Forget You Know Me by Jessica Strawser
Published by St. Martin’s Press on February 5, 2019
Genres: Domestic Life, Friendship, Literature & Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Women’s Fiction
Pages: 336
Format: ARC, eBook, Paperback
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In her engrossing new novel, Forget You Know Me, Jessica Strawser takes readers deep into an intimate friendship between two women. When one witnesses a shocking incident that should never have been caught on camera, the secrets and lies it exposes threaten to change their lives forever.
Molly and Liza have always been close in a way that people envy. Even after Molly married Daniel, both considered Liza an honorary member of their family. 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 over wine after the kids are in bed. But when Molly leaves the room to check on a crying child, a man in a mask enters, throwing Liza into a panic—then her screen goes black.
When Liza finally reaches Molly, her reply is icy and terse, insisting everything is fine. Liza is still convinced something is wrong, that her friend is in danger. But after an all-night drive to help her ends in a brutal confrontation, Liza is sure their friendship is over—completely unaware that 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 exposes the wounds of people who’ve grown apart, against their will. Best friends, separated by miles. Spouses, hardened by neglect. A mother, isolated by pain. The man in the mask will change things for them all.
But who was he?
And will he be back?
The story of today’s book, Forget You Know Me by Jessica Strawser is this: I first requested a digital copy from NetGalley for review based upon the synopsis listed, and I was approved. Shortly afterward, I was checking out the giveaways on Goodreads and saw this book as a giveaway, and entered. Then, I received an email St. Martin’s Publishing offering the book for review. The final part of the story – I WON the Goodreads giveaway and received a paperback copy! So there’s that story……. onto the book:
Liza and Molly have been best friends since childhood. They’ve always stayed connected despite their separate lives. Liza moves from Cincinnati to Chicago for a job, and Molly marries Daniel and has kids. Things change when Liza moves away, though and it affects her friendship with Molly and even Molly’s marriage to Daniel.
One night while Daniel is out of town on business, Molly and Liza work toward making a connection and plan to Skype with each other. As they are chatting, Molly’s daughter calls out and she attends to her. When Molly returns to the computer to continue the conversation, Liza suddenly she sees man, dressed all in black with a mask, come into the frame. Liza screams for Molly and tries calling her cell phone, but the masked man closes the computer screen.
Liza is freaked out and she calls the police. She drives all night from Chicago to Cincinnati to check on Molly, but when she reaches her friend’s house, she is stunned by Molly’s icy reception and how she acts like Liza overreacted.
Right about now is when I realize that Forget You Know Me is a women’s fiction novel with a hint of suspense… not a thriller at all. What readers find in the pages of this story is more of character-driven story of relationships, challenges of life, marriage, and friendships.
This story is really about that goes unsaid — those things folks hold in and bottle up until it’ so bad that they can’t let it out. I think all fans of women’s fiction are really going to enjoy this story. It has just enough suspense to keep readers mesmerized with the plot. I enjoyed the book overall and the topics explored did cause me to do some of my own thinking later. I’m going to go back and read this author’s other two books and I will look forward to each new release.
Jessica Strawser is the Editor-at-Large for Writer’s Digest magazine, North America’s leading publication for aspiring and working writers since 1920. Her debut novel, ALMOST MISSED YOU (St. Martin’s Press), was a Barnes & Noble Best New Fiction Selection upon its March 2017 release, as well as a She Reads Book Club Selection and a PopSugar Best Spring Read. The book garnered accolades from such wide-ranging bestsellers as Chris Bohjalian, Adriana Trigiani, Lisa Scottoline, Jacquelyn Mitchard, and Garth Stein. Her second, NOT THAT I COULD TELL, is forthcoming from St. Martin’s in March 2018, and FORGET YOU KNOW ME is the third released in 2019.
Her diverse career in the publishing industry spans more than 15 years and includes stints in book editing, marketing and public relations, and freelance writing and editing. A Pittsburgh native and “Outstanding Senior” graduate of Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, she counts her New York Times Modern Love essay and her Writer’s Digest cover interviews with such luminaries as Alice Walker, Anne Tyler and David Sedaris among her career highlights. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and two children.
Connect with Jessica on social media ~~
WEBSITE // FACEBOOK // TWITTER // GOODREADS
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press who provided me with a advanced reader copy of this book through NetGalley for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
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