Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. I was instantly hooked by this fast paced thriller which I initially thought was about a child kidnapping but ended up being so much more than that. The story had great depth and characters and I was constantly changing my mind regarding whose side I was on! An enjoyable read that I would definitely recommend.

The description of this book really intrigued me and the beginning chapters set the story up well. It covers a very sensitive topic of a missing child and I liked reading from multiple POV’s who were each telling their own story. It’s quite slow-paced in my opinion and character-driven which aren’t always my favourite things when it comes to thrillers so I did lose interest the more the story progressed, I found the writing to be overly detailed to the point where for me it wasn’t adding anything to the story. The changes in time line were confusing and didn’t flow so well, I found myself getting lost at points and trying to remember which one I was in. As descriptive as everything was, I didn’t feel anything towards the characters. For a story with a topic like this one I like to be able to emphasise with one or more characters. I didn’t like any of them enough for this to happen unfortunately. Overall I found it a quick read with an interesting premise I just don’t think I vibe with this writing style.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, publisher and author for this ARC!

Book Review 📖

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


‘The novel was inspired by a real life case I dealt with as a lawyer at court.’

I need to report a crime. My baby has been stolen.

Thank you @netgalley & @ruth.mancini.author for the chance to read this ARC ✨

Talk about plot twist 🤯
I think I spent most of the book thinking ‘what is going on’
A really sad story of two families involved in one moment in time that will change them forever.
I honestly thought I was reading a completely different story right until the end.

Multiple POV - multiple moments in time.
A book you can absolutely get lost in and not put down.

Ruth Mancini is quickly becoming one of my favourite thriller writers! Having really enjoyed The Woman on the Ledge last year, I had been so excited to get stuck into her latest novel and it certainly didn’t disappoint- in fact, I think I enjoyed it even more.

I really love Mancini’s pacing as well as her ability to connect storylines in a way that has you guessing and yet connects so succinctly in the end. I actually felt that is where this new novel was an improvement on the last as the ending made a bit more sense although still perhaps a little too neat and tidy for the genre.

A really enjoyable read all the same and I look forward to reading more!

Just wow don't know how Ruth Mancini can do it again if you enjoyed her other books then this one will not disappoint

Just when you think you know the truth another lie. This book just keeps giving couldnt put it down just needed to know what why how and how it ends.

Thank you Ruth Mancini cannot wait for the next

A first class novel I read in two sittings! It just proves what a superb story Ruth has written- her background as a solicitor and criminal lawyer comes to the fore and leaves you in suspense until the end.

Very confusing, but a terrific read. I had no idea what was going on, but that didn’t matter. Great characters and kept you guessing right to the end.

I’m not sure how best to review this but will say this book had me wondering which way it would go throughout. Each of the main characters are fallible and had me feeling mixed emotions for them all the way through. I feel the story was a little too neatly wrapped up in the end, which made the ending slightly unbelievable. Overall a good read.

This is the second book I’ve read by Ruth Mancini. I really enjoyed this book.

It’s hard to talk about this book without saying too much and giving too much away. It was a book full of surprises. Every time I thought I had worked out what was happening I was wrong. There were so many twists and turns and it had me guessing the whole way through.

The book centres around Drew and Hope who are husband and wife, Lauren who has recently been through a huge trauma and a baby called Sam. I loved how the book was split into chapters about each person and you got their story and their viewpoint and the timelines were clearly pointed out.

I would definitely recommend this book to others and I can’t wait to read more by Ruth Mancini.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Once again Ruth Mancini comes up with another wonderful thriller. Lauren is living the quiet life in Spain with her young son, Sam. That is until the police come knocking saying that she has kidnapped Sam from another couple, Hope and Drew, in England. Thereafter lies a storyline of lies, deceit and unimaginable personal loss. As this thriller unfolds you are led down numerous blind alleys amongst an array of twists and turns.
A book to be added to your must read list.

From the very first page, The Day I Lost You seized my attention and never released it. Hope's devastating journey after her baby disappears pulled me in completely; I experienced every facet of her fear, denial, and desperation as if they were my own. Ruth Mancini's brilliance lies in her seamless layering of intricate mystery with immense emotional weight, making me second-guess every twist and turn. It's a powerfully haunting and heartbreaking narrative that stays with you long after the story ends.

Having read Ruth Mancini's previous novel The Woman on the Ledge, I was very much looking forward to this one. It started really well and was engaging but it seemed to lose it's momentum in the describing of events which brought insight to the novel's beginning. It's a fairly simple story which could possibly be described in skeletal form in a handful of sentences. Furthermore, the order in which it is described could be manyfold and I'm uncertain that the correct one was chosen. Storytelling of course is an art and not necessaily a logical progression. But the art of storytelling is keeping your reader onside and not teasing them with the absence of pertinent facts. I am afraid after finishing the novel I feel both cheated and frustrated.

Quite enjoyable but I found it difficult at times to remember who was who. It didn't feel as if it flowed well.

You’re going to take guesses about who is the real mother quite soon as you start this story and you’ll still be wondering until much of the novel has passed, changing your mind several times on the way. You’ll sympathise with all of the characters as they become interlinked with actions from the past and this isn't giving anything away as you will soon be guessing how the two women and their families became involved. There are a number of twists that take you back and forth and you'll spend a couple of hundred pages trying to decide the best outcome to this story, knowing that one family is going to be devastated. I have read this writer before and enjoyed her stories, but I must add that this is the best one I have read and I look forward to the next, although this won't be a series, I should think. There was a tense atmosphere inside my head as I read more pages as I really couldn't see how this story could be resolved for the benefit of all. The only character I didn't really associate with was Sam, the baby, who spent his time living with both the mother and the potential mother, but deciding who should benefit the most at the end will leave you requiring another coffee.

What an intriguing book, I’m still trying to process it.
The story involves Drew, Hope, Lauren and baby Sam. However, who does Sam belong to? Who is his biological mother?
I could not work out how this was going to end as there were many red herrings and even though I now know the truth, I’m still churning it over in my mind.

I don’t like the cover! It really doesn’t match with how I imagined the cabin in Spain to look or the cottage in the village in England.

So, just on the description alone, the reader is led to believe that this story is about a kidnapping but it is so much more than that. Upon first meeting Lauren, the reader understands quickly that she has taken this child and left the country but the why is so convoluted and twisty that it took me until nearly the end of the book before everything came together. Readers who enjoy slow burning plots will rub their hands together in anticipatory glee.

The biggest challenge for me was who I was going to give my empathy to in this story. I felt that Lauren had a lot of emotional and possibly mental illness issues and though I did feel sorry for her and never cast her in the role of villain, I did not condone her actions. The author leads the reader, perhaps purposely, into believing there is a relationship between Lauren and the parents, Hope and Drew. A surrogate agreement gone bad or an affair. I spent a lot of time asking myself just who are the baby’s real parents? I also felt sorry for Hope and Drew. Having their child taken would be a nightmare in living color and the agony these two go through was heartbreaking to see.

The author skillfully throws in some major twists in the story taking the reader into the past to give the reader a better understanding of who these characters are. As the story begins to wind down, the author throws in more twists that shocked me to the core.

After these major revelations, I felt let down with the ending. Even though the author wraps up the story efficiently, the ending was extremely anticlimactic for me. I kept swiping on my Kindle thinking there had to be more. This was my first time reading this author. I have a couple more of her titles waiting to be read that I am looking forward to.

My Final Verdict: Even though I was anticipating an explosive ending, I thoroughly enjoyed this story and was riveted with tension dreading the worst and hoping for the best. Readers of domestic thrillers, mysteries and suspense novels will love the nail-biting anxiety they will likely feel as they read this intense but heartbreaking story of loss and redemption.

Thank you to the publisher, Random House UK, Cornerstone, who provided an advance reader copy of this book via NetGalley.

i enjoyed Ms Mancini's last book and this one is just as good. It's very cleverly plotted, giving glimpses of where the story is going and the back story of the characters, - and then completely wrong footing the reader! The author deals sensitively with all the main protagonists and it was interesting to read in her introduction that it was inspired by a case she had been involved in in her job as a solicitor.
i wasnt 100% convinced by the ending and It's definitely a book that needs to be read in a short time in order to remember all the twists snd turns, but well worth a read.
Thank you to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book

'The Day I Lost You' is the second book I've read by Ruth Mancini. Due to the timeline shifts and different POV's it does need you to concentrate or you may miss the many twists and turns. I can't say that I warmed to any of the characters much but it was still an enjoyable read. Thank you to the publisher, author and netgalley for an early read.

Wow this book was a tangle of twists and turns. It really tugs on your heart strings for different characters throughout reading it. I enjoyed the back and forth on timelines with the multiple view points. A truly twisty, edge of the seat read.

wow. what a tense and gripping read. i was hooked. i was in. i was stuck in my place until id read this book from cover to cover and with this book it was no great hardship.
you can imagine every part of this book. it leapt off the page from me, almost in moments like i was seeing it as a movie reel in my head.
baby Sam. what happened to baby Sam? there a woman Lauren in Spain who has his birth certificate and passport. so he hers right? but in England there is Hope and Drew who say this is their son who went missing. hes also called Sam. whaaaat? one child cant have two mothers? and here we are right in the middle of it as readers and absolutely loving it. we are learning the story from several Pov and so are getting the truth? lies? or just different sides to one story?
i never quite new who i was backing or even who i definitely wasn't.. this is complex and full of secrets. was i being led in the wrong direction by the characters or even the author herself!? but i was all here for it and enjoyed being taken all over the place.
its deep, it gets dark and at time a little weird and off. but i was here for it. brilliant.