The Stolen Girl—An Unexpected Thief
In this surprising whodunit, The Stolen Girl, we see a very realistic scenario: A young daughter, Lucia, finds a new friend, Josie, at school and begs her mother to let her sleepover. The mother doesn’t want to, hesitant about not knowing anything about the new family in town. But with persistent pleading from her daughter, she relents. And all hell breaks loose, becoming a mother’s worst nightmare.
At first, when Lucia’s mother, Elisa Blix (Denise Gough), drops off Lucia for the sleepover, she is impressed by the luxurious house and neighborhood of Josie’s mother, Rebecca (Holliday Grainger). This family must be reputable: simply because they are affluent. So wrong!! Appearances are not what they seem and Elisa has secrets and more secrets to uncover–about her daughter and about herself.
Fred Blix (Jim Sturgess), Lucia’s father, is a criminal attorney who is prosperous because he defends the indefensible. Losing could mean death. Many of his clients, members of organized crime, make that clear..
With many red herrings while searching for her missing daughter, Elisa pursues Josie and her mother, Rebecca. More than one flashpoint triggering dramatic outbreaks of tension leads to one revelation about Elisa and then followed in syncopated fashion a dramatic backstory on Rebecca. What becomes clear by the third episode is that Lucia was not a random target. Some dark family history connects Elisa and Rebecca. Pursuing her missing little girl, Elisa never quite achieves the desired outcome–finding Lucia. Improbably, a journalist for a small independent newspaper, Selma Desai (Ambika Mod), who is determined to find Lucia, finds clue after clue leading to what others have ignored or overlooked.
The Stolen Girl is reasonably paced, at times quite clever, with minor league appeal. In some scenes the narrative needs improvement, especially with regard to the husband’s reckless behavior and Elisa’s backstory. More plot holes than a good mystery should have. The Stolen Girl is about parenthood, trusting that in our world we can hope our kids do not get so far ahead we can no longer see their next move or protect them. That is what makes The Stolen Girl watchable.
Availability: Hulu