I Took Her First by Samantha Hayes
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 26th November 2025
Published: 3rd November 2025
★★★★ 3.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
A child is missing. But I stole her first…
I sit little Mila down at my kitchen table with a glass of milk and a plate of cookies. She smiles shyly at me and I reach out to ruffle her hair.
Leaving her alone for a moment, I dash upstairs, closing my eyes as I take a deep breath. What have I done?
Mila isn’t my child. I should never have taken her home. But what choice did I have?
Painting a smile on my face, I head back down to the kitchen.
But when I reach the table, my blood turns to ice. The back door is open, and Mila is gone.
I need to find her. I need help. But who’s going to believe anything I say when I’m the one who took her first…?
A seriously twisty, addictive psychological thriller that will keep you awake flipping pages all night long. Perfect for anyone who devoured The Housemaid, The Wife Between Us and The Girl on the Train.
MY THOUGHTS:
Someone stole her from me...but I stole her first...
When a mother fails to collect her 5 year old daughter from school one afternoon, school teacher Hannah Marlowe takes it upon herself to take the child home to safety. But within moments of arriving and Hannah leaving the room, little Mila is taken - again. And this time, no one knows where she has gone.
Hannah reports the disappearance to the police who wearily sigh at having to deal with the distraught woman once again. Because this is not the first time Hannah has fronted up to police to report suspicious goings on or the disappearance of her husband Rory. From disturbances to missing items to a suspicious car parked out front of her house to a husband who appears to have walked out on her, the police take what Hannah says with a very fine grain of salt. But Hannah is certain someone has taken Mila. The question is...who?
Then strange things begin happening to Hannah. Her car mysteriously picked up from the mechanics by a stranger claiming to have her permission. A dress collected from the dry cleaners who had the corresponding ticket. Items moved around her house, the scent of cigarette smoke when neither her nor her 15 year old daughter Jodie smoke. And a suspicious van parked out the front of her house and the school where she works that drives off as soon as she tries to approach it. Who is doing these things? And why?
And then her daughter disappears.
Suddenly Hannah is searching for Jodie and little Mila when no one appears to be concerned about their disappearances. Least of all the police. Until they arrive to arrest Hannah for the abduction of little Mila. Yes, she took her first but someone else took her again and that someone is the one the police should be looking for! Added to that, Hannah has a secret or two from her past that she would much prefer to remain buried.
And then Jodie's father turns up - after 15 years of radio silence. But with all that is happening, Hannah isn't sure who to trust anymore.
OK, so the premise was intriguing and the prologue was explosive. But then...what followed for the first half of the book was a confusing mess that was tangled beyond redemption. I was thoroughly confused and found trying to get my head around all the tangled pieces difficult to make any sense of and, while they did make some sort of sense in the end, the execution of it all fell short and was difficult to maintain interest in what was happening. It took me two weeks to read this when it should have taken no more than two days. I kept putting off going back to it because I felt it just too confusing and the twists that came felt forced. As most of the loose ends were tied up by the book's end, there were a few unanswered questions that I felt were inadequately explained. Like Fleur's abduction was a twist that felt way forced and its explanation was slightly tenuous to say the least. Though when things began coming together, it wasn't hard to work out what had happened.
BUT, having said that, I loved the ending. That was just way too good! Nice touch that saved what was unfortunately a long and drawn out confusing read that could have been made shorter. I love Samantha Hayes' thrillers and was excited to dive into this one but having just gone through major surgery myself, I found it difficult to concentrate on complex tales which may have hindered my perception of this one. It took me two weeks to wade through the first 35% of the book and the rest I devoured in a matter or hours. So it could well have been my inability to focus on complex tales that drew this one up short.
This is a hard one to rate and review because I do think my recovery hindered my perception so therefore it wouldn't be a totally accurate one. Especially given the fact I devoured the most half in a matter of hours and totally relished that explosive ending. I'll give it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 as I feel I probably would have enjoyed it more had it not been for my recovery.
I would like to thank #SamanthaHayes, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #IStoleHerFirst in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
When not writing, Samantha loves to cook, go to the gym, see friends and drink nice wine. She is also studying for a degree in psychotherapy. She has three grown-up children and lives in Warwickshire.
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