She Treads Softly: You Will Remember Me

Friday, May 21, 2021

You Will Remember Me

You Will Remember Me by Hannah Mary McKinnon
5/25/21; 352 pages
MIRA Books

You Will Remember Me by Hannah Mary McKinnon is a highly recommended twisty psychological thriller.

Jack Smith wakes up on a beach in Brookmount, Maryland, with a head injury and no memory of who he is or his location. Lily Reid wakes up expecting Jack, her boyfriend, to stop by with pancakes. While Jack stumbles away from the beach, Lily tries to get in contact with him to no avail. Jack is compelled by the idea he needs to get back to Maine, at the same time Lily contacts the police and his landlord/friend, desperate to find Jack. She knew he was taking a late night swim and is worried he had an accident. The police inform her that his license is a forgery, which puts a new twist on his disappearance. Jack manages to get to Maine where he remembers a phone number and finds his stepsister, Maya. As it turns out Jack is actually Asher Bennett, and he left Maine two years ago. He has no memory of Lily, but she is not going to give up searching for him.

The beginning chapters will immediately grab your attention as the narrative switches between the viewpoint of Jack/Asher, Lily, and Maya. The characters are presented as unique, complicated individuals. As the story continues you will soon realize that there is much more going on than is presented at the surface. The irresistible question is what is going on with these characters and what exactly has happened in their past. They all have secrets. They all are not telling each other everything. They may be lying. Who can be trusted? Who has an agenda?

With the suspenseful start it becomes clear rather quickly that more is going on than we know about and the suspense and tension will continue to build incrementally as more information is uncovered and we learn more about all the characters. There are so many questions that need to be answered and this along with the fast pace will compel you to continue reading. I quite enjoyed this novel even though I did correctly predict what would be the final outcome. The story, however, leading up to this denouement is entertaining and worth reading.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of MIRA Books.

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John Updike's six rules for reviewing:

1. Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.

2. Give him enough direct quotation--at least one extended passage--of the book's prose so the review's reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.

3. Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy precis.

4. Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending.

5. If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's oeuvre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?

To these concrete five might be added a vaguer sixth, having to do with maintaining a chemical purity in the reaction between product and appraiser.....Review the book, not the reputation.... Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the presumption of certain possible joys in reading, and all our discriminations should curve toward that end.