Sold in Secret cover art

Sold in Secret

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Sold in Secret

By: Karen Downes
Narrated by: Lucy Brownhill
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £22.99

Buy Now for £22.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

1st November 2003 started so unremarkably that I would later look back and wish I could have appreciated the normality of it. Because I would never, ever know peace again.

No body. No convictions. No answers.

Charlene Downes was 14 years old when she went missing in the seedy underbelly of Blackpool. Once a happy-go-lucky schoolgirl, she had turned into a truant. Though Charlene was hanging out with a new crowd by takeaway shops and the pier, her mum, Karen, always knew her typical teenage daughter would come home.

But one day she didn't.

Sold in Secret is a heartbreaking story of a broken family and a 15-year campaign for justice. Arrests were made, a murder trial was had, but to this day Karen still has no answers to what happened to her daughter. The truth of exactly what happened to Charlene and why she disappeared remains undiscovered, with no police convictions - this is a raw, compelling account of every parent's worst nightmare.

©2018 Karen Downes (P)2018 Blink Publishing
Child Abuse Dysfunctional Families True Crime Emotionally Gripping
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Groomed by a Gang cover art
Unsafe cover art
A Girl Worth More cover art
Nobody Loves Me cover art
Snatched cover art
Broken cover art
Silent Sisters cover art
The Bad Room cover art
Body for Rent cover art
Pimped cover art
Runaway Girl cover art
Not a Proper Child cover art
Dirty Little Dog cover art
The Asylum cover art
Violated: A shocking and harrowing survival story from the notorious Rotherham abuse scandal cover art
Split Second cover art

What listeners say about Sold in Secret

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    25
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    24
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    24
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Such a powerful book.

This is such a powerful book, ive cried and laughed, so good i hope more people listen too this, its really important.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Heartbreaking

I can not begin to imagine the hearbreak your family have endured over the years... As a mum I could not even allow myself to imagine what it feels like to loose a child, let alone have no answers... In a world where we are told about equality and diversity, it seems Charlene did not warrant the same care and consideration given to the McCanns. I truly hope you and your family get some answers x

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

I feel for Karen and her family however the book had me hooked. I hope she gets answers soon.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredibly sad

This is incredibly sad,Charlene was failed!
Her mothers love and strength will hopefully one day bring her home

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Such a heart wrenching book.

Took me days to finish this book. The strength of a mother 💕 heartbreaking

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Don’t read if you want to know what actually happened to Charlene

Only purchased as I am obsessed with this case. There needs to be more investigation into the parents and one other unrelated suspect. Even if they had nothing to do with her disappearance, they are shady as hell. Only on chapter 5 so far but they’ve not mentioned the convicted sex offender that was staying in their house at the time and their open door policy to every dodgy pervert in the area. They’ve also lied about calling the police. They didn’t call until the Monday, after the convicted sex offender had been sentenced and left the house. Charlene’s mum was chastised for not calling and wanting to get the call over quickly as she needed to go out.

Don’t purchase this book if you’re looking to find out what actually happened. But if you’re interested in the banality of evil and a rose tinted story from the mother, go for it.

There’s a channel 5 3 part series on on demand that sheds more light on this tragic story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

This just doesn’t add up to the true story.

Only half way through, but it’s all lies and untrue facts, seems to me this book is all about making a dollar and nothing about the TRUTH. I won’t even finish this book. I was hoping we’d hear the mother’s true events but it’s all a cover up to make money. Wish I could send it back!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Lies

I wish I’d watched the documentary first. This woman is a liar and let her children down badly. She may not be involved in her daughters murder but the evidence shows she certainly didn’t protect any of them. No man should be put before your own children. Her husband was a disgrace. Charlene and Robert didn’t stand a chance bless them. I hope they rest in peace

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Not accurately portrayed.

Just a bit of digging around highlights there are lots of truths missing from the mother’s account. Sadly disappointing as too inaccurate. Karen Downes portrays herself as an innocent, concerned mother - very questionable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful