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The Phantom Child

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The Phantom Child

By: A. J. Wills
Narrated by: Helen Phillips
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About this listen

Is her child really missing? Or did he never really exist?

After a difficult few months, Karina's looking forward to a short break in Turkey with her husband and four-year-old son, Jacob.

The marriage has been showing signs of strain lately, so it'll be a chance to relax, enjoy some good food, and more importantly, reconnect with the people she loves the most.

But on their first morning, Karina is startled to discover she's slept in late.

Where's Jacob?

He's usually an early riser who likes to tumble into their bed first thing, pestering them to make him breakfast.

A needle of fear spikes through Karina's veins.

She rushes to his room, but his bed is empty and he's nowhere to be found in the villa. Frantic with worry, she raises the alarm with her husband—but he stares at her blankly, like she's out of her mind.

He says he has no idea what she's talking about. They don't have any children, and he's never heard of a boy called Jacob…

©2024 Adrian Wills (P)2024 W. F. Howes Ltd Domestic Thrillers Genre Fiction Psychological Thriller & Suspense Marriage
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If you ignore some of the obvious holes in the plot and accept this as a story told in first person, it is quite engaging and interesting. Certainly needs some polish to be a 4 or 5 star though. I didn't regret reading it and would try other books by this author. The narration was OK, not annoying but not brilliant either.

Interesting concept / Not bad execution

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The Phantom Child is a book that has stayed with me since I listened to it a few months ago. I’d go as far as to say that it was my favourite book of 2025.

The narrator was good and the plot thickened really nicely and at a good pace. At times I was left beautifully bewildered and just couldn’t wait to listen to more.

I’m amazed that this novel, at the time of writing, has just 1 other review on Audible. Check out the reviews on Amazon!

I’d possibly give this book 4.5 stars solely because one of the plot elements, for me, was a bit far-fetched and I had to suspend my disbelief somewhat to buy into the story. That said, I would HIGHLY recommend this novel to every thriller lover,

Captivating audiobook

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