecedem.

Contrariamente ao habitual, Tess vê-se numa situação de rapto de uma menor... Mas estes raptores são mais do que parecem e estão mais coisas em jogo do que poderemos imaginar.

O ritmo do livro é alucinante, a escrita da autora é fenomenal dando-nos as respostas a pouco e pouco para ficarmos muito viciados nas suas palavras!
O que gosto mais destes livros é notar uma evolução na agente especial Tess Winnett, quer como pessoa, como profissional! Uma personagem que nos deixa bastante marcados!!

Leslie Wolfe é uma autora que irei sempre recomendar!!
132 reviews2 followers
July 31, 2023
Seven books into the series and I'd say this was the best so far. The pacey tempo begins from the outset and never lets up, enticing you into the next chapter. I found it so difficult to limit my reading time with this story; it was that engrossing. The plot is complex and intelligently constructed, all the way to the mega-twist at the end. The characters are so well developed I sympathized with a bad guy and disliked a victim; clever writing. An excellent and enjoyable read that I'd highly recommend.
Profile Image for Anastasia.
1,942 reviews99 followers
May 8, 2023
The Girl They Took by Leslie Wolfe is the 7th book in the Special Agent Tess Winnett series. The State District Attorney's daughter is kidnapped and the kidnappers allow only one agent to help him and he chooses Special Agent Tess Winnett. I did not realise this was the 7th book in the agent but I did not feel that I was missing anything. Tess is strong, capable and smart and very determined and I loved the book. She will do whatever is necessary. An action-packed, captivating and suspenseful police procedural making me want to catch up with the others in the series.
Profile Image for Julie Howard.
Author 2 books24 followers
June 15, 2021
The queen of suspense is back with another gripping instalment in the Tess Winnett series. I really enjoyed this book and kept waiting for the twist to drop, I don't think the story had as many twists as I have come to expect from this author but boy was this a good one and explained so much. Leslie is a very talented author that has the reader hooked from the very first page and this book was no exception, I also had no clue how the story was going to end. The tension built up nicely with every hour or paged turned. The story is told by multiple characters from Tess as she tries to find the kidnapped child, to the kidnappers as they try to work out how to retrieve there ransom money and from the grief stricken parents as they try to comply with the kidnappers demands and terms all make for some great characters and an nail biting investigation.
Tess is used to being called reckless and a lose cannon, so she is surprised when she is the lone FBI agent called in to investigate a child abduction case, especially as her background is in serial killer cases. The child's father is the reason she is called in, as she has faced him many times across a court room. Now he needs her reckless behaviour to help find his missing daughter. The kidnapping was well planned but something about it is off and just what is the state district attorney not telling her? Can she meet the kidnappers demands and get his daughter back or is something else going on and will she and computer special analyst Donovan be able to uncover it in time?
I was given this free review copy book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
318 reviews1 follower
June 17, 2021
The Girl They Took by Leslie Wolfe is so good I can't find the words to describe how good it is. Definitely it is the best Tess Winnett book yet and maybe the best book Leslie Wolfe has written. The only reason I am just now leaving a review is that I was away visiting family when it came out so was only able to really read it recently. I have been reading it every chance I've had only putting it down when I absolutely had to, finally getting to the end of it late last night.

This book is an absolute page turner giving Tess a thorough mental workout. The kidnapping has too many elements that do not make sense. Figuring out what the kidnappers are really after is essential to finding the child. Every stone is turned over in a race to find the child before it is too late.

If you have never read a Leslie Wolfe book, read this one. I think it will make a fan of you.
Profile Image for Monica Canhoto.
158 reviews1 follower
July 2, 2023
Paige tem 8 anos, está a representar a peça de teatro de Gretel e Hansel da escola, só a mãe está a assistir, nem o pai nem o padrasto conseguiram chegar a tempo do espetáculo.
A meio da peça, a mãe é chamada a sair da assistência porque alguém lhe bateu no carro.
No caminho para o estacionamento perde os sentidos e quando acorda, está sozinha. A peça acabou, as crianças e os pais já saíram do teatro e este encontra-se deserto, sem ninguém, sem a sua menina. Alguém levou a sua menina!

Tess Winnett, agente especial do FBI, é chamada pelo pai da menina, o Procurador Distrital, para investigar o rapto de Paige.
Esta escolha parece estranha a Tess, uma vez que não tem uma relação amigável com o procurador, muito pelo contrário, e principalmente porque Tess é especialista em casos de Serial Killers e não de raptos...

Este é mais um livro excelente de Leslie Wolfe.
Com uma ação rápida e de leitura muito rápida também!
Excelente! Adorei!
Profile Image for Ana Sofia | thebooksparkle ✨.
86 reviews1 follower
August 4, 2024
Este livro foi surpreendente até ao final. Apesar de ter sido, para mim, mais difícil de acompanhar o seu início pelos inúmeros nomes diferentes, foi sem dúvida um dos mais rebuscados da autora.

Todos os suspeitos estavam interligados com determinados aspetos da história onde nunca os veríamos ligados. E esse suspense esteve em cada página desse thriller, sendo que acabou num cliffhanger. Espero mesmo que esta história continue, porque fiquei mesmo à espera disso 🫣
Profile Image for Black Butterfly.
2,564 reviews40 followers
April 13, 2022
I WAS ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT MOST OF THE BOOK, WHAT A NAIL BITER. I WANTED TO SLAP THE BAD GUYS AND SHAKE THE GOOD GUYS, NOT NECESSARILY IN THAT ORDER. VERY EXCITING KIDNAPPING PLOT THAT RANGED FROM BRILLIANT TO KEYSTONE COP STUPID. TESS IS UNBELIEVABLE. ;D
Profile Image for Cheryl.
862 reviews
June 15, 2021
This story starts with the girl's school play and ends in an unbelievable way! Suspense starts to slowly build and build and build. I tried to fit all the pieces together throughout the story but couldn't. I kept reading while the suspense continued to build with additional clues and characters who muddy the water even more. The ending is so astonishing I truly believe no one can predict it.
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