Book Review: A Stolen Child by Sarah Stewart Taylor (Maggie D'arcy #4)

My Rating: 4.5⭐️

A solid procedural that I thoroughly enjoyed!

Garda Maggie D’arcy is a former Long Island homicide detective with twenty years of experience under her belt, who relocated to Ireland a few years back and is working her way up the ladder in local law enforcement, currently on community policing assignment in Dublin's Portobello neighborhood. When former mer model/reality television star and single mother Jade Elliott is found strangled to death in her home and her toddler daughter Lauren missing. Maggie and her partner Garda Jason Savage were first on the scene. Given her experience in homicide and the fact that the investigative unit is temporarily short-staffed, Senior Investigator Roly Byrne ropes her in to join the investigation. We follow Maggie, Roly and her temporary partner Detective Sergeant Padraig Fiero, as they do a deep dive into Jade’s past – both personal and professional as they frantically search for the missing child and try to find the killer. What follows is a complicated web of lies, secrets and some shocking revelations.

I liked the structure and pacing of the plot and enjoyed following the mystery as it is gradually unraveled. The procedural aspect is very well depicted. Plenty of suspects, twists and red herrings make for an engrossing read and I was surprised by the final reveal (which is always a good thing!). I haven’t read too many procedurals based in Ireland, and I really enjoyed the setting and the details of the law enforcement structure and procedure mentioned in the course of this novel. We also get to know more about Maggie and her boyfriend Conor, who discovers some old photographs within the walls of their home, adding a parallel track to the story that has a bittersweet ending. We also meet Maggie’s daughter Lillie and Conor’s son Adrien. This is the fourth book in a series and though I haven’t read the previous installments, I had no problem following this one. I do, however, intend to read the other books simply because I really liked the protagonist and how well the procedural aspect was presented in this novel. I also thought that the author struck a perfect balance while weaving the mystery and Maggie’s personal life into a fluid and engaging narrative, with the latter never overshadowing the former. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed A Stolen Child by Sarah Stewart Taylor and would gladly recommend it to those who enjoy reading police procedurals.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own