This will hook you in. And you’ll look up and the hours will have passed. I spent a rainy afternoon reading this and loved every minute. Will be looking up more books by this author now.

A really fast paced thriller. An enjoyable read but did leave me feeling a little confused at times. I kind of lost the point of the story but kept going anyway xx

There was something about this book that just didn't sit well with me at all. I think it's because Libby's clear mental distress was turned into a gratuitous thriller, full of tropes, unrealistic events and superficial characters. The idea that the poor, ill-educated woman would not only be eager to signup to an illegal surrogacy agreement and then manipulated and threatened when she decides to keep her baby felt incredibly superficial. Similarly Libby's mental health was severely impacted by her infertility, and yet her supposedly loving husband didn't attempt to get her the help she is desperately needed and also allowed her unlimited funds to give to the surrogacy clinic felt unrealistic.
On the plus side the book did have a good pace and the twist near the end was one I didn't see coming. Overall not one for me though.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Lost You by Haylen Beck was a fast paced psychological thriller that I couldn't put down and read in one sitting.
The story of two women fighting over a child each claiming to be the child's mother. This book took me on a journey of poverty, infertility, surrogacy, manipulation and greed.
I really enjoyed reading this book and I will be looking out for more books by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage Publishing for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

A gripping read where you feel compassion for both of the main characters.
You want both Anna and Libby to get what they want, to live happily ever after but it’s just not to be.
A real page turner that keeps you gripped to the very last page.

Haylen Beck, aka Stuart Neville, returns with another compulsive, emotional roller coaster of a twisted psychological thriller that immediately plunges the reader into a tense and horrifying nightmare of a scenario. In a narrative that goes back and forth in time, this is a thought provoking story of the murky world of surrogacy, motherhood, and two desperate women whose lives spin beyond their control. Libby is consumed by a need to have a child but fertility issues push her dream further and further away from her. Her obsession pushes her into drastic territory and she steps into the murky and illegal world of a surrogacy agency. Anna is in dire financial straits, and answers an advertisement that appears to offer the opportunity that will make her financial woes disappear. She agrees to become a surrogate, but as the pregnancy progresses, her emotional feelings shift significantly.

Libby is now a single mother whose marriage fell apart, with a young son, Ethan, her life has not been easy. However, life has recently taken an upturn for the better, she has sold her novel and she is going to be a published writer. She and Ethan take a holiday in a upmarket resort, but Libby, a woman harbouring dark secrets, cannot shake the need to be over protective with regard to her son. As any parent will know, it is hard to keep a constant eye on a excitable young child all of the time. And sure enough, Ethan gets away and steps into a elevator, only to disappear into thin air. The police are called in frantic efforts to locate Ethan as soon as possible. As the police and Libby watch CCTV images of a woman with Ethan, Libby's world shatters into pieces as she recognises the woman as her past catches up with her. A woman that refuses to relinquish Ethan, claiming to be his mother.

Beck thrusts the reader headlong into a intelligent, fast paced, unsettling and disturbing thriller that is packed with the unexpected and surprising twists. It also requires the reader to suspend disbelief to get the most out of this moral quagmire of a novel. Libby and Anna are women who have become untethered in their personal lives, so desperate, lacking self esteem and held hostage by their obsessive need to be mothers. This is for those who enjoy the sky high suspense and tension of psychological thrillers that go where you never expect, raising issues of ethics and the drive to be a mother. Many thanks to Random House Vintage for an ARC.

My thanks to NetGalley and publishers Penguin Random House for the ARC.
What a story! It is just so powerful; so emotive; so heart-wrenching; so thought-provoking.
This really is an examination of how mothers, in particular, can negatively influence the self-esteem and self-worth of their daughters, to the extent that they carry that damage throughout their lives, affecting their relationships and basic life-outlook, and ultimately the actions they take. The psychological effects of such an upbringing have long-reaching consequences.
This is basically a story of two such daughters - Libby and Anna. The reader is taken into the worlds of middle-class childlessness and working-class necessity - drawing the two together through a possibly illegal surrogacy programme - with catastrophic results.
Actually - I began writing more but realised to do so would introduce the possibility of the dreaded 'spoilers'. Suffice it to say - there are several unexpected and important twists to this story - the reader may begin to guess what's happening in the first third of the book but - hold on, it's not quite what you may think!
I found this book un-put-down-able. A REAL page-turner.
A really gripping psychological thriller disguised as a story of 'ordinary folk'?
Thoroughly worth reading.

We were promised a psychological thriller and it certainly ticked the box.

The opening finds as witnessing an encounter between a security guard and a woman with a child on the roof of a hotel: it is not looking good. It then backtracks to explain how we got here. Anna is a waitress but due to the business not doing well, she is let go. Finances become more difficult and her friend shows an advert in the paper: is this the answer to her problems?
The promise of a cash sum for just attending the interview entices her in and she meets the mysterious Mr Kovak who asks many personal questions and needs a blood sample! As the plot develops we discover that the ‘job’ is to be surrogate mother for a couple who live out of state where surrogacy is illegal. Mr Kovak continues to monitor Anna and she slowly comes to agree.

We are then introduced to the couple who have different perspectives on the subject of surrogacy which leads to problems in their relationship. And then…

All in all, well-written and well-structured with enough plot twists to keep you puzzled.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

A good but very forgettable read.

Based on a couple who desperately want to have a child at any cost. When they get the life they want it never quite seems to work out for them and one day the child is taken.

Showing an interesting take on forced surrogacy and the implications for the birth mother.

This book is excellent! I loved Here and Gone so was delighted to be able to read an early copy of this one.
This is a thriller with a difference, it is also an exploration into the darkest places of people's minds. Emotionally gutwrenching at times, this one really make a big impression. When Libby's son Ethan disappears, Libby is distraught. However we then delve into the story of Anna and the story takes on a completely different dimension. A very satisfying ending too! I would definitely recommend this book.

I was the BIGGEST fan of Here and Gone so to say I was excitable about the next novel from Haylen Beck aka Stuart Neville would be putting it mildly.

Lost You is excellent once more, a psychological thriller that moves at a perfectly formed pace, keeping you hooked into every single moment of the desperate hunt for a missing child and an emotionally charged back story which informs that event.

You may think you know what’s coming but ultimately there’s no path of least resistance here, it is an edgy narrative that is utterly gripping from first page to heart stopping last. The central premise is cleverly woven into the wider story with thought provoking intelligence whilst still creating a thrill ride of a read which is easily devoured in one sitting.

Loved it. I love a good thriller and I love a good thriller with a dark, rapidly beating passionate heart even more.

Recommended.

A fab tale showing someone many different options as to where they think this could lead.... Lots of suspense and heartache along the way

Losing a child in an unfamiliar place is a nightmare scenario for parents. Knowing your secrets may cost you your child would make for double the anxiety. Single parent Libby takes her 4 year old son to an exclusive hotel resort for a special treat but loses him when he runs for the hotel elevator and hits all the buttons at once. As Libby dashes up the stairs to each floor trying to find him, CCTV sees the child walking hand in hand with a stranger who does not return him to his mother. Libby's erratic behaviour makes it difficult for the hotel security and police to help her. The reader is then provided the background on Libby's long and heartbreaking wait for a child, which explains her clingy often selfish infatuation with the boy.
'Lost You' is a novel that dissects and reveals the emotional vulnerability of people desperate to start their family but, for reasons out of their control, are unable to conceive or carry to term their own much wanted children. 'Lost You' describes a "clinic" that offers a commercial surrogacy service to couples able to pay enough to avoid the implications of a practice not illegal in many states in the USA, and how surrogacy can affect the life and well being of the birth mother in the transaction. While the Author stipulates that the book is not an attack on parents or legal surrogacy services it does raise issues of vulnerability, legal loopholes and coercion that can occur in such an underground industry.
I enjoy Haylen Beck's storytelling, and also that of his other pen name Stuart Neville. This book was a thriller, a family drama, and an emotional rollercoaster rolled into one. The subject of the book is not one I have ever dwelled on before so I can throw in thought-provoking too as both sides of the surrogacy story were unravelled .

It is not often that i can read a book within a day, but 'Lost You' had me so hooked, that i just had to keep reading from start to finish. Great characters and it was such a welcome change to read a thriller that had a story that was totally different to any other thriller that i have previously read. I rarely write what a story is about, as i prefer one to read the book for themselves, but i do highly recommend. This is the second book by Haylen Beck that i have read, the first being 'Here and Gone', which i also really enjoyed. I shall be looking out for more books by Haylen Beck.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy. This is my honest review.

I was really looking forward to reading this book having enjoyed "Becks" first outing. However I found this quite predictable and just a little disappointing.

This is a fast paced, well written story that made me want to read "just one more chapter" . Lots off twists to hold the interest

What a read! Fantastic, such a different story . Devoured in one sitting. An emotional tale of loss and hopefully, I liked the characters especially Annie

I loved this fast paced thriller that I could not put down. It had me hooked from the first page. Highly recommended. Five stars from me.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Hayden Beck for the advanced copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

A summer blockbuster in the tradition of Harlen Coben and Linwood Barclay. Pacey and exciting combined with characters with real depth

Really enjoyed this book. Fast paced & well written I look forward to reading more by this author. I would recommend this book to anyone.