Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson
368 pages
Mystery/Thriller
June 2011
I'm sure everyone has read about this one by now. The basic premise is that the main character, Christine, wakes up every day and can't remember who she is. She doesn't recognize her husband, Ben, or even know how old she is. Each day she gets a phone call from a Dr. Nash who directs her to a diary she is keeping of each day to help jog her memories.
Watson slowly builds the tension as Christine's story is revealed in small steps. As a reader, I became so involved with Christine that I couldn't help but to identify with her. As parts of her story started to become inconsistent, you start to realize that everything is not what you believed. There is a tremendous tension in the story as it starts to unravel. It is heightened by the fact that Christine can't clarify anything for us, as readers. So, in a sense, we are memory-impaired with her.
Ben is an intriguing character. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll simply say that I'm not sure I completely understood his motivations.
Overall, this was a fun read, and I highly recommend it. I'm giving it 4 1/2 stars. It's starting to sound like I love everything I read. That's not quite so, but I've had a string of good luck with books lately. If you've read it, I'd love to know what you think!
4 comments:
Here is my review of The Soldier's Wife
http://chocolateandcroissants.blogspot.com/2011/07/soldiers-wife-by-m-leroy.html
It's starting to sound like I love everything I read.
I know how that feels when you go on a stretch of great reads! It seems odd as a reviewer to rate so many works so high, but as a reader it's not a streak that you ever want to end!
lisa - I agree. Unfortunately, my current book may be a stinker, but I always stick it out just in case I'm wrong.
Esme - I'll check it out.
I haven't read this one yet - but I think I'm going to have to!
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