A review by noveldeelights
The Day I Lost You by Alex Sinclair
3.0
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.
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.