Past Life

I’ve read a few “memory issues” books this year, here is one for 2019 that is positively brilliant- mainly because the characters all shine, mostly the highly engaging Boone, who was once one person but is now quite another. Question is, can she re-capture her old self and more to the point, does she want to?

Past Life is a pacy, highly addictive read with some of the best characterisation and group dynamics I’ve read for ages. We focus on Abigail Boone, who after trauma has lost the memory of anything that came before it. Living with her family but quite apart from them, she returns as a lone civilian to the case she was investigating in her past life, hoping to shake something loose. But these are dangerous people she is hunting…

Past Life may be a crime thriller but it is also a nuanced, emotionally resonant character driven drama. The affect on a family of having a stranger returned to them, the different and eclectic group of friends Boone falls into, the new social structure she surrounds herself with is wonderfully fascinating and beautifully written. Her lack of care for herself and occasionally others causing some edge of the seat moments all highly charged by the fact that Dominic Nolan has invested the reader with a real care for these characters and a need for them to have a happy ending.

I have to give a shout out to Roo, a wonderful character who I defy you not to fall in love with – but the rest I’ll leave you to discover for yourselves.

Past Life is authentic in its life realities, almost brutal in it’s plotting and genuinely unpredictable in it’s mystery element. By the end I was wrung out, having lived on the edge of it for the entire read. Dark but often funny, with an ending that is both melancholy but truthful, Past Life is a novel I highly recommend to anyone but especially to those who like their crime fiction to have genuine depth and the ability to run you through the emotional wringer.

Loved it.

Fantastic to read!

The story is gripping and full of tense moments. Twists and turns await every page! I really enjoyed reading this a lot and can highly recommend it.

Past Life was a gritty thriller which gripped me from the start. Wonderful characters, a sharp plot and a touch of dark humour at times which won me over from the start. I thoroughly recommend this read and I do hope there will be a follow up soon. My thanks to Net Galley for my ARC. reviews on Goodreads and Facebook.

This is the debut novel from Dominic Nolan and it is an excellent start to what will hopefully be a prolific career. Amnesia is not an uncommon trope in crime fiction but Nolan uses it in a refreshing and interesting way. Boone was a cop who was violently attacked and remembers nothing from before the assault, including her son. Now not fit to work as a detective, she pursues a case that she was formerly involved in, and the story is gripping from start to finish.

A fast paced read with lots of twists and turns. Really liked Boone's character, would love to see more of her in the future. A really interesting plot with the memory issues from the very start. Highly recommended!

Simply brilliant. Well written an assured. I read lots of crime fiction and this is an author that I want to read more of. Dominic Nolan is an author to watch.

Although I found the portrayal of female characters in the novel fresh and compelling, I wasn't wholly convinced by them - do women really talk to each other that way? Not in my experience. I also found the violence a little too graphic for my taste.

But those two niggles aside, as soon as I started reading I was fully committed to staying through to the end - it really is edge-of-your-seat stuff at times and the themes of memory and self left me with much to think about....it's certainly got a lot more depth than your average thriller.

A really excellent debut, I'll be keen to read what Nolan does next...

This is a hard-hitting debut novel from the start. Be warned it is not for the faint-hearted as there are one or two very graphic scenes, Boone is an ex-police officer invalided out of the force after horrific injuries sustained in the course of duty. The book deals not only with her loss of herself and lack of memory about her husband and son but also with her knowledge that she has to pursue the people who tried to kill her. Boone relates to Roo, a fellow sufferer at the hands of her captives; Tess, the daughter of a felon Boone had arrested and Barb, a fellow officer. All are strong characters and it is refreshing to have four females dominating a novel of this genre.
The book is well written and plot driven while still exploring the characters and their issues.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Dominic Nolan/Headline for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Headline for an advance copy of Past Life a debut novel featuring former DS Abigail Boone.

Boone was looking for missing person Sarah Still when she disappeared. Four days later she is found but she has no memory of who she is, what happened to her or her former life. A year later she is struggling to find her way in this new reality and decides that finding Sarah Still is the key to finding herself.

I thoroughly enjoyed Past Life which is a gripping debut filled with action, strong characterisation and some very good twists. How realistic her search is is open to question but it certainly makes for an exciting read. It should be noted that there is a fair amount of graphic violence in the novel although none of it seems gratuitous given the circles she is moving in.

The novel revolves around Boone, always Boone, never Abigail who is someone she doesn’t know. The novel is told from her perspective and it’s difficult because she’s in such a strange position. I found her extremely unlikeable but compelling. She is angry and destructive with a propensity for violence and extremely selfish but she is also lost. She comes across like a psychopath having lost her ability to empathise and love, preferring the company of new friends to her husband and son. It is interesting that I didn’t initially like her husband, Jack, as I was seeing him through her eyes, when in fact he is a nice, caring man who wants Abigail back and whom she treats like dirt. I think the author does a tremendous job with her situation and her reactions to it.

It is hard to believe that this is a debut novel as both the plotting and writing are so assured. Once the reader gets used to Boone and her prickly character the plot flows logically according to her way of thinking (to anyone else it seems like a suicide mission) with a series of action scenes and revelations. There is never a dull moment.

Past Life is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Past Life is the debut novel by Dominic Nolan and it is a very good trust on the "lost memory" theme which keeps you interested and guessing until the end.

The book starts off powerfully but then I thought it lost a little impetus for a short while before picking up the once towards to a pact conclusion.

I definitely enjoyed the book and will look out for future books by this new author