Jessica Strawser

The next “masterful” (Publishers Weekly) novel from "the gifted Jessica Strawser" (Adriana Trigiani), hailed as “immensely satisfying” (Kathleen Barber) and “that book you can’t put down” (Sally Hepworth). A video call between friends captures a shocking incident no one was supposed to see. The secrets it exposes threaten to change their lives forever. Molly and Liza have always been enviably close. Even after Molly married Daniel, the couple considered Liza an honorary family member. But after Liza moved away, things grew more strained than anyone wanted to admit—in the friendship and the marriage. When Daniel goes away on business, Molly and Liza plan to reconnect with a nice long video chat after the kids are in bed. But then Molly leaves the room to check on a crying child. What Liza sees next will change everything. Only one thing is certain: Molly needs her. Liza drives all night to be at Molly’s side—but when she arrives, the reception is icy, leaving Liza baffled and hurt. She knows there’s no denying what she saw. Or is there? In disbelief that their friendship could really be over, Liza is unaware she’s about to have a near miss of her own. And Molly, refusing to deal with what’s happened, won’t turn to Daniel, either. But none of them can go on pretending. Not after this. Forget You Know Me is a “twisty, emotionally complex, powder keg of a tale” (bestselling author Emily Carpenter) about the wounds of people who’ve grown apart. Best friends, separated by miles. Spouses, hardened by neglect. A mother, isolated by pain. One moment will change things for them all.

A Novel

Forget You Know Me

Megan Leprich

Thank you so much to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. I devoured her book Not That I Could Tell so I had high expectations for this book. I thought it was going to be a great thriller but turned out to be more of a drama book.

This book is about Liza and Molly who have been best friends forever but now live in different states. They try to catch up as much as possible and one night while they're on Skype Liza sees a masked man in Molly's house while she's upstairs with the children. She calls the police but when she confronts Molly about it, Molly blows it off and pretends that nothing happened. Liza can't figure out why her best friend is acting like nothing happened and she starts to wonder what secrets her friend is keeping from her.

The beginning was so intriguing for me and instantly hooked me and then the further I got into it the more bleh it became. I feel like the book peaked at the beginning and then nothing but drama for the rest of it. I was so confused because it started out as a good thriller at the beginning and then the genres started jumping around so I got a little lost. I'm not sure how this was categorized as a suspense thriller because it honestly was anything but. I'm only giving it three stars because I do love the author and her writing style and this book won't stop me from reading anything else by her but this was a big flop for me.

Jolie

Molly and Liza were besties from way back and nothing could break their friendship. After Molly got married, Liza was considered part of their family. But Liza and Molly start to grow apart. One night, during a video chat, Liza witnesses a man, dressed all in black, breaking into her friend’s house. Then the screen goes black. Panicked, Liza drives all night to find a standoffish Molly. A confrontation follows and Liza goes home. But Liza finds out, that there is no home to go to. Forced to move in with her brother, Liza realizes that her friendship with Molly might be over. Liza also realizes that there is more going on in Molly’s life than she is letting on. Everything is tied to the man who broke into the house. Who was he? What did he want? Will he be back?

I wasn’t expecting to like Forget You Know Me as much as I did. I enjoyed reading about people who had the same issues that I do. I also enjoyed reading about how the different relationships worked in this book. What I liked, even more, was that I “got” Molly. I “got” Molly and Daniel’s relationship. As a mother to 3 and in a relationship with their father for almost 15 years, I got that they grew apart. Heck, it happened in my relationship. Even Molly’s pains I got. It was nice to read a book where I connected with at least one of the main characters.

I wasn’t too sure if I liked Liza in the book. She rubbed me the wrong way for some reason. It started when she got skeeved out when Max told her that he was bi. Then it was how she acted during the dinner that Daniel and Molly throw and followed by how she treated Henry. She did come back in my eyes at the end of the book. She was able to bridge the gap between Molly and Daniel. But it was almost too late.

I didn’t like that Molly was keeping such a huge secret from Daniel. I mean, she had people tracking her down and threatening her at her job. I would have thought that she would have mentioned something to him before that. I was kind of shaking my head during that. She put herself and her family in danger.

I thought the plotline with Daniel and Toby didn’t bring anything to the story. It did explain why Daniel was so preoccupied during 90% of the book. But still, I could have done without reading it.

Same goes for the storyline with Rick, Molly, and the girls. I, for one, was in the “there is something going on between them” boat. I also had the same suspicions that Liza and Molly did about Rick. So, I was surprised when that storyline turned out the way it did.

I was surprised at who the man in the mask (from the blurb) was. I was also surprised at why he did what he did. In hindsight, I understood why. In his own screwed up way, he wanted Molly to realize that she was the same person she was before kids.

The end of Forget You Know Me was emotional. I wasn’t expecting the tears to come. But they did. So, yes, the ending will need tissues. The author did a fantastic job at bringing all the storylines together. She also did a fantastic job at wrapping the book up. 

I gave Forget You Know Me a 3.5-star review. This book was a good read. I was able to connect to at least one of the characters in the book. I liked how the author gave a no holds bar look at motherhood and relationships. She gave the good, the bad, and the ugly. I didn’t like who the man in the mask ended up being or the reason why he broke into the house. I also thought that there was extra weight with some of the plotlines. I could have done without reading about Toby and Rick.

I would give Forget You Know Me an Adult rating. There is no sex (but there are mentions of it). There is violence. There is language. There are triggers. They would be a home invasion, survivor’s guilt, threatened miscarriage, homophobia and emotional affair. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Forget You Know Me. I would also reccomend this book to family and friends.

I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Forget You Know Me.

All opinions stated in this review of Forget You Know Me are mine

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Forget You Know Me A Novel

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