In this follow-up to the riveting international bestseller No Child of Mine, author Susan Lewis delivers an emotionally complex novel—perfect for readers of Jodi Picoult—of reinvention, reconnection, and the deepest love that can bind two people together. Charlotte Nicholls can hardly believe it, but it seems she’s landed in paradise. Living in a cottage in a shady cove on the beautiful Bay of Islands, surrounded by the splendor of New Zealand, Charlotte revels in her new life. She and her nearly four-year-old daughter, Chloe, have started over, with the help of Charlotte’s birth mother, Anna, who has recently reentered Charlotte’s life after a twenty-six-year absence. Little Chloe is thriving in her new home, and despite lingering effects from a terrible trauma Chloe has suffered, Charlotte is hopeful that love will pull her through. And though their relationship is tentative, Charlotte and Anna are slowly rebuilding their trust after nearly a lifetime apart.   But the horrors of the past—both recent and long buried—are never far from Charlotte’s mind. And then their idyll is suddenly shattered, as a series of events is set in motion that Charlotte can neither control nor comprehend. It will take all of Charlotte’s strength to keep her little family together, in the face of a world that will do everything it can to tear them apart. Praise for Don’t Let Me Go   “An emotionally complex novel.” — USA Today “Unputdownable . . . a compelling blend of family dynamics, courtroom drama, and love story.” — Booklist “You know you’re in the hands of a master storyteller when you can’t bear the tension. Susan Lewis drops you into a nightmare where the best interests of a child collide with the law designed to protect her. The endearing little girl at the center of this poignant and gripping tale, as well as the brave protagonist, will win your heart.” —Diane Chamberlain, internationally bestselling author of The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes “A gripping tale that pulls you in from the first chapter to the end, Don’t Let Me Go is a read that will remind you just how precious children are.” —Romance Reviews Today Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more. Alex Lake abducted a three-year-old child to rescue the traumatized girl from a monstrous father, relocated from England to New Zealand, and changed both their identities. Now, living in a cove on the shore in the loving atmosphere of family, life would be idyllic for Alex—going by the name Charlotte Nicholls—and the daughter she calls Chloe, except for the worry that someone will dig into their past. And someone does. Charlotte, accused of child abduction, is extradited back to England, and Chloe, just beginning to heal, is taken into custody by social services. A handsome admirer from Charlotte’s past resurfaces to act as her lawyer, and feelings ignite between them. What follows is a race to free a desperate mother from a flawed legal system and to save a lost little girl from further harm. Readers unfamiliar with the prequel, No Child of Mine (2012), may get hung up initially trying to piece together Charlotte’s secret, but when all is revealed, the novel becomes unputdownable. A compelling blend of family dynamics, courtroom drama, and love story. --Diane Holcomb “An emotionally complex novel.” — USA Today “Unputdownable . . . a compelling blend of family dynamics, courtroom drama, and love story.” — Booklist “You know you’re in the hands of a master storyteller when you can’t bear the tension. Susan Lewis drops you into a nightmare where the best interests of a child collide with the law designed to protect her. The endearing little girl at the center of this poignant and gripping tale, as well as the brave protagonist, will win your heart.” —Diane Chamberlain, internationally bestselling author of The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes “A gripping tale that pulls you in from the first chapter to the end, Don’t Let Me Go is a read that will remind you just how precious children are.” —Romance Reviews Today Susan Lewis is the internationally bestselling author of twenty-nine novels, including N o Child of Mine, Missing, A French Affair, and Stolen . She is also the author of Just One More Day and One Day at a Time, the deeply moving and often hilarious memoirs of her childhood in the sixties. Having resided in France and the United States for many years, she now lives in the rural county of Gloucestershire, U.K. Chapter 1 Never, in all her twenty-nine years, had Charlotte Nicholls imagined life being this good. OK, she didn’t have the right partner, nor was there even the glimpse of some dashing Romeo ready to charge over the horizon, though it had to be said that her horizons these days were truly gorgeous to behold. Surrounded by calmly floating islands in shimmering blue seas, enchanted by dazzling red sunsets that took the breath away, she was actually living in paradise.