| Women authors -- Fiction. |
| Memory disorders -- Fiction. |
| Life change events -- Fiction. |
| Identity (Psychology) -- Fiction. |
| FICTION / General. |
| Psychological fiction. |
| Fiction. |
Available:*
Audience | Genre | Shelf Location | Material Type | Shelf Number | Current Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult | Mystery | Fiction | Book | FIC WATSON | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
"Thebest debut novel I've ever read."--Tess Gerritsen,bestselling author of the Rizzoli & Isles series
"Anexceptional thriller. It left my nerves jangling for hours after I finished thelast page." --Dennis Lehane, New York Times bestselling author of Moonlight Mile
S. J. Watson makes his powerful debutwith this compelling, fast-paced psychological thriller,reminiscent of Shutter Island and Memento, in which an amnesiac who,following a mysterious accident, cannot remember her past or form newmemories, desperately tries to uncover the truth about who she is--and whoshe can trust.
Author Notes
Steve "S. J." Watson (born 1971) is an English writer. His first novel was in 2011 with the thriller Before I Go to Sleep. Rights to publish the book have been sold in 42 different countries around the world and it has gone on to be an international bestseller. The novel has won the 2011 Crime Writer's Association John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger and the Galaxy National UK Thriller and Crime Novel of the Year. It will be a feature film soon starring Nicole Kidman. Watson's next novel is entitled Second Life. He will be featured in the fiction edition line-up presented by The Big Issue.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Memories-real, false, and a bit of both-are at the heart of British author Watson's haunting, twisted debut. Christine Lucas awakens each morning in London with no idea who she is or why she's in bed with a strange man, until he tells her that his name is Ben and they've been married for 22 years. Slowly, Christine learns that she has amnesia and is unable to remember her past or retain new memories: every night when she falls asleep, the slate is wiped clean. Dr. Nash, her therapist, has encouraged her to write in a journal that she keeps secret from Ben. Christine realizes how truly tangled-and dangerous-her life is after she sees the words "don't trust Ben" written in her journal, whose contents reveal that the only person she can trust is herself. Watson handles what could have turned into a cheap narrative gimmick brilliantly, building to a chillingly unexpected climax. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Forty-seven-year-old Christine Lucas awakens each morning believing she is still in her twenties and single. She suffered a terrible accident that has severely impaired her memory. She doesn't recognize Ben, the man who tells her he is her husband; she doesn't remember that she had a son; and, worst of all, she does not feel comfortable in her own skin, appalled by her wrinkled face and old-lady clothes. But it turns out she has been getting some help with her memory problem. Dr. Nash calls her every day after Ben leaves for work to tell her where to retrieve her journal, which contains key details about her previous life and work. The most upsetting thing she learns from her journal, however, is that certain facts don't match the story Ben has been telling her. But how can she be sure he is deceiving her when she can barely hold on to the threads of her own life? This mesmerizing, skillfully written debut novel from a British author works on multiple levels. It is both an affecting portrait of the profound impact of a debilitating illness and a pulse-pounding thriller whose outcome no one could predict. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Prepub buzz, including raves from Dennis Lehane and Tess Gerritsen, will combine with a no-holds-barred marketing campaign to ensure that this stellar debut receives the attention it deserves.--Wilkinson, Joanne Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Christine is another woman trying to reclaim a life gone to pieces. After a mysterious accident, she wakes up each morning with no memory. Her husband Ben repeatedly explains the details of their life together, but the next morning all is lost once again. One day Christine discovers that she has been keeping a journal and the terrifying words she has written there, "Don't trust Ben," throw everything into question. VERDICT Relentless pacing in Watson's intriguing debut psychological thriller draws the reader into Christine's race to figure out who to trust and how to recover her life. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.