Sinclair’s new novel has an interesting premise but feels let down as it is told in the first person which limits the story telling somewhat. The problem with the first person is that at times, we are receiving one person’s point of view and this person better be likeable. If not, then the reader is walking a thin line between feeling for the character or becoming very annoyed. Unfortunately, I fall in the later.

We are left in the mind of Erika, a very neurotic woman who seems to have the world against her. We are stuck in her head as she sorts out what happened to her little girl Alice whom she refers to as Bunny. As we go through the trials and tribulations as she scours the apartment complex upstairs and down, the reader does become involved in the disappearance of the girl. Erika admittingly is very fraught as one would be in this circumstances. When the drama starts to unfold, she becomes increasingly so and this is where the novel lets itself slightly down. Erika starts out as neurotic and this neurosis spirals out of control.

The action is well paced and there is enough in the novel to keep you involved. There are clever little plot twists that keeps the reader interesting. Unfortunately, there are a few plot holes that do become more apparent at the stories close. Without giving any plot points away, one does wonder about the beginning and not really raising questions on the overall disappearance of Alice.

The end of the story does a major plot twist that doesn’t really pay off. At first it seems quite clever until you start to rewind the story in your head and realised that there lacks rhyme and reason for the disappearance and no one questioning the situation at the heart of the story. I think the author had good intent but did not really think the story through to make a realistic ending that would be profound as it would be deep thinking.

The emotion found within the pages is very well executed and there are some really good characters for Erika to mix up into her neurotic world. Gus is well imagine and the ex-husband, although he is not present except in flashback, is full realised.

Overall, this is a mishmash novel with a lot of great ideas and very well executed if you do not think about the story too much and can swallow the ending. Interesting from a psychological point of view as Sinclair really captures the frantic state of a mind of a mother losing her child though the ending comes across as a bit contrived.

What an extraordinary book. Although a seemingly well-used theme of a missing child, it is subtly different with a unique twisty ending. Erika Rice is a divorcee with a daughter, Alice (aka Bunny) The first impression that hits you is that Erika appears flaky and unhinged. As the story is taken back in time the quarrels, she picks with her husband Michael Walls seem senseless and unwarranted. It made me suppose that it was symptomatic of a dying marriage which was at the precarious ten-year stage. Her love for Alice is possessive and obsessive. She believes she would die for her daughter. When she is put to the test by circumstances, she's willing to face danger. The search for Alice is relentless and hindered by many. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

This book was well written and kept me captivated even after I finished it. The unhelpfulness and disconnection of the residents of the apartment building as Erika searched for her daughter was weird, but it added another level of suspense to the story!

I was disappointed when I first started reading this book as I found the beginning few chapters quite unbelievable. Erica and her 4 year old daughter Alice, were in the lift of an apartment block on their way to see Alice’s father, Michael. The lift suddenly stopped, the lights went out and the doors opened. Alice then ran out. Before Erica could follow her, the doors closed and the lift moved on. By the time Erica returned to that floor she found that Alice had disappeared, The next few chapters left me very frustrated as Erica left other people to call the police and then sat in an office whilst others looked for Alice. I know that if that had been me and most mothers, we would have been frantically ringing the police and searching everywhere ourselves. I persevered and found that the story drew me in, finding out more about Erica’s past and her relationship with her ex husband. The book had some surprises and then a final twist that I hadn’t seen coming. Pleased I persevered with the reading.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

A psychological thrill ride which takes you through the anguish of a mother losing her child. The entire book takes place on one day with some flashbacks providing the backstory. A brilliant suspense story.

I just loved this book. The Day I Lost You by Alex Sinclair. "You only let her go for a second… Now she’s gone"

This is a author who knows how to write a fantastic book. I with so many twists and turns, is fast paced, breath taking, with a scary roller coaster ride, this is an author for you. You will be shouting out aloud at this book.

I need to start to read books during the day not when I am about to go to sleep! I just couldn't put it down once I started to read Alex's Lastest book.........

Big fat 5* read.

Very highly recommended to everyone! This is a Must read.

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2464789937

and on Amazon UK my review xx

Brilliant. This story is really well put together with a brilliant twist. Erika is looking for her daughter Alice who ran away from her. She is convinced that her ex-husband has taken her. The suspense throughout was brilliant and the ending totally shocked me. I will definitely be looking out for more books by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I really wanted to enjoy this book but it just ended up annoying me the further into it I got. The premise was good but for me it didn’t live up to expectations, sorry.

Thanks to Bookouture for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Day I Lost You is an addictive read that you will not be able to put down although it was slow in some parts I enjoyed reading this one and highly recommend.

Erica and her four year old daughter are stuck in the elevator of her ex husband's appartment. She should have taken the stairs. Now they're stuck on the seventh floor. The door of the elevator is open a bit and before she's know what's happening Alice has escaped onto the seventh floor. The elevator finally starts but descends to the first floor. Erica is in a panic. She races up the stairs, but her daughter has disappeared. It must be Michael, her ex. She knew he was trying to take their daughter from her. Now, he's managed to kidnap her!
This was a good story. It was exciting. I sat and read it at one time, I couldn't put it down. You can feel the terror and frustration this mother is going through trying to find her daughter in a fourteen story building with all it's books and crannies. Excellent!!

I would like to thank netgalley and Bookouture for this partnership.

I was immediately attracted by the beautiful cover, we see the little Alice behind a window and rain dripping on it.

It all starts when Erika is in an elevator with her four-year-old daughter Alice when the lights go out. They are found on a floor of deserted apartments. Alice rushing down the hall, except the doors close and her mother can not follow her. Alice disappeared. Erika will she find her daughter?

A mind-blowing psychological thriller with a captivating, moving story and endearing characters.

My second book by this author, I loved "Do not let me die" this one even more, I love the pen of this author and especially the books published by Bookouture.

OMG,wow just wow,talk about a fast paced,breath taking,roller coaster ride.And that twist,to quote Blackadder it was so cunning you could stick a tail on it and call it a weasel. I was so shocked I found myself spending at least five minutes sat in my comfy chair doing a very bad impersonation of OMG cat.And then I had to go on Twitter and post a OMG cat gif because....well why not,it's OMG cat and he's just so damn cute. Anyway back to my book review.

Throughout most of this breath taking thriller that is told in chapters that alternate between then and now,we follow Erika Rice`s desperate search for her four year old daughter Alice (bunny). They had been in a elevator on their way to Erika`s ex husband Michael's apartment when the lights suddenly went out. The elevator jerked to a stop on a floor of mainly empty apartments. Alice panicked and ran into the corridor but before Erika could follow her,the doors slammed shut trapping Erika inside the elevator. By the time Erika managed to get free and return to where she had last seen her daughter,Alice was gone. Where was she? Is she hiding or has someone abducted her? Is she lying injured somewhere in one of the empty stairwells and apartments that make up the huge complex. Throughout Erika`s frantic search she encounters a mixed bag of diverse characters,some who are sympathetic and willing to help Erika,some who are sinister and untrustworthy.Losing a child is every parents worst nightmare and the authors portrayal of Erika`s fear and frustration was realistic and believable. To be honest I struggled to feel any empathy towards Erika and found her rather unlikable in both the present day chapters and the chapters set in the past that covered her marriage to high flying lawyer Michael. Because we only get the story from Erika`s point of view,we are never actually sure wether Michael is the bullying control freak that Erika made him out to be or was he just a loving father who was doing everything in his power to give his child the best start in life.

My favourite parts of this story were the fast paced,action packed,intense chapters set in the present day that had me hooked in,devouring every word and wondering what the next revelation was going to be. I would love to watch a film adaptation of this book. This is the first book that I have read by this author and it most definitely will not be my last.

The Day I Lost You is a chilling and addictive thriller that will have you turning the pages frantically as you try and figure out what is going on. This book has played on one of my fears – children going missing but Alex has written something completely different and original to the usual children going missing theme.

Erika is with her daughter Alice in an apartment block on their way to pick up a toy from Alice’s fathers place. The lift stops on a floor and Alice runs out. Erika can’t find Alice, where did she go? Erika tries to get help but can she trust anyone?

The twists and turns throughout the book kept me hooked, my mind kept switching back and forth as to what could have happened. Many of the twists I didn’t see coming and I just couldn’t stop reading until I read the final chapters. I loved the way it switched between the present day and the past when Erika left Michael (Alice’s father), it really kept me engaged with the story.

I loved Alex’s writing style, he was able to hook me in and didn’t let me go until I’d reached that conclusion. And wow, what a conclusion. If you need me, I’ll be in the corner with a bottle of wine and trying to catch my breath after finishing this book! This book managed to chill me and that’s a rare thing to do – that’s the sign of a brilliant book!

The Day I Lost You is a captivating, gripping, all-consuming thriller that you’ll want to devour once you start it. It’s a quick read as you’ll be hooked to the storyline and the characters. Suspenseful and exciting – do make sure you have no plans when you start this book. This was my first book I’ve read by Alex but I must go back and read his debut now!

Seriously you need to buy this book! I devoured this book in one sitting as we were stuck in traffic so two and a half hours I had finished. What a bloody book! I had been wondering what the twist would be. Jesus !!! I am still reeling from this book! That twist and twist and twist.

Erika is with her daughter Alice having to rush back to see her ex-husband Michael to get her favourite doll. He lives on the 14th floor, typical, so they go in the lift despite Alice’s reluctance. On their way up, the lift stops on the 7th floor and the door opens but leaves a small gap and Alice runs out, then the lift keeps going. One of my fears is losing my daughter Alicia, and so this played on the fears of a parent. BIG TIME!

When Erika goes on the hunt for Alice, my god I think I held my breath while she frantically ran around the building. I couldn’t imagine losing my daughter and how sick I would feel at the lack of control I would have.

My god the emotions throughout the book, the lack of support from everyone in the building. Apart from Gus, I loved Gus.

Whilst we are on our rollercoaster in the present day, we are also herded back to the past. Where we meet Erika and Michael still together struggling. He has the promotion and the money for his family. But the marriage isn’t what it seems. She’s not happy and feels he is not supporting her the way a husband should.

What I had to keep reminding myself was this book had been written by a man. The only reason I say it like that is that he captured Erika’s emotions and feelings perfectly as if he understood the mind of a woman when in peril.

I think from 92% in the book I sat in the car with my jaw opened as my heart was in my throat. I didn’t know where we were going on and blinking heck what Alex delivered has left me with no relief and so many questions! I am in shock, I am not sure when I will be out of it. I sat in the car in a stunned silence and then for about five minutes kept saying What the hell! He sucker punched me! Hats off to you for the delivery and the journey you took me on. I will never forget this! It has made me hold on to Alicia that little bit tighter because you just never know what may happen when the lift doors open.

Wow. Where I start to review this excellent book? Its grabbed me right in. I was well and truly hooked! Easily could have finished it in one sitting. It was bloody brilliant and has earned a well deserved place in my top 20 books of 2018.

This is a must buy and must read for me. I loved and enjoyed Alex’s previous book The Last Thing I Saw and both are brilliant, outstanding, enjoyable reads. I think this story really gripped me and got to me because a four year old girl goes missing and as a mother to a three year old girl myself I really put myself into Erika’s shoes.

God only knows what I would do if my little one went missing so I felt all the emotions and every part of this story. It must be one of my worst nightmares. While reading this I didn’t trust any characters at all, I was on high alert throughout reading this. Mother mode.

A thrilling, easy to read, fast paced story which I loved. One that will stick with me for a long time. I would highly recommend to you all. A well deserved five stars. I look forward to the next book by Alex.

I was looking forward to reading Alex Sinclair's latest release after enjoying 'The Last Thing I Saw', Alex's debut novel last year, a psychological thriller which kept me guessing to the very end. 'The Day I Lost You' is the second novel and Alex has definitely followed up with another psychological thriller which kept me hooked to the very end.

The story is about a mother loosing her daughter and I felt every emotion alongside Erika, it is a mother's worst nightmare and Alex has definitely captured this fear and dread very well in his writing.

There are lots of twists and turns throughout the story and a number of them left me shocked, but also hooked and for this reason I very quickly devoured the book and has left me eager to read Alex's next book (although I expect that will be at least another 12 months to wait!)

Thank you to Bookouture for providing me with a copy of this in return for an honest review and the chance to be a part of this Blog Blitz.

Loved this book, even when I was not reading it I kept thinking about it and couldn’t wait to pick it up again and I finished it in a day. Would definitely recommend to others and can’t wait to read other titles from this author.

Highly recommend!!

My review is written with thanks to Noelle at Bookouture for inviting me on the tour and providing me with my copy of the book via Netgalley.
Erika Rice steps in the lift up to her ex-husband's flat with her daughter, Alice. When it breaks down and the door opens slightly, Alice gets out and becomes separated from Erika. When Erika goes back to find Alice, she is missing. Will Erika be able to find her?
​There is no time to settle into The Day I Lost You. The plot starts rolling from the very first page, and from there, it is a fast paced, cat and mouse chase, race against time to find Alice. The sense of uncertainty that Sinclair creates made it difficult for me to work out who to trust, and because of this, I found Alice to be quite naive. There are several different characters in the building who fall under suspicion. It is difficult for Erika, and therefore us, to understand where Alice could be, and because of this, I was compelled to keep reading to find out what had happened.
The narrative of The Day I Lost You switches between the past and present. The sections set in the past give the reader some insight into Erika's relationship with her ex-husband, and Sinclair's descriptions of Erika's ex-husband's behaviour were absolutely chilling, and allowed me to feel sympathy for Erika that I did not experience straight away.
There is an absolutely humongous twist at the end of The Day I Lost You. I don't want to say any more for fear of giving any spoilers away, but it's safe to say, I'm shocked and the ending will stay with me for a while!

Well now, if you think stories about missing children have been done to death, think again. Because Alex Sinclair has come up with quite the unique twist to every mother’s nightmare.

When visiting her ex-husband’s penthouse flat, Erika and her daughter get stuck in an elevator. With the doors slightly open, four year old Alice manages to get out but Erika is unable to follow her as the doors shut again. Now Alice has disappeared and in an apartment complex this massive, the search isn’t an easy one.

Now, I did feel the storyline was a tad far-fetched at times and required me to suspend belief a little bit but nevertheless, it was quite the gripping story. The search for Alice takes us all around the complex, with few people seemingly willing to help Erika look for her daughter. It’s a truly creepy place, I’d never want to live there and the suspicious nature of the residents really didn’t help.

Erika herself is the only character we really get to know and I couldn’t quite connect to her, although I can’t really explain why except I found her behaviour increasingly frustrating. Some flashback chapters give a fascinating insight into the marriage of Erika and her ex-husband Michael, but since Erika’s side of the story is the only one we hear, I couldn’t decide if I could rely on her version of events. These chapters had me hooked though and I found myself wishing for more of them.

I couldn’t at all figure out the reason behind Alice’s disappearance, who’d want to take her or why. Nor could I predict the outcome which was so incredibly unexpected I think I did one of those awkward fish impressions. Mouth open, mouth shut, repeat.

While I feel The Day I Lost You could have done with a bit more tension, a bit more “thrill” of the thriller variety, I did enjoy this one. It’s a relatively quick read that is a surefire way to spend an entertaining afternoon.

The Day I Lost You by Alex Sinclair
Publisher: Bookouture

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher Bookouture for the ebook ARC of The Day I Lost You by Alex Sinclair.

You only let her go for a second… Now she’s gone.
Erika is taking her four year old daughter, Alice up to her father’s apartment for a toy that she has left behind.They are in the elevator, when all the lights go out. It jerks to a stop on the seventh floor with a bunch of deserted apartments and the little girl runs out into the corridor.

But before Erika can follow her the doors slam shut again. Now her daughter is nowhere to be seen.

Erika was about to take Alice away for a fresh start, far from her troubled past, when the child vanished. How could a four year old disappear into thin air? And with no one to help her, will Erika ever find her daughter?

I give this book a rating of 4 stars. The book was a very gripping thriller. It had me right from the beginning. I found some of the things that happened in the story didn’t quite make sense. Like why wouldn’t Erika call the police herself to report her child missing is she suspected that no one else actually did. It seemed long and a bit repeating through the middle of the story.
I was very shocked and surprised by the ending of the book, and I never saw it coming. I definitely will read another one of Alex Sinclair’s books.