Child Taken: A chilling page-turner you will be unable to put down

by Darren Young

  Was I OK with it?

  I thought it was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever heard.

  We can’t waste time being angry at the twenty-one years we lost; we have too much to look forward to, and catch up on.

  There’s the door now; she’s right on time as usual. I don’t know if she’s as excited at seeing Stuart as I am. Or as scared?

  Either way, it doesn’t matter. We’ll do it together.

  Anyway, I can’t stand here all day talking to you. I’d better buzz her in before she wonders where I am.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Mum? It’s Jessica.’

  Acknowledgements

  If anyone told you, right at the outset, just how hard it is to write a book and get it published, you’d most likely never bother trying.

  If they explained to you, in grisly and graphic detail, about the long hours, countless re-reading and edits; about how repeated rejection feels and knocks your confidence, you’d wonder if it was actually worth it in the first place.

  Luckily, by the time I found these things out, it was already too late, and, even more fortunately, I also had an amazing bunch of people who helped me on every step of the way.

  This book, like most of the things I do in life, wouldn’t be possible without my wife, Luisa. If I ever think writing is hard, I only have to remember that she not only has her own career but also balances everything else in our lives to give me time to do it. And, as a bonus, she’s full of great ideas and is brilliant at filling the various plot holes I can sometimes dig my way into.

  But I would still have never have got this far if it weren’t for Maria Turner, whose unwavering support and belief has allowed me to persevere when it would have been much easier to give up. And there have been plenty of others who’ve done their bit too.

  Carl Jarvis has been, and continues to be, a constant source of sound advice, encouragement and enthusiasm while also managing to keep my feet on the ground. Madalene Aston and Sara Bradley were vital too, with their honest feedback and healthcare knowledge respectively.

  Dan Evans, who gave his time and considerable expertise to turning my fanciful idea of a book trailer into more than an idea, deserves a special mention, but also Leanne and Ava, and Ben and Carron too, for their part in making it happen. I can’t thank them enough.

  But even so, after all that effort, you still only have a lot of words on a laptop until someone makes it into an actual book and Heather, Clare and Anna at RedDoor came along at just the right time to turn my dream into reality. Their consummate professionalism, expertise and know-how shines through at all times and I really couldn’t have done it without them.

  I also need to mention Linda McQueen, Liz Garner and Gillian Stern too for adding their unquestionable experience, advice and ideas at various points along the way, which have, like those from RedDoor, always made perfect sense and improved the book.

  I got here in the end. It was definitely worth it. Thank you.

  And, last but not least, a big shout out to 200 Degrees Coffee Shop in Nottingham. Not only do they serve great coffee, but, without them, I wouldn’t have had anywhere to sit.

  About the Author

  Darren Young lives in Nottingham with his wife, Luisa, and their two children, Alessio and Emilia.

  Away from writing, his background is in helping organisations improve their customer service, working initially in financial services and then as a consultant in the UK and Europe. He has a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Wolverhampton.

  He’s always enjoyed writing – he used to chronicle his family holidays as a child – and had an ambition to try to complete a novel for a while, but didn’t think there was enough time in his already busy life to fit it in. Luckily, he found a sympathetic coffee shop and plenty of encouragement from those around him, and he began working on Child Taken at the end of 2014 after hearing a radio news bulletin while in the car. The story – ninety-five per cent of which made the final version – was complete in his head before the end of that journey. He is especially interested in how ordinary people deal with extraordinary situations that ‘could happen’ but that, thankfully, few of us ever have to face.

  Darren is currently writing his next novel.