I Took Her First

• Author: Samantha Hayes
• Genre: Mystery
• Publication Date: November 3, 2025 
• Publisher: Bookouture Audio

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for providing me with an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

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.

If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to know that this book sounded perfect for me, right down to the similar titles. This is an author who is new to me, but I had a good feeling about this one. Plus, I got approved for it right as the weather got cooler and really feels like autumn, which is when I start reading more mysteries and dark stories until spring. My reading taste tends to be pretty seasonal, I guess.

Now let’s get to the book. If you’re going to read it, I highly suggest that you buckle up, because this book is a rollercoaster ride. One of the strongest elements of the story was the plot and the sheer number of unpredictable twists. I was floored at the twisty-turny style, always keeping me on my toes. Like most people, I try to figure out who is behind the mystery, and it was nearly impossible to guess. Out of all the twists in the story, the one at the end really got me—I definitely wasn’t expecting that.

The story unfolds through the eyes of several characters, including Hannah, a single mother, and her teenaged daughter Jodie. They are struggling to adjust after the sudden and unexplained end of Hannah’s 14-year marriage and the way it has affected both Hannah and Jodie. Hannah is dealing with grief and self-blame, and there is a web of lies and omitted information that comes out along the way. 

The audiobook is narrated by Sarah Durham and Harrie Dobby, and they do a fantastic job. Hannah is voiced by a more mature sounding character, while Jodie’s voice sounds like a teenager is narrating. I’m pretty sure that both of these narrators are new to me, but they won me over with their talents in portraying vocal tones and accents across a range with astonishing convincingness. 

There are some topics that come up in the book that are a little heavier, such as divorce, infertility, pregnancy loss, online predators, and infidelity. Each of these issues was dealt with gently, and weren’t gratuitous—they served a purpose in moving the plot forward and explaining past issues. Additionally, it isn’t clear at first whether Hannah is even a reliable narrator. Her speech and behavior really made me wonder if she was mentally well, even as it becomes clear that she is morally gray. That fact is more strongly reinforced by the titular event: Hannah has taken a girl from her school and brought her to her own house, where Mila is stolen. 

Hannah’s POV chapters weren’t my favorite, but that was because I didn’t enjoy being inside her head. As someone who strives towards greater self-awareness, it wasn’t easy listening to a laundry list of justifications for her actions, especially when she’s trying to excuse herself of guilt for first kidnapping a child (even if it was done with good intentions) and then having that child taken right out of her home. Hannah is a serious over thinker, while Jodie on the other hand is a typical teenager, acting on instincts and desires and only thinking of the consequences as they are occurring. Even so, there was something that I liked and empathized with about both of them, even if Jodie was more my speed. 

Overall, this is a fantastic mystery that kept me hooked and guessing from start to finish. I loved how hard it was to predict anything that would happen. The story does require a bit more suspension of belief than say, a romance might need, but it is well worth it. The writing has short, snappy chapters that make it easy to fly through, and hints of foreshadowing that made this book impossible for me to stop reading. Just be prepared that this one will throw you for a loop for sure.

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