“This book held my heart and soul and both gripped and hugged them both.”
Five-star reader review, NetGalley
“An unlikely group, an impossible situation and a story that kept me turning the pages long after bedtime. A FINALIST and highly recommended!”
The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
Rating4.4
Reviews28
Formats4
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The Story
She escaped the traffickers. Now the real chase begins.
When Vân throws herself into Stuart Henderson's car on an ordinary evening in Guildford, she drags him into a world he never knew existed: hidden networks, bought police officers, and men who make people disappear.
Now the men who owned her want her back. And they will hurt anyone who stands in their way.
Outmatched and unprepared, Stuart, his husband Martin, anxious IT consultant John, and sharp-tongued seventy-three-year-old Barbara refuse to abandon her. As the night spirals into violence, this unlikely group discovers that courage doesn't always look like heroism. Sometimes it simply looks like showing up when it matters.
Literary crime thrillerHuman traffickingFound family
This isn’t just a standard chase thriller, it has real heart. While the plot resolves around a terrifying human trafficking ring, the core of the story is about normal, regular people being pushed to their absolute limits. I really rooted for Stuart and Martin, their relationship felt real and grounded amidst th chaos. John brought another level to it with …This isn’t just a standard chase thriller, it has real heart. While the plot resolves around a terrifying human trafficking ring, the core of the story is about normal, regular people being pushed to their absolute limits. I really rooted for Stuart and Martin, their relationship felt real and grounded amidst th chaos. John brought another level to it with his logic and clumsy fear. As for Mrs Patterson! You’ll both hate her and love her by the end. It deserves its 5 star award, I rate it the same. Cant wait to see what this author writes next.
This book was pure chaos from the very first page twist after twist hits you like what did I just read it was an amazing read loved the story I will recommendThis book was pure chaos from the very first page twist after twist hits you like what did I just read it was an amazing read loved the story I will recommend
Make no mistake, there will be no foreplay here. Daniel Riddle gifts you about 4 pages of setup before you are, quite literally, off to the races. When Vân, a young Vietnamese woman, throws herself into a stranger's car begging for help, Stuart's quick pop out for some tea spirals into a high-stakes race for survival. Having escaped a brutal …Make no mistake, there will be no foreplay here. Daniel Riddle gifts you about 4 pages of setup before you are, quite literally, off to the races.
When Vân, a young Vietnamese woman, throws herself into a stranger's car begging for help, Stuart's quick pop out for some tea spirals into a high-stakes race for survival. Having escaped a brutal human trafficking network after twenty long months, Vân finds herself reliant on a cast of unlikely heroes (read: a married gay couple; a mouthy, homophobic mother-in-law; and the nosy neighbor) who must decide how far they're willing to go to protect a perfect stranger.
This novel had every opportunity to disappoint me, and it just didn't. It surprised me at every turn. I thought that the author approached the subject matter with the perfect level of respect while still leaving open so many moments for levity, humor, and the development of honest connection. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and am excited to pick up The Cuckoo House!
Fast moving yet complex - tense and nail biting, no one to trust - yet it was just a jaunt to the store, should have taken a few minutes, yet changed everything. Terrorizing in that this could really happen, does happen - what would you do?Fast moving yet complex - tense and nail biting, no one to trust - yet it was just a jaunt to the store, should have taken a few minutes, yet changed everything. Terrorizing in that this could really happen, does happen - what would you do?
As someone who devours true crime and also spends most nights worrying about two teenage kids out in the world, this book hit me harder than I expected. I picked up The Other Lotus Girl for the tension and the subject matter, but I stayed because parts of it felt uncomfortably real. I could see myself in the characters right …As someone who devours true crime and also spends most nights worrying about two teenage kids out in the world, this book hit me harder than I expected. I picked up The Other Lotus Girl for the tension and the subject matter, but I stayed because parts of it felt uncomfortably real.
I could see myself in the characters right away. Not literally, but in the fear, the hesitation, and that internal fight between wanting to help and being terrified of what it might cost. As a mom, reading about Vân was gutting. Her story made me stop more than once and just sit there, thinking about how easily someone could be failed by the system. That made the stakes feel personal instead of just dramatic.
What I loved most was how human everyone felt. Stuart and Martin are not action heroes. They are regular people trying to do the right thing while clearly being in over their heads. Barbara completely stole the show for me. She brought humor and grit in a way that kept the story from becoming unbearable, especially given how dark the subject matter is. I appreciated that balance a lot.
The pacing worked well for the most part. The story moves quickly and keeps the pressure on, which made it easy to read in chunks at night. That said, there were moments where I wanted a little more breathing room or deeper exploration of certain characters, especially Vân. I wanted just a bit more time inside her head.
Still, this is a book that stuck with me. It made me uncomfortable in the way true crime often does, because it reminds you these things happen to real people. It also reminded me how powerful chosen family can be, even when everything feels stacked against you.
Four stars from me. This one is tense, emotional, and surprisingly warm in places, and it made me feel seen as both a reader and a mother.
Human Trafficking FictionFound Family ThrillerLGBTQ+ ProtagonistsKitchen Sink Realism Meets Crime ThrillerRoad Trip ThrillerBritish Crime FictionDark Humour in Crime FictionVietnamese ProtagonistOrdinary People in Extraordinary Danger
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