If you have ever been wary about the dangers of online dating, chatrooms or social media, then this fictional novel is not going to put your mind at ease. Thrown into the dark and unfamiliar world of online predators and their manipulative methods of grooming their victims, Taylor and her friends have to hope that Sierra’s foray into mystery online dating hasn’t met a sinister end…

What follows is a frantic search involving the Sexual Offences and Child Investigation team, the local police and a specialised group of detectives, who try to uncover Sierra’s trail, and locate the mysterious Jacob Jones.

It isn’t until two days later, when Sierra still hasn’t contacted anyone, and her phone has remained unanswered, that Taylor finally tells Sierra’s mum Rachel that her daughter is missing. When the overnight stay extends into an extra day, and there has been no word from Sierra, Taylor and the others begin to worry a little about where she could be. Sure, Riley was inconvenienced and still holds a grudge about the incident, but none of their parents ever found out about it. After all, Sierra has done this before, and no one got into any trouble over it. When the Friday night date becomes an overnight stay, Taylor is annoyed but not overly concerned. Sierra, unaware of the pain that she is causing, asks Taylor and their friends Callum, Riley and Joel to cover for her when she meets him for the first time, and the group reluctantly agree. To add to the hurt, Sierra decides to meet up with a guy- Jacob Jones- who she met online- a guy that Taylor had also been talking to, and who she felt a real connection with. This is especially the case when Sierra kisses Taylor’s crush (although she admittedly doesn’t know that Taylor likes him at the time). With her parents often away- either hosting a charity event or running their internationally-based ski resort- Sierra often seeks the attention of anyone who will give it to her, and isn’t afraid to act out to receive it.ĭespite the parental neglect, Sierra, with her beauty, wealth and popularity, seems to get everything else she desires, and Taylor eventually starts to get fed up with her attention-seeking antics. But while Taylor’s life has been fairly grounded (despite losing her father to illness several years earlier), Sierra’s life has been far less stable.

Their parents were best friends, and the girls have grown up doing almost everything together- although they don’t share a blood bond, it is as though they are sisters. Taylor Gray and Sierra Carson-Mills have been best friends their whole lives.

Risk by Fleur Ferris