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The Day I Lost You

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

All Lauren wants is a new life in Spain. She’s suffered an unimaginable loss, but at last she has found a home in the pretty seaside town of Mantilla de Mar. Everyone deserves a new start, and Lauren needs to put her past firmly behind her.

Hope has everything: an interesting career as a therapist, an attractive husband, a dream home in the countryside - and, finally, the baby she always longed for. Sam. Her beautiful boy.

But Sam has gone missing.

So when the police tell her that a woman has been found in Spain with a child matching Sam’s description, Hope thinks that her nightmare might be coming to an end.

But Lauren is insisting Sam is her baby. She even has his passport and birth certificate to prove it.

So what really happened to Baby Sam? And who still has secrets to hide?

One child. Two mothers. And a past that won’t let them go.

© Ruth Mancini 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

 Amateur Sleuths Crime Thrillers International Mystery & Crime Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Women Sleuths

Critic reviews

A thriller you won’t be able to put down
Your heart and your head will doubtless be conflicted as the labyrinthian plot unravels. Brilliant!
A propulsive, emotional thriller ... I flew through it changing my mind every few pages about whose side I was on. A hugely satisfying read!
This one really packs an emotional punch. Thought-provoking, compelling and, at times, heart-breaking. Really kept me guessing, right up until the end.
Fresh, original, utterly intriguing and so, so clever
A clever, compelling rollercoaster ride of a book, never letting up until its final resolution
This twisty chiller will keep you hooked until the very end
A gripping, twist-driven custody thriller
All stars
Most relevant
Great use of multiple narrators to give a gripping storyline a extra live edge as you explore what happened.

Clever storytelling with a gripping finish

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Another brilliant story. I had no idea what the outcome of this book would be which is unusual. Real characters and now up there with my favourite authors. Your books are amazing.

Five stars

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First of all, I love Ruth Mancini; she is a brilliant author, and her first novel, Women on the Ledge, blew me away. So I've waited with bated breath for this book.
SPOILER ALERT
To begin with, I was fully engaged, loving the pace and details of the two different families. Then I started to get confused; a couple of times, I re-read chapters, thinking I'd skipped essential details. The more I read, the more perplexed I became by the story. It was only when listening to Ruth's closing words that I realised the book had been written backwards.
And, on this occasion, it just didn't work. Although the details were thoroughly researched and the characters were all described beautifully, it just felt like there were too many cooks spoiling the recipe.

Also, I would have used the lorry driver to more effect; I would have found his storyline more interesting.

As a mother who had her children abducted from her during infancy, I found the fact that Lauren was able to hand Sam back hard to believe.

Hence 3.5/5 :(

I so wanted to love this book.

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I've read most of Ruth Mancini's books but this one, in my opinion, isn't quite up to the same standard as The Woman on the Ledge, One Dark Two Light and In Her Blood. Nevertheless it is still a great listen. The book deals with a difficult subject with empathy. The storyline is interesting and although a little far fetched there are certainly elements which could happen in real life. The info is drip fed throughout with a lot of repetition, and the different perspectives helped me to understand what was going on. Or so I thought, because then the author would throw in a curved ball and everything changed!

The narrators, George Blagden, Olivia Poulet, Louise Brealey, and Roy McMillan all do a great job.

Interesting

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