The Day I Lost You
Ruth Mancini
352 pages
Century Books UK
published July 31, 2025
I was such a fan of The Woman on the Ledge, so I jumped at the chance to read Mancini’s new one. This one had my brain going around in circles as it would circle around and then give me additional information for something I thought I already knew. Catch that? And at one point, I had to go back and figure out what I either missed or my brain didn’t pick up on. It’s a smartly written tale that I had to pay close attention to so I could stay on top of what was going on.
There are so many lies and secrets, I am not sure how any of them could keep it all straight. But in a nutshell, one woman is Mom to Sam and has the paperwork to prove it, while a different couple is missing their son Sam. Are they the same Sam? Who is the rightful parent(s)? Who is telling the truth? And I should throw in that I am not sure I liked any of the lot.
The more I read, the more I questioned if any of them should be parents. I really had no idea where this was heading until it backtracked and got to the beginning.
I should throw out there that as this unraveled, I did roll my eyes a time or two over some of the outrageous behavior of these adults.
I would not read too much about this one. As I am writing I am having a hard time compelling you to read this and at the same time making sure I tread lightly as to not overshare and spoil a thing. So many twists that I not only didn’t see coming, but seemed to just appear out of thin air.
If you’re a fan of character driven suspenseful mysteries, pick this one up and buckle up for the wild ride.
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