Taken

I'm a lifetime reader. I read for my pleasure but also to recommend books to my busy children. So I read "Taken", totally involved in this new kind of heroine, this Marina of perfect integrity. I loved every word, every sentence, every page and naturally didn't want it to end (and can't wait for the next Kathleen George !). Passed it to my pregnant daughter and she was loving it so much that she told me she was reading it to her foetus. Next daughter read it and loved it and even the sons-in-law who never read fiction, broke down and read it too. This is an emotional reaction, unlike the book reviews we had to write for school. Others have retold the story - and there is a great story - I like the contagion of enthousiasm. I felt while reading it that I was living each moment with the characters, breathing with them, and Kathleen George actually breathes life into her characters. I'm very impressed and elated that writers can do this. May they continue for all eternity. I love Kathleen George ! She has a whole fan club in faraway Nice, France.

I found TAKEN to be a terrifically gripping page-turner. The characters were richly-drawn individuals,the settings were wonderfully evoked and the plot original and engrossing. I thought the 'maternal-instinct' aspect was clever and an interesting layer of the story, but it never diluted the "thriller" aspect of the book. I hope Ms. George will continue to write about these characters, especially Christie; I kind of have a crush on him,,,

Being a mystery buff, when I read the rave review for TAKEN..., I went out and bought it. I found TAKEN to be smart and suspenseful. It was definitely well-worth the money and something I plan to read again. The novel is about a young woman, Marina Benedict, whose marriage is falling apart. She has always noticed babies, being childless herself, and on one particular day, she notices a baby that catches her eye. Later that day, she sees the same baby with someone who looks suspicious. She follows the kidnapper and the baby, and that's when you really can't put the book down!George is an exceptional writer, and I look forward to reading more from her.

Taken is a novel with a crime in it. Many crime novels are cold or cool, but this one is warm. You can feel the blood pulsing in the characters. Sometimes the emphasis is on what they are thinking and feeling instead of on immediate actions or a body count. It's a combination of a very high profile plot and a novel of interior life. I loved every word of it!

This novel is built upon several elements that set it apart from the mundane--a bit of irony, some humor, and believable characters. "Taken" is not your run-of-the-mill "who-done-it" novel. Rather, it is an engrossing, page-turning thriller that does not insult the readers intelligene. Beyond all of this, it is a fun read!