Thank you to the lovely team at Headline for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

They told her she killed her son. She served her time. But what if they lied?

Emma Cartwright has no memory of what happened but she wakes up to hear that she has killed her son. And you believe what your loved ones, your doctor and the police tell you, don’t you?

Three years ago Emma was Susan Webster, and she supposedly murdered her twelve-week-old son Dylan. Sent to Oakdale Psychiatric Institute for her crime, Emma is released early on parole with a new identity, address and a chance to rebuild her tattered life.

After receiving an envelope addressed to Susan Webster containing a photograph of a toddler called Dylan, Emma is now questioning everything she believes. If she has no memory of the event, how can she truly believe he’s dead? If there was the smallest chance your son was alive, what would you do to get him back?

“HERE, HAVE SOME OF THIS, THE SUGAR WILL HELP WITH THE SHOCK.”
“AND THE CHOCOLATE. CHOCOLATE HELPS WITH SHOCK.”
“WHERE DID YOU HEAR THAT?”
“HARRY POTTER”

Just to let you know, I am writing this review straight after finishing the last page of this book which is something I rarely ever do. But today I am doing it because I completely loved How I Lost You and am so caught up in the whirlwind of emotions that this book has caused to me feel (You could say in Tumblr speak that this book gave me all of the feels). Also, because I just have to talk about it because it was that good.

I love psychological, crime thrillers because they give me a chance to play detective – albeit, a terrible one – so when How I Lost You arrived in my mailbox I couldn’t wait to read it.

How I Lost You is a flawless, addictive page-turner that will have you hooked from the get-go. Jenny Blackhurst’s writing is incredible. Almost instantly you feel sympathy with Susan the supposed baby murderer and you’re desperate for her to be proven not-guilty throughout the entire book.

It’s such a stunning, emotional novel. There are things being set-up in the novel with flashback chapters featuring a group of teenage boys who you know are going to get themselves into a lot trouble as they go on and it was amazing how it all tied up with Susan’s case.

It’s hard work holding back from telling you all the spoily things especially since I am still a mess after the emotional, murderous and twisted rollercoaster that this book just took me on. I must admit I didn’t think much of Susan’s ex-husband Mark throughout the majority of the book, but towards the end I was practically sobbing and felt a lot of sympathy for him. If there’s one lesson you should take away from this is that you can’t trust anyone. Not even your friends and family. Or a dazzlingly handsome reporter…

Jenny Blackhurst’s How I Lost You is a truly phenomenal novel that is full of twists, turns and betrayal. The plot is exceedingly clever and I may have shed a few tears towards the end. I look forward to reading more from this author and just putting it out there in incase any showbizzy people are reading this blog (unlikely, but let’s pretend) that I would adore seeing How I Lost You as a television series. These characters and their crazy stories were such a honour to read and I think it would be brilliant played out on screen as well. Wishful thinking, I know but I’m too attached to these characters to let go.

RATING
★★★★★