Stolen: A Novel of Romantic Suspense

By Shiloh Walker

This thrilling and super sexy novel from bestselling romantic suspense author Shiloh Walker will appeal to fans of Allison Brennan and Linda Howard.
 
Shay Morgan has stayed hidden for a long time. Living a reclusive life in Earth’s End, Alaska, she’s as far away as she can get from the trauma of her childhood and the man who hurt her long ago. But terror takes over Shay’s life yet again when an unknown stalker steals away the fragile peace she’s built for herself—targeting not only her but the one man who’s ever managed to get past the walls she’s built around herself.
 
Elliot Winter has lived through being falsely accused before—it ruined his military career. Now it’s happening all over again. And this time, his accuser is a twisted impostor who’s targeting his ex-girlfriend, Shay. Despite a fierce mutual attraction, Shay and Elliot broke up because Shay couldn’t let her guard down, couldn’t let Elliot in. But now they both need to trust each other to confront a psycho who seems to know all their secrets.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Oct 30, 2012
• ISBN: 9780345531919

Shiloh Walker

Shiloh Walker has been writing since she was a kid. She fell in love with vampires with the book Bunnicula and has worked her way up to the more...ah...serious works of fiction. She loves reading and writing anything paranormal, anything fantasy, and nearly every kind of romance. Once upon a time she worked as a nurse, but now she writes full time and lives with her family in the Midwest. She writes paranormal and contemporary romance, as well as romantic suspense.

Reviews for Stolen

[drez-3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars I really liked this one, but it dragged on at the end for me.

[mlsimmons-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Shiloh Walker is a phenomenal story teller. I don't read a large amount of romantic suspense, but I love her books. This is another great story with a lot of suspense. I learn who the killer is way earlier than in most of her stories, but that didn't diminish the story in any way. Knowing who the killer is, is one thing. I had know idea what she would do next. I highly recommend.

[abookwormshaven · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I fell in love with Shiloh’s writing when I read her Ash Trilogy (which I highly recommend if you have not read them) so when I saw Stolen come up on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to read it. I do not read a lot of romantic suspense, but I love Shiloh’s style and will make an exception when it comes to her books.In Stolen, we follow Shay who lives in Alaska to try and hide from her past. And what a twisted past it was. We get snippets of it a little at a time as the book unfolds, but I never saw the true horrors that she had lived through coming. It was a deeply emotional book because Shay’s life was shattered at an age when she should have been just acting like a kid and having fun. In Stolen, she is starting to gain some of her courage back and live her life the way she wants to. My heart was breaking for her at many points during the book, but Shay was stronger than she realized and I enjoyed being with her on her journey as she discovered this.The guy in her life, Elliot, wants to be with her more than anything, but struggles to because she will never open up to him. He breaks things off because he wants an open and honest relationship and fears he will never get that from Shay. I really enjoyed getting Elliot’s point of view in Stolen because he was trying to decode Shay’s past right alongside me. We are both left in the dark and only get tiny fragments of what she is thinking so it was nice to hear his thoughts about what was going on and riddle it out alongside him.Shiloh also gives us a look inside the person behind all of Shay’s troubles and wow! That person is one sicko! I thought the villain in the Ash Trilogy was bad, but this girl took the cake. I do like getting into the head of the bad guy, just so we have insight into how their thought process works, but what was going through her head was hard to read at some points. It was truly necessary to add depth to the story, but I don’t know how Shiloh can spend time in a mind that sick and twisted.As for the story, there was plenty of suspense and quite a few surprises as well. Shiloh is a master at telling a chilling tale while still weaving tender and sweet romance into it. Stolen had a perfect balance of both elements. The romance was especially tender because Shay had so many issues to overcome, she was afraid of letting Elliot in. Her head is filled with hateful, vicious memories and she just wants to be happy. “I want you to touch me. I’m so tired of the strongest memories I have being those memories. Give me better ones, Elliot.” She turned her face to his and pressed her lips to his cheek. “Can you give me better ones?”I loved how Elliot respected Shay’s wishes and tried to take things as slow as necessary with her. He was not perfect by any means, but he tried very hard to work things out with her and he put his heart and soul into everything he did and I loved that about him. “I miss you.” Closing her eyes, she whispered, “Don’t.” His lips brushed across the side of her brow. “Don’t what? Tell you that I miss you? Miss us?”I was also happy to see that once they put their faith in one another, it did not waiver. No one went off on their own and did anything stupid, they trusted one another and decided to get through the situation together.Overall, this was another great book by Shiloh. It is dark, twisted and while the characters were a little bit bruised, they learned to rely on one another and get through the awful events that unfolded around them together. If you have read Shiloh’s Ash trilogy, I was recommend checking out Stolen as well. Or if you are just in the mood for a great romantic suspense, this is a book you cannot miss.

[cats57_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Stolen by Shiloh WalkerThis could have been classified as a ‘horror’ novel - the heck with trying to classify it as romantic/ suspense. As a matter of fact this book takes what are the normal rules for a romance and pretty much throws them all out the window. This book is written in a manner that very much reminded me of a Nora Roberts novel and I couldn’t seem to get by this similarity. “Angels Falls”.While this was a good novel and its idea should have been great; I found that I wasn’t as enthralled with it as much as I should have been. Stolen is a novel that bases most of its plot on someone taking over the female protagonist’s identity and alienating Shay (the protagonist) from anyone else in her life. It also serves to dreg up for shay all the most horrible aspects of her youth; and believe me me they are freakishly horrible aspects. It may have been better for us if the author didn’t just sort of slide over Shay’s past and pulled this novel into the full ‘horror’ genre instead of this half-way book. This novel also shows just what a big influence that things like FaceBook and Twitter has over much of our lives.There was too little interaction between real characters and too much inner –dialoguing, angst, recriminations and beating ones-self up over events that they could not and never will be able to, have changed. I can easily see how this novel is going to appeal to all kinds of readers.

[deserie4comfort · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

ABOUT THE BOOK: This thrilling and super sexy novel from bestselling romantic suspense author Shiloh Walker will appeal to fans of Allison Brennan and Linda Howard. Shay Morgan has stayed hidden for a long time. Living a reclusive life in Earth’s End, Alaska, she’s as far away as she can get from the trauma of her childhood and the man who hurt her long ago. But terror takes over Shay’s life yet again when an unknown stalker steals away the fragile peace she’s built for herself—targeting not only her but the one man who’s ever managed to get past the walls she’s built around herself. Elliot Winter has lived through being falsely accused before—it ruined his military career. Now it’s happening all over again. And this time, his accuser is a twisted impostor who’s targeting his ex-girlfriend, Shay. Despite a fierce mutual attraction, Shay and Elliot broke up because Shay couldn’t let her guard down, couldn’t let Elliot in. But now they both need to trust each other to confront a psycho who seems to know all their secrets.REVIEW: Oh….wow. I think those two words will about sum it up. Now, let me first just say that I am guilty of reading other reviews, if available, before I start in on a piece. I do that cause I review quite a few but even though I do these reviews as a dedicated reader, I still want to enjoy what I read.So that being said, I saw a few disappointing reviews on this but more so, a lot of really good reviews. I was nervous about which side I would fall in and I have to say this now…I have no idea what some were complaining about. This was a fantastic read and held action all the way till the end. Just when you think Ms. Walker is done with the novel, BAM, she tosses one more thing your way.Stolen is a lovely piece that touches not only on suspense, but also every author’s and most people’s fears – identity theft. It was a wonderful read that I had a hard time putting down – sans Hurricane Sandy hitting my state. I would recommend this piece to anyone looking for a different kind of book and one that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.Five out of five stars for a great job!

[bbmoreb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This review is also posted on my blog, Books Books and More BooksThanks to the publisher, Random House Publishing Group, and NetGalley for the chance to read this early!This isn’t your standard-issue, run-of-the-mill thriller about a stalker; it goes so far beyond that. If you have read other suspense novels by this author then you know what to except. The suspense is edgy, the romance is searing, and the characters are vivid. Even if you have read a ridiculous amount of suspense books lately and think you have seen all the twists and turns before – give this one a read; you are in for a sweet treat. Shiloh Walker is an INSTANT BUY for me; she has so many great books – this is just another great example. Disclosure: This ebook was provided to me free of charge through NetGalley for the sole purpose of an honest review. All thoughts, comments, and ratings are my own.

[thehistorychic · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Read for Review (Edelweiss)Overall Rating: 3.50Story Rating: 3.00Character Rating: 4.00Fall Funk Reviews (Quick and Dirty because I am in a Review Writing Funk)First Thought When Finished: Stolen started off very strong but kind of lost its way towards the end.What I Thought of the Story: Stolen has a fantastic premise and the first half delivers. I was totally sucked in and couldn't wait to see how it unfolded. Unfortunately about half way through the story lost its gusto and just didn't quite live up to the first half. Shiloh Walker is an outstanding writer so even though the story was lacking something at the end, her writing was spot-on and engaging. It is hard for me to put into words what didn't work for me without spoilers (which I won't give).What I Thought of the Characters: Shay, Elliot, and the setting of Alaska were perfect for this story. Shay was a sympathetic character and while I never "loved" her, I felt for her. Elliot was the kind of hero that you want to fix and make life better for. I love stories set in Alaska so Shiloh totally won me over with the setting.Final Thought: Stolen will work better for some readers more than it worked for me. My problem with the storyline is very "reader"-centric (meaning specific to me). The writing was excellent, engaging, and smart.

[pat1egan1fordyce · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Stolen........by Shiloh WalkerThis novel is set in Earth's End, Alaska. Our heroine is Shay Morgan, writer and very much a loner. She is hiding a tortured childhood, most of which she only remembers in dreams. Shay's best friend Lorna is co-owner of the book store in town called Winter's End. Lorna's partner is her brother, Elliott. Shay and Elliott are both trying to recover from an ill fated relationship that Elliott , breaking his own heart and hers, walks away from. Shay is a very closed person, and does not want to let anyone in, not even Elliott, though she loves him with all her heart.The characters are wonderful, the story is an example of how our lives are wrapped up in social media, and what a downfall it could be! I found her diary writing in the beginning of the novel to be a bit distracting, since we really didn't know the characters very well.At some points the story seemed to jump to different situations, without a lot of explanation why.It's a thought provoking, and serious look at our safety in the computer age.Received from Edelweiss for review.

[bookwhisperer · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I started this book because I thought the synopsis sound intriguing; Shay who has a dark past and Elliot who is ex-military tries to figure out the secrets behind Shay’s dark past. I could not get into unfortunately. To me, it was very predictable and felt unrealistic. From the background that the character Shay has, I was surprised that she would be so reserved one moment and then completely open the next. Another problem was how Shay overlooked Darcy’s character was completely beyond me. I don’t want to give anything away, but if that ever happened to my best friend, I would know immediately. There were just a lot of off-kilter moments that just didn’t sit right with me.I do think that this plot was a great start but for me it just wasn’t executed right to keep me entertained. Now remember, the key word here is “Me.” There could be a lot of other people who really enjoy this book. ~BookWhisperer Reviewer MC~