The Day I Lost You by Ruth Mancini
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Day I Lost You is the 2025-release from Ruth Mancini, author of the popular 2024-Thriller, The Woman on the Ledge, which I adored. Ever since reading TWOTL, I’ve been looking forward to more from this author.
I’m happy to report I found this book to be equally twisty and fast-paced. Even though the content didn’t wow me quite as much as TWOTL, I still found this to be so enjoyable and I read it in an afternoon without stopping.
This story spans two countries, Spain and the UK, and involves a reportedly missing child. The child’s name is Sam, and he’s actually just a little baby when he’s thrust into the middle of a lot of adult drama.
Lauren and Hope are our two female leads, and it’s interesting following along as the truths of their connection is revealed. I actually really appreciated how Mancini rolled this all out. There’s a lot of moving pieces. You go in, of course knowing nothing, and as the narrative progresses, more and more pieces slot into place.
As the larger picture reveals itself, some details become predictable, IMO, but for me, not in a way that negatively effected my experience. I still enjoyed the journey to the conclusion, even if I knew exactly where we were headed.
I was lucky enough to have access to the audiobook and I thought it was so well done. I loved the full cast narration and the inclusion of some mixed media passages truly brought the drama to life.
Additionally, the fast-paced narrative worked so well in audio form. It was truly gripping. I enjoyed the time shifts, as well, as all the puzzle pieces came together. I respect Mancini’s concepts and writing style so much. I’m looking forward to more from her in the future.
Thank you to the publisher, Harper Perennial and Harper Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I had a lot of fun with this!