A great premise for a good read. Amnesia is always a easy format to base a mystery or thriller on. This novel being ine of those is a good read, one which was hard to put down. However there are annoying points, descions made to keep the mystery going which are unrealistic and unbelievable. For example, 'Jemma' refuses to give a DNA sample or have her phot taken to help identify her. Given she is desperate to find out who she is, this is ridiculous. Obviously it needs to be this way to keep the mystery going but I found it rather annoying. I did enjoy the read but once these inconsistencies arrose, I finished the read quickly and cannot rate it as highly as a result.

I don’t really have much to say about this book. It was lacking in energy for me, I didn’t enjoy the unrealisticness of the story as a whole and couldn’t connect it to something that would happen in real life and in these sorts of books, I look for the believable aspects.

Most of it didn’t actually make sense, the story itself was lacking points that would stick out to a reader or even draw them in. The way everything was described was quite basic therefore I was unable to invest emotions into this book.

May work for others but for me I just couldn’t enjoy it to it’s full potential. I did enjoy some areas which is why it’s at a 3 star and not a 2 star but there’s not much to write home about with this book.

After reading the blurb on this book I couldn’t wait to start, as it sounded like I could really sink my teeth into it and was I disappointed? Definitely not!!! The first line “I can’t remember my own name” had me intrigued straight away.

A mystery woman arrives at Tony and Laura’s house claiming she lives there,but has Amnesia and no proof of I.D. They let her stay but who have they invited into their home!!

This is a twisty thriller that draws you in. I didn’t guess how this would end and thoroughly enjoyed trying to guess how this book would end.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

When a book begins by introducing a protagonist who can’t even remember their own name, it’s a pretty safe bet there’s going to be some unreliable narration going on. I was definitely correct when I made that prediction about two pages in; there are at least two unreliable narrators in this story, out of the several the book hops to. Although the mystery of who the woman with no memory might be is intriguing, the main plot and suspense of the story was too slow to get going; we really only understood what was going on in about the last 10% of the book.

With the stakes finally raised, it stumbled to a climax which wasn’t quite horrifying enough given the lead-up; with what had been explained to us about the main villain’s wants, I expected there to be rather more of a ‘big reveal’ about his past activities and why he’d chosen his particular victims.

As a psychological thriller, I wasn’t really all that thrilled. Though I learned some interesting things about the biochemistry of the brain and about seahorses, the stakes didn’t get high enough, nor was the protagonist really sympathetic enough, for me to get really invested in the book. It was just ‘ok’ and therefore I’m giving it three stars.

This book started very well and was very easy to get into (I read it in two days) the characters were interesting and I was eager to know what happened.
The story remained strong throughout and I was happy with the twists and turns and ending which I didn’t guess.
My only criticism (which is why Ive only given it 4 not 5 stars) is that it was slightly unrealistic in places, there is no way if a stranger knocked on my front door I would let them stay in my home.

Overall an excellent thriller & I would recommend.

Rated 4/5

This was a very cleverly crafted thriller with many twists and turns and full of surprises. Any assumptions I made about where the plot was going proved wrong. It hooked me from the beginning and I did not want to put it down.

I am very grateful to NetGalley, the publishers and author for a free advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Before my review proper I have to say one part of this book I loved was where Steve ( a character just turned 50 ) would hear his 15 year old son’s music playing and stand outside his room ‘Shazaming’ look up the band then talk about the music to his son, who thought his Dad was uber cool...
Anyway thats nothing to do with the main story
SHE arrives at your door, SHE knows your house ( can tell you the lay out ), SHE cant remember her name, who is SHE?.... and why is she there
A fascinating start to a complex thriller, and it is complex, there are lots of characters and a lot of medical referencing to amnesia and dementia in its various forms ( interesting to read ) and lots of German and Indian references ( place names and descriptions ) where some of the book is based
Its a real hotch pot of characters from likeable to repellent and quirky to dull ( often as each character narrates the writing style differs to suit that person, I liked this in some characters more than others )
Its also a hard book to categorise as covers psychological, thriller, horror, medical, romance and mystery in equal measure
As said the book starts wonderfully, dips a bit ( as gets more complex ) in the middle then roars to its surprising ending...you are aware as the book progresses that things are maybe not as you thought but I wasn’t expecting the horrifying conclusion
Complicated and confusing in parts yet engrossing and had ‘something’ about it that was different and intriguing enough to get through all the whys and wherefore’s
A good read

This book keeps on giving. Although not immediately obvious, there is more than one story here. The reader may not realise that until about halfway through when it seems that the book is about to end but it doesn't. The story takes a much darker turn and becomes increasingly tense. This is a mystery overlaid by a puzzle which we slowly come to realise has been at the heart of it all along. This starts out purely as a mystery rather than a murder but as is the way with mysteries, things are never what they seem to be.

It's well written, multi layered with the promise of much more if it was to become a series. The detective in charge isn't a high flying, suave, sophisticated lead detective, quite the opposite in fact. He has been transferred out of major crimes but is trying not to think of it as a demotion, he does still have a job to do and does it in his own fashion. As is common with fictional detectives, DI Silas Hart has his own problems but they are only alluded to, in a realistic touch they don't actually feature in the plot.

I found this very engaging and it held my attention throughout despite the difficult circumstances in which I was reading it.

Well this one had me intrigued pretty much from the off and, apart from a few wavering moments, kept my attention nicely throughout.
A woman arrives into the country and promptly loses both her handbag and her memory. She does however have a train ticket and a feeling of where she should go once the train arrives at its destination. So, she knocks on the door, thinking she lives in the house, but there is some other couple there, Tony and Laura. As she is distressed, they take her in and arrange for her to get some medical help from their own GP. The doctor thinks she recognises her and sets in motion what proves to be a really wild ride.
The aforementioned wavering moments were probably due to the fact that this book is very busy. If I was playing "psychological thriller bingo" I would probably have called "house"way before the end; talk about convoluted! But, if you can keep your head relatively straight and suspend a bit of belief along the way, you will be rewarded as the ending does work and wraps things up nicely.
You will also have to keep track of quite a few characters, especially as there are some quite similar ones. I had to resort to my trusty notebook and pen to log them as I got in a bit of a pickle, but that could just be me as I do have an issue with this thing sometimes.
It is also a book that I gave up trying to second guess quite early on. Part of what I love about reading this kind of book is playing along with the author and formulating what I think is going on. In fact, this book curved balled me totally at a certain point and I actually stopped reading, turned to my brother and said, "OMG they've..... and we're only... way through" (censored due to spoilers). Only to have to eat my words a couple pages on when we took a bit of an about face!
I've already mentioned that it is a bit convoluted and that also meant that the ending was a bit on the busy side and felt a bit rushed. Maybe the book would have been a better read had some of the things included not been present, it all felt a bit over the top at times and it did overwhelm me. There were a few things that in my opinion could have been stripped back which I think would have made for a better read. I haven't read the author's debut book (in this genre) but, on the back of this one, I am willing to give that a try too. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

The blurb said a woman arrived to a village via the train with her bag stolen and total retrograde amnesia, including not knowing her name. Then she knocked on Laura and Tony's home claiming it to be hers, as the address was all that she remembered. They took her in, and Tony named her Jemma. And the twists started rolling...

J. S. Monroe has written a brilliant book with so many twists that at times I felt almost like a pretzel. Memory and hippocampus were brilliantly used in the entire plot. I loved the way Monroe has plotted the amnesic main character. I had to go back to my knowledge bank to remember if such an amnesia is possible. Well, the brain can be tricky!!

The book had a darker overtone, without it being too macabre, but it went with the entire flow. Tony, as the man obsessed with sea horses and memory, was as unlikable as villain ought to be. There was something off each time he helped Jemma.

The author then went ahead admixed in the plot, the character of a psychotic woman who had murdered her best friend and who looked just like our protagonist. In all this confusion, the cops and an ex-reporter Luke had to search for the lone thread which would unknot the entire plot.

My niggles came and went as I read the book, some parts were too descriptive (I learned to skim read), a few unanswered questions (I let go of them), slightly clearer prose (I had to re-read some bits)

The book held me captive till I reached the last page and then made me write this review. What a book!!

This was a brilliant read, with a few twists along the way. Once you start reading it is hard to put down. Would definitely recommend it.
Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read it.
5 stars deserved.

Review: Forget My Name by J.S. Monroe
Imagine you lose your memory and the one of the few things you have left is the knowledge of where you live. You head home and arrive to find strangers living in your house. Sleeping in your bedroom, all traces of you gone. It’d be a bit strange, wouldn’t it?
That’s exactly the problem facing our mystery protagonist in Forget my Name. She’s unnamed, possessing neither past nor future, only the present. We soon take a detour from the route that I presumed the story was going down, which would have been very predictable, through a rabbit warren of twists and turns, to find the truth of “Jemma”‘s origins.

Monroe’s characters were the best part of this novel. Tony was very interesting. He starts off seeming like an innocent homeowner, willing simply to help a lost woman. It will probably be of no surprise to frequent readers of thriller novels that things weren’t exactly as they seem — both on Jemma’s side and from the perspective of those that she encounters. I loved the depth given to the stories for secondary characters, for example through the suggestion that ‘Jemma’ might be the long lost daughter of one of them. This didn’t feel forced at all.

I really enjoyed Forget my Name, especially towards the end. In the final third the action ramps up and every bit of mystery and misdirection pays off. Kudos to J.S. Monroe for a gripping read, I look forward to reading their next book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Head of Zeus and J.S. Monroe for the opportunity to read this book.

I couldn't get through this book fast enough. I had been reading other genres for a while so getting back to a psychological thriller was a treat. Throughout, you don't know what to believe, what is real and what is fake? Who is the mystery woman who appeared on Laura and Tony's doorstep? Is Tony all he seems? His reaction to the woman and the speed with which he gives her the name "Jemma" don't sit right, but I couldn't work out what he was doing and why. I think reading without knowing too much about the background is better for this book, so all I'll say is that it's a fast read, as you'll want to find out what is going on. It's mysterious and two pronged, and nobody is as they seem! Loved it! #ForgetMyName #NetGalley

The psychological thriller is now a mainstay of much of modern fiction. Its popularity can be evidenced by visiting a major supermarket and counting how many books of this genre can be found on the shelves. Two key components to be found in many such books are memory loss (Girl on the Train) and a stunning twist (Gone Girl). Both of these factors play a key role in J.S Monroe's new addition to this bulging shelf of literature. I must admit I'm rather a fan of the psychological thriller and apply three tests as to whether it has been successful or not. They are, was it gripping? was the plot twist sufficiently unexpected? and lastly did it have a page turning unputdownable ending? In the case of Forget My Name it is yes, yes and yes.

The story is set in a village served by a railway in Wiltshire and begins with a young woman leaving a train and making her way to a house in the village which she believes to be her own home. She has recently arrived from Berlin via Heathrow Airport but her bag containing her passport, wallet and house keys appear to have been stolen and she is presently suffering from memory loss and has even forgotten her own name. But she knows the house she is standing outside to be her own and is aware of its layout. But there are two people inside it who say they are the owners and Tony and Laura state that they have never meet the stranger on their doorstep before now.

It is not long before three theories emerge who the amnesic woman might be. The most plausible is that she is the psychotic former resident of the house who has recently been released from a psychiatric unit following her committal for murder twelve years ago but after visiting the village pub for a quiz one of the team Tony believes she may be his long lost daughter and Sean the pub bore believes she has involvement with the Russian Secret Service the village being in the same county as Salisbury. However could there be another and even more sinister explanation for the visit to the house?

I really liked this book and believe the author should be congratulated on producing a page turning chiller of a thriller and with its short chapters with their dramatic endings I believe this would make an ideal commuter read.

She arrived at the train station after a difficult week at work. Her bag had been stolen, and with it, her identity. Her whole life was in there – passport, wallet, house key. When she tried to report the theft, she couldn't remember her own name. All she knew was her own address.

Now she's outside Tony and Laura's front door. She says she lives in their home. They say they have never met her before.

I devoured this book. Its so clever! The main characters are so clever! It had me on Google a few times just to check what I was reading was actually true! I can't say too much about the story line as not to give it away. But the way the author unfolds the story is just brilliant! Its not your run of the mile psychological thriller, it has so much more to offer.

Well I am certainly in luck for reading good titles at the moment. This one is a tale in two parts, the second part a bit of a surprise, although you could feel something of the sort simmering underneath the main storyline throughout the beginning. There was a little confusing bit near the end (I wonder if I fell asleep and skipped something) which I found disappointing, but the final chapter ties it all up beautifully. I would certainly recommend this disturbing tale

You are outside your front door. There are strangers in your house. Then you realise. You can't remember your name.

When a woman turns up at Tony and Laura's home, the woman insists that they are living in her house. The couple invite her to come in. The woman tells them she has lost her bag with her purse, passport etc and that she can't remember her name. But she can describe the layout of the couples home. The couple think that she has amnesia and invite her to stay the night. They also book her an appointment with their local GP for the next morning. From here on, the plot just gets thicker and thicker.

The book is written using the viewpoints of several characters. It's also another one of those books where you can't say too much as you would give away too many spoilers. The twists just keep on coming and I gave up on trying to guess where the story was going as I just kept getting it wrong. There are some creepy characters in this creepy thriller. It's difficult who to believe in this fast paced book but you will just want to find out more. Who is telling the truth and who is telling lies? I also liked the information that we got told on our brains, memory and of sea horses. An enjoyable read.

I would like to thank NetGalley, House Of Zeus and the author J. S. Munroe for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

'Forget My Name' is internationally bestselling author J. S. Monroe's second thriller to be written in the English language, and having thoroughly enjoyed 'Find Me', I was happy to discover that this was just as compelling and compulsively readable. The writing flows wonderfully from chapter-to-chapter making it a total pleasure to read, there are a plethora of twists, turns and red herrings to keep the reader guessing for the duration and it starts off at quite a slow burn type of pace, but it doesn't take long until Monroe turns the screw and ratchets up the tension until we reach the unbearably tense finale from which comes a stonker of a climax! And a most satisfying one at that!

There were a few of the suspenseful surprises that were predictable quite early on, and usually, this would affect my overall appreciation for the book, but here I was enjoying everything else so much that it didn't have a substantive impact on my rating or review, although I have removed one star due to that. Engaging, completely gripping and a fun-filled, addictive experience, most crime buffs will absolutely love it! A couple of quick sidenotes on why it couldn't be awarded the full five stars - There is quite a large cast of characters which I didn't feel was necessary and could lead to confusion. Also, if you're the type of reader who needs a story grounded/based in reality, then this may not be for you. Many of the events that take place are far-fetched and wouldn't occur in real life. I also felt that it could've been better edited and quite a number of pages deleted without taking anything away from the novel.

Essentially, the fundamental concept this book is based on is the consequences of the main protagonist's amnesia, so this is definitely more of a mystery and intrigue tale than a thrilling one per se. It's creepy, impeccably paced and wastes no time in throwing you in at the deep end. Thoroughly enjoyable, it certainly captivated me!

Many thanks to Head of Zeus for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

This is a creepy thriller that will keep you hooked until the very last page.

It all starts with a mystery lady who has just arrived at her home, after returning from Berlin. The only trouble is she has no idea who she is, any memory of her past and all her belongings have been lost in her bag at the airport. She does however remember her house but one problem is that there is a couple living there who who are adamant it is their house and they have never seen the mystery lady before. Who is telling the truth ?

This is a great thriller with a very creepy side. Some fantastic, but creepy, characters and a fast paced plot that will keep you guessing through. There are also some twists and turns that will keep you wanting more. All in all a great creepy thriller.

Thank you to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

For most of this book I had absolutely no idea what was going on. In most books this would be a problem for me as I like to have at least some threads of possibilities which I can start to wind together to figure out what is happening. In this book however, this actually worked to the stories advantage. It’s the fact that you don’t know why this woman turns up at Tony and Laura’s door and the fact that you have no idea of her past or how she came to be there that makes you keep turning pages in a quest to find out.

I liked the fact that the story literally jumps right in, there’s no hanging around. This woman turns up and straight away you’re thrown into the unknown. The author writes in a very fast paced manner and it’s twists and turns galore as you are drawn further into the mysteries.

There are quite a few characters in this story and at times I found it hard to keep up with who was who and where they fit in the overall story. There seemed when reading to be two story lines running parallel with the mysterious woman and then Luke, who used to be a journalist, who is digging into his past and whether or not he may have a connection with this woman. It’s difficult to say too much about this mysterious woman without giving away any spoilers.

This is a very well written, captivating psychological thriller which had me hooked very early on and kept me hooked all the way through to the end.