The Mother You Knew: A Novel Based on a True Story

By: Hilkmann, Leila

What would you do if your child was forcefully taken by the very person meant to love him and keep him safe?

Tara is on her way to pick up both her children from the airport following a visit with their father in America, but within seconds her happiness is replaced by the shocking realization that only her daughter returned.

Tara's world is shattered as she's thrust into the American legal system, determined to fight for her son.

In her effort to see him, Tara must race against time and embark on a perilous journey that involves getting past Naomi, her mentally disturbed sister who teams up with her son's abductor to block Tara from meeting him.

Will Tara succeed?

Tara weaves a mesmerizing account of the horrific crime using fabrics of her own childhood and marriage. Painted in sharp vivid colors with the Mediterranean Sea as its backdrop, this page-turner spares no visceral details as it spans over European landscapes and cultures and some of America's most prestigious locations.

Heart-wrenching at times in its sincerity, this compelling story evokes emotion and compassion that hold the reader in suspense to its very last page.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9655756289
• ISBN13: 9789655756289
• Release Date: March 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 302 Pages
• Weight: 1.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"