Chapters (82)
- Cover
- Dedication
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- Suggested topics for reading-group discussion
- Keep Reading …
- Lisa Stone also writes under the name of Cathy Glass.Don’t miss her latest book …
- About the Author
- Books by Lisa Stone
- About the Publisher
‘That email was only partially correct. My parents did use the Moller Clinic. But I’ve checked, and it was definitely to conceive my older brother, not me. Mum miscarried that baby at sixteen weeks and then they had me naturally. Moller must have assumed I was his, or Ian made a mistake. We’re not related, Chris.’
He stared at her, astounded. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘I didn’t want to worry you unnecessarily with talk of the clinic after all you’ve been through. So we can stay together and have another child. But if you snoop in my emails again, I won’t forgive you.’ She kissed his cheek. ‘Now you’d better tell Anne and put her out of her misery.’
‘I will.’
Although this book is fiction, atavism exists and this story was inspired by true events. A number of clinics offering donor insemination have been discovered to be using only one donor – that of the founder of the clinic.
Suggested topics for reading-group discussion
Describe Ivy Cottage and the village of Merryless.
The author builds suspense from different viewpoints. As a writing technique, what advantage does this have?
How does Tinder add to the atmosphere and suspense of the plot?
Which characters in the book do you have most sympathy with, and why?
All the main characters are faced with moral dilemmas – for example, should Ian tell Emma that David survived? Discuss these dilemmas. Are their decisions correct given the circumstances?
Why might parents not tell their child they were conceived by donor sperm? Would you?
Ian and Emma, Chelsea and Grant, Chris and Camile and other couples are biologically half brother and sister. Should they separate? What would you do?
Secrecy is maintained to protect the outsiders. What would be the likely outcome if their existence became known?
Could DC Beth Mayes and DC Matt Davis have done more to investigate the concerns raised by Mrs Slater and Ian? If so, how might their actions have changed the course of the novel?
Keep Reading …
Enjoyed The Cottage? Make sure you’ve read Lisa Stone’s other thrillers:
Have you seen Leila?
8-year-old Leila Smith has seen and heard things that no child should ever have to. On the Hawthorn Estate, where she lives, she often stays out after dark to avoid going home.
But what Leila doesn’t know is that someone has been watching her in the playground. One day, she disappears without a trace …
The police start a nationwide search but it’s as if Leila has vanished into thin air. Who kidnapped her? What do they want? Will she return home safely or is she lost forever?
Click here to order a copy of Taken
How much do you know about the couple next door?